Now that the "Wall Street" vision of heavy-handed competitive business has given way to a new cooperative global exchange, MBAs head out of town--or out of the country--to pursue career opportunities. In fact, long before they have an MBA degree in hand, students travel to fulfill the requirements of their Master of Business Administration programs. Travel is so much a part of the contemporary business scene that even an online MBA degree program incorporates globalization into its curriculum.

Going global without leaving home...

Online or off, bachelor degree students can prepare for an international career by studying a foreign language. Some programs even offer courses in business conversation, giving students the specialized vocabulary they need to negotiate abroad. Students taking online master's degree courses may well be collaborating on projects with colleagues from all over the globe, getting an international education without setting foot outside of the country.

...or studying in an MBA degree program while going global!

Online MBA degree programs work both ways, allowing globe trotters the option of adding business degrees to their travel. Countries all over the world offer MBA programs for international students. With a laptop and the discipline to keep up with their coursework, students can travel for their companies while they participate in an online MBA degree program.

Travel starts in an MBA degree program...

Since the Masters of Business Administration graduate needs to grasp the global marketplace, MBA degree programs offer more than just classes in international marketing. Many have ties to businesses around the world and provide internship opportunities for study abroad. Internships let MBA candidates get up close and personal with other business cultures, learning their business practices firsthand.

...or before the MBA.

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group exemplifies the kind of global enterprise that both hires and makes MBAs. Members of the global marketing team work in regional offices in Hong Kong, New York, and London, while promoting the chain in China, India, and Russia. The company's marketing staff travels around the world. Employees who don't already have a Master's of Business receive support from Mandarin to help get one.

The benefit of business travel

Whether the MBA traveler sees the destination as different and exotic or a slice of home away from home doesn't seem to matter. Research shows that the mere experience of travel often proves sufficient enough to enhance learning. Adding a travel component to an international master's of business means adding the sensitivity to cultural difference that only immersion in another country's business community provides.

Global options for MBA graduates

Silicon Valley computer terminal manufacturer Wyse Technology typifies the business that's expanding across national borders, adding development teams in India and China and adding 120 jobs to its worldwide workforce. Asian and Indian companies increasingly hire American MBAs too, especially in technology and high end manufacturing. MBA graduates with language skills and business savvy won't be limited to the hotel chains and travel companies that represent just one segment of the ever-growing international corporate hiring pool.

Sources:
Dearlove, Des. "Laptop lessons on top of the world." The Times (United Kingdom) (May 12, 2003).
"Foreign exchange." Toronto Star (Canada) (Apr 18, 2004).
"Mandarin Oriental." Marketing (UK). (Jan 4, 2006).
Markoff, John and Matt Richtel. "Profit, Not Jobs, in Silicon Valley." Times online. (Jul 3, 2005).
Occupational Outlook Handbook. (www.bls.gov) (April 28, 2005).
Paul, Pallab and Kausiki Mukhopadhyay. "The Impact of International Travel component of the Executive MBA Curriculum on Participant Learning." Marketing Education Review 13.3 (Fall 2003).