Doing Business in Emerging Markets

Emerging Markets Student Profile: Ryall Stroud

April 22, 2018 Janet Lord Leave a Comment

Name: Ryall Stroud

Program/major: Corporate Residency MBA

Career aspirations: I am in the second year of the program, specializing in finance. I am very interested in public market finance and hope to work in equity research or investment management.

Why were you interested in taking this course, Doing Business in Emerging Markets?

I was interested because of the incredible opportunity to expand my knowledge on emerging markets, particularly in Latin America. In the MBA program we spend relatively little time on international countries and markets, even though many of these nations are expected to significantly outpace worldwide economic growth. By taking a course specifically on two countries and then visiting those countries at the end of the term, it provides a unique opportunity to truly immerse oneself in their respective cultures and see how business there operates.

What do you expect to learn from your visit to Chile and Argentina?

I expect to learn more about traditions and customs and how they impact typical businesses. I also hope to learn what drives the respective economies and what factors are observed as limitations in each country.

How do you think this experience will impact your future career?

I think this experience has the potential to have a significant impact on my career. As one who hopes to be researching or investing in companies, knowledge of how business is conducted in Latin American countries will be invaluable if I am ever put in a position to assess emerging markets. As well, I believe this course will open my eyes to new ways of thinking and a different perspective of how the world is viewed/understood.

Emerging Markets Student Profile: Lauren Anderson

April 22, 2018 Janet Lord Leave a Comment

Name: Lauren Anderson

Program/major: Bachelor of Management (4th year)

Career aspirations: My goal is to continue my education in the Corporate Residency MBA Program before pursuing a career in International Business.

Why were you interested in taking this course, Doing Business in Emerging Markets?

I was initially interested in this course to have the experience of traveling to two new countries. Although I love to travel, I have never had the opportunity to go outside of North America. Upon learning more about the course, what was of particular interest to me was that we would be able to work with MBA students. Since my next educational goal is to enroll in that program, it has been an amazing opportunity for me to ask them questions and hear their perspectives.

What do you expect to learn from your visit to Chile and Argentina?

I expect to learn both the challenges and opportunities of expanding one’s business to another country. I hope to experience different cultural factors in Chile and Argentina, so that I can have a more well-rounded perspective on the countries as a whole.

How do you think this experience will impact your future career?

I believe this experience will have various impacts on my future career. Before this course, I was not sure which direction in business I wanted to pursue. I have been able to discover that International Business is an area that I would like to explore for a future career. Being able to work with a real business as part of your undergraduate degree allows you to see how the course material you have been learning in your classes fits into a professional atmosphere.

Emerging Markets Student Profile: Marina Silva

April 22, 2018 Janet Lord 1 Comment

Name: Marina Silva

Program/major: Bachelor of Commerce (International Business)

Career aspirations: My career aspirations include working with exports and business development and collaborating with my family business to expand operations and reach for new markets.

Why were you interested in taking this course, Doing Business in Emerging Markets?

I considered this a unique opportunity to participate in a course with a select set of students in which I could share experiences and take a much more hands-on approach to learning than in regular courses. Also, I am particularly interested in emerging markets. I am from Brazil and part of my career plan is giving back to my country someday through doing business with Brazilian companies. That being said, this course was the perfect opportunity to be part of a course to push myself to reach higher standards and gain knowledge and experience doing business in emerging markets.

What do you expect to learn from your visit to Chile and Argentina?

Being an international student brought me awareness of how countries and people differ and how rich these relationships can be rather than scary. Through meetings with business people from Chile and Argentina I expect to learn about aspects they value in a business relationship, cultural values that are part of doing business in their region, and how much they differ from my own Brazilian culture. Also, I do expect to learn about their regions, capabilities, perceptions of the Canadian culture and ways of living.

How do you think this experience will impact your future career?

I believe this experience can impact my future career by bringing me confidence and knowledge on business relationships with Latin Americans. I am fortunate to be chosen to be part of this group and for having Latin roots, which will ease any future business development with Latin American countries. Moreover, exchanging experiences and information with our professors, partner companies, EDC and other Canadian officials is enriching my network of contacts, which is a valuable and unique resource students can bring with them after graduation.

Emerging Market Student Profile: Melissa Ogilvie

April 22, 2018 Janet Lord Leave a Comment

Name: Melissa Ogilvie

Program/major: Corporate Residency MBA

Career aspirations: I have a keen interest in pursuing a career in management consulting, particularly business and corporate-level strategy-related consulting. Following graduation in the fall, I will be working at Deloitte in its Strategy & Operations Consulting practice. More specifically, I will be working in the Public-Sector Transformation service line.

Why were you interested in taking this course, Doing Business in Emerging Markets?

I was interested in taking the course because international expansions are becoming prevalent in the strategies of today’s businesses. Not only are international expansions increasing as a whole, but also businesses are looking for emerging markets to enter. I took this course to gain general knowledge on emerging markets, as well as insight into the factors businesses must consider prior to expanding globally. Further, by working directly with an Atlantic Canada business wanting to expand its operations into an emerging market, I will be able to fully grasp these concepts, while also assisting a local company.

What do you expect to learn from your visit to Chile and Argentina?

In my opinion, the optimal way to learn is through hands-on experience. Therefore, by visiting Chile and Argentina, I will be able to further grasp the concepts taught in the Doing Business in Emerging Markets course. More precisely, as successful global expansion requires a deep understanding of a country’s culture, visiting these countries will provide me with a better understanding of cultural aspects that may have an impact on businesses expanding to these locations.

How do you think this experience will impact your future career?

Businesses are expanding globally to new destinations. Thus, I believe that to thrive in today’s business environment, employees must gain cross-cultural literacy. By gaining a deep understanding of the customs, perspectives and business practices in Chile and Argentina, I will be better equipped to help businesses wanting to expand operations to these countries. Further, by developing an openness to learn about new cultures, I will be able to better understand the cultures of various countries, thereby providing me with the ability to help businesses wanting to expand internationally.

Emerging Market Student Profile: Louis Gauvin

April 22, 2018 Janet Lord Leave a Comment

Name: Louis Gauvin

Program/major: Bachelor of Management (Globalization)

Career aspirations: As I prepare to graduate this fall I am excited to pursue a career in International Business or Intercultural Consulting. I am passionate about global business development and learning about intercultural differences to ensure a successful business model can be applied in the new environment.

Why were you interested in taking this course, Doing Business in Emerging Markets?

This course provides the opportunity to test and apply my passions in a real-world situation. For me, it is the culmination of what I have learned during my degree studies.

What do you expect to learn from your visit to Chile and Argentina?

I am excited to go to Chile and Argentina and compare what I’ve learned with what the culture looks like on the ground. Is it accurate? Do the data lack perspective?

How do you think this experience will impact your future career?

I hope this course confirms that the passions I have identified through my education are equally as exciting and engaging in a career/real-world setting.

Emerging Markets Student Profile: Brian Abelseth

April 5, 2018 Janet Lord Leave a Comment

Name: Brian Abelseth

Program/major: Corporate Residency MBA (corporate residency at Deloitte Consulting)

Career aspirations: After graduation, my goal is to continue pursuing a career in management consulting with a focus on information technology strategy and architecture. After gaining experience in the Canadian market, my hope is to transition to work in a global context. My personal career interest is in how organizations bridge the communication and collaboration gap between technical IT and non-technical business units.

Why were you interested in taking this course, Doing Business in Emerging Markets?

I was interested because of how relevant emerging markets are for the Canadian economy and overall continued globalization. I’m also interested because of the potential that emerging markets have for my own career growth. High-population-growth markets such as India and Africa are really exciting, in my opinion.

What do you expect to learn from your visit to Chile and Argentina?

I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned in the course to the real world of an emerging market. I’m also interested to learn how much of the course theory aligns with real life practice, and to test my assumptions about working in an emerging market such as Argentina or Chile.

How do you think this experience will impact your future career?

I think it will have a really positive impact on my career. The course uses experiential learning to teach a blend of economics, global markets and strategy to build a really deep understanding of international business in emerging markets. I think this knowledge and the way it is taught will give me a lot more context in understanding the positives and negatives of working in an emerging market. I also feel that experiencing different cultures has a really positive impact on an individual’s personal and professional development.

Emerging Markets Student Profile: Olivia Koetke

April 5, 2018 Janet Lord Leave a Comment

Name: Olivia Koetke

Program/major: Bachelor of Management (Management and Globalization)

Career aspirations: I am interested in a career in consulting that would allow me to work in a fast-paced, international environment.

Why were you interested in taking this course, Doing Business in Emerging Markets?

World travel has been a lifelong passion of mine, so I was extremely interested when I first heard about this course. I transferred into Management after spending two years studying Costume Design, so a full-term study abroad was never a viable option for me because it would delay my graduation even further. This course gave me the opportunity to gain international experience without prolonging my undergraduate studies. As I learned more about the program, I was drawn to the experiential learning aspect. The course provides a unique opportunity for students from the BMgmt, BComm and CRMBA programs to work with real companies. Everyone brings a different perspective to the table and it makes for a really interesting and dynamic learning environment.

What do you expect to learn from your visit to Chile and Argentina?

I hope to gain an understanding of the local business cultures of Santiago and Buenos Aires. I look forward to learning from local experts during our corporate visits, and I hope to verify some of the hypotheses we have made during our research. There are limitations to researching emerging markets, which have become more apparent in working on the first stages of our project in Canada. I hope that during our visit we can pick up on the cultural nuances that can only be experienced by visiting these countries.

How do you think this experience will impact your future career?

This experience has already impacted my future career. Before this course, I was uncertain as to which career path I should pursue after graduation. I have enjoyed this course so much that it has really focused my career aspirations toward something international. This program is a unique and enriching learning experience, and I believe that potential employers will see the value of that.

Emerging Markets Student Profile: Katherine Pease

April 5, 2018 Janet Lord Leave a Comment

Name: Katherine Pease

Program/major: Bachelor of Commerce (Entrepreneurship)

Career aspirations: I hope to continue my education and pursue a post-graduate degree in the future. My career aspirations include working with not-for-profit organizations and exploring sustainable agriculture.

Why were you interested in taking this course, Doing Business in Emerging Markets?

I was interested in taking the course for many reasons. To begin with, I want to understand how Canadian businesses navigate the changing global landscape. I want to gain a better understanding of the economic and cultural factors that shape Chile and Argentina. As well, the opportunity to work with local Atlantic companies is an exciting chance to apply course material to the real world.

What do you expect to learn from your visit to Chile and Argentina?

I expect to have a better understanding of cultural differences and similarities. I also expect to be able to identify the unique factors that differentiate the way business in done in those regions.

How do you think this experience will impact your future career?

It will impact my future career in many ways. Due to the invested market research and opportunity to visit the markets in person, I believe I will have a deeper appreciation for the Latin American markets, and may be an asset to a future employer. This experience has also inspired me to continue to look for learning opportunities abroad.

Emerging Markets Student Profile: Zhen Xiong

March 20, 2018 Janet Lord Leave a Comment

Name: Zhen Xiong

Program/major: Bachelor of Management (Entrepreneurship and Innovation)

Career aspirations: I would like to become a well-rounded business leader like my father. I strive to be a person with abundant knowledge about today’s globalized world, a person with an open mind to becoming more inclusive and educated about other cultures, and to be knowledgeable in my academic area so that one day I can utilize it to achieve my dream.

Why were you interested in taking this course, Doing Business in Emerging Markets?

I was interested in taking this course because I consider the opportunity to work with a real-life company on an international marketing project to be extremely valuable. I will benefit from working with and learning from my peers, professor and the managers of the company. I will have the chance to work on a project and the opportunity to visit Argentina and Chile to learn about the international business environment first-hand. This visit will enable me to communicate with the local business leaders and to learn international business context from the locals’ perspective.

What do you expect to learn from your visit to Chile and Argentina?

I hope that through my visit to Chile and Argentina, I can enlarge my perspective and refine my understanding of international business by learning from the local business leaders about their operations, what international business has brought to them and how they see global business opportunities and development in the next few years. As well, I will visit a continent that I have not been to yet. I cannot wait to see how culture varies among different areas and countries. Coming from China, I already experienced cultural difference in Canada; it excites me to find out how much I will learn about the local culture in South America.

How do you think this experience will impact your future career?

This experience will certainly further my interest in international business. It is a great chance for me to see how international business takes place in real life. It will also educate me on different cultures and perspectives. This visit will also encourage me to further study international business.

Emerging Markets Student Profile: Julie Bosch

March 20, 2018 Janet Lord Leave a Comment

Name: Julie Bosch

Program/major: Bachelor of Commerce (Finance)

Career aspirations: I would like to work for a few years in the oil and gas industry in my hometown of Calgary, Alberta, then attend law school and start a career as a lawyer.

Why were you interested in taking this course, Doing Business in Emerging Markets?

I became interested in the course because it provides the opportunity to get hands-on experience in international business. Both my father and grandfather spent much of their careers working with businesses in other countries and it was both challenging and rewarding for them. Because of them, I know the importance of learning about different cultures and how other countries conduct business. This course offered me the unique opportunity to learn through experience while still in university.

What do you expect to learn from your visit to Chile and Argentina?

I expect that the most significant lesson I will learn from this trip will be how business and culture differ from Canada, such as the different customs in business meetings and the process of creating a working relationship. Understanding what is customary in other countries is key to being able to conduct business there.

How do you think this experience will impact your future career?

I believe that this experience will make me a better businesswoman in the future. Having knowledge of international markets and learning about different countries will give me an advantage in the working world. I will be able to see things from a different perspective and will understand the work that must go in to developing relationships with companies outside Canada.

Category: Doing Business in Emerging Markets