GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION An Institutional Collaboration Between the United States and Cuba

Many U.S. universities are developing interinstitutional partnerships in global business communi-cation. Benefits include preparing students for the workplace by immersing them in intercultural pro-jects and increasing the complexity of their understanding of the global economy. Challenges can range from technological constraints and scarce resources to geopolitical factors and varying disci-plinary norms. However, global partnerships make faculty and students more aware of and engaged in the global business environment as they learn to communicate more effectively across cultures, cri-tique current business practices, and produce new ways of being in global relation to each other. An interinstitutional partnership between a U.S. university and Universidad de la Habana in Cuba forms the centerpiece of discussion. Outcomes of this partnership include coauthoring articles in both countries and languages, the creation of a business communication course for graduate students in Cuba, and the development of classroom activities in which selected U.S. and Cuban undergraduate students exchange business documents