MEDIA RESOURCES

CONTACT: communications@mail.cox.smu.edu

DALLAS, Texas (SMU) -- SMU's Cox School of Business is sending all of its first-year MBA students on a global business experience beginning this weekend. For the next two weeks, the MBA students, divided into three groups, will visit major cities in Asia (Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Taipei), Europe (London, Paris, and Munich), and Latin America (Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Santiago) as part of the American Airlines Global Leadership Program (AAGLP). The AAGLP is a mandatory program unique to the Cox School. No other business school has ever offered an intensive two-week global program to an entire MBA class.

The students will tour 15 - 20 companies throughout their prospective region, meeting with executives, managers, workers, and government representatives. They will compare both industries and functions across regions and around the world, examining how marketing approaches vary among countries, how culture influences the manner in which business is conducted, and how government and trade regulation affect overall economic structure.

"I'm looking forward to embarking on this learning adventure," said Jennifer Moses, first-year MBA student. "Latin America is vastly different from what many of us know in the United States. We've become spoiled by our industrialized and developed nation, taking many of its benefits for granted. I'm looking forward to moving beyond the academic discourse of fiscal and monetary policies toward the inherent dynamics of the culture. I'll be able to see the impact of the country's history, language, and traditions at the ground level. I'll see the influence of a country's cultural identity on its methods for and ability to generate more cash and capital in the face of its suffering currency."

In the months preceding their trip, the students participated in monthly orientation sessions with foreign consular representatives, global corporate representatives, government officials, and university experts, including the Consul Generals from China, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom as well as representatives from the Federal Reserve Bank. When they return from their global visits, the students will participate in a symposium on the SMU campus to share their observations with the Cox School and the Dallas business community. American Airlines CEO Don Carty will be the symposium's keynote speaker.

"The AAGLP gives our students a firsthand, extensive understanding of foreign business environments and complexities, a knowledge and perspective employers look for and leaders need," said Linda Kao, director of MBA international programs at the Cox School. "Understanding business today requires understanding diverse culture and history."

Funded by American Airlines, AAGLP is also offered at no charge to the students. Over 40 companies around the world participate in and support this program.

The students, who will be visiting 47 participating companies worldwide, will be leaving from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in three groups:

Asia - Associates First Capital, Baosteel, Cathay, Citibank, CMC, Coca-Cola, Enron, Goldman Sachs, Hua-Tung Computers, Ichia, Nanya Tech, NTT, REI, SGM, Sony, TCC, Texas Instruments, UPS, US Embassy

Europe - Allianz, Aventis, Bayerische Landesbank, BMW, Carrefour, COFACE, Credit Lyonnais, Enron, Euronext, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Kimberley Clark, KPMG, Marks & Spencer, Siemens

Latin America - ABN AMRO Bank, Banco Santiago, Central Bank, CMPC, Codelco, CTI Movil, Cuprum, Embraer, Embratel, Ernst & Young, Ford, Group Techint/Siderca Plant, Lojas Renner, Petrobras, Rede Globo, Vina Santa Rita