When you applied to the MBA program we required you to write an essay that addressed the ethics of Google (and other firms) doing business in a China, and the ethics of internet censorship in general.  And Google was also in the news a great deal for its (alleged) decision to pull out of China. But before you read the rest of this post and watch the below video, be sure to read my initial post (and the cited WSJ article) therein, Battling the Information Barbarians, as it will give you a historical perspective on this issue.

Then, check out this video presentation (click HERE) of Kaiser Kuo at my undergrad alma mater, the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.  This video is an opportunity for you to invest.   While it starts out a bit slow, and may not be as funny or as intellectually “un”challenging (i.e., easy) as the Jon Stewart videos I asked you to watch, Kaiser’s talk is an excellent and thoughtful take on things, and worth your time.  He speaks directly to the very essay admission questions you responded to when you applied to the program.

It is a 1 hour and 18 minute broadcast (includes Q&A).  The last 1/2 of his main presentation is where he hits most of the meat but watch the whole video.  The intro takes about 2:40 minutes to get through to get to his actual speech.  His talk is titled, “Shouting Across the Chasm: Chinese and American Netizens Clash in Cyberspace”.  You will learn a great deal about the true Internet and information landscape in China that you did not know before.

FYI, Kaiser is a UC Berkeley grad and four years ago he exclusively spoke to our MBAs during our trip to China. Below is a more beefy bio for Kaiser.

Your thoughts and takeaways from his talk?  And what are your thoughts after reading the WSJ article noted above about China “Battling the Barbarians”?

Kaiser Kuo:  Born in the U. S. to Chinese parents, Kuo lives in China and identifies equally as American and Chinese. Formerly director of digital strategy for the Beijing office of a global advertising agency, Kuo has worked as a technology and business writer for publications such as Time, TimeAsia, China Economic Review, Asia Inc., and the South China Morning Post.  He has serves as an advisor for Youku.com, a leading video sharing company in China (China’s YouTube).  He currently serves as the Director of International Communication for Baidu (China’s Google).  Kuo co-founded China’s most famous rock band, Tang Dynasty, and continues to be active in the Chinese music scene.

I recently finished James Fallows terrific book,  Postcards From Tomorrow Square: Reports From China. Can’t recommend it enough.  It will be required reading for our next China trip.

I also just came across his most recent article in The Atlantic, How I Survived China.  Also a great read.  

Regardless of whether one agrees with what Fallow’s sees and/or concludes, the guy can flat out write, and I have to utmost respect for those who can do so.

I don’t know the answer to this question.  

For me, it depends on the day you ask me, and, the product, issue and/or industry in question.  This BBC podcast (click HERE) I just listened to is one of the more thoughtful and balanced pieces I have come across on the subject.  

For those of you who have been to the PRC, what say you on this topic and after listening to this podcast?

This is another introductory post and video to peek your interest about the trip and get you thinking about China and its many faces.  Its also shows a part of “China” that China (or any country throwing its birthday party) wants the public to see.

This 3.5 minute video is by photojournalist Dan Chung (click HERE) who covered China’s 60th Anniversary National Day parade with a mix of time-lapse and slow motion.

This birthday bash, and the Beijing Olympics, convinced me that the Chinese are slowly but surely “getting” (note I did not say “mastering”) this thing in business and politics called …. marketing.

E.g., a woman’s military brigade wearing white gogo boots and berets with pinkish thigh cut skirts, AND while carrying sub-machine-guns?  This part was right out of an Austin Powers movie.  No peasant and  Chairman Mao suit wearing people waiving Little Red books here.

Your thoughts?

Post event side note:  When China and the CCP’s 60th birthday bash took place, a few folks emailed me asking me to post some thoughts on the topic.  Sorry, but I have nothing original to add on this subject, and I can only link you to this cool video that shows you in visual form that the Chinese feel pretty strongly that after two centuries of perceived Western humiliation, they are back and some of their best days may lie ahead.

Enjoy!

I am often asked by students and alumni about job opportunities in China (and India).

The answer is often much more complicated than they like to hear.  For example, I can report that managers and CEOs in both China and India, uniformly tell me that it is not enough that you have a pretty American smile and that you studied or majored in “global or international business” in the US.  Your “value-add” must be more than than this.

The resources I noted below collectively highlight some of the issues, complexities, challenges and opportunities that surround this topic.

The below noted New York Times article, American Graduates Finding Jobs in China, ignited some debate and intense criticism in the blogosphere.  Rightly so.   My own view and bias is that the below listed Forbes article by Shaun Rein more closely hits the mark.

I intentionally waited to blog about this topic because I knew that after the dust had settled others would have more eloquent insight to share on this topic than myself, and on that note please see the below.

American Graduates Finding Jobs in China (New York Times) and Wharton Grads Head to Far East for Jobs (CNBC)

Young Americans in China, Part I, from Jack Perkowski blog (China hand and author of the well received book, Managing the Dragon)

Young Americans in China, Part II, from Jack Perkowski blog

Fox News Video Interview of Jack Perkowski on the the debate surrounding the need learn Mandarin (hard to believe this guy does not speak some Mandarin given how long he has lived in China)

Reading, Writing, Arithmetic and … Mandarin?  Chinese is Coming to a School Near You, from the Aimee Barnes’ blog

China Law blog post by Dan Harris, Easy Jobs For Foreigners in China.  Everyone I  Know Begs To Differ (the comments alone and debates therein to Dan’s posts are always quite good and insightful)

Should You Look for Work in China?, by Shaun Rein (Forbes article) (my own view is that this one may be the more balanced pieces you will find))

Some Advice for the China Bound Job Seeker, by David Wolf of the Silicon Hutong blog (ditto)

Falling in Love with China and Your Career, from the Aimee Barnes’ blog

Ok, So You Learned Chinese … Now Where’s That Dream Job?, by Benjamin Ross (who is from Kansas City, did a stint in China, then worked a bit in Chicago, and is now a PhD student in sociology at the University of Chicago).

Students, what are your take-aways from these articles and resources?  If you travel to the future, i.e., places like China and India or other, what is your “value-add” for doing so that will make you attractive to a domestic employer there and/or a Western firm doing business there?

And for that matter, if you stay in California or the US to work and have no desire to work in a place like Asia, what is your “value-add” to the firm you are interviewing with or want to interview with here, especially in this very difficult economy?

While the above resources focus on China, said points are equally applicable to India.  One major difference between India and China, though, is that many people in India speak good English, so the “learn another language” hurdle may not be as big of an obstacle there.   That said, however, and as Shaun Rein rightly notes in his article about how he finds it “pathetic” that people come to work full-time in China yet don’t take the time to try to earn at least some of the language (I recognize learning Mandarin is difficult and it will be easier for some than others), the same can be said about learning Hindi while in India, in my view.