Week #4

By Debbie Papiemik

The ice in indiana is definitely making me yearn for the hot temperatures of Ghana. But even though the ice kept us from attending class this week, it didn't keep the Kingsbridge team from being productive. On Tuesday, we finalized our project plan and project scope, and on Thursday, we brainstormed like crazy about what our client deliverable will look like. Our project plan and project sponsor, Raphael Tyson, even ventured out in the icy weather to meet with us in person about the project. Our team is so lucky to have Raphael here in Bloomington for the three weeks! It's definitely easier to get to know Raphael and what Kingsbridge is about in person than over the phone or Skype.

Our project is really starting to take shape, but we are still narrowing down our scope of work to something manageable for our team to deliver. Given taht we leave for Ghana in just four short weeks, we need to do as much as possible before our departure, so that we only have very specific tasks left for our limited working time in-country. Our frequent conversations with Raphael have helped us tremendously in sifting through our ideas. It seems like every time we talk to him we come away with a clearer picture of what Kingsbridge's efforts in Ghana entail and how we can provide them with insight. If our team stays focus on what is actionable for Kingsbridge, then we will be on the right track.

Week #3

By Aaron Gutting

Every week in GLOBASE just seems to get better, and this week the excitement for Ghana really built with client visits to Bloomington. Kelley arranged for Bridget Darko from Aid to Artisans and Raphael Tyson and Manasseh Portuphy from Kingsbridge to come to Bloomington for a week and meet with students and faculty. I’ll talk more about their visit in a moment but first want to talk about the week #3 class. The session featured a lecture by Management Professor Matt Semadeni. Professor Semadeni challenged the GLOBASE teams to alter our approach to our projects and take the perspective not of a manager but of an entrepreneur. He emphasized that we need to consider our clients motivations beyond just pure business goals and consider what is really driving them.

We were able to immediately put this advice to good use in our meetings with our clients. My group was able to meet with Bridget, discuss her organization and scope out our project. We also had the chance to meet with Raphael and Manasseh. We were able to bounce ideas off them and get a sense for some of the challenges we will face once we get to Ghana. Finally – a highlight was that we had the chance to go to dinner a couple of times with Bridget, Raphael, and Manasseh. It was great to take a break from project work and actually get to know the people we’re working with. It has made everyone feel more comfortable as we start the heavy work on our project and will make some of the adjustments once we arrive in Ghana a little bit easier.

Week #2

By Nicole Francis

GLOBASE Ghana has been such an exciting and rich learning environment thus far….and it is only class 2!! Today, I felt that the highlights of the session were our visitor from Ghana and the international business discussion. Bernard, the amazing musician, led an interactive session where he introduced us to traditional Ghanaian and African instruments. He played us a song that we were able to sing a long to and participate by clapping and singing! A great time was had by all J One thing that I took away was the meaning of a Ghanaian symbol that is extremely popular and meaningful, it is called the Adinkra, and I have seen it as tattoos to earring designs at Emefa Jewellery. I feel the music helped our class to experience the culture up close and personal.

The International Business discussion was also helpful in that it allowed the four teams to take some time to think about how to effectively communicate with our clients, by understanding that the data collection process will require some creativity and leniency. We, as a group, pinpointed some areas that we anticipated difficulty and worked on contingency plans that would help us to work around them. GLOBASE Ghana just keeps getting better. I look forward to the weeks to come.

Week #1

By Liesel Mertes

We all returned safely from our three-week break, ready to face the craziness of internship season. Thoughts of business formal suits, CAR statements, and networking tips are at the forefront of everyone’s mind. So, walking into the Ghana GLOBASE class was a dramatic shift during the first week back at Kelley.

During this first class session, the reality of our project and upcoming trip began to sink in. One of the second years shared details regarding visas and vaccinations…yes, we would be traveling halfway around the world to a place where foreign sounding afflictions like yellow fever still lurked.

The “otherness” of Ghana was also revealed in the presentation of Professor Roberto Garcia, who gave an excellent talk on communicating successfully in cross-cultural environments. I especially resonated with his presentation, reflecting on the mistakes I made communicating with my Kenyan colleagues during a previous job in Nairobi.

Yet, in spite of the cultural and physical barriers that divide us, it was exciting to think about the common ties we would establish through our consulting relationships with Ghanaian clients. Right now, Gladys of All Pure Nature is just a name on a piece of paper. However, by the end of the course, she will be an in-the-flesh woman who (I hope) I have come to like. I will know her house, her neighborhood, perhaps even have shared some of her favorite Ghanaian dishes.

Our first session was one full of anticipation: anticipation for all that is to unfold over the next BUSY seven weeks.

Globase Ghana Incoming Students Welcome Discussion

The welcome discussion for Globase Ghana incoming students was successfully held on Nov 5th 2010. The main purposes for this discussion are:
1. Develop closer relationships among consulting team students, student leadership team, and faculty team.
2. Build engery, excitement, and enthusiasm for the incoming consulting team students
3. Enrich students with Ghana culture and other basic knowledge.

The Disucssion lasted for 2 and a half hour from 5:00pm to 7:30pm on Friday at the Institute of International Business, and includes section such as: Pictionary, Ghana Trivia Question, Human Knot, Match and Eat, Two Truth and A Lie etc. Students get excited about the coming semester Globase Ghana, and also got the chance to meet each other.

Listen to Faculty Leader, Sheri Fella, discuss her thoughts on GLOBASE Ghana

GLOBASE Ghana Video from July 2010 Travels