Faculty Forum
The economic giant O
by Dan Messerschmidt, professor of economics
ne can only gain an understand- ing of the massive size of China’s population — and its economy
— through firsthand experience. This past summer the College offered its second study abroad experience focusing on the Chinese business and economic environment. Why China? Not so long ago this was
a common question that students asked when they considered possible study abroad trips, but interest in the country has mushroomed with increased news coverage. Our introduction started in Beijing,
where traffic is simply astounding. Bikes and motor scooters compete with buses, trucks, and pedestrians, and we were amazed that there were not more collisions. The enormous number of twenty- to
thirty-floor buildings is also a major sur- prise — construction seems to be every- where as new high-rise apartment buildings are being built to house the 22 million people in the Beijing metro area. Our activities in Beijing included
guided tours of Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace, all of which provided a background on the history of China. The massive size and grandeur of the Forbidden City amply reinforced that China has a long and intriguing history as a major world power. A visit to the Great Wall gave us a further understanding of China’s former greatness. From Beijing we traveled to Guilin, a
city in Guangxi province in southern China, a much smaller city located in a tropical setting. The contrast between this region and the hectic and sprawling metropolises of Beijing and Shanghai is extreme and provided clear evidence of the divergence between urban and rural development in China. On our excursions through the countryside on bicycles and
of Mao Zedong. Many of us were quite surprised to see the massive picture of Mao on the south wall of the Forbidden City. We were also taken aback by the blatant anti-American themes in many of the posters at the Propaganda Poster Art Center of Communism in China — a stark reminder of the fear and distrust of the Cold War. Throughout the trip, visits to compa-
Strolling down Nanjing Road, Shanghai, China
in bamboo canoes, we observed water buffaloes used to help cultivate rice pad- dies, villages with no running water, and unimaginably inexpensive food and drink. We also toured a plastics recycling plant where workers sorted enormous piles of smelly and dirty plastic bags and operated ancient cutting machines to make new bags. The technology was definitely primitive, but it is a profitable operation and an im- portant part of the effort to reduce waste. Shanghai is the epitome of Chinese
economic development. Walking along Nanjing Road, which has some of the most exclusive stores in the world, we could imagine that we were on Fifth Avenue or strolling along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris. From the 1,600-foot World Financial Center, the third tallest building in the world, the view of Shanghai was magnificent, but also provided a stark reminder of the pollution challenges that China faces. The ride on the Maglev rail, which reaches a top speed of 260 miles an hour, was another example of the enormous tech- nological advances occurring in China. Throughout our visit we were also
reminded many times of the effects of the Communist Revolution and the rule
nies such as Amazon and MTV China, the Li Quan Beer Factory, a Chinese soft- ware development firm, and a marketing research and advertising firm in Shanghai that specializes in advising foreign firms doing business in China, were all excep- tionally valuable in understanding the business environment. Company repre- sentatives and guest lecturers emphasized that it is essential to understand the business culture to be successful in China. Equally important was the opportunity
for our students to interact with Chinese students, businesspeople, and expatriates living in China. All of these activities are instrumental in providing them with a better understanding of the business culture, the structure of the economy, and the challenges we face in competing with Chinese businesses in the future. As the Chinese economic juggernaut moves forward, it is imperative that U.S. businesses understand how we can com- pete, as well as work, with Chinese firms in the ever-expanding global economy. In recent years the College has placed
a significant emphasis on experiential learning to provide real world exposure that reinforces and supplements the class- roomexperience. To encourage students to participate in these activities, it has established a tuition reduction policy for all experiential education courses. Study abroad provides a wonderful immersion experience that can’t be replicated in the classroom or online.
Fall 2011 LC MAGAZINE 21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52