Submitted By: Steve Rodger

According to the Chinese government, environmental pollution cost China US$64 billion in economic losses in 2004. This means that environmental degradation and pollution cost the Chinese economy the equivalent of 8-12 percent of GDP annually. With expected rises in China’s population (despite the one-child per person law), these problems are only expected to get worse. China’s growth is only causing additional shortages of their water (China From the Inside). The government should look towards sustainable development programs (China: Sustainable Development Gets Priority) to help alleviate their countries severe desertification, droughts, and marine pollution. In a nutshell, China does not have enough water to support the exponential economic growth it aspires to.

Water and waste pollution is the number one problem facing China, according to hydrologists and government officers. Rural and poor farmers are the people suffering the most. So what is the solution?

Raising water prices would cause some to conserve water, but prices are already high enough to make rural farm workers conserve. Currently billions are being invested in sewage treatment plants, which will help to treat foul H20. Additionally, China is looking for foreign solutions (China Taps Into Foreign Water Solutions) to solve their water crisis. There will be no one solution to this immense problem. Rather many small scale solutions will ultimately help to alleviate China’s water crisis. Moreover, there comes an immense business opportunity attached to their water solution.

Submitted By: Kristin Moran

I came across a WSJ article a couple months ago, As China Booms, Millions of Children Are Left Behind that discusses the reality that as China’s economy continues to grow at an alarming rate many parents are choosing to leave work on the farm to pursue opportunities in the city.

I can’t imagine the stress and heartache these families must go through when making this decision. I am not a parent, but have been told that a parent’s love for their child is like no other type of love. It is both indescribable and unconditional.

When I first read this article I was angry because I feel it is socially irresponsible to have kids that you then leave to raise themselves, or to be raised by other people. After reading it a few more times I can understand how some Chinese (and American) parents are forced into situations where in order to support their families they have to sacrifice being with their families. This is obviously not just a Chinese issue because as the cost of living gets higher and higher in the U.S. many parents are being forced out of the home and into work. I just wonder what long term effects this is going to have on us as a nation, on China as a nation, and on us globally.

Whenever asked what I want to do with my life, my first response is to be a mother. Ideally, I want to have kids and want to be able to stay at home and raise my kids. Realistically, if I want to raise my kids in California (or many other places across the globe) I am going to have to work to help support my family. There is obviously no one answer that is going to work for every person or each family, but I always feel it is an interesting topic to bring up in business classes. We are all enrolled in this MBA program to further our careers, but what is going to happen when we start having children of our own?

Professor Carr Addendum: Great post and topic. Difficult, emotional issues for sure. Heart breaking article. See an earlier post I made on one of the sub-topics that Kristin’s post addresses (but goes a little different direction) — What Makes for a Quality Life? Kristin is right — for those who want to stay and live in California, the numbers and cost of living here likely mean that if you don’t come from (lots of) money, get ready to work a lot to pay your bills and spend time away from your kids. Another reason sensitivity on this issue is important is that you will manage employees who work very hard for you and make far less $$$ than you do. In being a good leader and managing your employees, it is important that you recognize and appreciate that the time these folks put in at the firm for you and your clients means time away from their families and kids. Never forget that or breach that sacred trust they have placed in you in this regard.  For more on the having kids issue, see also the related post I recently made, Women and an MBA Degree.

Submitted By: Erik Slayter

As was mentioned sometime last quarter, the SLO Chamber of Commerce is taking a tour of China - in fact they are there right now. Here’s a link to the brief article (Biz Buzz: 200 SLO Chamber Members Travel to China) in the Tribune about it. And here’s a link to their Blog (not that we don’t have enough to read already!)

Over the years I have been a part of some good discussions about wine in China and why California wineries can’t seem to pull the trigger and get into that market.   I have also previously blogged on this topic (click HERE) so be sure to check out this prior blog post for relevant background to this post.

As you will notice once we arrive in the PRC, the French and Aussies are already there. You can find a few bottles of Napa Valley wine here and there, but not many; and I have rarely seen a Central Coast wine on a shelf or in a restaurant in China.

First mover advantage for the Aussies and French?  Time will tell.

Check out the most recent Wall Street Journal article on the subject, “People I Know Still Put Ice and Juice in Wine.” Great article that relates to our trip!

And go ahead and admit it … you or one of your family members has on at least one occassion dropped an ice cube in a warm glass of Chardonnay to chill it. Really, go ahead, admit it. It’s okay. I have done so myself. We still like you.

Can you see the friggin’ potential for wine sales in the PRC?

Professor Carr August 9, 2008 Addendum:  See this article in today’s WSJ,  Sip These China Stocks.

There was an interesting special report and article in last weekend’s Wall Street Journal [subscription may be required] (”Leading From Below”) that ties into our recent blog posts and online discussion on leadership in business and MBA programs (Leadership and the Himilayas — Part I and Leadership — Part II).

Great session today with Henry Lane of Dioptics!

What were some of the helpful take-aways you gleaned from today’s session?

I love reading the Financial Times. I really do. I just have a heck of a time finding the time to regularly read it between work duties, family, and my own other daily reading (e.g., Wall Street Journal and NY Times and a number of China blogs!). This post has nothing to do with China, but is completely relevant to our MBA program.

An interesting article in the Financial Times [subscription may be required] just came out called “Stepping Stones to Top Careers.”

Some highlights of the article:

• 64% of full-time MBA programs saw an increase in the proportion of female applicants. Part-time programs, a 47 percent increase.
• The ratio of men to women in top MBA programs is still woefully low — 2:1.
• The schools that succeed in attracting the most female applicants are those that have targeted outreach programs. On the other hand, some women resist women-specific marketing.
• There is no simple answer why women are increasingly turning to the MBA degree. (Why do you think they are?)
• Recruiters are increasingly interested in recruiting women graduates, yet there is still a substantial salary gap between earnings for male and female MBA alumni. (Why do you think this is?)

See also this related Financial Times article, “Ask the Experts: Women in Business.”

Great articles. A must read. Your thoughts?

Ladies — what do we do well here in this regard? What can we “reasonably” do better here to make our own MBA program more attractive to women applicants? (And I emphasize the word “reasonably” because all ideas and suggestions have to be executed within location, cost, resource, expertise, time, etc. constraints and while some ideas are great in theory they have no shot of being done well, effectively and/or at all. Classic cost-benefit analysis.)

Fellas — how do you see this issues? What do you need to be thinking about and respond to in the marketplace as future managers and firm owners to make your firms attractive to even more women job applicants? And do you in your heart of hearts support the opening up of what has traditionally been “the mens club” in a number of areas of business and industry? Why or why not? Discuss. Does it bother you that statistics show that your women classmates, on average, are paid less than you? Discuss.

Professor Carr July 17, 2007 Addendum: Read this related Wall Street Journal article [subscription may be required] that just came out, How To Raise Female MBA Enrollment.

I don’t know about you, but when I hear folks say “the good old days” were better, I often cringe. In my own life, for many items, they the “old days” were not better and my life now is overall of a higher quality due to advances in technology and other facets of life.

One example is the Great Fire Wall of China website. In the past, before PCs and technology allowed for such a thing (e.g., I actually learned to type on this thing called a typewriter — how about you?!), this type of reporting and monitoring mechanism would not have been technologically possible. Kudos to Erik Slayter for bringing this site to my attention.

In short, click on the logo that appears on the home page and you can then plug in a web address and test whether it’s currently blocked in China.  So far the Cal Poly MBA trip blog remains up and accessible in China! You can also review some of the sites that have been tested and have been blocked in China.  Not that this is all bad — some of these sites one could argue are so whacked out and/or biased on their view of the world that being blocked out is a no harm-no foul.

Test your own student blog to see what happens. For those of you that are MySpace.com addicts, access from China ain’t gonna happen for you!

Play around with it and have some fun.  With the click of a button and modern technology, one consequence of a government’s censorship policy can be pulled up before your eyes to evaluate.  Amazing.

A Starbucks gift certificate that will buy a “grande” something to the first Cal Poly MBA China trip student who answers the below question correctly, AND, who also discusses whether he/she thinks the Chinese government under-reports or over-reports this number (and why).

Question: According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, China’s population grew by almost ______ million last year, to a total of ______________.

Submitted By: Katie Hofman

I found an article on the New York Times online entitled “Chinese Premier Emphasizes Energy, Pollution and the Poor”.

In summary, the article discusses China’s plan to increase spending on education and healthcare in the poorest regions. Prime Minister Wen Jiaboa appears to realize the impact that the growing economy has had on the resources of China, as well as the affect on the gap between those living in the cities and those in the rural areas.

Is this new plan enough or has China already polluted and consumed more resources than available? I keep picturing the scenes in “China Rises” of the desolate plateau that is so dry that little can grow there. I think of the families who also found it difficult to survive. Will this plan offer them the necessary assistance, or is this lip-service made to boost the international view of China, while doing little to actually change the lives of the country’s residents?

Along those lines, the article mentions that the economic boom is essential to the maintenance of the Communist Party. I am reminded of the PBS Tank-Man segment and the deal that the government made with their people to trade economic opportunities for political freedoms. I wonder if this is a veiled version of a similar deal aimed at the poorest in the country.

The plan proposed by the Prime Minister seeks to reduce the gap between the poor and the middle class in China. What will this do for the companies who are reliant on the low-cost labor that the poorer citizens provide? In Prof. Ramezani’s lecture, we discussed the shift of low-cost labor from Japan to Korea to China. As that low-cost labor shifts to a new country, is there an industry ready to take its place as an employer of Chinese workers? Could the Chinese government’s plan to close the gap between the middle class and poor hasten the shift of labor out of China?

In conclusion, as I read the article, I was hopeful and pleased to hear that China is placing an emphasis on taking care of its citizens and resources. As this plan takes off, I am left thinking about what else they can do to assist those in rural regions.