MEDIA RESOURCES

DATE:September 09, 2005

CONTACT: communications@mail.cox.smu.edu

A Class Trip to Cuba
Cox Executive MBAs Explore Business and Culture Opportunities

Dallas (SMU) – The SMU Cox Executive MBA (EMBA) Class of 2006 returned from Cuba on August 31 after a four-day visit. This marks the Cox School’s first international study trip to Cuba.

The group of 80, which included students and administrators, attended presentations on the Cuban economy, Cuba-U.S. bilateral relations, the Cuban public health system, and Cuban businesses and farming, along with cultural tours in Havana.

The trip gave Cox EMBAs the opportunity to dispel myths, experience the effects of the embargo, and witness first-hand future business opportunities in Cuba. In addition, the trip offered students a chance to compare and contrast the political and economic climates of two communist countries, as the EMBA class will travel to China in March 2006.

“Because of its proximity to the United States, Cuba is a natural market for American businesses,” said Tom Perkowski, director of the Cox EMBA Program. “After four days of intensive presentations, meetings, and tours, our students walk away with a much better understanding of what it would take to conduct business in Cuba’s economic and cultural climate.”

Only a handful of business schools across the country travel to Cuba. The group from SMU Cox was the largest and most senior group to make the trip, and they were pleased to be welcomed warmly.

“Going to Cuba, I had no idea what to expect, as my perceptions were based entirely on what I had heard and read in the media,” said Dharman Shetty, Cox EMBA and director of the Everest Group. “There was not a visible military or police presence as I was expecting. The Cuban people were friendly to us, and they appeared to be free to express their opinions. It wasn’t like someone was watching over them.”

Students witnessed the combined economic effects of Cuba’s communist ideology and the U.S. embargo. Living conditions were worse than students had expected, but they discovered that Cuba has invested heavily in its education and healthcare systems. Although constrained by availability of advanced medicines and medical technology, healthcare coverage appeared to be comparable to the more developed countries.

Shetty found that perhaps most surprising was the socio-economic impact of communist ideology, where people earn almost the same salaries, regardless of their qualifications and contributions to society. Some professionally educated and trained engineers seek work in hotels and as tour guides, earning more from tips than what they can earn working in their qualified line of work. “This is a major challenge to the Cuban government,” Shetty said. “While the Cuban people have managed to live life within the constraints of their government policies, they all strongly believe that their lives would be a lot better off, had it not been for the embargo that significantly limits Cuba’s ability to trade.”

About SMU Cox

SMU’s Cox School of Business offers a full range of business education programs, including BBA, full-time MBA, Professional MBA (PMBA), Executive MBA (EMBA), and Executive Education. The school also offers a number of unique resources and activities for students, ranging from its Business Leadership Center (BLC), Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship, and American Airlines Global Leadership Program (AAGLP) to its Associate Board Executive Mentoring Program and an international alumni network of more than 29,000. SMU Cox is ranked among the top business schools nationally and internationally by major publications, including BusinessWeek, Economist, Financial Times, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and U.S. News & World Report.

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