STUDY ABROAD EXAMINES NEW RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Ten J. Mack Robinson College of Business graduate and undergraduate students recently visited Russia to examine the impact of economic, political/legal, social and cultural factors on Russian business through the Robinson College's Management and Accounting Study Abroad Program. Before leaving for Russia, students prepared by taking a summer-long introductory course - Comparative Management Practices for undergraduate students and Management and Cross-national Environments for graduate students.

The 10-day two-city tour began with a visit to St. Petersburg's Leti-Lovanium University, where the Robinson students attended a lecture on the Russian economy and interacted with their Russian counterparts. The early-morning lecture outlined the challenges Russia faces as it moves toward a free market system and away from the central planning that dominated economic life since 19 17's Bolshevik Revolution.

"The Russian economy has rebounded well," said Tad Ransopher, assistant professor of accounting and co-director of the program. "The devaluation of the ruble increased domestic consumption and strengthened the economy. And, unlike 1996-'97, there were no panhand I ers. There's still little faith in the banking system, though."

Following the lecture, the students viewed presentations by Russian MBAs on topics ranging from the feasibility of a private pension fund in Russia to the demand for energy-efficient products in St. Petersburg. While the Russians were generally not as well versed in business as the Georgia State students -capitalism, after all, is still relatively new to them - they were interested in Western business practices and methods and eager to talk shop with their American visitors. Of particular interest to the Russians were bonds and their use in pension funds.

After an overnight train ride to Moscow, the focus shifted from students to professionals. In Moscow, students interviewed high-level managers of local companies such as the Bor Glass Company and the AZLK Automobile Factory, as well as the Russian facilities of multinationals Coca-Cola, DHL and Daimler-Chrysler.

The company visits allowed better insight into specific challenges faced by Russian businesses. For example, at Daimler-Chrysler executives discussed how the company lobbied the DUMA, Russia's equivalent of the U.S. House of Representatives, to allow companies to depreciate the cost of automobile leases, thereby reducing their tax burden. Prior to Daimler's effort, Russian companies could not depreciate this cost.