Chantel Pauley’s office in Saskatoon is a long way from Brazil. This isn’t only true of the geographical difference between the two places, but the cultural distance as well.
Saskatoon conjures up images of snow blowing across prairie landscape or a river snaking through a bustling city, depending on whether you’re withstanding winter or enjoying summer.
On the other hand, when someone mentions Brazil, tropical
rainforests and huge metropolises overlooking the ocean come to mind—at least that’s the picture you get from travel brochures and Google searches.
Pauley, however, is at home in both places, despite the 9,000 kilometres that separate them. That’s because her quest for a Master of Business Administration (MBA) took her on a cross-continental journey from her home and native land of Canada to the classrooms and boardrooms of Brazil.
Pauley, a graduate of the Schulich School of Business’s International MBA program at York University, says her semester studying in Brazil gave her an edge in her job as an industrial account executive at Imperial Oil.
“With globalization, borders are becoming obsolete to a certain extent. I think it’s definitely attractive to companies to see someone who is okay with working cross-culturally,” says Pauley, adding that this could mean traveling to complete projects or negotiating with suppliers located half a world away from a desk in Canada.
“Even when I walk into my head office, I see a lot of people from different countries. It’s about valuing diversity and looking at things from a variety of different perspectives.”
Global challenges…
However, there are times where the benefits of studying abroad for an MBA can be obscured by unique challenges. In fact, if there was a job posting for international MBA programs, it might look something like this:
Our ideal candidate is interested in business, is bilingual and doesn’t mind moving to a foreign country without their family and friends, a residence, or a culture they’re used to.
Pauley was introduced to these challenges as soon as she stepped onto Brazilian soil for her study term. “It was difficult at first because I didn’t speak Portuguese,” says Pauley, who speaks Spanish, thanks to previous exchanges and work terms in Mexico, Nicaragua and Ecuador.
“It was challenging to try to speak broken Portuguese… but I eventually found a place to live, got set up and made some friends.”
Navigating the language can often turn into
navigating the politics of group work when traveling abroad to study for an MBA. Pauley knows
this first-hand. “I remember working with one group in particular where there were eight people and every single one of us was from a different country,” she says.
“You get a lot of different personalities and ways of doing business… so you have to sit back and listen and look at the situation,
asking yourself how you can approach the issue from a different perspective depending
on where others are coming from because of their cultural backgrounds.”
Pauley isn’t alone in her experiences. More and more students are choosing to pursue their MBA in another country, spending as little as a semester and as much as two years abroad.
Students from the Schulich International MBA program visited a total of 13 countries in
2014 to complete a work-term semester, up
from 12 the year before, says program director
Alexandra Campbell. The countries range from close to home (the U.S.) to halfway around the world (Bangladesh).
Campbell says that there has been increased interest among students to work and study in Asian countries.
“They’re the fastest growing economies,” she says, “and the interest is partly due to the job opportunities that are available there.”
If it’s a job they’re after, MBA students who go abroad to complete a work or study term get a double dose of allure to add to their resumé, says Campbell. “It gives students an opportunity to get a degree that is recognized by Canadian companies, but also gives them an international perspective, not only on language, but on how business is actually done in different cultures.”
Potential employers don’t only look at the degree in your hands, but also the degree of difficulty in achieving that accomplishment. This is where studying abroad has its merits.
“Companies… like the idea of someone who can thrive in challenging environments,” says Pauley. “They know that you’re not scared to take on new projects and be in unchartered waters because you’re comfortable with that sort of situation and you’ve been in that situation more than once.”
Not everyone’s experience of studying for their MBA in a foreign land is as positive as Pauley’s, says Phanindra Deonandan, assistant director of internship at Schulich. However, a negative experience abroad doesn’t mean it was a waste, she says.
“There are some who don’t enjoy their time abroad… but this can help those students realize that this isn’t the path they want to go down for their career, and that’s beneficial too,”
says Deonandan.
…need global experience
The decision to go abroad to pursue an MBA is not one to be taken lightly. It takes a lot of research into the cultural nuances of both school and business to be successful in another country, says Pauley.
“Studying abroad gives you that perspective that you have to do your research if you’re going to be working with someone from another country, because you don’t want to accidently offend them,” she says.
“For example, in many Latin American countries, if I have a meeting with someone, I’ll ask them how their day is going or how their family is. It’s really important to talk about those things, because if you jump right into business… it’s seen as rude.”
While it’s crucial to equip yourself with practical knowledge before traveling for your MBA, it’s just as essential to invest in some self-reflection, says Pauley.
“A big thing is knowing yourself,” she says, “knowing your own cultural biases and being aware of them. Learn to value diversity… because when you go abroad, you’re immersed in a culture that’s not your own. It’s not like traveling, because you’re on your own and you have school projects and probably roommates from other countries.”
There is only so much you can prepare for when you go abroad, says Deonandan, and some of challenges can come out of nowhere.
“When you arrive in a different country, there are always going to be things you don’t expect,” says Deonandan. “It could be something as big as finding accommodation or getting comfortable with a regional dialect, but most of the time it’s probably cultural practices in the workplace or classroom. There’s a lot of nuanced behaviour that you might not be aware of before
you arrive in an environment.”
In the end, Pauley says, it is you and you alone who controls how good or how bad the experience is when traveling abroad to get an MBA.
“You’re responsible for your own experience,” says the Schulich alumna, “and you have to be a leader in that sense. I did meet a lot of people who went abroad and didn’t necessarily like the experience and that’s because you need to be able to step outside of your comfort zone, explore the culture, eat the food, taste the wine and make new friends.”
The triumphs outweigh the trials of pursuing an MBA abroad, says Pauley, who recommends it to anyone considering the option.
“Do it, for sure,” she says.
“I’ve found that going outside of Canada can shape the way that you think about your everyday challenges and how you approach them. I know it’s scary to step outside of your comfort zone, but I encourage everyone to go out there and do just that, because that’s where the best things happen and that’s where you really discover what you’re capable of.” CO
