Page 9 - Global Focus, Issue 2, 2018

Business education: international learning '4.0' | Anna Blombäck, Yvonne Carlisle, Andrew Gaudes and Ulrich Hommel

nternationalisation is a high-priority issue for business schools and multinational organisations
Ibusiness schools as they seek international – are used to verify the international standard of
applicants for their degree programmes, source management education.
faculty talent globally, interact with non- But what often appears missing is a more
academic stakeholders abroad and establish explicit understanding of what internationalisation
campuses overseas. means in the context of learning; that is, moving
In this article we challenge whether business beyond coverage of different geographies in the
schools undertake such activities for reasons facilitation and management of learning outcomes,
and in ways that are conducive to international which all too often suffers from institutional
learning for students. Based on the notion that decoupling.
an international dimension is essential for Intercultural mix in the classroom will not
management education and student learning, automatically lead to an adequate amalgam
we elaborate why current practices are not fully in terms of learning; a good track record of
capturing the potential benefits. graduates entering international management
We then turn to the organisation of careers could also be related to personal
international learning, initially in a more traditional attributes rather than the learning experience
context and subsequently by exploring how provided by the school. The ultimate litmus test
current sector dynamics can act as an accelerator is whether students are acquiring the ability to
for further innovation and development. The manage effectively in diverse cultural contexts.
underpinning conjecture is that international How, then, can business schools successfully
learning would benefit from an “Industry 4.0”-type transform their approach and secure an influence
transformation. on this particular aspect of students' learning?
Internationalisation involves a process of We are proposing to turn the described
integrating an international perspective into practice on its head and apply a framework that
the purpose and legitimacy of management borrows from the well-known structure-conduct-
education. More concretely, international learning performance paradigm.
intends to develop competencies in students At its core is “conduct”, which represents
that enable them to manage in culturally diverse the design of the learning activity (the “doing”);
environments. They are acquiring the ability to this needs to be supported by “structure”,
perceive, analyse and utilise cultural differences implying the supply and diversity of learning
in pursuit of well-defined business objectives. resources (“inputs”); and should lead to some
By extending the boundaries of personal form of measurable “performance” (“outputs”).
comfort zones beyond cultural divides, students Assurance of learning serves as a glue
are transformed into international citizens. between these components, ensuring
As such, they become sought-after graduates systematic reinforcement and also supporting
due to their ability to reflect and articulate the the interlinkage between programme objectives
competencies required to help organisations and institutional strategy.
succeed in the international arena. Ultimately, the three elements of content,
International learning is conventionally pedagogy and assessment must be aligned as
described and managed in structural terms interrelated components. Curriculum design
such as geographical diversity in the classroom must allow for the cultural contextualisation
(with regards to origin of both students and of academic methodologies and practical
faculty), international curriculum and case study narratives, which needs to be facilitated with
work, and student mobility. targeted learning activities, for example involving
In addition, proxies such as international cultural immersion (such as study tours,
partnership portfolios – including reputable group activities, mentoring and internships).
7