McCombs MBA Business

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McCombs MBA Business Culture in China Workshop
Professor Doggett will give an overview of China
and Chinese MBA students will share their
experiences. Where? GSB 3.138 When? November
15, 2005 Time? 5.00pm Please RSVP via the
McCombs calendar so that we can order the right
amount of food. Questions? anthony.erickson_at_mba06
.mccombs.utexas.edu
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Business Culture in China

• John N. Doggett, Senior Lecturer
• International Entrepreneurship and Management
• McCombs School of Business
• Senior Research Fellow, IC2 Institute
• University of Texas at Austin
• John.Doggett_at_mccombs.utexas.edu
• November 15, 2004

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Outline of Presentation

• Business Culture Overview Professor Doggett
• City Profiles
• Beijing
• Shanghai
• Wenzhou
• Guangzhou
• Question Answer Session at the end

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China Facts

• Population 1.3 billion Ethnic makeup 93
  percent Han, including Hui (Han Moslems) Mongol,
  Uygur, Kazakh, Tibetan, Zhuang and some 30 other
  minorities make up the remaining seven
  percent. Population distribution Over 90
  percent of its population resides on the eastern
  coast, which covers only 40 percent of China's
  whole area. Religion 80 percent mixture of
  Buddhism and Taoism five percent Moslem and less
  than one percent Christian. Languages
  Although the Beijing version of Han (Mandarin) is
  the official language, varieties are spoken in
  very distinctively different dialects.
  Literacy 90 percent
• Climate Chinas climate is similar to that of
  the lower 48 States of the United States. It
  ranges from East Siberian Tundra to tropical
  island weather in Hainan Island in the South
  China Sea from highland desert in Tibet to
  grassland in Inner Mongolia.

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China Facts
Urban versus rural regions There are over 20
cities that each has a population of more than
five million, although the size of the individual
cities is significantly larger than that of
Western cities. China only started its
infrastructure modernization within the last 50
years compared with Japan, which started 110
years ago. Natural resources China has the
largest coal deposits in the world and they are
the greatest source of energy. China is self
sufficient in oil production, but it anticipates
becoming a net oil importer within the next 10
years. The south and southwester regions are rich
in rare metals. Political system The highest
law-making body is the Peoples Congress. Members
are nominated and elected from regions across the
country. The Prime Minister appointed by the
President heads the executive branch. The
President is elected by the Peoples
Representatives from local districts. The
Peoples Republic of China was founded in 1949.
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China Facts
Comparative Economic Indicators, 2002
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China Facts
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Major Cities in China
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Agrarianism

• Two-thirds of the Chinese people still live in
  rural areas
• Rice or Wheat Cultivation
• Communal Peasant Farming
• Loyalty and obedience to family hierarchy
• The root (agriculture) is more important than
  the branch" (commerce)

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Morality

• Confucian thread still permeates society
• Society should be organized under a benevolent
  moral code for prosperity and political stability
• Relationships are strictly hierarchical
• Taoism key to life is to find the way, the
  path between yin (dark) and yang (light)
• Truth is not as important as finding the way, the
  process is more important than the goal

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Pictographic Language

• Words are pictures rather than sequences of
  letters
• Crossword puzzles do not exist!
• Holistic thinking see the big picture rather
  than the details

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Xenophobia?

• Great Wall of China
• Long history of invasions
• Civil Wars
• Empires
• What do they trust? Family and a bank account

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Eight Cultural Elements
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View from Both Sides
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View from Both Sides
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Next

• City Profiles
• Beijing Xiaoyan Pu
• Shanghai Yanjing Zhou, Jun Liao
• Zhejiang (Wenzhou) Cindy Zou
• Guangzhou Maxine Lu