Hi Everyone,

I had an interesting (and quite heated) discussion with several co-workers this morning about the fading strength of US leadership in the emerging global business economy (side note - what happened to the good old days when watercooler conversations were we discussed what happened to Costanza the night before on Seinfeld).

During our conversation, someone asked if aspiring global business leaders would be better prepared through an international MBA program vs. a US-based program.

Interesting question/observation.

Here is my two cents - as you probably know, most top US MBA programs are addressing the emerging global economy head on with relevant classes and activities to adequately prepare their students. This includes:

* coursework in global business disciplines (i.e. international finance, global marketing)

* Immersion/study abroad programs (from several weeks to full semester abroad)

* extra-curricular activities (country/region specific conferences, speaker series, cultural student clubs)

* increased recruitment of international students

* career services (international job treks, international employers)

Moreover, many international business leaders have MBAs from US programs and are often active alumni, in terms of fundraising, recruiting students and employers and representing the school in their home country.

With all of these resources available to students, I do not believe that to US MBA programs have less of a competitive advantage then international programs. Granted, there are many factors that play a role (i.e. school rankings/reputation, strength of alumni network in respective countries, company relationships, joint programs with domestic/international MBA programs).

But overall, I believe that most top US MBA programs have the resources to help students become successful business leaders in the global economy.

p.s. Constanza cheated in the ‘contest’ – it was reviled in the last episode!

Regards,

Nikhil