UA EMBA Welcomes Tuscaloosa-EMBA Class of 2015

• December 13th, 2013
• in UA EMBA Latest News/Events

The Culverhouse College of Commerce at The University of Alabama welcomed the incoming Tuscaloosa EMBA Class of 2015 on December 3, for orientation-immersion week. Twenty-three students began their 17 month, four semester program in Tuscaloosa. The average age is 39 with an average of 15 years of work experience.  This year’s class is comprised of 33 percent women (according to the EMBA Council, a non-profit association of over 200 universities and colleges from around the world that run EMBA programs, the average is 25 percent).

The orientation week covers team building and career development. Students also began their first semester classes with accounting for financial control, statistics for business application, marketing and managerial economics.

Companies represented in the EMBA 2015 class include First Partners Bank, Tuscaloosa VA Regional Medical Center, The University of Alabama Office of Information Technology, UA Facilities, Private Law Practice & Miles Law School, CRI Carr Riggs & Ingram, Ricoh USA, Sterne Agee, KBR Inc., Aerotek, Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Nucor Steel Birmingham, JMJ Associates, U.S. Army, Regions Financial Corporation, Rumsey Environment, Pittman Financial Partners, ZF Chassis Systems, Southern Nuclear and Young Medical Associates.

This class also represents our 30th intake.  The EMBA program at The University of Alabama began in 1985. In addition to the Tuscaloosa EMBA that begins in December, Culverhouse also has an EMBA program in Huntsville, Alabama, that begins in August each year. For more information on the TEMBA and HEMBA programs at The University go to emba.ua.edu.

Current EMBA Class Set to Tour South America

• November 15th, 2013
• in UA EMBA Latest News/Events

On Nov. 8, The University of Alabama EMBA class of 2014 met in Birmingham for an international prep session for their February trip to Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru. Students in the Tuscaloosa and Huntsville groups formed international teams for their global strategy projects.

This class will visit and meet with executives from the following companies:

• Banco Estado
• Frito-Lay Chile
• Viña Veramonte (Winery)
• Garden House Lab (transnational pharmaceutical laboratory)
• Central Bank of Peru
• Hunt Oil Peru
• Grupo Breca (Conglomerate owned by Peruvian family Brescia-Cafferatta)
• Clinica Ricardo Palma (Private medical clinic)
• Compañía de Minas Buenaventura (Peru’s largest publicly-traded precious metals company)

The Culverhouse College of Commerce Executive MBA at the University of Alabama includes an international trip as part of a three-hour international business course, IBA 550, Global Business, taught by Drs. Glenn Richey and Chad Hilton, in the final semester of study. This course provides an introduction to the complex world of managing in a global context and provides a country/region specific examination of the challenges that face international managers. Students visit a variety of organizations and have the opportunity to examine strategic management, marketing and branding, the role of business in society, public-private sector relationships, business and economic development, financial and foreign business valuation, and cultural issues germane to the region. Students are formed into international teams that are responsible for an in depth strategic review of one of the companies visited and are required to conduct their final team projects/presentations on the last day of the trip.

Preparation for the international trips are very important. Understanding protocol and how to do business in another country begins early in the planning process for the trip. During the information session, the class had the opportunity to hear from Eduardo Cuneo, Latin American sales director for Valley Rubber, who travels extensively to do business in Chile and Peru. Discussion topics included conducting business in Peru, business etiquette, local customs and sightseeing. Afterwards, Drs. Richey and Hilton gave a lecture on cultural differentiation and modern international business practices. Finally, Donna Blackburn, director of the EMBA Program, went over the protocol for the international trip and provided many helpful hints and tricks from her vast travel experience.

“The international trip is a highlight of the EMBA experience for our students, providing an opportunity to expose our students to other countries – their business and culture,” said Blackburn.
In addition, UA EMBA alumni are welcome to come on the trip and participate in the business and cultural events. While the signup deadline has passed for the Chile-Peru trip, the 2015 international trip will be decided at the beginning of Fall 2014.

For more information on the EMBA program, please contact Cheryl Altemara at 205-348-4501 or caltemara@cba.ua.edu.