Bond University

ePublications@bond
Bond Business School Publications Bond Business School

11-1-2011

Empires of the mind: Cross cultural cooperative

business education
Keith Duncan
Bond University, [email protected]

Simone Kelly
Bond University, [email protected]

Raymond McNamara
Bond University, [email protected]

Follow this and additional works at: http://epublications.bond.edu.au/business_pubs

Part of the Accounting Commons, Business Administration, Management, and Operations
Commons, and the Economics Commons

Recommended Citation
Keith Duncan, Simone Kelly, and Raymond McNamara. (2011) "Empires of the mind: Cross
cultural cooperative business education" World journal of social sciences, 1 (5), 109-125: ISSN
1838-3785.

http://epublications.bond.edu.au/business_pubs/492

This Journal Article is brought to you by the Bond Business School at ePublications@bond. It has been accepted for inclusion in Bond Business School
Publications by an authorized administrator of ePublications@bond. For more information, please contact Bond University's Repository Coordinator.
 World Journal of Social Sciences
Vol. 1. No. 5. November 2011. Pp.109-125

Empires of the Mind: Cross Cultural Cooperative Business

Education
Keith Duncan*, Simone Kelly**, and Ray McNamara***
This paper explores current trends in knowledge growth and decay,
globalization, technology and education. Business education in the
new millennium is shaped by these trends. This contextual
backdrop raises both educational and business issues which are
explored with exemplars from a successful cross-cultural blended
MBA program. The educational issues considered include
educational relevance, lifelong learning objectives, education vs.
training, needs of the target audience, what is the language of
instruction, as well as issues of assessment and outcome
measurement. The business issues include a fair return to all
parties, responsibilities, management and communication systems
and dispute resolution. In a globalized, fast changing,
technologically savvy, knowledge-based economy, it is knowledge
coupled with the ability to learn and adapt that will drive individual
and business success. As Winston Churchill once said “The
empires of the future are the empires of the mind”.

JEL Codes: M40 M10 I21 I22

1. Introduction

Sir Winston Churchill, in a speech to Harvard University in September 1943,

exhorted his listeners, ―Let us go forward in malice to none and good will to all. Such
plans offer far better prizes than taking away other people‘s provinces or land or
grinding them down in exploitation. The empires of the future are the empires of the
mind‖ (Garay 1988, p. 18). We live in the age where ―empires of the mind‖ dominate.
Interestingly this is not because Churchill‘s notion of a uniform ―Basic English‖ has
spread over the world via broadcasts of the BBC. Rather it is due to the globalization
business, propelled in part by technology and knowledge explosions, and the
interaction globalization has brought to individuals and organizations alike
(Rajasingham 2005).

Universities worldwide are reaching out to connect with other universities as part of
their educational missions to promote lifelong learning and the business imperative
to expand their market reach (Rye 2007). However the pursuit of the lofty goal of
lifelong learning for students is often expensed in the rush for the business growth
goal.

This paper explores some of the underlying business imperatives in technology,

knowledge and globalization that are driving this cross cultural dimension to
education growth (Javalgi, Joseph & La Rosa 2009). The development and
implementation of a cross cultural cooperative business education model designed
*
Keith Duncan, Faculty of Business, Bond University, Australia, Email: [email protected]
**
Simone Kelly, Faculty of Business, Bond University, Australia, Email: [email protected], and
***
Ray McNamara, Faculty of Business, Bond University, Australia, Email: [email protected]
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
to balance the educational goals with business needs is presented as an exemplar.
The specific program is an MBA delivered in Japan via cable television and online
with a Japanese partner. The MBA program has grown over ten years to be the
largest MBA program in Japan. The paper discusses three underlying business
imperatives that are changing and challenging the relevance of traditional designs.
These imperatives are globalization, technological change, and knowledge growth.
Four educational issues underlying effective-cooperative cross-cultural-educational
initiatives are examined in the light of these business imperatives.

2. Underlying Business Imperatives

Management education is the subject of a range of criticisms in terms of its
relevance to a global world (Sapp 2004). There is increased concern in developing
markets that management education should be tailored to the needs of the local
environment rather than generic western approaches (Dayal 2011; Randolph 2011).
In addition, rapid increases in technology have increased knowledge growth and
shortened communication changes. These three dynamic tones, of globalisation,
technological change and knowledge growth are driving changes in international
education.

Globalization
Globalisation is a driving force in the current business environment which is
increasing its influence on education (Jain & Stopford 2011). Currently national
barriers (and some physical ones) are being broken down with the free market model
becoming pervasive. There are fewer travel, trade and financial constraints coupled
with a government sector that is actively promoting trade and exports. History tells us
that periods of open trade have been associated with growth. The 20th century was
characterised by 3 waves of globalization. The first wave (see Figure 1) was
associated with industrialization and mass migration from 1870 to the First World
War. The barriers to trade erected by governments in the 1930‘s had dire
consequences to world trade and the world economy in what became labeled as ―a
vast game of beggar-my-neighbor‖ (Department of Trade and Industry 2004, p. 18).

A different approach after World War II under the General Agreement on Trade and
Tariffs and then the World Trade Organization lead to the second wave of
international trade and development. This wave was characterized by the breadth of
exports as well as volumes – that is less reliance on agricultural exports. Exports in
the latter part of the 20thcentury have grown to include services and other information
and communication technology dependent industries. Flows in capital and
investment have fueled cross boarder activities of companies such that production is
now international in many industries.

110
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
Figure 1: Waves of Globalization

(Source: Department of Trade and Industry (2004, p. 18))

Today we see production being globalized due to many factors (Department of Trade
and Industry 2004) such as:
 competition forces firms to source production from low cost countries
 demand for quality counter-balances the demand for lower cost
 falling transport costs
 modern transport, logistics and storage systems remove location issue
 ‗just in time‘ production makes ‗supply parks‘ efficient
 information and communications revolutionizes production organization
 liberalization opening previously closed markets
 competitive pressures for quality and innovation.

The latest trend is ―offshoring‖ of services in particular. Information industries can be

located anywhere (e.g. call centers) provided information can be shared efficiently
and effectively. The Department of Trade and Industry (2004) white paper gives the
example of offshoring of high skilled tasks such as telemedicine. US physicians are
having prescriptions and medical records processed in India. X-rays and scans can
be transmitted electronically for interpretation by medical technicians anywhere in
the world.

There are some lessons from these developments that education should heed.
Quality and customer satisfaction are critical and can counter-balance or even
eliminate cost savings (Department of Trade and Industry 2004). When moving into
the global market, firms must formulate a competitive business strategy that both
match and adapt to its environment and it must at the same time compete with other
businesses that are also trying to adapt (Porter 1987). Experience in the business
field suggests that relationships between businesses sharing the same domain, can
take the form of competition, cooperation, coexistence, or a combination of these
(Pesamaa, Hair & Eriksson 2008). Leiper, Lamont & Hing (2011) present evidence
supporting the proposition that business organizations commonly compete and
cooperate on a concurrent basis when operating in a cross-cultural context. What
firms can do is choose their forms and degrees of co-operation (Leiper, Lamont &
Hing 2011).

111
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
From the perspective of cross-cultural initiatives in education, educational institutions
may choose a partner that has extensive knowledge and experience of the social,
economic, and political aspects of the local business environment. In addition, the
competitive dimension between the local partner and the external organization can
be minimized if the partner delivers a range of business services that are related to
the delivery of an educational initiative but separate from them. This is common in
the tourism industry where the partner in the host nation supplies local transport,
accommodation, souvenirs etc. while the overseas partner supplies the marketing
and international transport (Nielsen 1988).

In contrast to the tourism industry, in cross-cultural education, the local partner

should be the one with a deep understanding of the political and social environments
and accepted and successful marketing practices. The key characteristics of the
overseas supplier of educational services are likely to be a reputation for quality and
a capacity to deliver an innovative-education-product that is scalable.

Technological Change
The industrial age has come and gone – we have now entered the information age.
The growth in technology has enabled the shift from agricultural economies to
industrial economies and now to the information based economy (Bouras,
Philopoulos & Tsiatsos 2001; Hunter 1987). This shift is fuelled by the rate of
technology change. One driving force for this change is known as Moore‘s law stated
in 1965 by Gordon Moore, founder of Intel (Moore 1965, 1995).

log(t/c)  (log2/18)m
t = transistors
c = chips
m = time in months

Moore observed that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits
had doubled every year since the integrated circuit was invented. Moore predicted
that this trend would continue for the foreseeable future. Over time the pace has
slowed down a little and the focus for Intel more recently shifted from pure clock
speed to processing speed. Nevertheless the general principle of exponential growth
in processing power still holds true today.

A second critical driving force is the exponential value of networking which is known
as Metcalfe‘s law (Gilder 1993; Kocovic 2009). The law, attributed to a presentation
in 1980 by Robert Metcalfe, founder of 3Com (inventor of the Ethernet protocol used
in networks) states:

―The power of the network increases exponentially by the number of

computers connected to it. Therefore, every computer added to the
network both uses it as a resource while adding resources in a spiral of
increasing value and choice.‖ (Ley 2007, p. 74)

More specifically, Metcalfe‘s law states value of a network is the square of the
number of nodes in that network. However when developing a network, it is
recognised that initially costs increase faster than the benefits or value of the
network. This reverses once the network reaches a critical mass where value
increases faster than cost. A network that is twice as large will be four times more

112
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
valuable because there are four times as many things that can be done due to the
higher number of interconnections.

Why are Moore‘s and Metcalfe‘s laws important to business education? We need to
consider why organizations are created – in particular why businesses exist? The
Nobel Prize winner Coase (1937) proposed that firms are created when it is cheaper
to conduct business internally rather than engage in the transaction costs of a
market exchange. So it is transaction costs that determine what exists within a
business and what is bought on the market or from other businesses. Moore‘s Law
and Metcalfe‘s Law have made transactions cheaper. The by-product of this lowering
of costs, in some cases to zero, are the business trends in outsourcing and
disintermediation.

In the marketplace of today it could be said there are few sustainable competitive
advantages, only temporary ones. The firms that grow are the ones that can adapt
and change to meet emerging market needs, capitalise on that opportunity and then
adapt again to the next opportunity. Furthermore few businesses will survive by
operating as islands to themselves. There are huge gains associated with
networking and this has implications for the business of education. Adaptability and
interconnectedness on a global market will underlie long run success. Universities
that interconnect their students on a global basis are likely to receive a significant
increase in the value of their programs.

Knowledge Growth
The exponential growth over the last 50 years (i.e. post World War II) in research
and technological innovation has produced what is commonly called the knowledge
economy. This is a radically different type of society which has been described as
follows:

―The emerging [knowledge] society is the first society in which ordinary people
—and that means most people—do not earn their daily bread by the sweat of
their brow. It is the first society in which ‗honest work does not mean a
callused hand. It is also the first society in which not everybody does the
same work, as was the case when the huge majority were farmers or, as it
seemed likely only forty or thirty years ago, were going to be machine
operators.‖ (Drucker 1994, p. 57).

Not only is knowledge growing it is becoming almost overwhelming. If we take a

snapshot of the stock of information over time we see:

―It took from the time of Christ to the mid-eighteenth century for knowledge to
double. It doubled again 150 years later and then again in only 50 years.
Today it doubles every 4 or 5 years. More new information has been produced
in the last 30 years than in the previous 5,000‖ (Dahlman, Haque & Takeuchi
1995, p. 163)

Today‘s university graduates are exposed to more facts in one year than their
grandparents were in a lifetime (Ebersole 2004). But there are two tandem forces at
work. While we can all identify with the growth in knowledge, especially technical
knowledge, there is also the somewhat paradoxical growing obsolescence or decay
in knowledge (Verville 1995). Thus much of what an undergraduate learns in 3-4

113
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
years of university will be obsolete by the time they graduate (Custers 2010;
Ebersole 2004). Certainly by the time they are in management positions 5-10 years
after entering the workforce 50 percent of their knowledge will be obsolete (Custers
2010).

This trend in knowledge growth and decay, which all agree will continue unabated,
has a number of implications for the university sector. Firstly knowledge per se is not
as relevant as developing the skills to be able to adapt to new knowledge and even
generate knowledge. Secondly education is no longer a ―one shot‖ process where an
undergraduate degree is all that is needed. We are fast moving to a society where
undergraduate degree, postgraduate degree and then further education throughout
the employment lifetime are going to be the norm. Formal learning will truly be a
lifelong process.

3. Co-Operative Business Education Model

Based on the analysis of globalization, technology and the imperatives of knowledge,
and the educational needs of the Japanese business community, the University
entered a service agreement with a business cable TV operator (BCTV) to develop a
co-delivered MBA program for Japanese executives. At the time there were very few
MBA programs in Japan and most Japanese business people who wanted a
western style MBA were either being sponsored by their companies or taking time
out of the workforce to study in the US or Europe. The Japanese economy was also
recognised as suffering from a lack of innovation and entrepreneurialism. It also
lacked critical managerial skills in the areas of finance and accounting.

As a partner BCTV offered several advantages suggested by the literature. First, as

a cable TV operator they had an extensive knowledge of the Japanese business
environment. Second, the need for BCTV to source professional, relevant and
inexpensive content allowed for a co-operative rather than a competitive relationship.
Third, the communication technology allowed for a combination of distance
educational media in the form of lecture delivery by television, effective
communication via media, interactive chat based tutorials (synchronous delivery)
and a range of asynchronous deliveries such as discussion boards email and FAQs.

In addition, the founder/CEO of BCTV is a world leading professor of strategy. 1 His

doctor of philosophy was from a top ten US university which was complimented by
extensive academic teaching and research credentials. Through him, BCTV brought
to the partnership an advanced knowledge of the educational roles of a university
and an understanding of the structure and content of a modern MBA. BCTV‘s
expertise is in the management training programs it runs and the narrow cast
satellite business television channel it operates.

The University is a leader in MBA education with a reputation for entrepreneurially

driven management skills with a strong financial and innovation focus and
experience in co-operative educational programs. The Japanese program is
structure with blended delivery including pre-recorded lectures narrow cast via
Satellite, course materials and assessments delivered online. There is live
interaction with instructors using real time chat facility, field projects with groups of
students enabled by an integrated online facility plus the provision for group face to
face student contact and annual on campus visits during study tours.

114
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
As a measure of success, the jointly offered MBA program is one of the largest MBA
programs in Japan with over 350 students. The program has attracted many
corporate and individual customers and has won more than half a dozen export
awards in Australia. However, the delivery of the program using innovative
communication and technological is a necessary but not sufficient condition for a
successful educational enterprise. The trends in technology, knowledge and
globalization that are the drivers of the development of the program underpin four
educational issues and four operational issues involved in cooperative-cross-cultural-
educational initiatives. The rest of the paper explores these key educational issues
together with business/operational issues that need to be addressed when designing
such a cross-cultural co-operative educational delivery.

4. Educational Issues
The three educational issues that need to be considered in designing an offering are:
 Educational relevance – whose relevance Japan, Australia or a global focus?
 Education vs. training – needs of the target audience vs. the home institution?
 Language Lingua Franca (English) or local language?
 Assessment – should culture be considered?

The four issues are interrelated and hinge on the cultural relevance of the program
being offered. The perfect program design balances the cultural aspects of the
program provider with the business culture aspects of the local environment and the
broader cultural environments.

Educational Relevance
What is relevance in education? Education needs to be relevant to the requirements
of the students. However, relevance is a concept that is interpreted differently by
different individuals and groups. What a student sees as relevant when faced with a
conflict between the present and the future may not be the relevance required by
future employers. Naturally degree programs need to be relevant not only to their
student population but also to the broader community, including employers (Cooper
& McAlister 1999). Relevance may be lost as courses become fragmented with a
lack of coherence. This can also lead to high levels of redundancy creeping into a
student's program (Muster & Weekes 1983).

We can also ask whose relevance should drive the design. Is it relevance in Japan
(the students‘ domestic market) or relevance driven by the University‘s market when
that university is based in another country? While it can be argued that customer
needs and preferences all over the world are converging (Ohmae 1989) the
Japanese culture is historically an insular culture (Murata 2010) and has a need for a
greater knowledge of and involvement with (cultural) the outside world. Ohmae
(1986) has long argued for the need for Japanese management to be imbued with
entrepreneurial ethos and innovative thrust. This coupled with new economy skills in
knowledge, Ecommerce and finance are key elements in reinvigorating a stagnant
Japanese economy. These needs for management education in Japan matched with
the University‘s strengths and hence created a natural overlap in the relevance
discussion in the design phase.

115
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
Another strong theme in business education has been the perceived gap between
the skills of MBAs in terms of team work and decision making under uncertainty.
That is, to bridge the gap between the academic classroom and the ―hands-dirty‖
approach of the commercial world (Economist 2004). These issues belie the fact that
business is global as discussed earlier. There are fewer barriers to cross boarder
business and those that remain are being whittled away. Furthermore the issues
identified as Japanese or Australian business education issues are actually global
issues (Ohmae 2005). MBA programs in the US, Europe and Australasia are now
international in student mix ranging from 20 to 60% international students. Thus the
program and individual courses are delivered cognisant of international trends in the
respective disciplines and international trends in educational delivery.

Education vs. Training

A much more vexed question related to the issues of education vs. training. Should
a cross-cultural program and indeed any degree program focus on specific industry
training needs? While this would provide relevance, especially to corporate
customers, it flies in the face of two key issues. Firstly the sheer volume and rate of
change in knowledge means that highly targeted and specific content is likely to
have a fairly short half-life in the information age. Secondly universities historically
have been less about employment and more about education and development of
critical thinking. This distinction has blurred in the last decade or so with the
emphasis on employment and ―graduation salary‖ often dominating ranking of MBA
programs (Economist 2004; Fletcher & Latham 1989; Friga, Bettis & Sullivan 2003)
rather than educational goals.

Most university systems have an overarching goal to achieve lifelong learning. In

Australia the AVCC (AVCC 2002) states that to prepare students for lifelong learning
and to facilitate effective learning, university programs need to be designed,
managed and delivered so that they:

• provide students with opportunities to be involved in the structuring of their

own learning experiences, and encourage them to take control of their own
learning;
• develop students' analytical and critical thinking skills by demonstrating these
skills, and providing students with tasks appropriate to the development of
these skills;
• provide learning experiences that will enable students to develop both
individual initiative and the skills needed to work cooperatively with their
peers;
• assist in the development of students' communication skills by providing
opportunities for oral, graphic and written presentations and for feedback on
their performance;
• encourage and enable students to evaluate their own and each other's work
critically;
• make time available for giving advice to and for supervising individual
students.

These design objectives are universal and apply to all universities and all programs
affiliated with the AVCC in Australia and are also indicative of requirements in other
countries. Nevertheless it is recognised that each university will design and deliver

116
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
its curriculum according to its own set of constraints and subsidiary objectives, thus
resulting in diversity in design across the university sector.

How does a program achieve these objectives for lifelong learning? (Biggs 1999)
provides a useful framework for considering the ―craft‖ of learning and learning to
learn. Learning can be thought of happening within a swamp or ecosystem that has
a number of dimensions and thus a number or pathways to achieving the desired
outcomes – see Figure 2.

Figure 2: Educational Swamp

PRESAGE PROCESS PRODUCT

STUDENT BASED
FACTORS LEARNING
OUTCOME
 Prior Knowledge
 Abilities  Quantitative
 Motivation  Qualitative
 Conception of APPROACH TO  Institutional
Learning TASK
 Language Lifelong Learning:
competence  Surface  Active Learning
 Deep  Analytical and
 Achieving Critical
Thinking Skills
 Co-operative
Learning
 Communication
TEACHING Skills (oral and
CONTEXT written)
 Critical Self and
 Curriculum Peer Evaluation
 Method  Time for
 Assessment Instructor Input
 Climate
 Conception of
Teaching

Adapted from Biggs (1999, p. 18)

The key issue in a co-operative delivery of education is a shared understanding of

the objectives – from the overarching objective of lifelong learning through the
multitude of methods, approach, context, language and so on that make up the
educational swamp as discussed. Without a shared educational vision and a
commitment to the collaboration it is impossible to maintain quality and achieve
important outcome goals for students.

Language
In developing the Japanese program the issue of language of delivery is important.
Should the delivery be in English as English is the accepted Lingua Franca of

117
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
Business and/or should the delivery be in the local language - Japanese (Rogerson-
Revell 2011). Lingua Franca historically means the language of the Francs – Arabs
in medieval times referred to Western Europeans as ―Franks.‖ The original lingua
franca was a tongue actually called Lingua Franca (or Sabir) that was employed for
commerce in the Mediterranean area during the Middle Ages. Now extinct, it had
Italian as its base with a mixture of words from Spanish, French, Greek, and Arabic
(Dewey & Jenkins 2010). Occasionally the term lingua franca is applied to a fully
established formal language; thus formerly it was said that French was the lingua
franca of diplomacy. The lingua franca of international business is English and is the
language of instruction at the provider university. This made English the obvious
choice for instruction.

This issue can be a sensitive issue in the Australian education industry. One case
exemplifies the discord that can occur when the language of instruction is an issue.
In this case, the accrediting and certifying university for an overseas MBA program
required the language of instruction to be English. The University refused to grant
MBAs to foreign students when it was discovered their instruction was not in English.
Apart from the question of the University‘s quality control procedures the education
question is whether language of instruction should be English or the language of the
society in which the students will work. As illustrated in Figure 2, if the critical
attribute for program is the outcomes then surely the key attributes of those
outcomes are peer interaction, knowledge and critical thinking. It is the graduate
attributes that are important not whether the concepts and skills were developed in
English or some other language.

In fact evidence suggests that students forced to study in a non-native tongue have
more difficulty in linking prior knowledge to the new knowledge and take longer to
process new information. What is required is an on the fly translation to one‘s
thinking language, thought integration (this is critical to deep learning – a key
element of developing critical thinking and lifelong learning skills), then translation
back to the language of instruction for assessment and interaction purposes. It has
been observed that students studying in a foreign language will resolve meaning and
concept integration via native language discussion. This leads to quicker and deeper
understanding.

The issue of language was well recognized by the Japanese MBA program due to
the University‘s prior experience with off shore programs and intensive executive
education with non-native English. Equally important in the decision relating to
language was the availability of Japanese language content and resources (including
instructors and leading business people) via the partner BCTV‘s satellite business
channel. To run the program solely in English would have almost totally excluded
use of many of the film resources at BCTV‘s disposal.

However the issue of English as the Lingua Franca of business could not be ignored
if the MBA was to be globally relevant. In addition, many of the areas where there
was a perceived deficiency in traditional Japanese education have their reference
material in English. Hence the decision was made that the design would emphasise
global business terms and concepts achieved via duel language – English for 60% of
the program and Japanese for 40% of the program. The English component is
supported with a specifically designed Business Communications Course which
develops formal English communication skills (e.g. oral skills, email, report writing,

118
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
analysis presentation and assessment completion). A Japanese language ―chat
room‖ is also provided where students can exchange ideas and develop
understanding in their native tongue. A parallel English chat is also used.

Assessment and Culture

There is an old saying in business ―what counts is what gets counted‖. Assessment
as shown in Figure 2 is another key element in the educational swamp. With a
distributed learning program distance can kill interaction (peer to peer and with
instructors). People are not islands of information and learning – this is a co-
operative activity (Slavin 1996). There are many ways to ensure co-operation
including the design of the assessment. To achieve ―team/group‖ working dynamics
all the normal on campus group based projects work were maintained for the BCTV
MBA website. There was some initial concern about students being able to spend
time with one another as they are scattered over the major centres (Osaka, Kyoto
and Tokyo) as well as postings to other parts of the world (UK, Europe, Asia, USA
and South America).

Despite the tyranny of distance students keenly identified as part of the host
University‘s family and formed a strong affiliation with fellow students and the
institution. The same has been found in the US (Ebersole 2004, p. 16). Students
meet online, via email and in person. In Japan our students have developed their
own culture of restaurant meetings. They meet after work at a predetermined
restaurant and will discuss (with portables sharing data) over dinner and a drink – for
hours at length. Distance is no barrier – even video over IP is used by some groups
to co-ordinate their presentations for some projects. This group activity helps
facilitate a key outcome objective for the MBA – team work on real projects under
pressure.

Another series of issues in assessment areas related to language. Firstly for

complex problems, students need to translate, solve the problem, and then translate
back to English. Should they be given more time in exams? Comprehensive take
home or 24 hour exams have proven to be a useful assessment device. It allows
higher order questions to be asked that assess the student‘s deep learning (this is a
cultural shock to traditional Japanese rote education – this is now changing in the
primary education sector in Japan). It also respects the thinking demands of studying
in a second language.

Designing assessment items to be culturally relevant is also an important

consideration. It is all too easy to write questions and assessment items based on
one‘s home general knowledge (i.e. history, social customs and colloquialisms).
Culturally sensitive assessment that encourages the students to relate the concepts
in the subject to their own local knowledge sets is more relevant and likely to foster
interest, application and therefore will result in deeper learning in the subject. In part
cultural awareness is facilitated via Faculty training conducted by the University‘s
Department of Eastern Studies and Applied Linguistics. For teaching staff they
conduct a program covering pitfalls of multi-cultural communication.

Designing the MBA program required balancing these and other educational issues.
While a range of design outcomes are possible the model has been well received by
students and employers as measured by in-house feedback surveys.

119
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
5. Business Issues
International collaboration in a global world is a cost effective way of leveraging a
university‘s resources – be they human capital, financial, physical assets, technology
and administrative services. Partner organizations can use each other‘s strengths
and market reach and reputational capital (which may be more localised) to jointly
achieve programs that individually are not achievable. This is certainly the case for
the Japanese MBA program.

The scope of collaboration in some cases can be extensive or could more

superficial. Universities tend to want to preserve their reputational capital and
independence but sometimes forming a separate entity makes sense. One key
decision is the form of the collaborative venture. Among the more popular forms of
international collaboration are (UNESCO 2004):

Twinning programmes: offer degree programmes from a university in one country to

another university or other universities in another country. An advantage of twinning
programmes is the cooperative planning and development of instructional
programmes by partner institutions (Spring 2008).

Consortia: where several institutions jointly staff and fund the venture. Consortia are
guided by their own mission statements that are reflective of the individual partners‘
interests. They operate under a governance structure that clearly delineates the
roles and responsibilities of partners.

Franchising arrangements: A foreign provider allows a local provider to deliver its

programmes rather than set up a branch operation. The foreign partner is
responsible for course design and development, examinations and awards while the
local partner could be responsible for another set of tasks such as student support.

Technology-supported collaboration: This form or collaboration can take several

forms. Institutions collaborate with either those that have developed information
technology infrastructure and facilities, or with institutions facing the same need in
order to pool resources.

In the case of the Japanese MBA program we chose a version of technology-

supported collaboration. In our model the University brought its degree IP, content,
campus, administrative systems, library resources, student support systems, on line
learning environment (powered by collaboration software) and faculty to the
consortia. BCTV brought a satellite business channel (a means for distributing
lectures), marketing infrastructure, marketing pull (The CEO was well known and
highly regarded) and local knowledge and language skills. The technology (web
interface) was the point of meeting and interaction of all parties.

Whatever the form of the collaboration, four key business issues underlie the setting
up a co-operative educational program. We will consider each of the following in turn
and discuss how these were addressed in the Japanese MBA program.

 Need for a fair return to all parties

 Need for clear delineation of responsibilities for educational content

120
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
 Need for clear systems of management and communication
 Need for a predefined dispute resolution process

Need for a Fair Return to all Parties

When discussing globalisation, we considered the issue of co-operation and
competition. The model discussed to date has emphasised the cooperation between
partners and the strength of the synergies they brought to the collaboration.
However, competition also occurs when the issue is the distribution of the returns
from the program. As with any business enterprise, even private education, parties to
the transaction (including the students) must obtain a good return to their investment.
BCTV has extensive marketing costs and a marketing infrastructure to support. They
also need to recoup the marginal costs of satellite access provision and earn a return
on this service. They also need a return on the management and staff time invested
in the operational aspects of the business and a return to shareholders.

The University needs to cover its marginal instruction costs, obtain a return to its
brand and for risk taking, cover the direct administration costs, and pay for the
marginal information technology infrastructure, software and people. The University
also requires a surplus to provide a contribution to central costs (in effect a subsidy
for on campus operations) as this was the reason for undertaking the project.

Clearly there are a lot of competing costs that need to be factored into the dividing of
the student tuition dollar. Both parties have fixed costs that need to be covered and
thus both parties have incentive to grow the program and thus maximise the surplus.
One critical factor in negotiating such contracts is the ability to recognise that the
other party to the contract needs to make a profit. If one party uses a position of
power to drive down the return to another party then it may no longer be worthwhile
for that other party to be in the deal. So an essential element in our negotiation has
been to ensure BCTV and the University get a reasonable return.

Need for Clear Delineation of Responsibilities for Educational Content

With any co-operative endeavour it is important that all parties know their rights and
responsibilities. In the case of a cross cultural co-operative educational program the
need for clear delineation becomes even more critical. Coordination should be done
by people who share the same interests in education and distance learning. Without
such a shared goal it is easy for operations to get off track.

In the case of educational content the degree provider must have total responsibility
for content. In the Japanese MBA program, the responsibility for content, course
outlines, instructors, exams, other assessment and grades rested with the University.
In a strong working relationship initial preparation of such content can be delegated
with the university assume more of a monitoring role. But in the early stages of the
relationship, the partner responsible for the educational content needs to have more
input and control.

In essence the nature of the Japanese MBA co-operative agreement reflects the
relative expertise of the partners. The University controls all education content as
that is its expertise. Similarly BCTV is the expert in broadcast and marketing to the
Japanese audience so it controls those aspects.

121
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
Need for Clear Systems of Management and Communication
In the information age information and timely information is critical. For an off shore
program where students do not have the luxury of face-to-face contact with peers,
instructors and administrators, the timely sharing of information is essential to keep
all parties moving forward. When customers and partners are demanding of service
quality, keeping all parties informed – even of problems – can greatly reduce
negative flows and reduce the volume of email. Distance programs with problems
can generate an exponentially increasing flow in emails. Information reduces this
flow even when there are problems to resolve (e.g. server down, power failure etc).

In the Japanese MBA program a specific web site was developed to allow the two
partners to jointly view student data relating to applications, emails, processing,
admissions and study tours. Students can view their results; fill out virtual forms for
special consideration, study tour bookings, review of results, graduation and a whole
host of functions. The management team developed protocols for email traffic so that
information goes to those who need it – not everyone. The Cc function in emails can
grind an administrative team to a halt and has the danger of communications being
over looked. Email protocol is critical to an efficient operation.

Other communication technologies are also very useful – voice over IP reduces
operational costs of communication between partners, video over IP allows a
connection between management teams to be maintained between face to face
visits and MSN messenger is extremely useful for resolving smaller issues in a timely
manner. It should be noted that students were given the option of audio/video tutorial
interaction but prefer chats as the typing gives translation and interpretation time.

Need for a Predefined Dispute Resolution Process

Finally, as in any relationship sometimes the negotiation and discussion process
breaks down. As with all successful collaborations, there needs to be a clear
predefined process for resolution of issues. A stalemate, while not productive, can be
quite detrimental if the unresolved issues affect imminent course delivery and other
student services.

Of course prevention is always better than the cure. So a shared focus on the
management system efficiency, regular contact (and that includes face-to-face
contract initially) to build trust and interpersonal connections, and a common mission
are critical to keeping the relationship healthy.

6. Summary and Conclusions

This paper has considered the trends in technology, knowledge and globalization
and the impact this has on designing a cross cultural cooperative education model.
The Japanese MBA program is used as an exemplar to tease out some of the
educational issues and business issues that need to be resolved in designing a
collaborative cross-cultural education program. As we learn how to use new
communication and educational technologies the traditional university will, if working
co-operatively – have a much wider reach and impact locally and globally. The
limitation we recognise is that the extent of involvement in this style of program is the
time zone that supports the synchronous interaction.

122
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
In the future classes will rarely include lectures. The best dozen in any field of the
core business disciples of accounting, finance, statistics, systems, economics,
marketing and management will be reduced to on line libraries of text and lectures.
Very much in the same way that expert medical knowledge is available as a
database to buy. Core courses around the globe will draw on this common database.
Instructors will no longer be the lecturers but will be skilled ―learning coaches‖.
Students will be guided and trained by their coach with a team of peers to be skilled
lifelong learners.

The on campus experience will still remain for undergraduates to build their skills
and networks. However, they will not have the traditional lectures for many subjects.
Rather ―classes‖ will be deep learning workshops where a problem focus drawing on
prior self-study and peer interaction will facilitate integration and application of
content.

Postgraduate education is likely to be less degree orientated and more modularised

reflecting the study anything anytime requirements of global business people.
Learning will be e-enabled with much interaction being virtual discussions. Lifelong
learning skills acquired during undergraduate years will prepare students for
continuous professional education (CPE) type programs. Institutions that can adapt
to this new world will be the empires of the future minds.

Endnotes
1
This professor has two citations for strategy in Editors of Perseus Publishing and
Perseus Publishing 2003, The best business books ever: The 100 most influential
management books you'll never have time to read, Perseus Publishing,
Cambridge, MA.

References
Biggs, J 1999, Teaching for quality learning at university, SRHE & Open University
Press, Buckingham.
Bouras, C, Philopoulos, A & Tsiatsos, T 2001, 'e-Learning through distributed virtual
environments', Journal of Network and Computer Applications, vol. 24, no. 3,
pp. 175-199.
Coase, RH 1937, 'The Nature of the Firm', Economica, vol. 4, no. 16, pp. 386-405.
Cooper, WW & McAlister, L 1999, 'Can research be basic and applied? You bet. It
better be for B-schools!', Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, vol. 33, no. 4, pp.
257-276.
Custers, E 2010, 'Long-term retention of basic science knowledge: A review study',
Advances in Health Sciences Education, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 109-128.
Dahlman, C, Haque, Iu & Takeuchi, K 1995, 'The world trading environment', in Iu
Hague (ed.), Trade, Technology, and International Competitiveness, Economic
Development Institute of the World Bank, Washington.
Dayal, I 2011, 'Globalizing management education', Global Business Review, vol.
12, no. 3, pp. 473-478.
Department of Trade and Industry 2004, Making globalisation a force for good, Trade
and Investment White Paper 2004, TSO, London.

123
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
Dewey, M & Jenkins, J 2010, 'English as a Lingua Franca in the global context:
Interconnectedness, variation and change ', in M Saxena & T Omoniyi (eds),
Contending with Globalization in World Englishes, Multilingual Matters, Bristol,
pp. 72-92.
Drucker, P 1994, 'The age of social transformation', The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 274,
no. 5, pp. 53-80.
Ebersole, J 2004, 'The future of graduate education: As graduate student
demographics change, institutions also must change to keep pace', Univeristy
Business, pp. 15-16, <http://www.universitybusiness.com/article/future-
graduate-education>.
Economist 2004, 'But can you teach it?', Economist, vol. 371, no. 8376, p. 61.
Fletcher, J & Latham, J 1989, 'International tourism training', Tourism Management,
vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 164-166.
Friga, P, Bettis, R & Sullivan, R 2003, 'Changes in graduate management education
and new business school strategies for the 21st Century', Academy of
Management Learning & Education, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 233-249.
Garay, KE 1988, '"Empires of the Mind"? C.K. Ogden, Winston Churchill and Basic
English', Historical Papers/Communications historiques, vol. 23 no. 1, pp. 280-
291.
Gilder, G 1993, 'Metcalfe‘s Law and legacy', Forbes ASAP, vol. 152, 13 September,
pp. 158-166.
Hunter, B 1987, 'What is fundamental in an information age? A focus on curriculum',
Education and Computing, vol. 3, no. 1-2, pp. 63-73.
Jain, SC & Stopford, J 2011, 'Revamping MBA programs for global competitiveness',
Business Horizons, vol. 54, no. 4, pp. 345-353.
Javalgi, RG, Joseph, WB & La Rosa, RJ 2009, 'Cross-cultural marketing strategies
for delivering knowledge-based services in a borderless world: The case of
management education', Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 371-
384.
Kocovic, P 2009, 'Four laws for today and tomorrow', Journal of Applied Research
Technology, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 133-146.
Leiper, N, Lamont, M & Hing, N 2011, 'Cooperative business organizations: Intrinsic
in every strategically functional tourism industry', Tourism Culture &
Communication, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 57-67.
Ley, D 2007, 'Ubiquitous computing', in BECTA (ed.), Emerging Technologies for
Learning Volume 2, British Education Communications and Technology
Agency, Coventry, pp. 64-79,
<http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/education/protected/ppss/docs/emerg-tech07-
chap6.pdf>.
Moore, GE 1965, 'Cramming more components onto integrated circuits', Electronics,
vol. 38, no. 8, pp. 114-117.
—— 1995, 'Lithography and the future of Moore's law', SPIE, vol. 2438, no. 2, pp. 2-
17.
Murata, K 2010, 'Information ethics and culture: Revisiting traditional Japanese
ethical values', p. 13,
<http://www.ccsr.cse.dmu.ac.uk/conferences/ethicomp/ethicomp2010/Informati
on%20ethics%20and%20culture%20ETHICOMP%202010%20revised.pdf>.
Muster, D & Weekes, WH 1983, 'The relevance of analysis and synthesis in
management and engineering education', Engineering Management
International, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 287-298.

124
 Duncan, Simone Kelly & McNamara
Nielsen, RP 1988, 'Cooperative strategy', Strategic Management Journal, vol. 9, no.
5, pp. 475-492.
Ohmae, K 1986, 'Becoming a Triad power: The new global corporation', International
Marketing Review, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 7-20.
—— 1989, 'The global logic of strategic alliances', Harvard Business Review, vol. 67,
no. 2, pp. 143-154.
—— 2005, The next global stage challenges and opportunities in our borderless
world, First edn, Wharton School Publishing.
Pesamaa, O, Hair, J, Jr. & Eriksson, PE 2008, 'To protect and attract: Firms
cooperating in nature-based tourism destinations', Tourism Culture &
Communication, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 159-167.
Porter, E 1987, 'Foreign involvement in China's colleges and universities: A
historical perspective', International Journal of Intercultural Relations, vol. 11,
no. 4, pp. 369-385.
Rajasingham, L 2005, 'The virtual university: From turf to surf-same journey different
routes', European Journal of Open Distance and E-Learning, vol. 2005, no. 1,
viewed 20 August 2011,
<http://www.eurodl.org/materials/contrib/2005/Rajasingham.htm >.
Randolph, WA 2011, 'Developing global business capabilities in MBA students',
Journal of Management Inquiry, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 223-240.
Rogerson-Revell, P 2011, 'An introduction to language matters', Journal of Business
Communication, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 375-379.
Rye, SA 2007, 'Flexibility, technology, and the daily life practices of distance
students living beyond the digital mainstream', Geoforum, vol. 38, no. 5, pp.
1028-1039.
Sapp, DA 2004, 'Global partnerships in business communication: An institutional
collaboration between the United States and Cuba', Business Communication
Quarterly, vol. 67, no. 3, pp. 267-280.
Slavin, RE 1996, 'Research on cooperative learning and achievement: What we
know, what we need to know', Contemporary Educational Psychology, vol. 21,
no. 1, pp. 43-69.
Spring, J 2008, 'Research on globalization and education', Review of Educational
Research, vol. 78, no. 2, pp. 330-363.
UNESCO 2004, The Open and Distance Learning (ODL) for higher education
knowledge base, viewed 20 May 2011,
<http://www.unescobkk.org/education/aceid/higher-
edu/ODL/html/odl/international/collaborative.html>.
Verville, A-L 1995, 'What business needs from higher education', Educational
Record, vol. 76, no. 4, pp. 46-50.

125