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Russia Offshore Course
Russia in Transition
January 30 and January 31, 2009 (Pre Departure Meeting Dates)
March 14-March 22, 2009 (Program Dates)
March 20, 2009 (Post Course Wrap up- in country)
Prof. William H. Coyle Ph.D. CPA CMA, Law and Accounting
coyle@babson.edu
Itinerary (see below)Introduction
This course introduces students to the Russian business environment but goes beyond merely doing a business study of Russia or industries within Russia. In addition, students will learn more about Russian history and its heritage, culture, what the people have endured under communism, and the struggle to free themselves from their history. The role of customs and tradition and the government all shape the current nature of the Russian business environment. There will be pre-departure sessions held at Babson during the weekend of January 30/31. The purpose of these sessions is to get students up-to-speed on what has and is happening in Russia that affect the Russian business environment. We arrive in St. Petersburg on Saturday, March 14. On Sunday, March 15 we visit many of the cultural sites of St. Petersburg including the Hermitage. On Monday and Tuesday we have some company visits and lectures at our host, the Graduate School of Management (GSOM) at St. Petersburg State University. St. Petersburg State is the oldest university in Russia, founded by Peter the Great. Among its alumni include President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin. GSOM is considered to be the finest management school in the country. On Wednesday and Thursday the class is broken into industry groups where they will visit companies in that industry. This allows a more in-depth analysis of a particular industry. On Friday each industry group will present their findings to the class. The course ends on Friday afternoon at 4pm. Students are welcome to extend their stay through Sunday. Upon return to the United States, students should have a far greater appreciation of what Russia’s achievements, challenges and obstacles are as well as a greater sensitivity towards articles and commentary about Russia. They will also not take for granted the business, social, and economic environment that exists in the USA and the other free and economically developed countries of the world.
Course Objectives:
The course's primary objective is to introduce students to the cultural, political and business environment in Russia. This objective is accomplished in a number of ways.
-Pre departure Sessions (January 30/31, 2009).
-Book discussion (From Nyet to Da); students should read the Richmond book prior to the first pre departure session. This book and the topics raised in it will be referred to and discussed during all the sessions. This book discusses some of the cultural differences between Russians and westerners, especially Americans.
- Prof. Coyle and graduate student Natalia Zhiglinskaya will present a case during the pre departure session. -Students will also prepare a paper on differences between Russia and another country and about their expectations of Russia. These papers will be discussed in class the last day of the course.
Itinerary
While in St. Petersburg, students will also have the opportunity to attend various cultural events taking place during their stay. In past trips students have seen the ballet, opera, attended concerts, and toured the museums, including the world-famous Hermitage along with the Russian Museum. Although students will not be forced to attend cultural events, they will be encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity, as we intend to keep most evenings free for students to experience the rich culture that St. Petersburg has to offer.
The business part of the course in St. Petersburg will occur during the day. There will be class sessions held at the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg State University on Monday and Tuesday morning. These lectures will reinforce and expand on the pre-departure sessions at Babson College and the readings and assignments done prior to the trip. These classes will be taught by faculty of St. Petersburg State University. It is expected that on Monday and Tuesday afternoon we will have company visits or meetings with certain company officials considered by Prof. Coyle to be companies that all students need to experience.
On Wednesday and Thursday, March 18 and 19 the group as a whole will be split into a number of industry groups and these groups will visit Russian companies in the St. Petersburg area. It is expected that students will be given a list of the industry groups they have to choose from during the pre-departure sessions. We cannot guarantee that a student will receive their first choice, as we have to balance the number of students in each group for logistical reasons. Preferences listed in the form of their top three choices, should be sent via email to Prof. Coyle. A due date for this will be communicated by Professor Coyle.
In St. Petersburg, on Friday morning, March 20 the industry groups will prepare a presentation to the rest of the group detailing what they learned in their visits, tying in the book and materials read, the lecture material at Babson and St. Petersburg State, and company visits made either with the group as a whole on Monday or Tuesday or most importantly, the companies visited in their industry group on Wednesday and Thursday. The presentations are meant for the students in the industry group to teach their fellow MBA students in the class what they saw and learned. Friday afternoon we will have a wrap-up session summarizing the course. Students should be finished at approximately 4pm.
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