Going Global? Think Local

The American way isn’t always the right way

America might be home to many of the world’s biggest businesses, but that doesn’t mean it has a monopoly on the best way to do business.

“It is absolutely crucial that human capital, economic development, and demographic aspects are taken into consideration when considering management approaches in different parts of the world,” says author and scholar Howard Thomas. “When business leaders plant a model based on Western culture into non-Western contexts and cultures, they are in danger of doing the wrong thing.”

That’s the kind of perspective Thomas is bringing to Questrom as the inaugural Ahmass Fakahany Distinguished Visiting Professor. A former dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Business at Singapore Management University, he’s an expert on strategic management and management education. Thomas will lead initiatives that enhance and expand the School’s global education programs and work with business schools in other parts of the world, including emerging economies, to build on the findings from the 2014 Business Education Jam. The Jam brought together thousands of online participants in nearly 100 countries to provide a blueprint for the future of business education.

Check out Business Education Jam sessions at major conferences throughout the world, webinars in collaboration with the Financial Times, and another global conversation later in 2016.