A Glimpse of China

March 10th, 2010 - 11 Comments

Smeal’s first-year MBA students recently completed their global immersion week, in which they spend a week abroad to get a glimpse of the international economy and the particular challenges and opportunities associated with doing business in another culture and under different laws and regulations. Terrence Guay, clinical associate professor of international business, accompanied one group of MBAs as they visited Shanghai, China. He shares a bit of the experience below:

The economic transformation in China is occuring on a massive scale and in light speed.  During the first week of March, I took 27 first-year MBA students to Shanghai to see these changes firsthand. 

We visited one French and eight U.S. companies, almost all of them names that every American would recognize.  Their reasons for being in China vary.  Some, like GM and Johnson & Johnson, are producing for the local market.  Others, like Caterpillar and Alcoa, are utilizing low-cost labor and exporting most of their products out of China.  Some companies have more flexibility in managing their operations, while others like Bank of America and Deloitte face restrictions in competing due to greater regulations in the service industry. 

Most students were surprised that, in a country of 1.3 billion people, almost all companies spoke of difficulties in finding highly skilled workers, especially at the middle-manager levels.  Yet every company was enthusiastic about the opportunities that exist in China.  Goodyear views the country as a blank slate where companies can re-position themselves, while Disney sees a promising future in selling merchandise to the two parents and four grandparents who dote on each child. 

Walking and riding through the streets of Shanghai, one would hardly notice that over half a billion Chinese citizens cannot afford any of the products that these companies sell.  The skyscrapers, lights, and bustle look more like New York or Chicago.  But the few hundred million middle and upper income Chinese consumers are rapidly transforming this country, and taking the global economy along with them.

Tags: China, Globalization, Guay, Outsourcing

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 4:59 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

11 Responses to “A Glimpse of China”

1. Don Cook Class of 2000 says:

   March 21, 2010 at 12:16 pm

   Dr. Guay:
   Next time around please come visit us in Shenzhen. Our team here in Asia includes 5 Smeal MBA grads and we would love to host you!

   Don Cook
   General Manager Asia Pacific
   ICG Commerce
2. Janice says:

   May 7, 2011 at 12:44 am

   Had a chance to explore a little of China with Terrence Guay, and had a fantastic time. It’s amazing how much China is involved in with the booming global economy.
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