Daemen Global Business Program, Atlantic Corridor USA Inc., Building WNY Business Partnerships With Irish Companies
*****Developing the "Celtic Tiger" as a Business Link to European Union Countries
November 6, 2000Contact: Mike AndreiDirector-College Relations(716) 839-8472[email protected]
Students in the Daemen College Master of Science in Global Business Program, together with Atlantic Corridor USA, Inc., are working to help western New York companies forge new partnerships with firms in the Irish Republic, and, additionally, establish links with businesses in other European Union (EU) countries. The Daemen graduate students contacted four western New York firms, interested in doing business in Ireland and the EU, through assistance from Atlantic Corridor, a collaborative venture between Irish business, government, and educational interests dedicated to promoting economic development between the United States and Ireland.
Eight Daemen graduate students, representing the western New York firms, traveled to Ireland in October to contact potential partners for the companies and learn about doing business with the EU. The firms are: Crowley-Webb & Associates, a Buffalo, New York, advertising and public relations firm; IMMCO Diagnostics, Inc., and STS duotek, Inc., western New York manufacturers of medical devices, bio-indicators, and laboratory testing kits; and Syrinex, a Buffalo manufacturer of internet servers for small businesses.
The Daemen students, each a member of the Global Business Program class "Regional Business in the European Union," were divided into four teams, with each team assigned one of the companies, all small-to-medium sized firms. Prior to their departure for Ireland, the students attended three teleconference classes in the Daemen distance learning center taught by professors from the Smurfit Business School, the top graduate business school in Ireland. The professors, Tony Cunningham and Aidan O'Reilly, president of Quest Campus in Tullamore, Ireland, and former dean of the business school of the University of Ulster, provided economic and cultural background through a two-part lecture entitled "Doing Business in the EU."
"The teleconference classes enabled our students to use their time in Ireland much more effectively," noted Dr. Linda Kuechler, chair of the Daemen Business Administration Department. "Professors O'Reilly and Cunningham explained their ‘action learning' technique, which is a different approach to class instruction than we are used to. It is more of a discovery process, whereby faculty members do not tell students everything that they need to know for a particular class. So our students, also, were exposed to the European education system in preparation for their trip."
In addition to the Smurfit Business School, Quest Campus, a new Irish educational venture designed to facilitate international cooperation, also provided links to the University College at Dublin, Ulster University, and Enterprise Ireland, all of which have played strong roles in Ireland's economic surge over the last decade – the growth of the "Celtic Tiger." Through Quest, the Daemen global business students were able to enter internships with Irish firms in the same business or industry as their assigned western New York companies. During their two weeks spent in Ireland with the firms, each student team explained the western New York company they represented, and its interest in doing business in Ireland and in the EU. Upon their return to Daemen, each team began work on a management consultant report, describing what would be required to get the potential new western New York/Irish business partnerships working.
Phyllis Krathaus was one of two members of the Daemen team representing STS duotek, Inc., a Farmington, New York manufacturer of medical devices, bio-indicators, and laboratory services. The firm, located just outside Rochester, has already begun doing business with two clients in Ireland, and would like to increase that number.
"They wanted us to research the bio-technology and pharmaceutical industry in Ireland," said Krathaus. "It's a very hot area of their economy right now, much like the computer industry was in the U.S. beginning in the 1980's. Irish business and government interests are pumping a lot of money into bio-tech and pharmaceuticals, in an effort to expand the market. STS duotek wants to be part of that growth. Now we'll put together a proposed strategy based on what we learned in Ireland and work with them to try and help make that happen."
Together with Dr. Kuechler, Krathaus and other members of the Daemen Global Business Program teams traveled to Dublin and Galway in Ireland, and then to Ulster University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to do research and gather information on how to most effectively build the business partnerships the western New York firms are seeking with companies in both of those countries, and the EU. Deborah Cancilla, who was assigned to represent IMMCO Diagnostics, Inc., said the two-week trip provided an excellent opportunity to apply classroom principles to real-world business.
"There was so much to learn. The Irish government has made development of the bio-tech and pharmaceutical industry in that country a big priority. Their economic plan not only makes it easier to do business with them, but because Ireland has minimized its tariffs and regulatory requirements, it also opens up opportunities with other countries in the EU," said Cancilla, assistant director of health care information systems at the Erie County Medical Center.
Following a 10-year boom with growth mostly centered on the coasts, Irish business and government leaders are attempting to broaden their roaring economic engine's benefits to all sections of the country. While Angela's Ashes depicts a clear, if somewhat harrowing picture of a portion of Ireland's past, it's future can be described quite literally by the title of Irish rockers U2's latest single, "Beautiful Day." Both are pieces of a larger picture: the success with which Irish arts and culture have been exported during the past decade has contributed significantly to the Emerald Isle's success in attracting greater numbers of foreign students, such as those from the U.S. A key goal of the Daemen Master of Science in Global Business Program is to instill a professional mastery of current and emerging global business issues for students who are seeking the expertise to compete in the global marketplace, whether in Ireland, Central America, or the Pacific Rim.
"Our program is different, in that we do not train students for employment in other countries," Dr. Kuechler pointed out. "Rather, we provide our students with the skills to conduct business anywhere in the world; Ireland, in this case. Whether it's global marketing, management information systems, or cash management under a different economic system, the key is to build the skills necessary not only for staff positions, but for senior management as well."
Information on the Daemen College Master of Science in Global Business Program can be obtained from Dr. Linda Kuechler, in the Daemen Business and Commerce Division, or through the Daemen College web site, www.daemen.edu, under "Academic Departments." Atlantic Corridor, USA, Inc., can be contacted through their Buffalo, New York, offices at(716) 853-8620.
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