Teaching and program variations in international business: Past, present and future

The pressures of a complex and ever-changing global environment demand rapid and continuous change and innovation in business education. The challenge for public and private universities alike is to convert existing threats into lucrative market opportunities by developing need-oriented educational programs and offerings. The emphasis in active or project-based learning is on engaging students in experiences that require the active application of course ideas or theories. The Ohio University program described utilizes a project-based action learning approach to assist undergraduates to learn “global competence.” Virtual teamwork is a growing phenomenon in the modern workplace and new groupware technologies makes it increasingly practical. The objective of education-related organizational learning should be to achieve superior learning in international marketing, subsequently providing a competitive advantage for students in their major. In general, the students surveyed were unimpressed by the quality of their education, particularly on preparing them for interactions with foreign individuals.