A Global Perspective: The Dawning of the Geocentric Manager

To navigate successfully the high seas of international commerce, managerial education is critical but almost never enough. The 21st century global managers not only need to understand their own firms, but they also have to anticipate the shifting sands of the global market place in which they compete. What managers need is a geocentric perspective enhanced by an understanding of the legal, economic, political, historical, and cultural context of the firms in which they work. These managers require a framework that allows them to deal more effectively with today's competitive challenges while sharpening their distance vision of tomorrow's risks and opportunities in the world market place. This is the Fletcher School's geocentric perspective on international business.

As the oldest graduate school of international affairs in the United States, the Fletcher School has developed a multidisciplinary program that builds on three core tenets:

• to develop international management competencies with a core business curriculum in accounting, finance, statistics, strategic management, marketing, negotiation, leadership, and decision-making;
  
• to nurture an understanding of the global business context with a comprehensive primer in international business law, political economy, and diplomatic history;
  
• and to integrate management skills with an in-depth cultural understanding through concentrated area studies and intensive training in foreign languages.

This unique synergy between a cutting edge international management education and a renaissance education in international history, law and politics provides Fletcher international business graduates with a unique competitive advantage. Fletcher's broad curriculum uniquely prepares our graduates for designing, brokering, and managing complex international project financing, securitization transactions, transnational joint-ventures and strategic renewal in rapidly deregulation of newly privatized industries. Fletcher graduates know how to appreciate, deal with, and eventually capitalize on the volatility of the international business environment. Whether it is a privatization case, a global product launch, a complex commodity swap or an emerging markets fund, the Fletcher graduate is sure to find an appropriate and creative framework that will help his or her firm to succeed.