Learning Management from Chinese Culture
Apr 18-2013
-- The Exchanges between Drexel University MBA and BiMBA
By WANG Su-ya
On the evening of May 17th, an MBA student from Drexel University delivered a speech in Zhifuxuan Classroom in Langrunyuan, Beijing University. His speech aroused loud applauses among the audience. It was the scene of the exchanges between MBA students of Drexel University and students of BiMBA. The differing viewpoints of the students from East and West were clashing here in a management course.
Susan is a financial manager from Philadelphia, with 20 years of working experience. And this is the first time for her to visit China. “To us, China is the fastest growing economy around the world. Here we can not only learn different business models, but broaden our vision as well”, said Susan.
Just like Susan, almost every MBA student from Drexel University has rich working experience. Moreover, it was also the first time for most of them to come to China. The different working backgrounds filled their visit with different surprises. “Our international MBA program allows us to travel around the world to communicate and interact with other MBA students, and we believe that different cultures will bring us new business inspirations,” Said Franc, manager of the Drexel University delegation.
In the exchange meeting held on the midday, BiMBA invited ZHANG Qian from the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park Administration Committee to give a lecture. Ms. Zhang briefed the visiting US MBA students on the incentive and supportive measures given by the Beijing government to hi-tech enterprises, as well as the business value and technological advantage of the Zhongguancun area. After Ms. Zhang’s lecture, Jeff, who is from a biological company in Philadelphia, saw a business opportunity. The biological consultation company at which Jeff works has been seeking ways to cooperate with high-tech enterprises in China, the biggest market in the world. Thanks to Ms. Zhang’s introduction, a bridge for communication and cooperation was set up between the two. Jeff learned more about the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park from the lecture and hoped to find an investment project through the Administration Committee of Zhongguancun. Many other MBA students also showed great interests in the topic, and asked many questions about investment policies in China.
In the following lecture entitled “Cultural Clash and Corporate Management”, BiMBA also invited Mr. He, President of Advantech (Greater China), Mr. Lin, a partner of the famous human resource consultation company Mercy, and Ms. Tian, a veteran analyst of human resources, to explain the management modes of Chinese enterprises from different perspectives.
By taking his own company as an example, Mr. He analyzed the influence of the changes of Chinese history and culture upon the Chinese employees. He said, “Chinese companies lay more stress on authority, and thus the communications between lower and higher levels are rather difficult. Chinese employees work more than they say, and they are used to obedience to orders. However, in recent years, many traditional values have been discarded by the new generation. They are full of confidence, and have begun to be open and expressive. But their sense of belonging to the enterprises has gone. Thus it has become the biggest problem for a company to foster a sense of belonging of their employees and retain them as long as possible. ”
Mr. Lin, departing from the leadership strategy of Chinese companies, pointed out that the higher level a Chinese enterprise leader is at, the more mysterious he will make himself. Since many MBA students work in companies with a branch in China, they turned very active when they are allowed to raise questions. They asked about multinational corporate management and discussed with the lecturers. Some students asked whether it is appropriate to increase the loyalty of Chinese employees in the Chinese branches of foreign companies by offering them a pay rise.
On this topic, Ms. Tian pointed out that China differs much with Western countries in the mode of education. The disloyalty of many Chinese employees arises not from their discontent with the pay, but from the ignorance of what they really need. Therefore, the management needs first to understand what their employees really need, and pay rise should come next.
The MBA students also had heated discussions with the lecturers about the China style management philosophy. Many students said that the Chinese history is fairly profound but hard to understand. Thus Mr. Lin advised them not to promise a return to the United States for the leaders of their Chinese subsidiaries. “It’s hard to imagine that a manager who will return to the Untied States in one or two years can really get involved with the Chinese culture. When such leaders treat China as their hometown and relate their future with this huge market, they will surely get a profound understanding of Chinese culture.”
The wonderful answers of the lecturers and the ceaseless questions raised by the students lengthened the discussion to over two hours. Many students held further exchanges with the lecturers after the course, hoping to get more “valuable experience” from their Chinese teachers. “The China Study tour is really exciting. It allows us to see the fast growing economy of China with huge business potentials, at the same time, to learn to appreciate a completely different culture. I hope to visit China again in the future,” said Susan excitedly.
