Russian Fulbright scholar at Baylor

Baylor Business Review, Winter 2002 by Corwin, Judy

Dr. Aigul Toxanova, Vice-Rector of the Kokshetau Institute in Kazakhstan Studied Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management

From August 1997 to May 1998, Dr. Aigul N. Toxanova studied and conducted research at Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business under the auspices of the Fulbright Scholars Program. Today, she is vice-rector of the Kokshetau Institute of Economics and Management in Kazakhstan. What follows are some of her observations and experiences at Baylor and how she is incorporating these into her institute.

The Significance of a Baylor Textbook

Says Aigul, "Small Business Management: An Entrepreneurial Approach is in its 11th edition and is well known all over the world. I got acquainted with this book long before I arrived in America. In fact, we at the Kokshetau Institute had already begun using this book for teaching."

"Interestingly, in my Fulbright Scholar application, I expressed the desire to work under the direction of the book's authors: Drs. Justin Longenecker (management), Carlos Moore (marketing) and Bill Petty (finance). To my surprise and happiness, I was directed by the Fulbright Scholars Program to study at Baylor University in Texas, where my host professor would turn out to be one of the authors of Small Business Management!

Aigul's Career in Kazakhstan

"My experience studying small business development in the United States has allowed me to develop recommendations for small business management in Kazakhstan. I also believe the multi-level support of small business in the USA deserves attention and introduction in many postSoviet countries.

"While at Baylor I investigated many theoretical aspects of entrepreneurial activity, starting with business basics and ending with a definition of small business. The classes I attended were courses in Entrepreneurial Finance, Venture Initiation, Starting & Managing a Business, Organizational Behavior, and Marketing. It was especially interesting to study business incubators in America and how they support small business. There are more than 400 business incubators in the USA. In Kazakhstan, we have only about 10 business incubators.

"In August of 2001, I participated in our republic's competition for `The Best Entrepreneur of the Decade in the Republic of Kazakhstan' on the basis of my research in the field of entrepreneurship

"More than 1,000 businessmen and entrepreneurs, many of whom had created businesses and had worked to further the successes of their enterprises as well as given their support to Kazakhstan independence were present at the awards ceremony on September 26, 2001. The function was held at Congress Hall in Astana (the new capitol of Kazakhstan). Also present were Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbaev, Deputy of Parliament Tyrisov Karatai Tyrisovish, PhD, and other members of the government. The highlight of the day for me, however, was earning the competition's Grand Prize and receiving a silver medal, which was given to me by Tyrisovish. To be recognized at such a forum was a large honor for me."

Cooperation with Baylor Continues

In 1999, Baylor graduate Jeanette Quick served as a visiting scholar at the Kokshetau Institute. "It was a very good thing," says Aigul. "Jeanette taught several business courses that included operations management and English, the latter of which helped us organize TOEFL (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language) classes. Jeanette assisted 14 graduate students at KIEM in developing their final diploma papers in English. The Kokshetau Institute of Economics and Management is thankful for the work she did at our institute.

"In May 2000," says Aigul, "Five Baylor professors submitted research papers to an international conference that took place in Kokshetau, Kazakhstan."

"Contemporary Social and Economic Issues " -A Conference

The following are the titles of papers submitted for presentation by Baylor Business Professors:

- "Entrepreneurship and Ethical Standards"

- "The Harvesting Process from the Entrepreneur's Perspective"

"Regionalism vs. Globalism in the World Trading System"

"Entrepreneurship: Undergraduate Start-Ups & Electronic Commerce"

"Entrepreneurial Challenges and Opportunities in the Republic of Kazakhstan"

Further Joint Scientific Research

"Entrepreneurial Challenges and Opportunities in the Republic of Kazakhstan" (cited above) was written by Dr. Elisabeth J. Teal (Baylor) and myself," says Aigul. "This paper was actually first published in the 1999 proceedings of the American Management Association's conference in San Diego, California. In 2000, it would be published by the Kokshetau Institute.

"Additionally, over the last two years we have been working to develop a textbook on small business and entrepreneurship written in Russian and patterned after the widely used American textbook Small Business Management: An Entrepreneurial Approach (Cincinnati: SouthWestern College Publishing, 1I th edition, 2000). The Russian textbook is being prepared in collaboration with Small Business Management's authors, all of whom are located at Baylor University. This book will contain examples and adaptations relevant to Kazakhstan, Russia, and other nations of the former Soviet Union.