GLOBAL SCHOLARS. Portland State University’s (PSU) Master of International Management (MIM) program has been training business leaders to thrive in the rapidly emerging international markets of Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore since 1995. Pictured are students on the summer 2007 Asian field study trip. (Photo courtesy of the PSU MIM program)

From The Asian Reporter, V18, #1 (January 1, 2008), page 11 & 13.

By Ian Blazina

Since 1995, Portland State University’s (PSU) Master of International Management (MIM) program has been training business leaders to thrive in the rapidly emerging international markets of Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore. Through an intensive program of Asia-tailored international business classes coupled with Japanese and Mandarin language instruction, Asian politics, and intercultural communication curricula, the MIM program equips students to navigate the cross-cultural business landscape of East Asia and the Pacific Rim.

Asia’s economic boom began in the 1980s when Japan emerged as a global economic superpower, becoming the second largest economy in the world. More recently, the gradual opening of China to international trade, as well as significant growth in the economies of other Asian nations, has created a regional economy that rivals the combined economic power of the United States and Europe. With half of Asia’s population projected to live in urban areas by 2025 and the expectation that East Asia will become the largest overall consumer region on the planet in the next 15 years, MIM aims to empower local business- people to take advantage of Asia’s economic windfall through culture-specific business training and hands-on experience.

In addition to more traditional business specializations like marketing, supply chain management, and finance, MIM also offers specialized tracks in global corporate sustainability and international non-governmental organization leadership.

The global corporate sustainability focus teaches students how global corporations can manage financial, social, and environmental concerns with an awareness of their responsibility to the local communities and environs they profit from. The international non-governmental organization (INGO) leadership track focuses on building the skills needed to organize and lead INGOs in their missions of working toward social justice, ecological stewardship, and economic welfare for global and local communities.

Recognizing the importance of intercultural competence and language proficiency, the program emphasizes familiarity with Asian social customs, business protocol, history, politics, and conversational fluency. And with 40 to 50 percent of each graduating class comprised of foreign nationals, students are given the opportunity for extensive intercultural socialization.

In order to give students some real-world experience of business in the Asia market, each graduating class takes a three-week trip to the Asian business capitols of Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, and Beijing, where students are given the opportunity to network with company executives and practice their language and intercultural business skills first hand. Students are also required to complete a research project that frequently involves working with companies that have Asian business concerns or travelling to Asia to conduct market research.

"Companies are increasingly looking for business professionals with critical thinking abilities, a breadth of international business knowledge and specific job-relevant skill sets," said Scott Marshall, executive director of the MIM program. "The Master of International Management Program at Portland State University combines core graduate business courses and depth in international business expertise with language, culture, and a three-week tour of Asian business capitals … This is a cutting-edge program that prepares business professionals for the realities of the global economy."

To learn more about Portland State University’s Master of International Management program, call (503) 725-2275, e-mail <mim@sba.pdx.edu>, or visit <www.mim.pdx.edu>.