Braced against the cold wind at the tip of the Cape of Good Hope, travelers fly the green Stetson Business School banner. In the front are Wendy Lowe, EMBA coordinator, and Dr. Stuart Michelson, EMBA director and School of Business dean.
Standing beneath windy winter cliffs at the rocky tip of the Cape of Good Hope to gaze out on the turbulent southern seas is an uncommon experience for School of Business Administration students.
But a cluster of Executive MBA students – and the Business School dean – climbed along the historic coast this summer during an intensive field study to regions of South Africa near Cape Town and Johannesburg. It is the first business study to the African continent.
Getting a snack before serious business begins in the board room of Investec, one of South Africa’s largest private banks, are (back to front) Larry Flory, Harley Wenzel, Raul Herrera, Torrance Johnson and Ghalab Abulola.
As dramatic as the Cape Point experience was for the 15 students of the EMBA Cohort 8, it was not the only high point.
“South Africa was a fantastic choice for our international study abroad,” said Dean Stuart Michelson, EMBA Program director. “The remarkable change that has occurred there, and is still occurring, since the apartheid revolution is incredible. It was an unforgettable and deeply enlightening business and cultural experience for all of us.”
Given the global nature of business, international trips are built into the EMBA Program to expose students to different business practices, environments and diverse disciplines. They meet with economic leaders and are immersed in local culture. Previous EMBA cohorts visited Dubai, China, Vietnam and other areas.
Eric O’Leary, Torrance Johnson and Alexandra Mandell use headlamps during a diamond mine tour.
Learning about apartheid and seeing evidence of South Africa’s continued recovery from a racially oppressed and segregated society left the greatest impression on numerous students. Others spoke of the country’s poverty, wildlife, cultural wealth and in-depth looks at businesses ranging from high-tech to retail, finance to agriculture and even complex operations of diamond mining.
Students donned head-to-toe safety gear to descend almost half a mile beneath the ground near Pretoria to watch diamond-laden rock extracted at the Cullinan Diamond Mine, one of Africa’s leading producers. Cullinan has 2,000 employees in Pretoria and extracts about a million carats of diamonds a year.
The company’s general manager and supervisory staff accompanied the cohort and answered questions. They met and talked with miners.
Marketing and rebranding was the top subject when students questioned the chief operating officer of Vodacom, South Africa’s leading phone provider. They also met with leading executives of Investec, one of South Africa’s biggest private banks.
EMBA students visited Johannsburg Stock Exchange, the largest in Africa.
At the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the largest in Africa, students heard from directors of commodity derivatives and interest rate products. They also met with the chief operating officer of Billion Group, a real estate company and the first black-owned company traded on the exchange.
Other visits included the Warwick Winery near Cape Town, and SPAR, a giant international retailer with 850 stories in South Africa.
“At all our business visits, speakers were very candid about the country’s dark past and how they are all working toward the future,” said student Raul Herrera of Orlando, a Disney World restaurant manager. “No one tried to sugarcoat anything.”
“Apartheid was the most riveting aspect of South Africa for most students,” said Wendy Lowe, EMBA Program coordinator who accompanied the group.
Eric O’Leary and Shariq Kahn lead the pack as students crest a hill on a bicycle tour of Soweto near Johannesburg.
The group visited the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg and stopped at former president Nelson Mandela’s former home during a bicycle trip through Soweto. The community came to the world’s attention during the 1970s and 80s when deadly racial rioting pitted government forces against citizens.
“Mandela insisted on reconciliation, not retaliation or revenge” to rid his nation of one of the “most sustained evil political, cultural and social structures mankind has ever seen,” said Herrera. “If anyone thinks one man cannot affect change, they are sadly mistaken.”
The cohort visited residents of a home for the aged near Cape Town and made a cash donation raised partly during a recent EMBA reunion. Students wanted to give something to South African people in return for their learning adventure and hear residents tell of life under apartheid.
An elephant feeds in the bush as EMBA safari tour passes.
“I could see that visiting the seniors meant a lot to them,” said student Eric O’Leary of Celebration, a Disney hotel guest service manager. “The fact that they do not receive visitors is sad, and sharing time with them was very rewarding.”
Another high point for students was a safari tour that brought students close to an elephant herd, rhinoceros, leopard, impala, hippopotamus, giraffe and many birds and other animals.
“We enjoyed every moment of it,” said Wesley DuBose of Salt Springs, an engineer for Clay Electric Cooperative. “There is nothing like hearing a lion’s roar in the distance.”
A zebra stares from a savannah as EMBA students take photos.
“The natural beauty was awesome and breathtaking,” said Jacob Walters of Orlando, a Disney internal communications associate.
Wildlife, including baboons, elands, ostriches and penguins, were also part of a day’s trip through Table Mountain National Park to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, the southernmost point of the Cape. Students were awed by the mountains, rocky cliffs, crashing sea and animals.
As my term as Dean of the School of Business Administration comes to a close, it’s fulfilling to reflect on what we’ve accomplished over the past three years.
I don’t think South Africa is recognized as often as it should for the impact it has on business and culture in the world. Kudos to Wendy and Dr. Michelson for exposing this important region to current and future business leaders in the EMBA program.