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?

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 and fees (alone) each academic year is now a mere $51,000 PER YEAR.  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.

Click HERE where you can view an image to get a feel for how many port facilities China has, both inland and along it’s eastern border and coast.  Unlike the US, water transport is still a big deal and huge industry in China.

Professor Carr Update: See this related article in the Wall Street Journal, Global Shippers Play Catch-Up In The Information Age. Much in this article relates to what you study in your MIS class, and, you will all study in your Operations course.

Again, I will try go get you into a port facility in China.   Seeing one of those super-sized cargo ships up close alone makes a visit to a port worth the time and effort.

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.

1. Deliver (in person or by mail) your $1,000 nonrefundable payment to Cal Poly CE AND your passport to them so they can copy it by December 20, 2006. (If you mail it in, be smart and prudent and send it certified mail where they sign for it since your passport will be the envelope!)

2. Make at least three (3) responsive comments on the central blog by 5:00 pm on Friday, December 15.

3. Create your own blog to link to the central blog no later than Friday, December 15, 2006 at 5:00 pm. Remember that when you set up this individual blog, make sure to use settings that make it easy for people to comment (e.g., don’t use a setting where folks have to log in and/or sign up for a service to comment – instead go with “anonymous” or “other” comment options). Test this feature to make sure it works!! Once your blog is up and running, promptly email mba@calpoly.edu so my student assistant can in turn create a section on the central blog listing and linking to everyone’s individual blog.

4. Movie Night — Watch the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “China Rises” feature by 5:00 pm of Friday, December 15. By that date you must also log onto the October 26, 2006 blog post and make a comment re: your thoughts and impressions of this feature (this comment does NOT count as one of your three per quarter required comments!).

5. If you have not already done so, come in to the Grad Programs Office right away and sign the document Vicki Walls is holding in our office verifying that you have read and understand the extensive FAQ document and syllabus that we handed out to you earlier in the Fall.

6. By 5:00 pm of Friday, December 15, you will need to post your first book review on your individual blog under an “Assignments” heading/link that I can easily see access.