|
||
| Location: Panama City, Panama |
||
Academic Program Study international business in Latin America! Visit the Panama Canal and learn about global trade, investment, business operations, culture and tourism in a center of global commerce! This course is designed to give students a first-hand and practical understanding of business competition in an emerging-market environment. Panama is an emerging economy located centrally within the Americas that serves as an excellent location to teach the course. It has a long historical relationship with the United States, is a center of global transportation, has a highly diverse population, and is home to one of the world’s largest free trade zones. Panama also is representative of many emerging markets in terms of politics (a historical record of instability, though today it is peaceful and democratic), economic development, and economic activity, as it competes in minerals extraction, agriculture, tourism, financial services, information technology, shipping and trade. Finally, as in many emerging economies, environmental issues and the informal economy are prominent issues in Panama. Among the topics to be covered during the course are trade agreements between Panama, Central American countries, and the USA, the historical economic and political relationships between the USA and the developing countries of Central America and the world, differences in managerial, financial, and marketing practices in economies at different levels of development, environmental management in Panama, the global transportation industry, and the influence of regional and multilateral institutions on competition in developing countries. With regard to teaching style, this course depends heavily on interaction between students, their professors, and guest speakers. There will be a number of trips to business, government and cultural institutions in Panama. Time will be spent with a combination of lectures, cases, guest speakers, student presentations, interactive participation, and both individual and group activities. Upon successful completion of this course, students should possess a firsthand knowledge of (a) international company operations in Panama, (b) challenges and opportunities associated with operating in developing country markets, (c) industry-specific competition in Panama and Latin America, (d) global trade and transportation competition, (e) Panamanian attitudes toward international business, and (f) the analytical and strategic thinking skills that reflect an understanding of global business competition in developing countries. 
Activities / Itinerary Tentative Itinerary (subject to change): Day 1 Day 2
Day 3 Day 4
Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9
Day 10 Enrollment/Credit Make course/substitution selections on your EIU Program Application. The credit hours associated with your selections may not exceed the credit hours allocated for this program: 3 Below are the choices available for this program:
Course Number: BUS 3970 (CourseID 5011) Housing Students and faculty will stay at the City of Knowledge, an educational institution located on the former USA Marines compound next to the Panama Canal. Classroom facilities comparable to EIU facilities will be provided. Orientations At least two pre-departure orientations will be provided and are required for all participants. Your faculty leader will hold one of these orientations, where he/she will cover information on safety, health, legal, environmental, political, cultural, and religious conditions in the host country(ies), as well as planning logistics. The Office of Study Abroad (OSA) will hold the other orientation. They will cover general information about traveling abroad to different areas of the world and facilitate a panel discussion composed of students who have already participated in faculty-led study abroad programs. Necessary Documents Passport You are strongly encouraged to read the U.S. State Department's Consular Information Sheet on your host countries. It will provide you with a great deal of information to help you prepare for your trip. **Please be aware that you are responsible for obtaining the most up-to-date information on entry requirements. The Office of Study Abroad only provides general information, as visa regulations and procedures are constantly changing. Please consult the Consulate for more information. ** |
