Export Education

This criterion study examined the impact of the cultural dimensions of individualism and collectivism on actual plagiarism in working business students. Given globalization of business and recent business scandals, furthering our understanding of international ethics remains critical. Business students are the potential employees, managers and leaders of organizations in the future. In this study we focus on one form of unethical conduct by business students, i.e. actual plagiarism, and seek to determine the link between this behavior and cultural values of individualism/collectivism and associated stereotypes of Asian/Caucasian students. Our findings suggest that individualists plagiarize more than collectivists, and that no significant differences in plagiarism exist between Asian and Caucasian students, contrary to popular beliefs. The implications of these findings for scholars and managers are discussed.

Ethics have received increased attention from the media and academia in recent years. Most reports suggest that one form of unethical conduct – plagiarism – is on the rise in the business schools. Stereotypes of Asian students as being more prone to plagiarize are frequently found in the literature, though not concretely substantiated. This study used a behavioral criterion to examine the relationships among ethnicity, acculturation, and plagiarism in a sample of 158 undergraduate and graduate students. Significant differences in plagiarism behavior were found based on level of student acculturation, but not ethnicity. Considerations and implications for training and managing international students and workers are discussed.

For many universities around the world, internationalisation means the recruitment of fee-paying international students (so-called " export education ") for primarily commercial reasons. For UK universities, international (non-European Union) students account for approximately 13% of their annual revenues, making them highly dependent on international student recruitment. This paper discusses the attempt by one UK university to change direction and develop a new approach to internationalisation which puts an international learning experience for all students at the heart of its new strategic plan. It discusses the obstacles to changing direction in this way and shares some of the lessons learned about how to roll out an alternative university-wide internationalisation strategy.

Plagiarism is increasingly evident in business and academia. While links between demographic, personality, and situational factors have been found, previous research has not used actual plagiarism behavior as a criterion variable. Previous research on academic dishonesty has consistently used to self-report measures to establish prevalence of dishonest behavior. In this chapter the author covers the results of four studies that used plagiarism behavior to establish its prevalence, as well as relationships between plagiarism behavior and: 1. Integrity-related personal selection measures 2. Workplace deviance 3. Ethnicity 4. Acculturation 5. Individualism 6. Collectivism 7. Religiosity 8. Spirituality.

The motivation for this thesis is based on my experiences during the summer of 2014, during which I had the opportunity to participate in an educational export pilot project that took place between Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the Extension School of Oulu University (TOPIK) concerning in-service training for BMA teachers and administrators.

In addition to providing an insight into the background to the projects from the perspectives of BMA and TOPIK, and introducing the main players involved, the main aims of this qualitative study are: to work in collaboration with the stakeholders in identifying the main issues and
misunderstandings that were encountered throughout the projects from their perspectives, in addition to identifying and recording the main factors identified by respondents as being responsible for overcoming these and other obstacles and issues. In order to achieve these aims an action research methodology was adopted. Qualitative data used
in this research was collected via face to face interviews with the main actors, with additional data obtained from the researchers own participation in the projects, in addition to observations and
field notes based on numerous conversations with participants, and relevant documentation.

During the thesis process, the author also had the opportunity to spend several weeks in Bangkok during which time additional data and observations were acquired, through interviews, meetings, and a
variety of visits.

Theories of intercultural communication establish that when dealing with cultures as far removed from each other as the Finnish and Thai cultures, there are always going to be a number of issues which would need to be addressed during these types of educational export pilot projects. While
there were a host of minor obstacles and issues that needed to be dealt with on a continuous basis, the major issues identified by participants throughout the project process were: date and format
changes, practical and ethical issues concerning ‘deliverables,’ goodwill, communication issues, issues related to payments, in addition to issues concerning contracts and documentation.

The main factors identified by participants as being the overriding factors in overcoming these, and indeed other issues and obstacles, can be summarised as being related to authority, local knowledge and
trust.

Suomi on lähtenyt kansainväliseen koulutusvientikilpailuun usean sadan vuoden takamatkalta esimerkiksi brittiläisiin kilpailijoihinsa verrattuna. Siihen nähden Suomi on tehnyt jo nyt huikean matkan. Vuonna 2018 Suomi ylti koulutusviennin volyymissa jo 350 miljoonaan euroon (OKM). Suomalaiselle koulutukselle riittää kysyntää juuri erilaisen lähestymiskulmansa ja arvojensa ansiosta. Esimerkiksi yhdenvertaisuus, oppimisen tuki sekä oppilaslähtöinen pedagogiikka ovat suomalaisen koulutuksen vahvuuksia, joita maailmalla arvostetaan. Toistaiseksi koulutusviennin merkittävimmät avaukset on tehty Aasiassa ja öljy-ja kaasurikkaissa Lähi-idän maissa, joissa on myös suurimmat markkinat. On merkillepantavaa, että suomalainen koulutus ja opetussuunnitelma herättävät usein eniten kiinnostusta paikoissa, joita lännestä käsin syytetään tasa-arvon puutteesta. Maailma ei kehity muureja rakentamalla, vaan dialogilla, koulutuksella ja opetuksella. Suomalaisella koulutuksella on maailmalle paljon annettavaa ja eettisempää vientituotetta on vaikea löytää. Koulutusosaaminen on myös poikkeuksellinen vientituote, sillä se tuottaa toimijalleen usealla rintamalla. Vastikkeellisena toimintana se tuottaa rahaa vientiyritykselleen. Samalla se kasvattaa tekijöidensä osaamispääomaa, joka hyödyttää suoraan kotimaista koulutusjärjestelmää. Voisi kuvitella, että koulutusvientiä rajoittaisi eniten kohdemaiden toisenlainen yhteiskunta, mutta ehkä hieman yllättäen suomalaisen koulutusviennin suurimmat esteet löytyvät kotimaasta. Koulutusvienti muistetaan mainita juhlapuheissa, mutta valitettavasti puheet eivät tahdo siirtyä käytäntöön. Jos koulutusviennin volyymi oikeasti halutaan kasvattaa miljardiin euroon, kuten joskus on väläytelty, tarvitaan myös konkreettisia tekoja. Kentällä koulutusvientiä hankaloittaa muun muassa kotimaan tempoileva koulutuspolitiikka.