Just another BRIC in the wall? The rise of BRICs and educating tomorrow's global managers

Abstract

The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) comprise 40 percent of the world’s population (approximately 2.8 billion people), cover more than a quarter of the world’s land area over three continents, and account for more than 25 percent of global GDP (by purchasing power parity). In the ten years since the term BRICs was first coined by Jim O‘Neill, chief economist of the investment bank Goldman Sachs, all economies (except Brazil) have exceeded their predicted growth rates. Integration into the global economy coupled with rising spending power prompts flows of students (and expatriates) to, and from, the BRICs—positioning international business educators at the helm of this sea-change. In this article, we reflect on the implications of the rise of the BRICs for educating the next generation of business managers and leaders. We argue that rather than just another “brick in the wall,” educating tomorrow’s managers requires adoption of a global mindset by international business educators. This enables them to build on, or indeed begin to dismantle, existing theoretical and pedagogical foundations, brick by brick.