Opportune time for Western students to learn about Chinese culture and its impact on business world

I was recently asked to explain why so many Westerners are now attending universities in China, especially to study culture-related subjects. The follow-up question was even more interesting: "Is it because of China's emergence as a superpower?" I usually answer these types of questions based on my own experience.

My China journey began when I was a professor at the Arizona State University. I traveled to the country many times between 2000 and 2005 to teach and do research. In August 2005, I was offered the opportunity to become a full-time professor at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) to teach in the MBA program.

I can only speculate, based on my more than 50 years of living in the US, about why Westerners are attending Chinese universities; but at CEIBS, about 40 percent of our 200 MBA students are foreigners, and we know why they study with us.

Whether they are undergraduates or MBA students, I suspect it is a combination of intelligence (which leads to natural curiosity), fear, and a dose of pragmatism that leads Westerners to Chinese universities.

My mother, born in 1910, was one of the most intelligent people I have ever known and she was always curious to learn something new. She read Pearl S Buck's, The Good Earth, published in 1931, and was always fascinated by the story - and by China. She would read anything and everything she could about China, and I suspect had she had the chance, she would have attended university in China. There are many intelligent people, like my mother, in the West who would relish the opportunity to learn about China, its government, business practices and, more importantly, its people and culture. What better way to do that than to attend the university and immerse yourself in the daily life and culture of the Chinese people?

We have an innate fear of the unknown. Three and a half decades ago, China was closed to the rest of the world. Very little was known about the country, and there were many misconceptions.

In the West, our innate fear of the mysterious place called China is exacerbated by "China bashing" in sections of the media and through political rhetoric. Intelligent people tend to try to overcome their fears by facing them and learning from their own experiences, rather than blindly accepting media reports or politicians' views.

Pragmatism comes from a combination of intelligence and experience.

A front row seat during this spectacular growth (compared to the rest of the world) of the Chinese economy has made many of our students realize that the China market is important to the success of most multinational corporations. They are also keenly aware that Chinese companies are making their mark in the global economy.

Many of our Western students have worked in China before, or have at least worked with companies that have a presence here, or are otherwise affected by this Asia giant. It is only natural that they would want to learn more about how to do business with China.

Many MBA students expect that their future careers will, in some way, be linked to China. They view studying at CEIBS as an opportunity to learn more about the intricacies of Chinese culture and its impact on the business world. They also know it is an invaluable opportunity to begin building a network of contacts with whom they can work in the future.

The author is professor of operations management and director of the CEIBS Center for Automotive Research, and director of the Siemens Center for Sustainability and Supply Chain Management at CEIBS.

(China Daily 03/23/2012 page7)