In my other life as a full-time practicing attorney a referral from a client or colleague always felt good. It still does.

The China Law Blog recently did a nice post on our blog and trip. Click here to check it out.

Independent from the fact that they published this unsolicited post, I love the CLB (and some other blogs I check regularly). Their writing is very good, the topics always timely and interesting (at least to me) and they always have a wonderful macro view of business/business transactions that business people and MBA students can learn a lot from. And, I have no problem plugging the CLB folks in return by noting that Dan Harris and Steve Dickinson are excellent attorneys and a credit to the profession. Indeed, they are the kind of good guys you would want to have a beer with.

Today Professor Ramezani noted that while in China, you might be asked about the USA’s GDP. The silence in the room re: what GDP is highlighted that you need to bring your A-game when you take Macro Econ. Here is a wonderful post, including some good comment discussion, from One Man Bandwidth that highlights some additional questions you might be ready to field in China, especially when I take you to English Corner in Beijing. These are the same types of questions I have been asked in China by young and old alike. Better know your stuff and get ready to think on your feet ….

Great sessions today with Professor Ramezani! When you see him on campus or in town, be sure to thank him for his time.

I think it was clear from our session with him that you need to do some more knowledge building on issues related to finance and economics. You are currently taking finance with Professor Anderson and it’s early in the quarter and you will learn much. You will take Macro Econ in the spring with Professor Marlow and much of what Professor Ramezanni discussed today also relates to that course. Continue to work hard and do your best work.

Let’s for now focus on the question he posed to you at the end of his talk — what opportunities might arise for you in the next ten years that relate to what you want to do with your professional lives and goals? What trends do you see that in 5 or 10 years may impact you professionally, even if you continue to live and work in California?

Nobody will hold you to any predictions … give this some thought, put yourself out there, and discuss as a comment to this post. See also the new posts below from your classmates.

Submitted By: Brian McCarthy

We have been advised to save most of our shopping efforts until we get to the final stop of our upcoming business trip to China to avoid carrying extra weight and baggage. The final stop appears to be in the capital city of Beijing, and it is a good idea to get an understanding of the market culture before we get there.

Whether you are shopping in Peru for an alpaca sweater or you are purchasing a roasted chicken at a market in France, you learn how to barter and how to navigate in the buyer/seller culture of the specific area. Read the article Service With a Smile – It’s the Law to understand the market culture in Beijing and what the government is trying to do to make a change, fast!

Beijing will host the 2008 summer Olympics and China is making many efforts to prepare to be on stage for the event. A new law, seeming related to the preparation for the Olympics and related to its image in general, is to change the current customer service practices in Beijing. According to the article, the new law was created to “trump centuries of culture” and to curb a “tradition of arrogance in the commercial and service industry.”

Specifically, the new law is aimed at stopping some of the following practices:

* spitting
* impatience
* disdainful glances
* acting absent mindedly
* sarcastic or ironic comments

As you read the article, some things to think about are:

• How can a government enforce such a law?
• What impact will the new law have?
• Will the city be able to make a fast change before the 2008 Olympics or will such a change take more time?
• Is the culture a result of government-owned stores?
• Would the same culture exist if all stores were privately owned?

Submitted By: Victoria Whelan

In the Wall Street Journal on December 15th, there was an article on Chinese Media and the Olympics.

The government is worried about the cameras and notebooks being present will likely record the angry farmers, people campaigning for independence, etc. This is the first time in over twenty years that the Olympics are being hosted in a country where the government controls the media. Foreign journalists need permission to travel within China and domestic journalists are owned by the state, who has final say on what is published. China has reached an agreement to be more lax on foreign journalists, but not domestic journalists. Companies such as NBC are still figuring out how to cover the games since the use of translators is up in the air. Foreigners to China feel this is a step towards China’s reform, if all goes well.

It will be interesting to see how the Olympic coverage pans out since the tough restrictions and regulation of the Internet and other media. I wonder if this was something the Olympics looked at when choosing the site. I feel that there are so many venues covering the Olympics there is no way for China to avoid criticism on some of their policies and regulations, even if they attempt to block the release of such information. There is always a black market, just as there is in the Internet in China, and the truth is always revealed.