BUS 390: Leadership and Cross-Cultural Management The Caribbean

BUS 390B (4 credits)
3 weeks in the Caribbean
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 live onboard a 50-foot bareboat yacht while travelling in the British Virgin Islands and the Leeward Islands. Living and learning on board a yacht for 21 days is quite a transformative experience. Students are required to adapt to new and unfamiliar surroundings, both in terms of the yacht and the cultures visited. Moreover, students are required to assume many 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 meals for the crew. To enrich the onboard experience for participants, students complete readings and engage in discussions on leadership and cross-cultural management. At each location students engage with local businesses and business leaders. In addition, each student is required to maintain a daily analytical journal that applies the readings to their experience onboard. No prior sailing experience is required as students develop sailing, navigation, and yacht management proficiencies through living and learning onboard the yacht.

Students are required to complete readings and conduct location research over the winter break and to attend 3-4 evening pre-departure preparation sessions.
For more details on the course, please see: http://caribbeanleadership.wordpress.com.

Program Fee (paid to W&L): $4,500. This fee includes: shared onboard accommodations, land transportation, business and island tours, 3 meals/day onboard, two group meals ashore, weekly laundry, and custom fees.

Estimated Additional Expenses: Airfare- $600. Students should be prepared to bring approximately $300-500 in personal spending money to cover additional optional costs while on the program.

Prerequisite: Pass W&L swim test and instructor consent.

For more information, please contact Prof. Shay at shayj@wlu.edu.