Submitted By: Athena Schwartz

While browsing the internet, I came across this brief article from the China Daily about the fight against AIDS in China (China Praised For Its AIDS Efforts). As China grows in population, it seems that disease would be an enormous problem, and maybe it already is. Back in undergrad, when you first lived in a dorm, didn’t it seem like if one person got the flu, EVERYBODY got it?

China has never come to mind when I’ve thought about AIDS, but this article reminded me that diseases like this affect everyone, especially countries with large populations and crowded cities. I don’t have any specific questions, but I found the article interesting and uplifting.

Submitted By: Adib Assassi

A group of Chinese scholars and retired officials has petitioned China’s legislature to halt the privatization of state companies, arguing it has widened the country’s income gap and fueled social unrest,” as reported in this Yahoo article (In China, A Move Against Privatization).

As Chinese industries become more and more privatized, people fear that the gap rich and poor will widen and the extremes of poverty and wealth will increase. Currently, China has a large portion of its population which is very poor. Many believe that government involvement in industry is the only way that this group can survive.

Just the other day I witnessed two individual’s in the MBA lounge having a similar debate about our country. They were discussing the role of government and its level of involvement in the lives of people and businesses. Granted our situation here in the states is drastically different than the situation in China. Nevertheless, there are similarities in the situations and we both face the same issues.

China is shifting its industry from being governmentally controlled (which it has been for so many years) to privately controlled. Maybe this does hurt many people and send Chinese revenues to foreign companies. But private industry also creates many jobs that would not be there otherwise. Also, most economists would tell you the private firms in a competitive market will create the strongest economy. And thus far, government control of industry has not been a success by any means. It is a double edged blade.

I think China is going to continue privatization and become more westernized. But is this the right move?

• How involved should the government be in business?
• Will privatized industry benefit China and its population in the long run?
• Should the government continue control of industries?
• Or, is their some balance?

Submitted By: Steve Feng

When you go to Beijing, look out where you step. Apparently, this city is known for spitting; check out this article in the Beijing Review (Spit Happens). Erin Conway-Smith explains that the pollution in the air is nearly as bad as smoking cigarettes. This pollution starts to cause discomfort in the throat, and some people, especially the older crowd, chose to spit to clear the mucus. Recently, the government and organizations have tried to prohibit spitting. The government campaigned to decrease the contamination of SARS by prohibiting spitting, however was unsuccessful. “Spitting bags” are handed out to address this sanitary issue. If you’re thinking that this will be a great opportunity to connect with your childhood and spit all over the place, be careful. The fine is $6 for spitting in public.

Note: Your MBA classmate Steven Feng and I have been reading and thinking about similar issues. The below are segments from each of us that I have combined into this single post.

Prof. Carr Segment:

The market. Ah, all Americans that claim to be true capitalists say they believe in “markets” … except, you will find, when the market applies to them, their firm or their industry! Economic theory (rationale choice) in action.

Having typed such a dig, I do want each of us, myself included, to always constantly be looking at, studying and be aware of the relevant “market” and what it’s doing. And, asking the question — is my own skill set competitive and attactive in the current market?

If not, get ready to be stuck at a firm or in an industry you may not want to be stuck at for a long, long time.

As an MBA student and graduate, you, of all people and professionals, just have no excuse to not know or do this (same holds true for me being an assoicate dean in a business school). Whether you are buying a house or a car, negotiating your salary with a prospective employer, being hit up for a raise by an employee you manage, etc., one (not the only) important starting point of analysis should always be “what is this item worth in today’s market?” and/or “is this employee asking me for a raise at the mean of the market, or above the mean for this market, or is their skill set at the really low end of this market?”

How you perceive their skill set versus how the employee perceives their skill set if often very different. If you don’t ask these questions and find out the answer before you commit, well, good luck in business – you may not last long.

The same holds true for MBA programs. Many people think they know what an MBA program should/should not be doing and/or what it should/should not look like, but they often have have limited knowledge re: what “the MBA market” is doing or saying in this regard because they have never hopped on the Internet to see what the compeition is doing and/or study the issue and market in detail by, e.g., attending conferences where these things are studied and discussed.

For example, with respect to full-time MBA programs in the USA, the “MBA market” is clearly moving more and more toward accelerated programs (see also, Steve’s related sement below on executive MBA programs). Applicants (part of the the market) have spoken with their feet and most will no longer take two years away from work, lose that income, etc., in order to pursue an MBA. Thus, good schools and programs adapt and offer accelerated programs, such as the one you are in. The other one’s won’t adapt and they will limp along or in time die. We have an accelerated program in place, so in terms of “the market” we are ahead of the curve on this item.

As another item and example, I recently did a post on the following topic, “MBAs Who Understand the PRC,” where I talked about how the top MBA programs in the USA are REQUIRING, yes REQUIRING, their students to do a China type trip. We already have built this type of an experience into our program, so we are again in good shape in terms of how we compare to “the MBA market” and the competition on this item. See also Steve’s related segment below.

Does this mean we don’t have work to do on items and issues not discussed above (or below)? Of course not! This post in no way tries to expressly make or imply such a position. That would be absurd. We can all get better and improve.

Two weeks ago the Wall Street Journal published a great article titled, “MBA Programs Hone Soft Skills.” Please read this article. I was both pleased and dismayed after I read it.

I was pleased, because with respect to emphasizing Communications in our MBA program and curriculum, this article highlights that we are ahead of the curve at the Orfalea College of Business. We are also fortunate to have excellent professors who teach this course (Professor Whitaker in the MBA program and Professor Beamon in the soon to be launched MS in Tax program next Fall).

But with respect to Leadership, you will see from this article that some good schools out there are doing some very innovating things; in my view, we are behind the curve in this regard and we have some catching up to do. See also my earlier post on the topic and import of leadership, “Leadership and the Himalayas.”

Re: the issue of Ethics in the curriculum, with Professor Anderson’s GSB 514 Law course in the fall and his GSB 537 Ethics and Corporate Governance class in the spring that students can make the decision to take, I am also feeling pretty good. He too, is an excellent professor. See, e.g., the ethics section of the AACSB organization website that accredits our and all business schools. We also have in place the opportunity for our MBA students to participate each year in a wonderful MBA business ethics competition at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles to see how they/we stack up against other schools and programs, and this year James Towers, Peter Thelen, Katie Hofman Ritchie and Meghan Girvin have stepped up to lead and represent. Kudos to them!

So on four out of five of the above (accelerate program, international trip and experience, ethics, leadership), we are in good shape. But re: one of the items (leadership), we have pockets of individuals who lead, no doubt, and they are to be commended, but AS A PROGRAM the above suggests that we have some more work to do.

I welcome your thoughts on the above.

BY THE WAY, DURING JOB INTERVIEWS AND WHEN YOU INTERACT WITH EMPLOYERS, WHAT WE DO WELL AND RIGHT — SEE ABOVE — IS PART OF THE STORY YOU SHOULD BE AND NEED TO TELL AS PART OF MARKETING YOURSELF FOR THE POSITION!! IF YOU ARE NOT DOING THIS, YOU ARE NOT INTERVIEWING AS EFFECTIVELY AS YOU COULD BE!!

Steven Feng Segment:

On February 13, 2007, a Wall Street Journal article (M.B.A Programs Take Fast Track) discusses the business-school trends in executive MBA programs. Two key trends are shortening programs and foreign travel. Companies want their employees available to work, and the market demand is moving into foreign opportunities and foreign relationships. Although our program is not designed for the “executive,” these trends have been implemented in our program. This correlation may suggest that our administration department has done a good job predicting the future demands. If executives are being taught about foreign countries, this China trip experience will be a valuable asset to your future employer.

The College is recruiting for a faculty position in Management to teach Strategy. I invite all MBA students going to China to the below noted job candidate presentation. You can see how these things work, what we expect of a faculty member re: their research, etc. And, Dr. Ma’s research relates to China. He is from Peking University (also known as Beijing University and called by the locals “Beida”, one of the top schools in China. (The “Bei” comes from Beijing and the “da” means university — hence, the “Beida” label you will here. “Beida” is considered by many to be the Harvard of China.)

While on our trip, in Beijing, we will spend an hour or two or three at Beida or Tsinghua University in northwest Beijing (Tsinghua is right next door to Beida, and is often thought of as the “MIT” of China).

Which one is “better” or more prestigious? Heck, like anything in life, it depends on the field, the variables you use (like mutual funds) and who you ask and what stake they have in the answer. The answer does not much matter to me. But I DO want you to see and feel what a top tier Chinese university is like and either one will more than suffice in this regard. I also want you to meet some students there and witness first hand, that yes, they are just as smart as you, they are working even harder, and they will the same job as you for less $$$ — I want to get you into the deep end of the pool and out of your California and Central Coast comfort zone to see what it feels like re: future global competition, and I think you will walk away from that experience recognizing that you would be best served as an American and as Thomas Friedman of “The World is Flat” fame insightfully argues, to start running even harder and faster.

Having a few of you there would also be one way to impress and confirm to Dr. Ma that we are an engaged MBA program and academic community at Cal Poly and that we in turn have many wonderful things to offer him as well.

It is not required that you attend, but the invite is there if you wish to join us. If you plan to attend, please do shoot me a quick email so I can make sure we are covered on room size (ccarr@calpoly.edu). - Prof. Carr

Announcement:

Dr. Hao Ma, Monday, March 5, 3:10 pm to 4:00 pm, 03-207.

Dr. Ma graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and is Professor of Management both at University of Illinois at Springfield and Peking University. His presentation topic is “Competitive Advances and Chinese Firms”.

Dress for students in attendance can be casual/informal.

Remember Dr. Morris talking about Cui Jian, China’s Bob Dylan (and also a classically trained trumpet player)? Here is one of his videos that I came across. I can’t understand what he is saying but I can read the text on this site. Even not understanding his spoken words, I like his passion, the rough voice, and how his music makes my body and spirit feel when I hear it …

Santa Clara University, my law school alma mater (GO BRONCOS!) is holding what looks to be a great conference on global business ethics on March 8-10, 2007 at Santa Clara. (One can’t attend a Jesuit university and not come away with a solid education and appreciation for the topic of ethics!) Unfortunately, we have an important pre-departure session on March 9 with Henry Lane of Dioptics, so we won’t have the option to attend the SCU event. Yet, I announce the above because I have a visit lined up for us, in Beijing (tentative), where we will visit with a rep(s) from the Center for International Business Ethics (CIBE) to discuss the topic of corruption, bribery and ethics in China. It should be a very good session. As I understand it CIBE is working with Santa Clara to put on the March 8-10 conference.  If anyone out in cyber land attends this event, please do check back in and let us know about some of the highlights!

When we fly from southern China to northern China, you will receive an assignment in the airport (tentative).

You will team up in the airport and I will want you to politely approach someone flying on the same flight as us. I will want your team to find out what they do for a living, where they live, why they are flying to China, whether they speak English and if so how well, etc. Perhaps you can/will exchange business cards. I want you to think of yourself as an anthropologist doing field research. Get people to talk and interact with you — how do/will you do that, what types of questions can you ask to engage people from another country?

I will then have you repeat this assignment when we take the train from the Shanghai train station (chaos and massive numbers of people) to Beijing (same) (also tentative).

Why do this?

Among other things, it forces you to interact with the “locals” and start to build your Guanxi network in China.

More importantly, by the end of the trip you should have developed a “profile” of who you can approach that will help you in China, who will not, who speaks English, who does not, etc. By the end of the trip you should also better understand who flies in China, who takes the train, who takes the bus, why, etc. For example, what do business travelers in China look and dress like? Of those, which ones speak English? Which ones will help you? Which ones will brush you off, and why?

This profile will in turn serve you well the next time your firm sends you to Asia on business and once you arrive there, you find that need some information, you are all alone, and you have no choice but to find someone that can and will take the time to answer your questions. Your “China traveler profile” will and should look vastly different than any profile you develop for travel in London, Paris, Mexico City or Moscow.

Planes:

When you fly inside China, get ready for delays. Lots of them. Why are flight delays such a problem in China?

Read this very, very good and informative Wall Street Journal article, “China’s Congested Skies: Between Military Maneuvers and Outdated Equipment, Travelers Face Agonizing Delays,” [if this link no longer works, click HERE to get to this Chinese website and then scroll down a bit to where you will find the English version of this article) to learn why delays are such a problem there.

I learned a LOT from reading this article that I had no clue took place or that airlines had to address as part of flying in the PRC. Now those delays make a lot more sense to me and I will stop complaining as much.

See also these related China Law Blog posts re: the frustration of flight delays in China, AND, how to better plan for them and deal with them! (Click HERE, HERE and HERE).

Professor Carr Addendum: Things are getting better in China!

See this WSJ article, How China Turned Around A Dismal Safety Record. The lessons of this aviation case are quite relevant to China’s latest safety crisis involving lead-painted toys, tainted seafood, drugs, pet food, and toothpaste.

See also this WSJ article, China Moves to Ease Flight Congestion.

Trains:

Most people in China use trains when they travel medium to long distances. Train stations in China are pure and utter chaos, with massive numbers of people milling about. You need to see and experience this part of China. We will take a night train from Shanghai to Beijing (tentative). The train station in Shanghai will overwhelm you, yet (most of) you will love this night train ride. The quality of the train and sleeper cars is better than anything I have been on in Europe. This will also be a great chance for us to bond and deepen our friendship over late night conversation for those who chose not to sleep.

On this note, check out this Wall Street Journal article, “Firms Ride High on China’s Huge Rail Upgrade,” to learn more about the tremendous business opportunities that have, and will continue to appear in China as a result of this infrastructure development that you will witness with your own eyes.

Automobiles:

I have nothing to say or add here about cars, other than what I have advised you in your FAQ document for the trip — more and more cars are appearing on the roads in China each day and as that country and its infrastructure grow; and if you step out in front of traffic in China, they will not stop and you will die. Plain and simple.

FINAL POINT: One of the lessons of this blog post should be that given the flight delay issue in China, you need to work this contingency (delay) into your travel plans as we all meet, on time, in southern China for the first on-the-road class meeting.  This is particularly the case if you are flying into Shenzhen from say, Shanghai or Beijing.

Your thoughts and comments?

Submitted by: Erik Slayter

I don’t really have any commentary regarding this New York Times article (A Round Trip on a Conveyor Belt in China), but I found it entertaining and interesting and wanted to share. I would be curious to know if this is a one-off type of situation or if it is indicative of Chinese culture.

Good session today! Lots of good questions. Through our guests, I thought we accomplished our goal of learning how to better critically think about and spot sustainability issues at the macro 10,000 feet level.

What were some of your helpful takeaways from today’s session? What made you rethink some things about sustainability, the US, China, etc.?

Here’s the Center for Clean Air Policy website and CCAP’s posted report (”Developing Country Green House Gas Emissions Mitigation Analysis” — addresses in part the George Will Op-Ed piece that Patrick asked about in today’s session), which Mike Jencks suggested you take a look at, and the website to the California Renewable Energy Center that Neil Lahey also suggested you peruse.

Mike Jencks (attorney at law), Kate Lancaster (Cal Poly Professor of Accounting), Neil Lahey (Owner/CEO www.deventec.com) and Rob Pena (Cal Poly Professor of Architecture) … great job. Thank you for your time!