We live in a global community. The clothes you're wearing, the cell phone in your pocket, your tax preparation, your medical diagnosis, customer service on the other end of the phone, components of your car (and perhaps the entire car), are likely products and services you enjoy through access to a global marketplace. Shaped by these changes, businesses today look to hire individuals with the skills to work in a global environment. Is that you?

The Asia Summer Abroad Program (ASAP) is a full-semester abroad experience particularly suited for business majors/minors seeking unparalleled insight into international business through company visits mixed with both planned and serendipitous contact with local businesses and cultures. A defining feature of ASAP is that company visits are fully integrated into the curriculum with groups of students analyzing each company to learn its management and organizational structure, position in the market, marketing practices and strategy, production mix and strategy, innovation strategy, stock valuation, and long-term viability in the marketplace.

Imagine visiting General Electric to talk to senior executives about GE's strategy for entering the rapidly expanding Chinese aviation market. Or meeting with the company director of Johnson & Johnson Thailand to discuss how J&J positions itself in the Thai cosmetic and health care sector. Or sitting down to talk with an entrepreneur in Hong Kong about his efforts to develop a market for a biodegradable plastic made from corn starch.

In this travelling program offered through Marist College, participants earn 12-15 credits of fully AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accredited coursework. Classes and activities integrate local contexts so students can learn about people, cultures, and places across Asia, and to understand the cultural context of business in the region.

Using a living classroom philosophy, faculty hold classes anywhere from a conference room at the HSBC Bank headquarters to the roof of a Buddhist temple. Classes are offered at different times of day and for different lengths of time teaching students to adapt to changing situations commonly found in the business world.

Students on the program must have a desire to engage with international business, intercultural management, diverse Asian cultures and ways of living, and a nuanced lens from which to view the world. International travel and foreign language experience are not prerequisites, but intellectual curiosity, personal maturity, and flexibility are.

The 2012 Tentative Itinerary includes:

* Cambodia
* China
* Hong Kong
* Japan
* Laos
* Myanmar
* Thailand
* Tibet
* Vietnam

Students must enroll in at least 12 credits (4 courses), with a maximum load of 15 credits (5 courses). Particular courses offered each summer vary by the curricular needs of the group.

BUS 392N: Business Ethics 3 credits
BUS 388N: Operations Management 3 credits
BUS 302N: Organizational Behavior: 3 credits
BUS 340N: Marketing Principles 3 credits
BUS 442N: International Marketing 3 credits
ECON 340L: Economic Development 3 credits
COM 470L: Organizational Writing 3 credits
REST 209L: World Religions 3 credits

As noted, course offerings depend in part on the curricular needs of the group of students participating in a given year. If most have completed one of the courses offered but almost all need to take another course, every attempt is made to offer that course as well.