BUS 390B: Leadership and Cross-Cultural Management British Virgin Islands and Leeward Islands

BUS 390B

4 Credits

3 weeks in the Caribbean (British Virgin and Leeward Islands)

Professor Jeff Shay

This course focuses on developing both leadership and cross-cultural management skills through immersing students in an intensive, leadership rich, and culturally diverse environment. Students and faculty will live onboard a 50-foot bareboat yacht while travelling in the British Virgin Islands and the Leeward Islands. Living and learning onboard a yacht for 21 days can be quite a quite transformative experience. Students will be required to adapt to their new and unfamiliar surroundings, both in terms of the yacht and the cultures visited. Moreover, students will be required to assume many new roles and responsibilities on a daily basis, ranging from leading the crew as their skipper to utilizing newly developed navigational skills to plot the course to the next harbor and assure that the yacht arrives safely to preparing and serving a meal to the crew of nine or ten. To enrich the onboard experience for participants, students will be completing daily readings on leadership and discussing them with the crew once the yacht is underway. In addition, each student will be required to maintain a daily analytical journal that applies the readings to their experience onboard. No prior sailing experience is required as students will develop sailing, navigation, and yacht management proficiencies through living and learning onboard the yacht.

Prerequisite: Passing W&L swimming test and instructor consent.

Program Fee (paid to the University): $ 4,000 to include room (on the boat) and board, ferries and other transportation, custom fees, etc.

Estimated Additional Costs: Airfare - $600-$800

Mandatory Pre-departure Orientation: Wednesday, February 27 at 6 p.m. in Huntley 235.
For further information, e-mail Prof. Shay.