Integration of Study Abroad with Social Media Technologies and Decision‐Making Applications

Abstract

This article describes the design and delivery of a program, “Global Business in a Digital World.” The program integrates the use of social media technologies and business applications in a series of courses that include short‐term study abroad components that focus on emerging markets. The objectives are to: (1) provide additional options for study abroad; (2) broaden the scope of the international business program to include more emphasis on emerging markets; (3) provide integration across business and liberal arts; and (4) integrate social media technologies into the study abroad experience. To achieve these objectives, students study business in the host country, interact with local company executives, and experiment with social media and related technologies. A conceptual framework describes the course structure and its relationship with the four categories of social media classified as 4Cs: Communication, Connection, Cooperation, and Collaboration (Cook, 2008; Enterprise 2.0. Burlington, VT: Gower Publishing Limited). Conclusions reveal improved student learning outcomes after exposure to the study abroad, but also suggest the study abroad experience requires specific skill development. A research framework gives direction for future work.

Social Media Driven Management Education

“…The Four-C social media deployment model (Cooperation, Connected, Communication, Collaboration), while first introduced for study abroad programs, provides a helpful framework for the use of social media in general throughout schools of business (Deans, 2012). Examples of cooperation technologies include bookmarking (e.g., Delicious) and site rankings.…”

Increasing Cultural Competence: Implementation of Study Away/Abroad in an Athletic Training Program

“…However, minor modifications in the athletic training curriculum combined with recent advancements in technology potentially minimize negative consequences and allow students to benefit from study away/abroad experiences. [1][2][3] Athletic training students may become more culturally competent athletic trainers (ATs) equipped to handle changing demographics through study away/abroad experiences.…”

Non-Technical Skills for IT Professionals in the landscape of Social Media

“…Reviewing literature on social media use in IT the following 19 categories of different types content were discovered: Blogs, Bookmarking, Communities, Content Sharing, Crowdfunding, Customer Relationship Management, Dashboards, Enterprise Resource Planning, Mashups, Mobile, Photosharing, Podcasting, Project Management, Question and Answer Sites, Social Media Monitoring and Analytics, Social Networking, Socialized News, Video Sharing and Wikis (Arazy & Gellatly, Bale, 2014;Cawthorne, 2011;Christ et al, 2012;Deans, 2012;Fieseler & Fleck, 2013;Gorra & Finlay, 2009;Gray et al, 2011;Harris, 2008;Heilesen, 2010;Lackie & Terrio, 2007;Sung-Min, 2012;Yakushigawa, Yanagimoto & Yoshioka, 2013). Several of these categories have a larger focus on Information Technology Professionals: Customer Relationship Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, Project Management and Social Media Monitoring and Analytics.…”

“…Decision making is the ability to analyze all aspects of a situation to gain insight to make a decision (Deans, 2012;Evans, 2002;Gorra & Finlay, 2009;Muzio et al, 2007;Verma & Bedi, 2008). "An employee's ability to correctly analyze a situation, understand tradeoffs, offer good recommendations, and make the right choice is often rewarded with increased freedom to self-manage, and with the opportunity to engage in more interesting and challenging projects" (Evans, 2002, p. 33).…”

“…The ability to analyze all aspects of a situation to gain insight to make a decision (Deans, 2012;Gorra & Finlay, 2009;Muzio et al, 2007). Diversity An understanding of, and appreciation for, diverse perspectives for the purpose of improving overall organizational outcomes (Hagen & Bouchard, 2015;Schachaf, 2008).…”