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Overview

Location

Academics

Cost

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Itinerary

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Program Overview

Global Business in Thailand and Japan will offer students the opportunity to experience being in the limited English speaking environment and explore the oriental business culture. In addition, the program also provides better understand how global business in Asian region operate and build their strategic clusters to compete in the global market.  The course will include classroom instruction at WMU before departure as well as at the government institution in Thailand to introduce the students how consumers and businesses operate in Thailand. In addition, there will be field trips in which students will observe and interact with different types of retail establishments to better understand how product and service to the consumer differ in these cultures. Also, there will be site visits to a number of companies operating in Tokyo and Bangkok to understand how global business are established and maintained. 

NOTE: Due to public smoking regulations in Japan and Thailand access to smoking areas is severely limited. It is strongly advised that you take a break from smoking during participation in the program.

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Location

Tokyo: Tokyo is the most populous prefecture and city in Japan. The Greater Tokyo area, centered on Tokyo but also including Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama prefectures, is the most populous metropolitan area in the world with a population of over 35 million people. It has been the world's most populous urban area since the mid- to late-1960s, and despite Japan's overall declining population, Tokyo is still growing. It has the largest metropolitan gross domestic product in the world for a city, and it held the title of the world's most expensive city for over a decade from 1992 through 2005.

Bangkok: Bangkok is the 22nd most populous city in the world. The Bangkok Metropolitan Area, which covers five provinces surrounding the capital province in the central region of Thailand, registers a little over 10 million. However, like many large cities, the city has seen a great flux of immigrants who are not properly listed in the city's administration. The population is therefore much more realistic in the band of 15-20 million. Bangkok is a magnet for foreigners escaping turmoil in their homeland or visiting simply for business. It has long been the gateway to Asia for foreign interests seeking new markets. The city is a major economic and financial center of Southeast Asia and has one of the fastest rates in the world for construction of high rise buildings. The city's wealth of cultural sites makes it one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. 

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Academics

Academic Eligibility
Good academic standing

Academic Program
Students are required to make a 15 minutes video showing the experience learned abroad through the seminar.  Dr. Duke will help direct video production and will demonstrate how to work with the movie maker software.

Academic Credit
Students will be enrolled for 3 hours of WMU credit in BUS 5940, International Seminar. Enrollment will be for the summer I term. Students are urged to work closely with academic advisors and HIGE staff to plan a course of study allowing for steady progress toward their degree.

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Cost & Financial Aid

Cost
The program fee includes WMU tuition (3 credits) and fees, housing, some meals in Bangkok and Tokyo, airport transfers and local transportation, lodging, program-related excursions, a survival kit, and health and emergency insurance. Students are responsible for airfare, passport processing, some meals and personal expenses. Students are also responsible for all expenses pertaining to the optional week at the end of the program. Additional fee of $391 applies to the program fee for graduate students.

Students applying for this program may be eligible for the HCOB Study Abroad Scholarship.

Financial Aid
Students eligible for federal or state financial aid may use their awards for studying abroad.  After a student has been accepted to the program, he/she must complete required paperwork with WMU Financial Aid to apply financial aid to the program costs.  It is the student's responsibility to complete the paperwork prior to departure and to maintain compliance with financial aid regulations while studying abroad (i.e., remain enrolled full-time).  Non-WMU students must apply for financial aid through their home university.

Note: program fees are subject to adjustment due to changes in actual exchange rates or other factors. In addition, programs may be modified or canceled in the event of insufficient enrollment. Program dates are subject to slight adjustment by the home/host university.

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Housing

Lodging will be in budget hotels, with double occupancy and bath.

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Itinerary

Mandatory Pre-Departure Meetings
	03/13/13	Wed	Study Abroad & Travel nurse Predeparture meeting (5 to 6:30 p.m. in 1135 Schneider)
	04/29/13	Mon	Predeparture meeting 1 (location TBA)
	04/30/13	Tue	Predeparture meeting 2 (location TBA)

Schedule is tentative and subject to change.

Study Abroad Program
4-May  Sunday  Day 1  Leave AZO 6:00 am (Kzoo- Chicago -Narita)
5-May  Monday  Day 2  Arrive Narita Airport at 4:30 pm, check in at Mercure
6-May  Tuesday  Day 3  Leaving Narita for Tokyo by  Keisei Line to Shinjuku,
7-May  Wednesday  Day 4  Traditional Tokyo (Meiji Temple, Asakusa)
8-May  Thursday  Day 5  Trendy Tokyo Disney Land Tokyo & Shinnjuku
9-May  Friday  Day 6  Tokyo City, leave NRT to BKK at 6.40 pm
10-May  Saturday  Day 7  Bangkok City Tour, Welcome Dinner
11-May  Sunday  Day 8  Floating Market , Rural Lifestyle
12-May  Monday  Day 9  Singha Brewery
13-May  Tuesday  Day 10  Singha Corporation/Intl MKT
14-May  Wednesday  Day 11  Singha Glass
15-May  Thursday  Day 12  Beirdorf AG (Nivea & Eucerin)
16-May  Friday  Day 13     Department of Export
17-May  Saturday  Day 14  Chatujak Weekend Market, Metro Lifestyle
18-May  Sunday  Day 15    Return to AZO (or on to Phuket for optional week)

Optional Week
19-May  Monday  Day 16  Phuket Island
20-May  Tuesday  Day 17  Phuket Island
21-May  Wednesday  Day 18  Phuket Island “White water rafting”
22-May  Thursday  Day 19  Fly from Phuket to Samui
23-May  Friday  Day 20  Samui  Island  Tour
24-May  Saturday  Day 21  Full Moon Party
25-May  Sunday  Day 22  Free Day
26-May  Monday  Day 23  Back to Bangkok
27-May  Tuesday  Day 24  Back to AZO

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Additional Resources

Contacts:

Faculty Director:
Professor Duke Leingpibul
Department of Marketing
3141 Schneider Hall
(269) 387-4249
duke.leingpibul@wmich.edu

HCOB:
Barb Caras-Tomczak, MBA Program Coordinator and Global Business Center Advisor
Office: 2320 Schneider Hall
barb.caras-tomczak@wmich.edu 
(269) 387-5086

Study Abroad Specialist
Sakhi Vyas
sakhi.vyas@wmich.edu
(269) 387-5890

Demographic Information (external links)
Thailand - Lonely Planet
Bangkok - Lonely Planet
Japan - Lonely Planet
Tokyo - Lonely Planet

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