Unfortunately a survey shows that small retail professional service, and nonprofit organizations tend not to gather competitive intelligence - a perfectly legal and ethical activity. Reasons may include satisfaction with their existing knowledge of competitors or lack of resources to process and assess such intelligence. In fact, they enjoyed it. The ten lessons they learned could help others venture into this form of off-site education. In this rapidly shrinking world of international business, the ability to speak the language of your business partners and clients can provide a competitive edge.
Surveys show that poor language skills are especially damaging for expatriot employees.
Nevertheless, Americans rank poorly in the world of languages, and even multi-national companies seldom require such skills. In this spirit, online MBA programs may be one way to efficiently use technology, as illustrated by the University of Texas System program.