Busy executives struggling to mix work with an advanced education may consider some required courses a chore. But, as of 2002, those enrolled in the College's Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) program will have a new requirement that even an overloaded executive could love.

The course, "Special Topics in Global Business," includes a 10-day international trip, designed to study developed and developing economies. It means that, to graduate from the accelerated program, EMBA students must travel abroad to "see what business is like in another part of the world," says Michael Ginzberg, dean of the College and leader of the first EMBA international study trip last winter.

"It's very difficult to think of what kind of business these people could be in that wouldn't have global dimensions," he says of the working professionals who enroll in the EMBA program. A trip abroad is a great way to get a realistic understanding of how companies in other nations conduct business, deal with obstacles and problems specific to their cultures and participate in world trade, Ginzberg says.

He and Claudio Spiguel, the College's executive in residence and professor of management information systems, who taught the course, accompanied the students. Spiguel is a native Brazilian, so the group had no trouble communicating in Portuguese and had access to places and individuals that few others would have had.

Seven of the 14 EMBA students graduating in 2002 took the inaugural trip: Renee Ehardt, who works for DaimlerChrysler; Leon Magdzinski, self-employed; Jeremy Pond, Rodel; Tom Saville, Versalign; Lee Spicer, PSE&G Nuclear; Brenda Thompson, Computer Sciences Corp.; and Sophie Ung, DuPont.

Since these executives had the world to choose from and they live in a democracy, they took a vote to determine their destination. After deciding on Brazil, the students' assignment was to come up with a potential business venture involving that country and the United States. Students were to rethink their business plan after the visit.

Spiguel says there were many changes in the students' original concepts, as they came to understand the complexities of the Brazilian economy. "Most of the changes were along cultural lines," he says. "For example, they were surprised at how cohesive Brazilians are when they engage in team activities."

A serious player in the global economy, Brazil must have seemed ideal for the lessons these executives were hoping to learn from their study trip. With 50 percent of both the land mass and the population of South America, the nation has vast natural resources and a large labor pool. Its gross domestic product, which was $1.13 trillion in 2000, grew by 4.5 percent in 2001.

The Brazilian economy outweighs that of all other South American countries, and the nation is expanding its presence in international markets. In world trade, foreign direct investment in 2000 set a record of more than $30 billion.

The students flew first to Rio de Janeiro and then to Sao Paulo, the third largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million. Francisco Albuquerque, a local entrepreneur and a friend of Spiguel's, shared his 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur in Brazil.

"Sao Paulo is an enormous city," Pond says, adding that he was amazed by the city's sophisticated technology as well as its size.

"In a lot of ways, they are beyond us in technology," Spicer says. "They've copied our technology and avoided our mistakes."

The students spent three days in Sao Paulo, attending classes on doing business in Brazil and meeting with the president of DuPont South America and a group of DuPont executives.

In Sao Jose dos Campos, the group visited EMBRAER--one of the largest manufacturers of regional, military and corporate aircraft in the world--and toured its assembly line. "The visit introduced us to another side of the Brazilian economy and workforce. Their products, though labor intensive, rely upon sophisticated technology and highly skilled labor," Saville says.

The group also toured sugar cane farms in the Ribeirao Preto region. Thompson says she was not familiar with agribusiness before the trip and was impressed by how technologically sophisticated the Brazilian farms are. She notes that one of the farms used the SAP computer software, which can manage all aspects of a business from sales and inventory to administration and payroll.

Also during the weeklong trip, the group met with Roberto Rodrigues, former Sao Paulo secretary of agriculture and president of the International Agribusiness Association. Fernando Mattos, the owner of a large sugar cane farm and mill and a member of the Brazilian Association of Agribusiness board of directors, accompanied the group on part of the trip.

In the Brazilian capital, students met with administrators and faculty of the University of Brasilia and visited the American Embassy, where they learned about diplomacy and politics and how they affect business. They also attended a session at the university on the role global and local politics play in how local companies do business internationally.

"Just as a life-learning experience, the trip was [second to] none," Pond says, adding that the B&E students learned not just how Brazilians do business, but also how they live.

Thompson agrees. "I'm glad I went," she says. "It was my first international trip. From a global perspective, it provided good background, and the firsthand experience solidified what we had been learning."

Spiguel says he considers the trip highly successful. "We were able to interact at a level that maximized what they had been learning," he says.

--Barbara Garrison