Michigan State University Center for International Business Education and Research C I B E R     N E W S

September, 1996 Volume 7, Number 3

This past month was hectic with activities, new initiatives, and visitors. Several Broad College faculty were involved in a day- long workshop for some 100 representatives of the automotive components industry. Co-sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers, this Detroit event focused on the globalization of auto suppliers, covering the special challenges for these companies in partnering with overseas businesses. We received very good feedback on the value of this workshop, which included representatives from Delphi, Johnson Controls, TRW, The Budd Company, Siemens, and Bosch.

The second class of MSU’s Export Academy just completed their year-long study of international expansion strategies and techniques. They will be receiving their certificates at a special ceremony scheduled in December.

MSU-CIBER also participated in the Global Leadership Conference of the American Marketing Association in Chicago recently. The conference brought together, for the first time, professional marketing associations from over 15 countries who then exchanged views on future collaborations.

MSU-CIBER also consulted the Old Dominion University’s business school on the offering of a Ph.D. program in International Business. Several regional colleges and universities also received speakers, resources or funding from MSU-CIBER.

MSU-CIBER is now making plans to offer FDIB programs in International Business, International Management, International Marketing and International Finance. These will be hosted by the University of Memphis CIBER during 19-23 June 1997. A separate seminar is also planned for business school deans and chairpersons.

Many other initiatives are underway, including the development of a new overseas study program in Beijing, China, for undergraduate students, and development of executive education programs in China, Korea and Turkey. We hope to share these with you in future newsletters.

S. Tamer Cavusgil

New Faculty Highlight: Gyula Vastag

Dr. Gyula Vastag will direct the business management overseas study progam in Europe.

MSU CIBER joins the marketing and supply chain management department in welcoming Dr. Gyula Vastag to the faculty as an assistant professor. Dr. Vastag joins MSU after several years as a visiting professor and senior research associate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Vastag currently teaches MGT402 "Manufacturing Planning and Control" and will also teach a doctoral seminar this spring. His research efforts include the study of corporate environmental strategies and the relationship of manufacturing practices to firm performance. Vastag is also directing the overseas study program on international business management in Europe. "I am very excited about it," said Vastag. "It is my firm belief that its core theme—international supply chain management—can provide the first steps toward a research project and, potentially, to the development of a new class." In pursuance with his interest in environmental corporate strategies, Vastag has recently published an article titled "International Environmental Standards and Corporate Policies: An Integrative Framework" in the fall issue of the California Management Review. The article contends that "cleaner" technologies by themselves will not be effective unless firms can fundamentally re-evaluate their relationship with the environment. In light of emerging environmental standards such as EMAS and ISO 14000, the article describes how corporations can assess what an environmental management system might mean for their company and evaluate its consequences on their firm’s performance. Originally from Hungary, the Vastag family has spent the last five years at UNC Chapel Hill, where Vastag is afraid they were spoiled by the mild weather. He does note, however, that Michigan’s climate is much like Hungary’s.

In conjunction with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), MSU CIBER held a one day workshop on automotive exporting in Detroit. Held on Dec. 2, the workshop preceded SAE’s annual Global Vehicle Development Conference at the Westin Hotel on Dec. 2-5.

MSU program presenters at the six-hour workshop included CIBER Executive Director S. Tamer Cavusgil; Myron Miller, Director of Executive Development Programs; Marc Santucci, President of ELM International, Inc.; and international business law professor Paulette Stenzel.

The conference brings together automakers, suppliers, and other related industries from all over the world to discuss globalization issues. MSU CIBER was very pleased with the response it received from its workshop and hopes to participate in the conference again next year.

Graduate students pursuing a degree in international development or related fields may be eligible for a fellowship from the Center for Advanced Study of International Development (CASID).

The Foreign Language and Areas Studies (FLAS) fellowship is open to students enrolled in a program that combines the study of a modern foreign language with advanced training and research in international development or related aspects of professional or other fields of study.

The FLAS fellowship supports the study of Arabic, Portuguese and Swahili at all competence levels, and the study of Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish at intemediate and advanced proficiency levels. Award benefits include payment of tuition and fees up to $10,000 during Fall and Spring Semesters of the fellowship year, as well as a $10,000 stipend for the academic year. Deadline for applications for the 1997-98 award year is February 14, 1997.

For more information regarding this fellowship, contact Gail Campana (gail.campana@ssc.msu.edu) at the CASID office, 306 Berkey Hall, or call at 353-5925.

In collaboration with MSU CIBER, the Center for Language Education and Research (CLEAR) will sponsor a 12-day intensive workshop for secondary school teachers of French, German, Russian, and Spanish designed to combine teacher education and training with a total immersion experience.

The Taos Institute for Language Teachers (TILT) will be held July 21-–August 1, 1997, at the Thunderbird Lodge in Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico. Participants will attend several workshops taught in English by prominent experts in the field, as well as participate in non-English only training activities. Workshops are designed to be completely interactive.

Content for the institute was established with the help of several secondary teachers. National standards, technology and cross-curricular language training were identified as workshop priorities. Target language workshops will focus on language, pedagogy and current political and cultural events.

Total cost of the TILT program will be $700, which includes all fees, three meals a day and double room occupancy. However, all teachers accepted into the program will receive a stipend based on annual income. Participants must pay for their own travel.

MSU CIBER is pleased to be hosting 3 visitors from the land down under, as part of a collaboration between the Broad College and participating APEC universities.
Professors Peter Liesch, Duncan Poulson and Dean Peter Dowling from the University of Tasmania in Australia will be collaborating with Professor Georgia Chao and other faculty in the Broad Business School.

Internationalizing Business Education: Issues and Recommendations by Leading Educators, 1992.

Internationalizing Doctoral Education in Business: Issues and Recommendations by Leading Educators, 1995.

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Document last modified on November 1, 1996.