As the Canadian market becomes increasingly more globalized, acquiring a post-graduate education in international business management can give you the tools and knowledge you need to do business overseas.
The benefit with being in this kind of program is that it's just the way business is being done these days, says Janice Brown, coordinator of the international business management program at Seneca College, in Toronto. It's done globally.
From masters' degrees to college certificates, students have several post-graduate opportunities to specialize in international management. Having many different options out there is great, says Dr. Pedro Márquez, dean of the faculty of management at Royal Roads University (RRU) in Victoria, B.C. If a student wants to go to China for three years, they can. Programs have been designed to send people overseas. There are also programs that focus less on the people side, and more on international law and putting together marketing campaigns.
RRU offers a one-year masters program in global management, combining the business competencies with cross-cultural management. It focuses on the business aspects, including finance and marketing, says Dr. Márquez. But there's also a heavy weight in the people side.
Recent alum, Marc Tass├®, found the cultural component the most beneficial. It isn't just business practices, like you would learn in an MBA, he says. We learned finance, economics, and business strategy. But we took those concepts and learned how it's happening in North America and how it's happening in other countries.
Seneca's program also combines both elements. It's everything from consulting across cultures, trade research, and banking. It's a little bit of everything, says Brown. There are courses more business-oriented and other courses focused on applying the knowledge at a global level.
Consider the post-graduate certificate in international management, offered by Fleming College in Peterborough, Ontario. Our program is more focused on international business than cross-cultural management, says Russell Turner, coordinator of the program, who adds students get a taste of marketing, finance, accounting, management, and importing and exporting.
Students can enter these programs from different backgrounds, says Dr. Márquez. There's no particular discipline (needed). A bachelor of commerce would be a great idea, since they learn about the business aspect. But a bachelor's degree in sociology or geography would be great as well, since they appreciate different cultures. What we need are people who are highly interested in learning about international business and travelling around the world.
One of the greatest benefits of the program is also the greatest challenge, which according to Tass├®, is the cross-cultural teamwork. (It's) a very team-based program, he says, adding that RRU's program consists of about 50 percent domestic students and 50 percent international students. You're mixed up with people of different cultures and different backgrounds. When you get people from China, Russia, and Canada, working together, everyone has different mindsets.
Some programs offer internships, while others have applied research projects, to create hands-on learning experiences. Students are solving real business issues, says Turner.
Upon graduation, students can find an array of opportunities and earn anywhere between $85,000 to $100,000 a year, Dr. Márquez estimates. It's everything from marketing to financial planning to logistics, Brown says, adding that Seneca graduates are in roles ranging from business development and exports, to financial planning in Brazil.
Tass├® is now entertaining two job offers'one at a pharmaceutical company and one at an Australian biometrics company expanding to North America. He says a need exists for domestic companies looking to expand beyond Canada's borders and companies abroad who are expanding in North America. It's not necessarily someone who wants to work overseas, but someone interested in other cultures and other places. It's for someone who's looking for that bridge between cultures.
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