Experiential Learning Project on Doing Business in the ‘bottom-of-the-pyramid’ Markets of Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Collaboration across distance (considered a multidimensional concept, including space, culture, institutions) is the key challenge in international business (IB) (Taras et al., 2012). In developing practical assignments for IB courses, instructors should account for these dimensions. The increased need for truly global managers has led many business schools to include in their curricula courses on cross-culture management and to devise tools which may efficiently prepare students to work in a multicultural environment (Taras et al., 2013). However, in order to develop global competences, cross-cultural training should be complemented with actual cultural immersion (MacNab & Worthley, 2012). In the real-life business world, cultural immersion is provided by international assignments, and there are less opportunities for cultural immersion within the classroom. There are, however, some solutions to provide students with these opportunities.