German - US Global Leadership Lab
2011 GERMAN-US GLOBAL LEADERSHIP LAB AT SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY
March 2011
The GLLab (Global Leadership Laboratory) held a week-long session from March 1-5th, 2011 with SJSU's MBA-One cohort and seven masters students and one doctoral student from Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany. The German students were accompanied by Professors Juergen Deller, Volker Stief and Thomas Schomerus. This exchange program was developed by Dr. Deller, a former Lucas Scholar in Residence at SJSU and currently a Global Leadership Advancement Center (GLAC) research fellow, and Dr. Joyce Osland, executive director of GLAC. In May, MBA-One students will travel with Dr. Osland to Leuphana University and spend a week studying and visiting German firms.
In the GLLab, students were assessed, trained and tested on various global leadership skills by Dr. Osland. Dr. Pini Kemppainnen, GLAC Visiting Scholar from Finland's JTO School of Management, also helped facilitate the GLLab. A highlight was an 8-hour assessment center exercise focused on Daimler's team and leadership competencies. This session was designed and taught by Dr. Deller, Dr. Stief, and Anne Marit Wöhrmann who have first-hand experience with assessment centers used by German companies.
Guest speaker Karl Kokrhoun, CFO Vaccines & Diagnostics at Novartis, told students about the expatriate experience. Jon Atkins, Managing Director, RBC Capital Markets, described his job as a telecommunications analyst and provided students with career advice. Applied Materials executive Werner Finsterbusch, Corporate Vice President of Applied Global Service Sales, spoke about his company's global focus and his career as a global leader. The field trip to Cisco's Executive Briefing Center to see the telepresence unit was another high point in the week.
To provide the German students with an opportunity to see how Americans live, Naglee Park neighbors and GLAC staff generously opened their homes to lodge the students. The week began with a welcome dinner for the German visitors and their hosts at the Osland house.
This program was made possible by GLAC staff Jeff Gaines (assistant director), Stacy Wheeler (coordinator), and Jessica Navarro and Emalynn Robinson (graduate assistants). Dr. Mahesh Rajan, MBA Director, contributed to making this week a success, along with the staff of the Lucas Graduate School, Prabha Chandrasekar, Barbara Somers and John Cesari.
2010 GERMAN-US GLOBAL LEADERSHIP LAB AT SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY
March 2010
The GLLab (Global Leadership Lab) held a week-long session from March 4-10th, 2010 with SJSU's MBA-One cohort and five masters students from the Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany. The German students were accompanied by Professors Juergen Deller and Juergen Deters. In addition to the intercultural exchange that occurred throughout the week, the students were assessed, trained and tested on various global leadership skills. The GLLab was taught by SJSU College of Business professor Joyce Osland and by Dr. Deller and Dr. Deters. Guest speaker, Karl Kokrhoun, CFO Vaccines & Diagnostics at Novartis, spoke on “The Expatriate Experience.” Jon Atkins, Managing Director, RBC Capital Markets, described his company and his job for students and provided them with career advice. One of the highlights was an 6-hour assessment center exercise focused on Daimler's team and leadership competencies. This session was designed and taught by Dr. Deters and Dr. Deller, a former Lucas Scholar in Residence at SJSU. Both professors have first-hand experience with assessment centers used by German companies. The fieldtrip to Cisco's telepresence unit was a big hit with the students. To provide the German students with an opportunity to see how Americans live, they were housed with SJSU professors.
Another highlight was the joint session on intercultural competence with University of Athabasca EMBAs from Canada. As their newsletter noted, “Nineteen Athabasca University EMBA students traveled to San Jose for "Risk Taking and Leadership in the Silicon Valley," coached by Dr. James Spee of Redlands University in California. A morning at San Jose State's Global Leadership Lab run by Dr. Joyce Osland from San Jose State University gave the Canadian EMBA students the opportunity to interact with other students from Germany and California. A highlight of the lab was a revealing exercise in global communications among the groups, which showed how assumptions and stereotypes about other cultures can limit success.”
