IPFW students tour China, do market research for Fort Wayne businesses
Ten IPFW students enrolled in "Special Studies in International Business" at the Doermer School of Business and Management Sciences began a trip of a lifetime March 5 as they headed to China. The students studied in Shanghai and Beijing, learning about the Chinese economy, business culture and cultural differences between China and the United States. The students also visited five companies covering different industries and different types of organizations.
While the students learned about Chinese business customs, they also did market research for two Fort Wayne businesses, considering how their clients' products and services might be marketed, sold and used in that part of the world. Back in class at IPFW, they are putting together international business plans for each firm pointing out how they can improve their strategic positions on the global market.
Not all of the students' time was spent on business; they took several cultural excursions, including visits to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City in Beijing and a trip to the Great Wall. As part of their experience, the students kept diaries of their experiences.
The students did not just decide to take the course and go on this trip; they were among a field of 40 top-level students who were invited to apply for admission to the class. Susan Byers, director of the DSBMS Student Center, said about half the invited students applied and from those, the 10 class members were selected.
Byers and Nichaya Nan Suntornpithug, assistant professor of marketing and course instructor, accompanied the students on their journey along with Otto Chang, dean of the school. The group left China March 15.
The cost of the trip was underwritten by Fort Wayne businessman Bill Lawson.
