I had asked you to read a post on negotiation and the SIlk Market in Beijing, where I will take you for some shopping. To refresh click HERE.

Check out this excellent NY Times article, Facing Counterfeiting Crackdown, Beijing Vendors Fight Back just published that discusses the legal crackdown at the Silk Market and the creative way in which some of the vendors there are fighting back against the trademark infringement cases that have been filed against them.

Said article nicely highlights the tension between how the West and China approach and differ in some of their views of intellectual property protection, how much of this issue is also tied to history an that portion of my session with you last week on Chinese history (e.g., the Opium Wars, Confucianism, the carving up of China by colonial powers), etc. Said article also highlights why when/if you lecture the Chinese in IP theft and lack of protection, buddy, be careful as you sometimes do so at your own peril!

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By the way, for those of you looking to buy a suit in China at the Silk Market in Beijing (see my earlier post Lessons On Negotiating (The Ultimate Sport), In Asia), see this short YouTube VIDEO I recently came across on this very topic. I think it’s pretty well done and fairly accurate. Keep in mind, though, that the prices you will see in this video are lower for a number of reasons. E.g., he came back 10 days later to pick up his suit and did not need it the next day, he also went into a local neighborhood (in this case in Shanghai) that many Westerners would not feel comfortable going into to buy his suit, note his language skills and I assume he was/is a repeat customer for this tailor, etc. As you are MBA students, you recognize and appreciate the impact said variables can have on price.