Multinationals & Their Local Competitors with Professor Lin Xu (May 22 – June 7, 2006).

This course included visits to the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. The goal was to understand China as a competitor, a market, and as a partner to western firms. Following are reflections from two students who participated in the course.

“Like many of you, I had read the news articles, cases and projections depicting China’s growth. As hard as it was for me to fathom the numbers, it was even harder for me to imagine the people, the pace and the changing perceptions driving this growth. I went to China because I wanted to experience this shift for myself.

Upon arriving in Beijing, Professor Xu encouraged us to forget our preconceived notions and concentrate on analyzing what we saw and heard by taking into account the industry, political and geographical context of the companies we visited. As we traveled down the East Coast, we met with top executives from multinational companies, such as John Deere, Cisco and Boston Scientific. They lauded the opportunities of employing and marketing to China’s huge populace but also cited very real challenges in working within an economy and political system that aren’t truly market driven. We also met with entrepreneurs, both Chinese and American, who spoke of readily available funds, transient employees and the difficulty in fostering out-of-the-box thinking among their teams. Finally, we met with government officials who talked about the benefits of China’s later modernization compared with North America and Europe and the importance of foreign investment in China to fuel the growth of its infrastructure and economy.

But most importantly, we were out and about in the city, taking cultural excursions as a large group or having afternoons off to explore the cities on our own. I loved the opportunity to experience China on my own terms and really interact with locals, charading my way through interactions with street vendors, taxi drivers and restaurant owners. In my business meetings and my adventures, I found the China beyond the statistics – a country of passion, eagerness, obstacles and optimism.” Jill Cartwright, Two Year Student, May 2007

“The first Chinese student to graduate from Babson occurred in 1933. Nearly 75 years later Babson continues to explore expanding business relations and exposure with China. For just over two weeks 30 Babson MBA students experienced the colorful, modern, fast-paced world of five cities in China. We focused on exploring competition dynamics of multinationals and local rivals in the context of change, government support, market segmentation, and localization. Visits to Cisco and Huawei allowed us to research the telecom hardware industry in China. We also saw firsthand the growing Chinese and American entrepreneurial players in the semiconductor industry. And we were granted exclusive time with the Mayor of Pudong and executives from notable companies, such as Boston Scientific and GM Buick.

Cultural events included exploring the Great Wall, seeing magicians and theatrical performances at the Laoshe Teahouse in Beijing, and dining with Babson alumni at a Tibetan-themed restaurant.

This course expands your global perspective and humbles you with the knowledge of the growing interconnectedness of the world. For example, now whenever I purchase clothing in the U.S, I appreciate the craftsmanship and operational design I witnessed at Textile Alliance Apparel in Dongguan.

Even though China represents the world’s fastest growing major economy, we learned that competing in this dynamic country is not for the faint-hearted!” Lynn McElholm, Part Time Evening Student, May 2007.

To learn more about Babson’s Off Shore Short Courses please go to:

 http://www3.babson.edu/Centers/Glavin/gps/Academics/UG/