Happy New Year!

Yet more good posts and summaries from the China Law Blog re: predictions for China 2007 (see also here and here). Which ones do you think will hold true, and how are they likely to impact the US business community and its interests? Which ones create potential career opportunities and/or clients for you?

I have read all of the book reviews. Most did a good job. A few were on the short and conclusionary side, with not much analysis and/or tie in to how what you read impacted you personally or relates to your own business experience and goals (see my comments to your reviews if this was an issue). Because of the number of reviews for the trip this year that I will need to read (over 90), don’t expect detailed comments and feedback from my end on your blogs. One goal of these book reviews is for you to start learn, on your own, about China from a variety of angles, and to keep you thinking about China through some good books before we arrive in the PRC.

If/when I was having problems commenting on your blog about your book reviews, I emailed those students accordingly.

Overall I was happy with the quality of the central blog discussion threads this quarter. Some good insights and learning took place to help keep the drum beat of China going during the quarter, and to build, little by little, a foundation for the trip each day. It is important that we continue this. I try to post items that are both interesting, relevant to the real business world, and/or that will help prepare you to better connect the dots once we arrive in China.

Having said that, some students did the bare minimum, in my view — they submitted 3 comments and/or also did them the last day they were due. There is no rule that says you can’t do more than 3 comments and/or submit well before the deadline (to me the latter signals one is going through the motions). There is no shortage, I hope, of different (and interesting) topics to read about on the central blog and comment on. Again, at the end of the day much of the value of this course will directly correlate to what you put into it, both here and there. I also reiterate that I expect each of you to log onto the central blog at least every two (2) days to check in, read over each new posts, comment on the ones that interest you, receive and read important updates, etc.

For the posts you submit (not the comments to a post), students who submitted those thus far did a good job. But don’t feel like what you submit has to be so formal and/or simply reiterate the main points of a business article. You can make it colloquial; just keep it well written. Make/keep it interesting and come to life for others to jump in and comment on. It can even be controversial, although note that “big picture” issues and controversies relating to China (e.g., Tiannanmen, human rights, Taiwan, etc.) can be difficult to offer practical solutions to and that is one reason I generally stay away from some of those topics in my own posts (also a number of people out there in blog land already write at length on such issues so it can be difficult to add something new the debate or discussion). As you also note from my own posts, referring to and citing/crediting another good blog post is okay and can help get the ball rolling in terms of discussion.

Please email me if you have separate questions or concerns. Happy New Year and enjoy the rest of your break! - Prof. Carr

An FYI re: developments in the MBA marketplace ….

Yale recently completed a five year process (although I suspect it was longer) to revamp their MBA program and curriculum. The Yale web site notes that starting next year Yale will require, that’s right require, ALL, I repeat ALL, of their MBA students (they have hundreds) to participate in the very type of international business study tour that you are embarking on in China/India. The article notes:

“Also as part of its MBA curriculum innovation, Yale School of Management becomes the first major business school to require students to study abroad. In January, between the first and second semesters, students will complete a required two-week International Experience where they will be rapidly immersed in a new environment, engage in intensive study, meet with business and government leaders, and complete a trip project. For this academic year, the list of countries for these faculty-led trips include … China … India, Japan, and Singapore, as well as a combined trip to England and Poland…. The insights students gain during the experience will allow them to bring a global perspective back to class discussions.”

Note that Yale’s annual/yearly MBA tuition (alone) each academic year is now a mere $43,700. Their program is a full two year program. (Poly’s MBA is quite a bargain, eh?)

You should feel good, and proud, that you are making this capital investment in your education and professional future by visiting the PRC/India to see what your present and future business competition is up to. Now is also the time for you to be thinking about how you will market this capital investment in your education and future on your resume, in job interviews and cover letters, etc. There is a story here that you can tell that others and (the good) employers will value, be interested in hearing about and learning from.

See also my related earlier blog post — MBAs Who Understand the PRC.

We are soooo darn lucky in San Luis Obispo and in most of Cali that another person can’t blow smoke in your face in public establishments and public areas (at least the nicotine kind). Get ready for China, though, because that is not the case re: the smoking issue. However, the following posts and discussion threads from the China Law Blog (and here) show how things are a changing in China on this front.

January 7, 2007 Update: See this related January 3rd Wall Street Journal article, China Confronts Price of Its Cigarette Habit:  An Economic Pillar, Tobacco Now Exacts Heavy Toll On Health. Per this article, China has more smokers — 350 million — than the US has people. Wow!

Here’s Rosie’s apology. And let’s tie this more directly into business and your communications course with Dr. Whitaker, your law course with Dr. Anderson, your (Winter) marketing course with Dr. Swartz, your (Winter) negotiations course with Dr. Peach (as in how to negotiate forgiveness!), your (Spring) strategy course with Dr. Leary, your (Spring) ethics course with Dr. Anderson , etc. One day, your time will come — your firm will make a poor decision and it will find itself in the unenviable position of having to decide whether/when/how to issue a public apology.

When a corporation/firm gets into public trouble a number of issues are raised:

Should an apology be issued?

What legal issues does issuing a public apology present to the firm?

What type of an apology should be given (a half-hearted one like Rosie, or, a full-blown apology)?

From an ethics standpoint, when, if at all, should a firm issue a public apology?

Discuss, and what other factors come into play that you should consider? Also, if YOU were Rosie’s business manager, what would YOU have counseled her to do, AND WHY (defend your strategy and recommendation)?

Remember that “Rosie” is a brand and client you have to manage. It seems to me that she issued an apology that was half-hearted, yet, probably enough to get her out from under the heat and spotlight. Whether it was the “right” thing to do may be the more interesting question …

Ah, Rosie O’Donnell. Sometimes I really like and admire her. Other times, well, I have a hard time liking her. The latest from “The View” falls in the latter category (thanks to the One Man Bandwidth blog for the heads up on this story). Rosie was talking about how the Asian press has been reporting on a half-looped actor Danny Devito bashing the President, and then she proceeded to fall off the wagon into one her conniptions. That said, I appreciate good comedy as much as anyone (Boratz!! What a movie! You are the MAN!), and I don’t have a problem cutting comedians a break to say pretty much anything they want to criticize the absurdity of the world and people in it. We need those people. Yet, for me, this fell more into the realm of “talking head talk show host” than that of comedy or comedian. I appreciate that others may disagree and see the two roles as inextricably intertwined. No problem.

Now, the story does not end there. To top it off, I know that hell really has frozen over in my lifetime — wanna-be political pundit Michelle (”I am a blast furnace of rage”) Malkin, who usually makes me feel ill whenever I hear her speak (really, my stomach literally feels queazy), did the following commentary about the Rosie incident. I found that I actually agreed with her. Wait a minute, I can’t believe I just typed that I actually agreed with Michelle Malkin on something! Like I said, hell has frozen over. Next thing you know, we will all see pigs start to fly.

Oh well, such is life and is part of growing as a person. Check out the above (and Malkin’s commentary) and you can see Rosie self-destruct at the expense and offense of the world’s Chinese population. Is this the best America can offer to the world for day-time TV insight and commentary? Tell me it ain’t so, Joe!

I will try to get you to a port facility in China (in Guangzhou, Shenzhen or Shanghai). Visiting such a facility is important because it will help you see the scope of what China exports, especially to California. Also, this is an important part of the supply chain that you need to see, feel and smell as an MBA student — goods just don’t magically appear on the shelf at Wal-Mart, Target and RiteAid!

Check out this cool web site (China Ports.com) where you can get a feel for just how many port facilities China has (click on the “China Ports Guide” link on the left, then start clicking on the map of China along its coast to get a feel for the extent to which these folks know shipping and water transport). Unlike the US, water transport is still a big deal in China. In fact, spend a few minutes tooling around the China Ports.com web site and you will learn some interesting stuff about ports, China, shipping and logistics. It is a HUGE industry.

January 7, 2007 Update: A wonderful related article in the Wall Street Journal recently came put (January 4), Global Shippers Play Catch-Up In The Information Age. Much in this article relates to what a number of your studied in your Fall MIS class with Dr. Wild, and, you will all study in your MBA Operations course in the Sprig with Dr. Olsen. I am confident we can get you into a port facility in China. I will try to get you someone at that session/visit to talk about things from the shipper’s perspective, as a tie in to what the operator of the port facility discusses. E.g., the captain of one of those super-sized cargo ship (your eyes will pop out once you see how big they are). Given time constraints for each of our visits, however, it may be difficult to pull off such a joint session. Will see what we can do …

Great article in the NY Times worth checking out, “China, Shy Giant, Shows Signs of Shedding Its False Modesty.”

The article argues that China has largely stopped denying that it intends to become a major world power. If true, this is a significant shift away from Deng Xiaoping’s famous exhortation and dictum for China to “hide its ambitions and disguise its claws.”

For me, though, the more interesting question is not so much whether China perceives itself as a player (or is no longer humble about again becoming a player), but whether China is really ready for the big time on a number of fronts. I.e., what is China’s true potential and is it living up to that potential?

For example, the China Law blog and the Jottings from the Granite Studio blog recently ran great posts using a wonderful metaphor — NBA basketball player Yao Ming — to analyze this question.

Since Yao Ming arrived in the league, he has been viewed by most as soft and lacking the killer instinct that the Jordans, Magics, Birds and Millers of the NBA world are famous for. True, this past month Yao has stepped up his game and level of intensity, but check out this block on You Tube of Yao Ming (7′6″) by Nate Robinson (5′9″) of the NY Knicks. Ouch! The ultimate humilation for a big man.

In your view is this metaphor more of an accurate description of where China really is on the world stage right now? Do you yet know enought to say? If it is accurate, how many (or few) years before you predict that China will become legit on all meaningful economic and geopolitical fronts? And what will that mean for your kids?

Since I can remember I have always been enamored with dragons, stories of dragons and good/bad guys battling them, etc.   Call it a boy thing.   Some of you may have already noticed that the “dragon” has largely been left out of the PRC’s marketing thus far for the 2008 Olympics.  For example, it did not make Beijing’s list of those ”cutsie” mascot animals that the host city normally rolls out as part of hosting the Olympics. 

I recently came across this interesting post on the Danwei blog (a killer blog dealing with China, by the way) that explores this topic in depth.   A very nice piece highlighting the intersection between history, sociology, business and marketing/branding, something Danwei excels at nailing.  

A number of you mentioned the upcoming Olympics in China during one of our early touch base sessions as an area of interested re: China, so you may in particular find this post worth checking out.

The following NY Times article, “Non-Asians Show a Growing Interest in Chinese Courses” struck a chord with me. Be sure to also check out this related China Law Blog post, including its discussion thread.

Let me give you some context … I have a 5 year old daughter. We are in that “phase” where parents in SLO talk (obsess?) over where to send their kids to school. Lots of parents in SLO feel that dual immersion (Spanish-English) is the way to go. Clearly, in SLO and Cali, Spanish is the soup-du-jour. My wife speaks Spanish and our daughter now goes to such a school and she is loving it, and we are thrilled to have her there.

That said, during one of these dinner conversations with friends where topics like this are debated I threw out the question of whether ALL of our kids should be studying Mandarin instead of Spanish. People looked at me like I was nuts. I want a future for my daughter (both a personal and professional/business one). If she speaks Mandarin, I really believe the sky is the limit. If she speaks Spanish, well, that’s nice and it is one of the “romance languages” and sounds beautiful when spoken, but I am not so sure I can be convinced that it will open nearly as many doors for my daughter in 15 years as Mandarin would, even in California. Which language do you think your children or grandchildren will be studying in school? Be sure to check out this recent China Law Blog post relating to this topic.