Market-Driven Paradigm for Developing Internationally-Oriented Business Curriculum

Abstract

The increased internationalization of corporate and national economic activity has created the need for business schools to appropriately educate current and future business leaders around the world. This has forced business schools to refocus and inject into their curricula a more internationally-oriented flavor. The impact of internationalization on the business curriculum has been great on the dynamic business schools of the Pacific Rim countries. With the unprecedented rate of economic growth and technological development experienced by these countries, the need to restructure their education and human resource development strategies has been high in recent years. One of the major emphases of the educational restructuring process is the rapid internationalization of curriculum at all levels. The internationalization process needs to be looked at from a systemic perspective. This paper attempts to present a conceptual framework of a market-driven paradigm for developing the internationally-oriented business curriculum. The paper identifies those components/factors that influence the design and development decisions of the internationalization process in order to achieve the broader objectives of business schools. Contextual factors of national economy as well as potential employers of business school graduates have been analyzed. The role of competing tertiary institutions on the demand of university business graduates has also been considered in developing the curriculum. Also, the role of the academic/professional research centers and the individual faculty in knowledge and skill development of prospective graduates has been integrated into the internationalization process. The paper also identifies the various mechanisms used in the internationalization process both at the graduate and undergraduate level.