For Anthony Klotz, it was the perfect prism for bringing the topic of cross-cultural management into focus: an intensive four-week program that let 10 College of Business students of varying backgrounds study in London and hear about multinational firms’ ways of doing business.
“This mix of students really facilitated discussions inside and outside of the classroom concerning cultural differences and how to adapt to them,” said Klotz, assistant professor of management at OSU, whose group included five international students.
Four of those are from China and one is from Saudi Arabia; four Oregonians and a Hawaiian rounded out the traveling party.
Klotz, who teaches undergraduate classes in organizational behavior and human resource management at Oregon State, and the students arrived in London on July 19, two days before the start of class. The sixcredit program he taught dealt with guiding business operations and personnel spread throughout many nations and societies.
The program featured a blend of classroom instruction and experiential learning opportunities, and students met with two American expatriates, both College of Business graduates, who work in England.
Don Robert ’82 is chairman at Experian plc, a Dublin-based information services firm doing business in 40 countries, and Jennifer Ward ’86 is chief talent officer for Halma plc, a group Management without Borders of technology companies that make hazard-protection and other types of safety products. Halma, headquartered in Amersham, England, about 25 miles west of London, has operations in 23 countries.
Robert’s presentation included the risk-reward nature of taking an expat assignment – the reward is advancement potential, but the risk is that a worker will actually stagnate or even fall behind on the career ladder while he’s out of his home country as someone else does his job. Ward, meanwhile, talked of the culture shock cycle – how you bottom out following your initial excitement and then have to work to find a new happiness and comfort level.
Ward spoke to Klotz and his students at the INTO facility in London, and the group visited Robert at Experian’s London office. Other adventures in London included a doubledecker bus tour, a cruise on the River Thames, a visit to the Tower of London, a trip to the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone, a viewing of “Julius Caesar” at the Globe Theatre, a tour of Parliament, a stop at the Meantime Brewing Company and a ride on the London Eye, a giant Ferris wheel on the bank of the Thames.
Among the day-trip destinations outside of London were the south-coastal city of Brighton, Windsor Castle, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.
“The most significant thing I learned from the trip was how to navigate a new culture and country on my own,” said Jamie Dauterman, a senior in marketing. “There is something special about being immersed in a new culture and being expected to understand what is going on.”
Dauterman’s fellow American students on the journey were Jacob Fineran, Cody Heim, Andrew Mason and Melinda Valdivia. The international students were Hajer Alfakher, Huiling Huang, Sisi Li, Wei Wang and Shanshan Ye.
“The trip was amazing,” said Alfakher, a senior majoring in business information systems.
“Once you let go, everything gets easier. I didn’t think that I would enjoy the class period, but I did. My classmates were nice and we got closer to each other with time. And Professor Klotz is one of my favorites – he’s great, helpful, and having this chance was amazing.”
Like Alfakher, Klotz took note of how well the group of 10 connected.
“They quickly formed a strong bond, even though they themselves are from very different cultures,” Klotz said. “It makes it very easy to teach cross-cultural management with such an exceptional group of students from such diverse backgrounds.”
Dauterman said she would do the trip again “in a heartbeat.”
“I do not feel as though students fathom working overseas as a possibility, but it is a real option, and companies actively seek people willing and able to be expatriates,” she said. “I believe this trip helped me obtain a deeper grasp on how other people live and what other cultures are like, as well as fostered the opportunity for growth in my own abilities, opinions and values. I will cherish this trip, the experiences I’ve had and the friendships I’ve made for the rest of my life.”
