When David Gannaway was looking for an executive M.B.A. program, he wasn't interested only in a school's reputation. The 44-year-old director of forensic accounting at KPMG LLP wanted details on the schools' destination for E.M.B.A. international-study trips.

International trips have been a staple feature of E.M.B.A. programs -- fast-track M.B.A. programs typically held every other weekend and geared toward managers with several years of experience -- for the past two decades. These trips, which typically span two weeks, are designed to give students a broader understanding of global business.

Over the years, Argentina, Hungary, Russia and Singapore had dotted the trip lists. Now, E.M.B.A. candidates are increasingly demanding to go to China, as more managers -- and prospective E.M.B.A. students -- say they see themselves doing business there. Some say they are able to use the trips to suggest changes in the ways their companies do business in China.

In 2007, 49% of such trips were to China, according to the Executive MBA Council, an industry association. In distant second place: India, with 11% of study trips outside the U.S.

The impetus for growth goes to the heart of the challenges of a global economy. Managers and executives regularly complain about the difficulty they have in understanding China. They cite a vastly different culture, a language that doesn't use the Roman alphabet and a different socioeconomic structure from the West's. And, executives say, getting to know China and its business climate is now critical to a career.

Mr. Gannaway, who graduated last month from Fordham University, says the school's offering of a capstone trip to China helped seal his decision.

School administrators say they hear that a lot. It 'is one of the first questions the students ask,' says Jaki Sitterle, managing director of executive programs at New York University's Stern School of Business. Two years ago, when the University of Arizona's Eller College of Management proposed an international trip to South Africa, its administrators were compelled to go to China after students complained.

Companies, for their part, have already expanded sessions that give employees a chance to understand the country. KPMG recently sent top managers to a leadership-development program in Beijing. 'China is clearly becoming a dominant market for capital flow and investments, increasing the importance of exposing our people to China in various ways,' says Brian Ambrose, global vice chairman at KMPG International.

Students, too, say that understanding China is a key part of their professional development. 'If they've studied finance, it makes sense for them to see how it is applied in China,' says Jeff Bieganek, director of admissions and recruiting for M.B.A. programs at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Business.

And as the trips have become more common, schools have seen their contact bases expand. They are now able to arrange meetings with senior management at companies, making the trips more worthwhile. While a few years ago they would have had to settle for a marketing manager at a company, last year University of Arizona's students were able to meet with the CEO of Yum Brands Inc. in China.

Once in China, executives typically tour companies to see the differences in how businesses operate. For instance, Fordham's trip to a BMW vehicle-financing arm in Beijing laid out one stark contrast: While in the West it is easy to determine credit-worthiness and cars can be repossessed, China lacks credit bureaus and there is no law that allows vehicles to be returned to lenders.

The trips can also give students a chance to make headway in China for their day jobs. NYU's trip to China helped Gautham Parthasarathy, who works for Solutia Inc., a St. Louis, specialty-chemical company, understand the inner workings of manufacturing costs in China. He learned it was 40% cheaper to manufacture inland, because smaller towns tend to give more incentives to manufacturers. He plans to present a report to his employer on how the company can expand in China -- and keep its products competitively priced.

Others use the trip to gauge their willingness to relocate to China. Visiting 'removed any inhibitions I might have to relocate to a city where I might not know the language or culture,' says Michael Carulli, senior financial analyst at law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

William Mays, founder of Digi Photo Products LLC, a start-up, used the opportunity to scout for suppliers. Mr. Mays had traveled to China frequently during a 20-year career at Intel Corp. but only interacted with employees at his company. Traveling with classmates from the University of Arizona, Mr. Mays made a connection that helped him find a supplier. His lesson: It is critical to have a representative on the ground in China. 'Had I not gone on the trip, I would have gone over to China to source supplies . . . and got things completely wrong,' he says.

Many schools say India, with its rapidly expanding economy is next on the radar. 'I suspect we are two or three years away from taking our students to India,' says Larry Wynant, associate dean of programs at the University of Western Ontario's Richard Ivey School of Business. The school has been doing international trips for the past 10 years, adding China four years ago. But he says, 'We won't stop going to China.'

大卫•甘纳韦(David Gannaway)想找一个高层管理人员工商管理硕士(EMBA)课程，他关心的不仅仅是学校的名气。44岁的甘纳韦在毕马威(KPMG LLP)任司法会计主管，他想了解商学院EMBA国际交流访问目的地的详细情况。

过去20年中，国际交流访问一直是EMBA课程的一个重要组成部分。EMBA是面向有数年经验的管理人员的速成MBA课程，通常隔周周末上课。国际交流访问通常为两周，旨在让学生更广泛地了解全球商务。

多年来，阿根廷、匈牙利、俄罗斯和新加坡都曾被列为访问地点。现在，越来越多报考EMBA的人要求去中国，因为更多的管理人员──以及潜在的EMBA学员──表示，他们预计自己会在中国开展业务。一些人说，他们可以利用访问的机会，建议公司改变在中国开展业务的方式。

据行业协会高层管理人员工商管理硕士理事会(Executive MBA Council)的统计，2007年，这类访问有49%去往中国。排在第二位的是印度，在美国之外的交流访问中占11%。

这种增长的动力来自于全球经济挑战所面临的核心问题。管理人员总是抱怨难以了解中国。他们说，中西方文化存在巨大差异，汉字不采用罗马字符，其社会经济结构也有别于西方。同时，管理人士们也表示，如今了解中国及其商业环境对一个人的职业生涯至关重要。

上个月从福特汉姆大学(Fordham University)毕业的甘纳韦说，学校安排去中国交流访问促使他下定决心报考。

学校管理人员说，他们听过很多这样的说法。纽约大学斯特恩商学院(Stern School of Business) EMBA课程执行主任杰克•席德勒(Jaki Sitterle)说，这是学生们首先提出的问题之一。两年前，亚利桑那大学艾勒管理学院(Eller College of Management)提出将交流访问的地点定在南非，但学员们纷纷抗议，院方不得不将地点改为中国。

各公司本身也加强了相关课程，让员工有机会了解中国。毕马威最近派高级经理参加了北京的一个领导能力开发课程。毕马威全球副董事长布莱恩•安布罗斯(Brian Ambrose)说："中国显然正日渐成为资本流动和投资的重要市场，因此让我们的人员从不同途径了解中国就逾加重要。"

学员们也表示，了解中国是他们职业发展的重要部分。明尼苏达大学卡尔森商学院(Carlson School of Business)的MBA课程招生主任杰夫•比埃加内克(Jeff Bieganek)说："如果他们学过金融，了解一下如何在中国加以应用会很有用。"

同时随着交流访问越来越普遍，这些学校也得以扩展自己的"关系户"。他们现在可以安排与公司高层管理人员的会议，令交流访问更物有所值。虽然几年前他们还只能满足于与公司的营销经理见面，但上个月，亚利桑那大学的学员已经可以会见百胜餐饮集团(Yum! Brands Inc.)的中国业务首席执行长了。

以前在中国，管理人员通常只是在公司里走马观花，看看经营业务有何差别。比如说，福特汉姆大学学员访问了宝马汽车公司(BMW)在北京的汽车金融部门，了解到一个极其鲜明的差异：在西方，很容易确定借款人的信用，汽车可以被收回，而中国缺乏征信机构，也没有法律规定车辆可以返还给贷款商。

这些交流访问也让学员们有机会在中国取得日常工作方面的进展。纽约大学到中国的访问帮助在圣路易斯特种化学品公司Solutia Inc.供职的高萨姆•帕塔萨拉蒂(Gautham Parthasarathy)深入了解了中国的生产成本。他了解到，中国内地的生产成本要低40%，因为小城镇会向制造商提供更多优惠条件。他打算就如何在中国发展并保持产品价格的竞争力向公司提交一份报告。

其他人利用访问机会考量自己将业务转移到中国的意愿。世达美国法律事务所(Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP)的高级财务分析师麦克尔•卡鲁利(Michael Carulli)说，访问消除了他对迁到一个语言不通、文化不同的城市可能会有的所有疑虑。

初创公司Digi Photo Products LLC.的创始人威廉•梅斯(William Mays)利用访问的机会寻找供应商。梅斯在英特尔(Intel Corp.)任职的20年中经常到访中国，但只与公司里的员工交流。当他与亚利桑那大学的同学一起访问时，梅斯通过关系帮自己找到了一家供应商。他总结出的经验是：在中国境内有一个代理人至关重要。他说："如果我没有参加那次访问，我就得跑到中国去找供应商......并彻底把事情弄砸。"

许多学校都表示，随着印度经济迅速发展，这个国家成了人们下一个关注地点。西安大略大学理查德-毅伟商学院(Richard Ivey School of Business)副院长拉里•维南特(Larry Wynant)说："我猜想，用不了两三年，我们就会带学员们去印度访问。"这间商学院过去10年中一直在开展国际访问，四年前，中国成为访问目的地。但他表示："我们不会停止对中国的访问。"
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