Department of Business Management
Go Global!
"All business is international business. Your competition is not the person on the other side of the room; it's the person on the other side of the world." — Professor Terry Scout
"Hey, hey, tú, tú / Odio a tu novia!": Turns out even in Spanish Avril Lavigne doesn't like your girlfriend. To boost global sales of her 2007 CD "The Best Damn Thing," the Canadian-born Lavigne recorded the chorus of its lead single, "Girlfriend," in eight languages. Besides English and Spanish, she sang the chorus in French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Japanese, and even Mandarin (reaching an audience of 1.4 billion Chinese can't be a bad idea). Has Avril's global strategy worked? Yes! In 2007 "Girlfriend" was a top-ten hit around the world, from Japan to Mexico to Europe, and it scored as Avril's biggest seller ever in the United States. Even the music business is going global!
Download a PDF that briefly outlines global learning opportunities through the Department of Business Management.
Why Study Abroad?
The real world requires knowledge of and experience in the international arena, and now, so does Washington College...
The Working Capital Program
"The arm of commerce has borne away at the gates of the strong city... Oceans no longer divide, but link nations together."
—Frederick Douglass, Fourth of July Oration 1862.
In our modern, connected world, Douglass' words are even more relevant than they were were a century and a half ago. Today, "the arm of commerce" stretches across the globe, and firms compete in a global marketplace. To prepare future leaders for this dynamic world, Washington College's Business Management department created a global learning component, the Working Capital Program.
This component can be fulfilled by:
- a semester studying abroad
- any 4-credit or more study-abroad experience
- two international studies courses. One must be chosen from either BUS 310 International Business or BUS 311 Global Business Strategy. The other may be chosen from any 200-level or higher course in any major, as listed under the International Studies program (including special-topics courses)
- foreign language study through the 202 level
Studying abroad is the most popular way to fulfill the department's Working Capital requirement. It allows you to experience other cultures, values, people and places and, by offering a new perspective on your own culture, it stimulates your ability to think critically. In today's job market, the skillset and the mindset you develop from studying abroad are hot commodities.
Summer Program in China
Shanghai Security Exchange. Peking Duck dinners. Zhang Jiang High-Tech Zone. Tai Chi.
For a unique combination of culture and college credit, WC professor Terry Scout is looking to China. In the summer of 2008, Scout and nearly twenty business students traveled to Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong for a course in International Business Experience (BUS 330). The group learned about international business and economics at law firms and the University of International Business & Economics but also had the chance to experience Chinese culture through activities such as a a kung fu show and a visit to the Great Wall of China.
The cost of the two-week trip covered travel expenses, hotel rooms, transportation within China, most meals and tuition for the 4-credit course.