As part of an international business course, students visited VF Corp., AkzoNobel Coatings, UPS and Cisco abroad to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by doing business in 21st century Europe.
Thirteen Elon MBA students developed a greater sense of global business issues through a study abroad component of the MBA International Business course that took them to Italy, Hungary and Switzerland.
The class, led by Alisha Horky, assistant professor of marketing, and Carri Tolmie, assistant professor of international business, visited businesses and cultural sites to identify and understand international business concerns while appreciating the past and present cultural issues in Europe.
“The study abroad experience was a great way to see international business first hand,” Corie Hampton said. “It was so valuable to see local economies and the individual cultures of different cities and how that affects business practices of global organizations.”
The class met with executives and toured facilities at VF Corp. in Switzerland, AkzoNobel Coatings in Italy, and UPS and Cisco in Hungary. Topics discussed during the company visits included sustainability, branding, operations, strategy, supply chain and logistics, organizational culture, nationalization and technology.
“Studying abroad for international business is an experience I will never forget,” Leslie Johnson said. “It gave me the opportunity to see how companies in the U.S. operate on an international level.”
Students also visited cultural sites including the Duomo, La Scala and the Fashion District in Milan, and Fishermen’s Bastion, Matthias Church and Heroes’ Square in Budapest.