Submitted By: Kristin Moran

I recently read an article in the China Daily that grabbed my interest because of its focus on China’s predicted sustainability (Rapid Growth to Sustain 20 years).

When asked, “What was the most repeated “buzz” word or topic by your professors this year?,” most of us would immediately respond, sustainability! Most, if not all, of our professors have discussed sustainability as it pertains to accounting, economics, lean operations, corporate governance, etc. I thought this article did a nice job of summarizing Michael Spence’s (a Stanford University Professor and 2001 Nobel Prize Winner) position on China’s long-term sustainability.

Submitted By: Eric Cole

I found this article earlier in the quarter on BBC News website that addressed a perceived disparity in the mathematical abilities of British students versus those of Chinese students. Math Test Article. The English test is given to first year university students while the Chinese test is the pre-entry test for university, similar to our SAT’s. The problem on the English test pales in comparison to that on the Chinese test, and the test questions on our SAT math are just as easy if not easier than the English ones. I see this as a clear sign of our rapidly eroding technological superiority over China, one that we are doomed to lose. If these test questions are indicative of the skill levels of our future scientists and engineers, then China is on the verge of an incredible breakthrough. Too much cannot be read into these questions alone without knowing the difficulty of the rest of the questions and how successful the students were at answering them. However, if we don’t address the complacency that exists as to our role as the only current superpower, China might soon surpass us .

Professor Carr Addendum: Good post. You all need to explore this issue closely over dinner with Lonnie Hodge of OMB when we see him in Guangzhou. Also see and read this very good and related LA Times article [registration is free], China, U.S. Teach Each Other Some Lessons About Education.  This article is also a must read.  I was struck by how we are now turning to the Chinese to learn about how we can more effectively teach US students math and science. 

Submitted By:  Katie Hofman

Here is a link for a commercial for V05 hair products that I found interesting.

Typically I find commercials boring and thank my DVR for the ability to skip them, but this one caught my attention.

As we near our trip to China, I found myself thinking about what this commercial is saying. Does it seem accurate based on what we have been learning, or is it playing into an “old-fashioned” view of growing up Chinese? What other messages are being conveyed beyond “buy V05?”

Professor Carr Addendum: Good post.  I dug this commerical.   Lots going on there — could be a great case study to analyze from a marketing/advertising standpoint.  As long as we are discussing hair and beauty, you must read this “My Last Day on the Job at a Chinese Barbershop” post by Ben’s blog. It is incredibly well done, insightful and moving. Kudos to this young man. Gutsy, humble and courageous. See my earlier post on him: Ben’s Blog.  I am not a terribly big fan of American chest thumping, but when I read something like this on Ben’s blog I see an example of America and American global citizen behavior, at its very best, and feel very proud and optimistic for our future.

For our Macau visit, read these two articles that appeared in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal.

What Happens in Vegas, Goes to China.

With Gambling Ads Banned, Attracting Casino Customers Can Be a Roll of the Dice.

Great stuff.   The relevance to our visit there is clear.    Yeeeaaahhhh baby!

While we are in China you will have the opportunity to hob nob and travel with some Chinese students. This blog post may give you some nuggets to discuss with them over a good hot cup of oolong tea.

My question for you to consider is, how do/can you reconcile the two different items I list below?

Item One:

See this excellent blog post with a great YouTube video, Addicted to Mediocrity: Education In China II, by Lonnie Hodge at OMB.

Item Two:

See this excellent recent NY Times article by Nicholas Kristof, called The Educated Giant.

Connecting the Dots:

How do you see two items relating to each other? Do they relate? Are the fundamentally at odds with one another? Can the be reconciled? If so, how? Which facet of this part of China will you be looking for or decide as a reflexive matter to be the “truth” on your trip?

I stumbled across this link, Getting an MBA in China, in the Shanghai expat blog. It contains some good summary information on some of the better MBA programs in China.

But more importantly, see these related WSJ articles, Westerners Commute to Asia to Get MBAs and Opting to Go Abroad. See also this Business Week article, China’s B-School Boom.

Re: China I have often said that when I look at it I see the future of business, and all the good and bad that can come with it. Clearly, per this article I am not alone in that belief, or the folks who are the subject of this article would be staying put in the US to pursue their MBA degree.

One point of this post …. the world is changing, opportunities are developing elsewhere, the people you will need to work and collaborate with in business will be different tomorrow than today, and there is a talent pool and level developing in other parts of the world that will force you to raise your game.

Submitted By: Meghan Girvin

Here is an interesting article from Land Development Today on sustainable development in China. It talks about a zero-waste city that is planned for development in 2010. If China is successful with this development it could create a model for other cities around the world to become more sustainable. This initiative is good to see especially since China has some of the most polluted cities in the world.

Submitted By: Evelyn Ma

I found a short video (20 min) on Frontline that gives insight on relations between China and Japan. It gives a dual perspective on the conflict of the Nanking Massacre, and how this horrific event has shaped China and Japan’s relationship.

Both Japan and China acknowledge that this massacre, also known as “The Forgotten Holocaust,” has occurred, but it is the historical portrayal that is the root of tension between the two countries. The video describes aggressive protest against a Japanese junior high history textbook that refers to the massacre as an “incident,” and essentially censors the topic. As you may remember from Dr. Morris’ history lesson, we know there is much animosity between the two countries, and the Nanking Massacre is one of the root causes. To learn more about this horrific event, I suggest reading Iris Chang’s The Rape of Nanking, The Forgotten Holocaust, to get a better understanding of the historic events leading up to the massacre, the actual slaughter of Chinese citizens for those six weeks, and the aftermath. I also have a much shorter description of the book in my book review as well.

To describe how many Chinese feel about this censorship by the Japanese, imagine Germany denying that the Holocaust happened, that concentration camps ever existed, that the Jews were treated fairly and respectfully during that time. Also picture Nazi war criminals being treated as heroes, and the Holocaust referred to as an “event” in a footnote in your high school history textbook. This is what many Chinese feel, and why the denial of this history is such an atrocity.

Things to think about: What can be done between China and Japan to repair relations between the two? Why is it important for us as MBA students going to China to understand this dynamic between the two countries? Why is it important to know about this event, in general?

Professor Carr Addendum: See also this related post and comments thereto that Lindsay made back in February 2007, Wartime Chinese Laborers Sue Japan for Compensation.

During our travels in China, we will meet and see a number of “Overseas Chinese” — people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside China.

“China”, in this usage, also usually includes Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. This is sometimes referred to as “Greater China”; that is, territory currently administered by both rival governments; the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). People of partial Chinese ancestry also often consider themselves Overseas Chinese. (Source: Wikipedia)

One book I was recently flipping through estimated the number of overseas Chinese to be at least 60 million people.

To help you better understand this group of people and some of the overseas Chinese business professionals on the trip you will meet and/or when you hear them say things like “This century will be our (China’s) century,” read this wonderful, wonderful, wonderul WSJ article, A Return to China: Amid a Tide of Homecomings, A Granddaughter Visits the Land Her Family Left in 1948.

And keep the following quote from this article in mind ….

For Chinese people, the blood that binds us is thicker than any body or water that separates us.

While this quote is warm and fuzzy, it is also bound to have geopolitical consequences (some good; some bad) for both the US and China in the future.

Why are overseas Chinese returning to China? Blood and cultural loyalty? It’s truly “home” for them? To the shock of the West are there now more opportunities for them in China than abroad? Each of these reasons?

In any event, be ready to see and recognize this issue when you come across it in China. Ask them why they have returned to China and see what you can find out.

When we are in the airport in LAX or SFO, that will be a good opportunity (and your very first) to try to meet these folks and try to understand what they think and where they are coming from.

Professor Carr July 22, 2010 Addendum: See these related Wall Street Journal articles, More Chinese Graduates Return Home and Strangers at Home (and be sure to study the interactive map and data that shows where the bulk of the Chinese Diaspora now reside).

Great post by Chris Amico of Eyes East blog.

“Anyone who’s taught in a Chinese university likely knows the perils of soliciting students’ opinions. There’s a predictability to it, you can almost guess the answer before it comes, and many will flat out refuse to register a thought. But us foreigners can be just as guilty of this, of refusing to engage, of thinking the Three Ts are secretly at the top Chinese students’ agendas, too. I’ve certainly made that mistake in the past.

‘No one ever asks us what we think,’ one of my students told me after class on Monday. I asked them one question: ‘If Hu Jintao decided you should be the next president or prime minister of China, what would be on your to-do list?’ Here’s what they wrote:

* Improve standard of living (4)
* build more roads
* protect the environment (5)
* rebuild our lost civilization
* reform the college entrance exam (2)
* improve medical care for farmers/peasants (2)
* make the country more democratic (3)
* prepare for the 2008 Olympics
* control the population size (2)
* conserve water
* reduce/eliminate college fees
* change China’s relationship with Japan (2)
* limit the use of oil and coal
* education reform (5)
* help the poor (3)
* set the minimum age to marry at 25
* call on all children to play football (soccer)
* let foreigners play on China’s soccer team
* lessen the income gap
* cut taxes (2)
* Hope Project
* develop Western China
* protect endangered animals
* improve traffic
* make food safer
* give everyone a car
* pay more attention to polls
* give more funding to the army (2); to education (3); to scientific research (2); health care (3)
* take back Taiwan (4)
* make buses free
* expand Chinese culture around the world (2)

…. I lumped some things together, cleaned up the grammar as best I could, but otherwise tried to stay true to what the students wrote. These are all freshmen, ages 18-20, in an elective English class. They’re considered the best in their majors, but this is the first class they’ve all taken together ….

[T]wo things strike me about this list:

It’s overwhelmingly domestic. Few suggestions even referenced China’s neighbors, and those were old strawmen, Taiwan and Japan. One student wanted to invade both, but only one.

[Second] [t]here’s much to be done. Democracy got a few votes, but not as many as education reform and environmental protection. Every student had at least one issue of their own, and the overlaps were shallow.”

Maybe you will have a chance to talk about these items with some of the students and people you will meet on the trip during your down time, or at English Corner.

Turns out that maybe people are just people, and maybe, just maybe, we are not so different after all ….