(ARA) -- The concept of a global economy is no longer just a concept. It's a fact! Businesses large and small, profit and nonprofit, are stretching across time zones to international venues. As a result, college students and business entrepreneurs are quickly realizing they must keep pace with the global marketplace. Internships that just a couple years ago placed college students inside corporate skyscrapers in American cities are now placing American interns in such international locales as Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Two professors at Northwestern College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, teamed up to launch an International Business major five years ago that places students in six-month internships with businesses in Japan. Charles Kuivinen, professor of Business and chair of the business department, spent 25 years with such enterprises as Ford Motor Company, Purex and 12 years in his own financial consulting/human resource enterprise. Russ Lunak, assistant professor of Bible and Business Administration, spent 17 years in Japan as a missionary, a Christian education consultant and director of the Japan Missionary Language Institute.
"This is not about international education," Kuivinen explains. "It's country-specific. Other collegiate programs don't work because they focus on just the academic. For this type of program to succeed it needs a business man, a linguist, an anthropologist and a field expert in such areas as physics, engineering or accounting."
Initially funded with a $50,000 grant from 3M, the Northwestern international business major includes an intense study of the Japanese language and culture and a six-month on-the-job intern experience in Japan. Companies who have opened their doors to Northwestern interns include Cargill Japan, Wakabayshi Patent Company and Sumitomo-3M. So pleased with the Northwestern interns who know both the Japanese language and culture as well as 21st century business principles, the Japanese are clamoring for more interns. Through semi-annual visits to Japan where they network with businesses and the American Embassy, Kuivinen and Lunak have found many other businesses eager to welcome American student interns. They have even found interest among American-based businesses in China.
The demand for the business interns has exceeded the college's supply, leading Kuivinen and Lunak to launch their own not-for-profit corporation - Minnesota Organization for Global Professional Assignments (MOGPA) - that places undergraduate students from public and private colleges in 6 to 12 month international internships. With seed money from the Minnesota Legislature, MOGPA hopes to raise $1 million in the next year to develop the overseas contacts necessary to place students in short-term entry-level professional jobs in Japan and China. For now, MOGPA is primarily for students from Minnesota colleges, but their doors are open to those from other states.
MOGPA goes beyond the typical cultural exchange or study-abroad programs and it's a step beyond an internship, Kuivinen and Lunak explain. They believe that only by living and working side-by-side with ordinary people in Asia can Americans really get to know the people and culture. "These interns will move into leadership positions, get more education and will be the global leaders of the future," Kuivinen said.
Northwestern senior Tim Tacheny, who returned from Japan in December after six months at Wakabayshi Patent Agency, said American businesses need to be more aggressive in developing foreign relationships, "Large companies already are very aggressive, but small businesses need to adopt the same attitude," he said. "We are living in an economy that is globalizing, which means competition -- even for small local companies -- isn't just domestic anymore. The best attitude for any business is to be pro-active, not just reactive when a company from the other side of the globe starts competing for customers."
Tacheny's internship experience taught him that working in any foreign environment requires an attitude of perseverance and not settling for mediocrity. He also learned about the Japanese work ethic. "In watching Japanese people interact in the office I learned that they are very patient with one another," he observed. "When someone makes a mistake there's no outburst of anger. They don't focus on blaming someone, they focus on correcting the error. The person who makes the mistake doesn't make excuses, he simply fixes the problem."
Lunak and Kuivinen describe MOGPA as a clearinghouse for college students who are required to be seniors or graduates with skills in business, science or engineering and be able to communicate in Japanese or Chinese. Interns must be able to step into a job and quickly make a meaningful contribution to an employer. MOGPA will help students plan college course-work, obtain jobs, housing and visas. For more information about MOGPA, the mailing address is: 678 Lake Pine Drive, Shoreview, MN 55126. The phone number is (612) 481-0583; fax (612)481-0592. The e-mail address is: mogpa@aol.com.
For more information, contact Naomi L. Bloom, Public Relations Director, Northwestern College, 3003 Snelling Avenue North, Saint Paul, MN 55113-1598. Phone: 612-6331-5274 E-mail: nlb@nwc.edu
Courtesy of Article Resource Association, www.aracopy.com
