wisteria path

This is the wisteria path leading to my back garden. I have a regular city lot in Oak Park, Illinois, just outside Chicago, but I have turned it into a series of small gardens with lots of space to sit and read or visit with family and friends, or space to just sit and think.

For some reason this year my wisteria didn't bloom. I thought I did everything right, what I do most years, and I had some help with trimming and feeding, but it just didn't have one bloom this year. I think the weather had something to do with that. It was warm and then we had a few nights of very cool weather, almost a frost, and then very warm again. So although I did what I thought was needed for a riotous sort of colorful spring, nothing happened but green sprouts all over the place. Maybe next year I need to cover the whole arbor if it gets cold at night....

I think gardening is a lot like many other things in life. We spend lots of time planning and doing the "right" thing, paying attention to details and trying to control conditions but in the end we must recognize that the environment, mother nature in this case, has a significant impact on the outcome. We must be prepared for a variety of possibilities; figure out how to make some best guesses; and ultimately making the most of the outcome and learning from the process.

If we do not give ourselves time for reflection on experience, then there is no learning and no possibility for change. Experience without reflection is just a series of events and we are often then doomed to repeat ourselves and our mistakes. But experience with time to reflect on what we have learned from the event, how we might use what we've learned should this event pop up again, and how we might even use what we've learned in other settings is the sign of significant learning. I think this is what we should all strive for.

The process of learning takes time and time is often our most valuable commodity. When your exams have finished give yourself the opportunity to take some time and reflect on what you learned this year. Think about not only the content or subjects that you studied, but also think about processes, or how you studied, and how you learn.

Take a moment and walk in a garden and see if you can't find some space to breathe and think about what you have done this year, what you learned about yourself, and what you want to do next year. Think about your environment and how you can keep it enriched and engaging enough to continue your blooming!

Hello, I hope your exams are nearing completion and you are all doing well.

I am still working on the proposal for us to present in Madrid in November (and I am still looking for funding for you to get there). So here is what I would like to suggest. Please read the abstract below and begin to think about your ideas about international collaboration.

1. Can you think of many different kinds of international collaboration for students?
2. What are the benefits of these different kinds of international collaboration?
3. What do you think this kind of collaboration would do for you personally and professionally?
4. What would you like to get out of this collaboration?
5. What sort of information or resources would you like someone to share with you?

Abstract
There is much discussion on the importance of international collaboration in higher education. As rapidly changing technology and access to travel make the world appear smaller and smaller our ability to learn from one another, to interact with one another and to do business with one another becomes more important. Yet there continue to be obstacles to overcome, from portability of courses and programs, to financial constraints, to visa restrictions, and competing professional and personal agendas.

From a student perspective what are the advantages and disadvantages of international collaboration? While international exchange programs may offer the real lived experience of educational and cultural student life, as well as the serendipitous opportunities that present themselves, can virtual collaboration provide an alternative to those who are unable to leave and study abroad? Can virtual or online collaboration support a students’ educational program or will it compete and conflict with an already rigorous course of study?

This paper will present the thoughts and ideas of a group of students who represent either a virtual collaboration (Bosnian students studying management in Zenica exchanging ideas with a professor in Chicago) or an international exchange (Polish students studying in Chicago). This paper will identify their thoughts on the value of international collaboration as well as the limitations of each method. Suggestions on ways institutions can better support international collaboration will be discussed.

Visitors to our Blog

I just wanted you to know that I have invited one of my international management class groups to join our blog... if they have time.

These students are part of an accelerated MBA program and are all working full time. This is a very common practice in the US. I will let those who participate introduce themselves. And I am hoping that some of them will join us.

I hope your exams went well and you now have some time to participate in our discussion. While I do enjoy reading and "talking" to Emir, I would love to have more of you join in. Let me know if there is something in particular you would like to present some information on...and do keep thinking about the international collaboration conference and if you think it is worth the effort....while I keep looking for funding for you.

The flower is a day lily from my garden and my cabin in the woods is called daylily lodge because it has so many day lilies ... they are one of the few flowing plants that the deer and other animals don't eat! EM

Situational Leadership

Situational Leadership is an important concept, particularly in the context of international management and leadership. The following links briefly introduce Hersey and Blanchard's model of situational leadership as well as follower readiness.

http://www.chimaeraconsulting.com/sitleader.htm and
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/situational_leadership_hersey_blanchard.htm

Vroom and Yetton also took the model and added to it. For an introduction to their model, including the limitations of situational leadership, see http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/vroom_yetton.htm.

These brief introductions to concepts will probably just be refreshers for most of you. But I wanted to include a few links for review as I think situational leadership is an interesting topic for cross cultural communication as well as international/multinational management.

Do you think that similar situations might be handled in different ways based on the cultural differences in a country? You might check out the work of Geert Hofestede http://www.geert-hofstede.com/and Fons Trompenaars http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqNI8le1bF4 to find some descriptions and discussions of differences.

What do you think? EM