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August 20, 2002 (Atlanta) - Fifteen students from Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson College of Business gained first-hand insights into the effects of Argentina's beleaguered economy as part of a two-country "study abroad" tour sponsored by the College's Institute of International Business. The group, comprised primarily of Robinson MBA students, returned yesterday after visiting the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires and then Brazil's commercial center, Sao Paulo.
In Argentina students heard candid comments at the Argentine Foreign Ministry about the country's economic instability, which has resulted in the freezing of assets and the closing of many banks and business institutions.
They also listened as Argentineans talked of ill-conceived strategies and governmental corruption as keys to the downfall of the economy and the refusal of the IMF to provide a bail-out such as it did with a $30 billion loan to Brazil earlier this year.
MBA student Susan Carraway, an international marketing specialist with Siemens Energy & Automation in Atlanta , said being a part of the business environment in Argentina was a real eye-opener. "Seeing how the political, economic and social aspects of the country work within that environment was fascinating. There is no better way to learn and understand the situation than to actually have been there."
Students also visited two companies with Georgia connections. At the Simmons mattress factory a once piled-high warehouse has only half the inventory it had a year ago. Company executives explained how they can only buy from suppliers within the country (because of the gross devaluation of the peso), how revenues have been sliced in half and a third of the Company's workforce has been laid off just to keep this privately-owned licensee afloat. The story was similar at Bell-South Argentina, where growth of the landline and cellular business is at a standstill.
Students also learned of the indomitable spirit of the Argentinean people as they toured the city, including its many historic and cultural areas.
After five days in Buenos Aires the group flew to Sao Paulo for briefings by representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Export Center. They also met with Max Gorissen, the director of the Brazilian office of the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism and visited other companies with Atlanta connections, including Siemens, whose Brazilian subsidiary is the country's largest firm in the electronics and electrical engineering sector.
Robinson faculty members David Bruce and Pedro Carrillo led the tour. Bruce, a noted expert on Latin America and chairman of the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, established the program two years ago. It is one of several "study abroad" opportunities provided students annually by Robinson's Institute of International Business. In addition to Latin America students travel to such locations as China, Europe and South Africa.
For more information, contact:
Tammy Demel
Office of External Affairs
Robinson College of Business
404/413-7078
404/702-9743 (cell)
Professors Bruce and Carrillo and students of the class are available to speak on their experiences in Argentina and Brazil and tell of the insights they gained on the economic conditions in these countries. Should you wish to speak with them please contact Tammy Demel. | 
