An interesting phenomenon has been occurring in the last few decades of the twentieth century which seems to have escaped the scrutiny of scholars and practitioners of behavioral sciences. This is the transference of Western, especially American, education, particularly in the field of business and economics, with far reaching implications both in the U.S. and abroad.

Rapid and extensive quantitative growth in international business and commercial exchange has in fact reached qualitatively different dimensions in the past few decades. We witness even new terminology being developed to describe and explain, as well as facilitate this new "world order". "Global" as an adjective used with such terms as economy, business, corporations, marketing, etc. indicates a new approach to these concepts which is fundamentally (qualitatively) different from the "international" variation used before. An important distinction is the size of the new business entities. Another and significantly more interesting is the attempt to set up these entities in various countries functioning as single "seamless" business operations. It is in this attempt that education and training become especially important because these are probably the most common tools used by corporations to facilitate smooth functioning of various parts of their operations.

Foreign students have been studying in the Western countries for a long time. However, the number of these students studying in the West, especially in the United States have disproportionately and significantly increased in the past few decades. Although up-to-date reliable information for this period is not available, there are some reports on the number of students in foreign colleges and universities in the last decade and half (see Table 1). This data, albeit not complete, should suffice to indicate not only the large number of students who attend foreign universities, but also point to the growing trend in the expansion of educational exchange taking place in the world. This data, albeit not complete, should suffice to indicate not only the large number of students who attend foreign universities, but also point to the growing trend in the expansion of educational exchange taking place in the world.

This table points to a few interesting trends:

1. Number of students studying in foreign countries seems to be greatly affected by general economic conditions of the particular regions wherefrom students come, and the world in general.
2. Although the overall total of students does not show any great increases from year to year, there is indeed a general increase in the number of foreign students, especially if the missing data from South American countries are extrapolated.
3. There is a decline in the number of foreign students in the non-Western countries and a corresponding increase in the Western countries. This is the interesting aspect of international educational exchange, which we would like to study more closely.

As stated before, educational exchange between the Western and non-Western countries is not a new phenomenon. However, both the number of students involved and their fields of study have changed. Whereas, for a long time most foreign students were in fields such as medicine, engineering and similar other natural sciences and professions, the more recent students seem to be studying other subjects especially business, economics, management and other social sciences.

Of course there are many factors involved in this shift in educational exchange, i.e. in the growing number of students and new fields of study. However, our interest here is mostly focused on the social and cultural consequences of foreign education for the citizens of developing countries, especially those studying in American universities.

Earlier, it was pointed out that education and training are among the most relied-on tools for the global businesses to achieve harmony and coordination among their numerous branches and sites in various countries all over the globe, and as such they deserve close scrutiny by scholars and researchers. Unfortunately, we see very little work reported in the literature concerning this aspect of global and/or international business. It is a recognized fact that educational/training exchange among nations makes a large body of Western knowledge and technology available to developing recipient nations. Implications of this aspect of such dissemination for both parties have been studied, mostly from the point of view of our national security. The recent and on-going discussion in the United States about the transfer of missile and nuclear technology to China is a good example.

There are also studies that trace the effect of knowledge and technology exchange in economic development of other countries. It is a foregone conclusion for many scholars and practitioners that without such exchange developing countries could not have achieved whatever growth they have attained in the past few decades. In other words, the profound effects of these exchanges, in many arenas of life in the developing countries are well recognized and more or less documented.

There is also a very large body of literature examining various aspects of cultural transfer.

What is surprising and conspicuously absent in the literature is meaningful studies of what this exchange really constitutes. Education and training of foreign nationals in the United States institutions of higher learning are mostly regarded to be just that –i.e.: teaching knowledge and/or skills to students/trainees with the explicit or implied expectation that such knowledge or skills will be put to practical use in the foreign country. This is not really very different from the American view of education in general. Colleges and universities are expected to teach those subjects for which there is a job in the market. By the same token, foreign students are expected to learn what is useful for their country, and apply it once they go home.

However, the reality is not that simple. What is not taken into account is the cultural/value overload of the education in the American universities. Cultural/value overloads are transmitted to the students in such institutional settings regardless of where the students come from and whereto they go after graduation. This cultural overload escapes most observers’ attention because it is in fact part of the social fabric of the American society. Only on such occasions where the values taught are perceived to be very different from an observer’s expectations or preconceived notions of what such values ought to be, do we see reference to the role of the educational systems in regard to transfer of cultural concepts and notions. Nonetheless, the fact is that in the process of acculturation, the process through which new members of the society learn to become like the others in their values, norms, world-view, desires, aspirations and patterns of behavior, formal educational institutions play a very important role. Formal education is part and parcel of this process of maturation and acculturation.

Thus when education is exported to another country, cultural elements that are loaded over the seemingly value-free knowledge and skills , are also exported. This phenomenon is especially interesting, first because, it defines the normative/cultural foundations upon which a discipline is built, and secondly because it is hidden in the cloak of the more formal aspects of education; and third because, it is seldom recognized as a part of the new techniques, procedures and skills that are being transferred. It is, in a word, cultural exchange in its most fundamental form. Yet, it is seldom, if ever, recognized as such.

Almost all studies of cultural exchange consider the very obvious and usually superficial elements of cultural transition. Music, arts, films, artifacts, fashion, clothing, etc. are subjects of most such studies. But in fact, educational export may well turn out to be the most important export that America and American companies are making to the rest of the world. A long term view of global/international trade does not allow any student of business and trade to ignore educational exports because in the long-run the most amazing product of such exchange is going to be the cultural transformation of the world into a "global culture".

Stated differently, America’s subtle, and selfless export of education to other countries will be achieving what seemingly powerful political and military dominance of colonial countries could not attain.

In other words, training and educational opportunities that had been offered in growing numbers to foreign nationals, especially in the fields of business and economics, have reached such high levels that the cultural elements that they carry have transformed the very nature of educational transfer.

To examine the validity of this proposition, namely, that together with educating and training of foreign students in the United States, and probably not realized by either the educator and the students, a subtle transfer of cultural elements takes place, which are hidden parts and parcels of the educational experience, the authors of this paper devised a multi-stage research project. The first stage was conducted in 1998 and early 1999 and the report was presented in the Ninth Annual International Business Association in May of 1999.

A central element in this study was utilization of the concept of success and how it is defined in various cultures. It is assumed that culture is essentially a culturally defined concept, and as such there are detectable differences between definitions given by various cultures. An examination of the literature showed a very large body of writing on the subject. The following are a cross-sectional example of the types of research conducted on the definition of success: Doktor, Reading and Bigood ( 2 ); Feather (3 ); Liberthal and Oksenberg (10 ); and Norbum (14 ) are examples of recent studies and examinations of cultural differences. Stewart (16) Flynt and Berkeley (4) are representatives of studies discussing transfer of ideas across cultural boundaries.

Unfortunately, there seems to be no study on cross-cultural comparison of definition of success. Almost all studies discuss the subject of success from a normative, rather than an empirical view-point. Thus, the first stage of this research consisted mostly of finding various elements that goes into a definition of success in the American cultures. At this stage a sample of 500 alumni of a private California university was surveyed. This survey focused not only on the definition of success but also on how these definitions were transmitted. Many interesting points were discovered, almost all pointing to the fact that institutions of higher learning do in fact have a profound effect on the definition and transmittal of this culturally defined notion. For example, to the authors’ surprise, college education seemed to have almost an equal effect as family in this respect. (See Mahdavi and Weaver, 1999)

The second phase of the project was carried out in the summer of 1999. This paper reports some of most interesting findings of this phase of the research project.

The larger research project was designed in several stages. It was designed to test the premise that many culturally defined notions are transferred by institutions of higher learning. Definition of success was used as a cultural marker and was demonstrated to be highly influenced by culture and, more specifically, by institutions of higher learning. The first stage was designed to gather the likely range of responses to the questions and to test the respondents' interpretation of the questions. Most questions in the first stage questionnaire were open-ended and designed to prepare a closed-ended questionnaire for the following stages. The second stage, addressed in this paper, was directed to a much larger sample and allowed for more analysis of the distribution of the preferences for the responses. Using the information gained in the first stage, the questions in the second stage were designed as closed. Later stages will replicate the second-stage research in various cultures and with non-Americans who have graduated from institutions of higher learning in the United States.

In the second stage of this study, a large sample was drawn from alumni of the School of Business of a large, private, California University who had graduated between January 1, 1994 and December 31, 1997. A letter and three-page questionnaire were sent to about 2000 alumni, selected randomly from a universe of 12,000. A total of 194 were returned by the Post Office because of wrong address or because there were no forwarding address available. A total of 247 questionnaires were returned with usable data.

The questionnaire provided an opportunity for respondents to rate themselves, using a five-point Likert scale, how successful they felt in their life generally and in their careers. Closed-ended questions, with opportunities for additions, were then used to explore how they defined success, what they had yet to do to be successful, from whom did they learn these elements of success, how the university affected this definition, and what they learned at the university that contributed to their success. The questionnaire concluded with both standard demographic questions and questions about their national origins, those of their parents, and where the respondent completed their K-12 education.

To add an additional level of information in the questionnaire, several of the questions required the participants to choose their top five choices and rank those choices. 77% of the respondents followed those directions on question #3, "What is success to you in your career/work?" 82% on question #4, "What do you have yet to do to become or consider yourself successful?" 84% on question #5, "From whom did you learn what you have to do to be successful?," and 98% on questions #6 and #7, "How did what you learned at the university change how you defined success?" and "What did you learn at the university that is contributing to your being successful in your career or work?"

The results of this study have provided a rich look at the ways people define success, where they have learned these definitions, and at how successful they consider themselves.

Overall, the respondents considered themselves to be successful generally in their lives as well as in their careers and work. In response to the questions, "How successful do you consider yourself generally by this time in your life?" 80% of the respondents considered themselves successful (19% very successful and 61% successful). 75% considered themselves successful in the career or work (18% very successful and 58% successful). Those responding to the questionnaire have had the opportunity to achieve some measure of success since 76% of the respondents were between 31 and 50 years old.

Respondents were asked, "What is success to you in your career/work?" A number of choices were provided which had been generated by the preliminary study. Respondents were asked to pick up to five of these alternatives and rank them with their top choice as "1." This approach allowed for tallying both by frequency of being chosen as well as weighted by their sense of priority. Balance of family & career was both the most frequently chosen option (28%), as well as the highest weighted. Earning at a desired level was both second most frequently chosen (23%) and the second in the weighting. Satisfaction and enjoyment from work was third in both (19%). Achievement of career goals, fulfillment of my potential, work that is exciting and challenging, holding a position of responsibility, achievement of personal growth, contributing to the organization’s success, and having the respect of family were the fourth through tenth in the weighted rankings. Work that is challenging and exciting (15%), achievement of career goals (15%), holding a position of responsibility (14%), fulfillment of my potential (13%), achievement of personal growth (13%), contributes to organization’s success (13%), and contributes to community (11%) were the next six in frequency of being mentioned.

When challenged to identify what they have yet to do or become to consider themselves successful, 28% said to become more knowledgeable, 26% to have a happy marriage or partnership, 26% to have reached a desired level of earning, 25% to have set and reached new goals, 23% to have grown personally, 21% to have broadened career and work networks, 20% to have a balance between career and family, 17% to have a happy family life, 16% to have more career options, and 14% would have acquired a particular license or certification. The ranking of the weighted scores changed the order of this list. Having a happy marriage or partnership was number one, followed by becoming more knowledgeable, reaching a desired earnings level, having a balance between career and family, having grown personally, having set and reached new goals, broadened career and work networks, having a happy family life, having more career options, and acquired a particular license or certification.

Key to the underlying question of the authors, the fifth question addressed "from whom did you learn what you have to do to be successful. The results demonstrated the social sources of these definitions. Most frequently, (54%) respondents observed people they considered to be successful; 51% learned from their work experiences; 48% from parents; 46% from teachers and professors; 37% from mentors; 34% from military experiences; 25% from both religious/spiritual beliefs and from supervisors; 24% from books, and 21% from spouses/life partners. The weighted ranking reflects some shifts in the order of these choices. The highest weighted source was parents. This was followed by observing successful people, professors and teachers, work experiences, mentors, military, religious and spiritual beliefs, books, supervisors, and spouses and life partners.

Especially since this sample was drawn from graduates of a university, respondents were asked how the university changed how they defined success. There was no single way that what respondents learned at the university that changed their definition of success. They identified quite a number of ways. The most frequently mentioned (50%) was reinforcement that they were capable. This was followed by 48% who noted improvement in their analytical abilities. 45% chose help in setting and reaching goals while 34% noted an increased sense of what was possible and 34% chose reinforced what they already believed. Improved analytical abilities was the highest weighted choice, followed by reinforced that they were capable, helped in setting and reaching goals, reinforced what already believed, and an increased sense of what was possible.

Beyond helping learners craft their definitions of success, universities seek to help provide tools for these learners to be successful in their careers and work. When asked how the university contributed to their being successful, again there was a wide range of responses. The most frequently mentioned was communication skills (49%), developing a sense of commitment (34%), awareness that knowledge is changing (33%), valuing the degree (33%), self-confidence (32%), and teamwork (32%). The weighted ranking was communication skills, knowledge is changing, value of the degree, self-management, and commitment.

Seventy six percent of the respondents were between 31 and 50 years of age, 57% were male, 69% married, 69% were white, 94% employed full-time, 73% earned $50,000 or more, 38% had earned a bachelor level degree, 60% had earned a masters degree as their highest level of education, 99% were citizens of the United States, 92% had been born in the USA, and most (90% of fathers and 88% of mothers) had parents who were also born in the United States.

This study ventures into an area that has rarely been researched but provides data that is rich for interpretation and further exploration. The sample is of sufficient size to be quite valuable in making observations about the nature of definitions of success and how they are acquired. Achieving success in one's career can be considered to be a western concept. Some languages, such as Persian, until recently did not even have a word for career. This examination of success has to acknowledge the cultural basis for even asking the questions about achieving success generally in one's life and in career or work.

The components required for success, as provided by the respondents, are demonstrative of the values that underlie what success is to them. These values both reinforce the cultural impact on these definitions as well the expected depth they are held by each individual. It is important to note the role of social institutions in the development of the various definitions of success. Parents were expected to be the most frequently identified source of these definitions and were in the weighted rankings. Both the observations of others, especially people deemed to be successful, and the more direct experiences at work were frequently identified when asked from whom did they learn their definition. 46% identified professors and teachers, which reinforces the authors’ belief that educational institutions have an important role in this process.

It is illuminating to keep Abraham Maslow's [11] Hierarchy of Needs in mind when looking at the responses to the questions. 73% of the respondents reported family incomes over $50,000. Based on this, it is reasonable to assume that the basic physiological and safety needs are being satisfied since the lower figure is approximately what the median family income is in the United States. This frees up interest and resources for the satisfaction of higher level needs. 16% considered respect of peers to be an important component of success. This easily relates to the social needs of these individuals. 30% desired to hold a position of responsibility that addresses their esteem needs. 32% wanted their work to provide satisfaction and enjoyment while 24% wanted the work to be challenging and exciting.

An interesting question may arise as to the relationship between foreign students’ individual needs (as related to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) and the cultural values that are transferred to them by the American universities. The authors would not be surprised to find some respondents in other countries stating needs as their motivators which, according to that hierarchy, are not warranted by the economic conditions of their country. Such an observation, which indicates incongruity between a country’s culture and American educated business graduates will be a very strong evidence for the validity of the propositions set forth in this paper.

Table 1: Foreign Students Enrolled in Institutions of Higher Learning in the World

* Data not available.

Source: United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Statistical Handbook, 1995