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In the context of business education, International Service Learning (ISL) programs introduce students to social responsibility and help them develop a sense of solidarity with individuals living in a different context from their own. But even ISL programs that strive for reciprocity and co-create projects with community partners still reinforce a microcosm of the power asymmetries present in the global economy. As an alternative to traditional ISL models involving direct service, I propose a model of ISL that eliminates the direct service component and instead emphasizes listening and learning abroad. In this model, local knowledge is the expert, allowing students to develop a sense of solidarity with those from a context different from their own and then engage in advocacy in their home country. In this article, I present a current course-Marketing for Social Change: The Uganda Project-as an example of the alternative ISL model designed to address the structural inequalities and wealth disparities brought by globalization.

Despite L&R Pallet having become the largest pallet manufacturer in the Rocky Mountain region, it was facing dire staffing and financial difficulties in 2013. James Ruder, the 44-year-old president of L&R Pallet, was convinced it was just a matter of time before the company closed its doors. However, after taking a mission trip to Peru and hearing God's message to "love on" his employees, Ruder decided to hire seven refugees from Burma in a desperate attempt to find an alternative source of labor. Within a week, the Burmese employees were outperforming his other workers. Thinking he had found the solution to his employee problems, Ruder hired an additional 18 refugees. Within several weeks, though, he found that he had a real mess on his hands with the refugees getting injured, some of his Mexican workers calling him a "Mexican hater," and the rest of his staff resenting the attention he was showering on the refugees. Ruder needed to determine how to handle the growing tension within his company's culture as well as find the necessary human capital to run his business.