How well do b-schools do global?

Not so hot, according to the a blue-ribbon committee report issued by AACSB International, the premier accrediting agency for US business schools.  I have not yet had a chance to read the report (200 plus pages but no executive summary), but press reports indicate that some of the concern deals with curriculum content.  For instance the Business Week article cites the fact that very few schools have international business departments and that globalization issues tend to be integrated across the curriculum as opposed to having separate courses on global issues.

I am sure that if NC State started to offer a concentration in global management we would get lots of interested students.  But ever since the creation of the College of Management, we have steered away from such offerings for a simple reason -- there are very few openings for "global managers" who lack depth in the traditional areas of business.

NC State has made great strides in developing a global presence.  The Poole College of Management has joined the International Partnership of Business Schools.  We have a dual degree Master of Global Innovation Management with IAE in Aix-en-Provence France.  The MBA program now does multiple study abroad trips each year.  Our college was instrumental in luring Skema Business School to Centennial Campus.  Can we do more? Sure -- and we plan to!  I welcome comments from students and faculty about what could we do better. 

Global labor markets

Capital markets have been global for quite some time, given the ease at which funds can be moved across borders.  Over the last 20 years, countries in Asia and Latin America with trainable labor available at relatively low wages have been able to attract investment from global corporations.  This has started to make the labor market global as well. 

Two recent WSJ op-eds suggest ways in which the US can become more competitive in that global labor market.  One theme I have been emphasizing on this blog is immigration policy.  Although I realize some people get very worked up about illegal immigration, there also are serious issues concerning the way in which the US prioritizes which legal immigrants can enter.  The Brookings Institution's Darrell West argues that we should allocate more visas to scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs in what he calls an "Einstein immigration policy."  Only 15% of visas are allocated to employment purposes, some of which are agricultural workers, whereas 64% are allocated to family reunification.  A change along these lines would make immigrants an engine of economic growth instead of a drain on existing resources. 

Economists Martin Baily, Matt Slaughter, and Laura Tyson did a study for McKinsey to focus on ways that the US can make itself more attractive to multinational firms.  Their key finding: "Today the US is in an era of global competition to attract, retain and grow the operations of multinational companies that it's never faced before."  Dozens of other countries are making policy changes and seeing the kind of economic growth that makes them more and more attractive to multinationals.  Among the major concerns cited in the article: tax policy and limits on skilled immigration.