Russia / Poland, May 2004

Companies today cannot afford to ignore the global currents of our business world. Managers, in everyday work situations, have to absorb and reflect on the global economy and how it affects his/her organization. The Global Business Residency is an intense immersion in a couple of emerging economies during which we explore the opportunities and risks of doing business in them. The questions we ask and the information we gather will provide a model that can be applied around the world.

In the past the program has visited Brazil, Chile, Argentina, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Russia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

The class of 2004 will once again travel to Russia and also visit Poland. We will arrive in Moscow on Sunday May 16, the capital of one of the largest, resource rich countries in the world. Over the next seven days, we will participate in several carefully structured sessions with business managers, government officials, financiers, technology experts and professors on doing business in Russia. Over the seven days in Russia, the students will have time to enjoy several of the cultural opportunities in and around Moscow. Late Sunday, we will travel to the spectacular, historic city of Warsaw for a week of similar experiences as in Moscow. Poland is a country that has transformed its economy from communism to capitalism, and it is on the verge of joining the European Union.

During these two weeks, class teams will be responsible for exploring the issues of entering a particular industry in these economies using a model that analyzes the cultural, economic, administrative and geographic differences that will be critical to a venture's success. The group will be separated into teams based on the areas defined above. At the beginning of the Global Business Residency, each team will report on its preliminary findings and provide a recommendation about entering these economies. On our last day, May 28, the teams will update their findings based on what they learned on the trip and make a joint recommendation on doing business in these economies.

You can find out more about Russia and Poland at the following sites:

• For general information about Russia and Poland, including currency, time zone and maps and weather: http://www.russia.com and http://www.poland.com
  
• For information on business customs in Russia and Poland: http://www.businessculture.com

Click here to see photos of the 2004 international trip