Archive for June, 2010

Global companies struggling to navigate the currency crisis spreading from Europe to other regions of the world need at least three things in their survival kits, a panel led by Thunderbird School of Global Management Professor F. John Mathis, Ph.D., said June 9. “The question is not whether European countries such as Greece will default, but how many times they will default,” Mathis said. “This is a long-term issue.” To survive in the new environment, companies need complete data, timely analysis and transparent processes. | Video: Panel discussion (1:00.51)
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By: Melissa Samuelson, Clinical Professor of Global Entrepreneurship

Around the world, there are tens of millions of enterprising poor living in structural and cultural inequality who face little hope of moving past a subsistence life-style. In 1977, and economics professor in Bangladesh, Dr. Mohammad Yunus, began a credit program called the Grameen Bank to provide capital to very poor women without requiring collateral. In 2006 he and his bank won the Nobel Peace Prize. Today, Grameen serves 8.04 million borrowers around the world. Over $8.96 billion in loans have been disbursed to low-income, poor, and very poor clients. Though the economic crisis has caused a slight decline in repayment rates in some developing countries due to increasing food prices, Grameen sees only a 2% default rate on these loans.
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For any entrepreneur with a new commitment to green, there are several simple business practices to adopt, says Greg Unruh, author of “Earth, Inc.: Using Nature’s Rules to Build Sustainable Profits.” One the easiest is to make a conscious effort to buy sustainable business supplies, such as energy-efficient light bulbs, recycled binders and pens with nontoxic ink. Most manufacturers “now identify products they sell that are environmentally friendly,” explains Mr. Unruh, also a professor of global business at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Ariz. “You don’t have to do the research on your own.”

To continue reading the article in the Wall Street Journal, click here.

Russia remains a political and economic force in the post-Soviet era, despite the loss of superpower status in the 1990s, two adjunct Thunderbird professors said June 10 during the second installment of a four-part BRIC series organized by Thunderbird Executive MBA faculty and staff. Linda Wetzel and Saule Moldabekova, who led the forum at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona, shared insights on Russia based on their decades of experience in the developing market. | Video: Russia Is Like an Orange (2:40) | Video: Russia After Marxism (2:29)
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There is no lack of sizable and interesting business opportunities in Africa, Thunderbird students of Professor Olufemi Babarinde learned first-hand during their summerim course in Kenya, Africa May 3-14.

The Kenya summerim was one of seven experiential learning offerings that took 140 students to global destinations during the break between the spring and summer trimesters. Courses were also offered in London, Hungary and Ireland, Panama, Geneva and the Asia/Pacific.
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