Business visits in Tianjin: Tianjin High-Tech Development Zone

Jaysen Prophet took a lot of great pictures during the residency. Below are a few of them

Students at Tienanmen Square

Tianjin High-Tech Development zone

Tianjin High-Tech Development zone (2)

I hope that every time our students think of China, they will remember this Welcome banner and warm reception provided by all companies

Below are a few pictures from MGLM GL04 Business residency in China

July 19th, Airport in Beijing

Pactera

Beijing Cessna with Mr. Wu

Dan has a unique talent to make friends with people - even at McDonald's

Jaysen and Zak before the meeting

Jin Pan and Valentina on a speed train to Tianjin

Jin Pan presenting to GL04 students

Round table discussion at Jun He Law Firm

GL04 students on a speed train to Tianjin

Group picture

Professor Ma at Beijing Language and Culture University

Tammy Davis and Kevin Wu

A few pictures above are taken during visits to Tianjin companies

We arrived to Beijing on July 19^th, the day when somebody decided to deploy a fire cracker in Beijing airport. We learned about it from the email one of the students received during the flight. I took a picture of our group: We wanted our friends and relatives see that we are safe and happy. There was another surprise: No connection to the Blog! Later, we have realized that a few of us have been cut off our Gmail accounts. Jeff Umscheid became our connection to the Blog. We all appreciate your support, Jeff. We emailed Jeff our notes from iPhones, and he posted them on the Blog. Jeff is a very busy professional: His last posts were time-stamped at 2:45 a.m. Despite all obstacles and time pressure, Caleb McNary posted a few great stories for us.

The Director of ChinaSense, a company that managed our business residency, mentioned several times that China is a free country. When I shared with her our problems with posting to the University blog, she calmly responded that there are “filters” on the Internet.

We had a great trip which included visits and round table discussions with the following companies:

·         ChinaSense

·         Young Entrepreneurs of China

·         Pactera

·         Jun He Law Firm

·         U.S. Commerce Office at the U.S. Embassy

·         Tianjin High-Tech Development Center

·         Cessna Beijing office

·         Beijing Language and Culture University

It is hard to say which visit contributed most to our understanding of China success factors. A day spent at the Tianjin High-Tech Development Center was very important. Needless to say that a big red banner saying “Welcome Friends from Friends University!” placed above the entrance setup the tone for multiple meetings in Tianjin. Meeting in Beijing Cessna office and a visit with Kevin Wu, Vice President - North Asia Sales & Market Development, helped us to understand Cessna’s entrance mode to the Chinese market. Mr. Wu is coming to Wichita shortly – this is really a flat world we live in. For many students a visit to the U.S. Embassy was the first experience of the kind. The presentation and the round table discussion helped us to understand the economic potential of China. Tammy Davis was happy to receive the contacts her company needed for doing business with China. All of us were impressed with a round table talk at Jun He Law Firm, one of the biggest law firms in Beijing. Its clients include Amazon.com, Oracle, Johnson&Johnson, Siemens, IBM, City, GE, Microsoft, and the list goes on. Ms. Fang He practices in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, FDI, private equity and IP. Ms. He was recognized as the Outstanding Woman Lawyer of Beijing for 2019-2011. She represents a new generation of Chinese professionals with a realistic view on current and future economic development of her country. Our students employed by Cessna made a decision to recommend Jun He Law Firm for partnership with their company.

I am very proud of the graduating class of Master of Global Leadership and Management. The MGLM Friends University students were great representatives of their University and their country.  

Posted on behalf of Dr. Valentina Chappell on 7/25

The problem was not the Internet connection, but filters set up for words like Blog, chat, etc. I and a few more students lost access to our G-mail accounts for a few days as well. Other than that the business residency was a complete success!

I've fixed a few typos and would appreciate you posting the following:

Most people are aware that China is undergoing tremendous changes. GDP growth of 6.8% is impressive. Creation of new clusters of sky-scrapers and relocation of population from agricultural areas to newly developed apartment complexes is a unique feature of Chinese economy which is debated by the local and foreign economists.

Yesterday we took a high speed train to the T-2 city Tianjin. Tianjin is a beautiful and clean city with a long history. Old parts of towns include former British, Japanese, and a few other foreign concessions. The international history of the second largest port is reflected in its >architecture. Many areas reminded me French cities.

What is the present and future of the this unique city with a multimillion population? If you have ever seen a three dimensional city plan created by architects, you'll have a pretty clear idea what contemporary and future of Tianjin looks like. The heart and the driving force of its economy is a huge industrial development base. We were greeted by the Shuang Gang People's Government of Tian Jin JinNan District representatives. Students were introduces to the detailed plan of city development which is still in progress. The Chinese say that their national bird is a construction crane. It is supposed to be a joke, but unfortunately  it is not. No birds around, but a huge amount of cranes.

We were very pleasantly surprised to see a big red banned stretching above the main entrance to the administrative building. It read, "Welcome, Friends from Friends University!"  I hope that every time my students think about Chinese people, they will remember those words.

We spent the whole day learning about how the vision of the People's Party is being implemented. Students listened to a presentation of a new plan to import foreign foods to China followed by a round-table discussion. The executives were very interested to learn that Wichita has a few food exporting facilities.

We'll post pictures when we are back in Wichita.

Posted on behalf of Caleb McNary on 7/25

Today we took a high speed train to the coastal town of Tianjin. The most trouble we've had in China is coming to grips with the sheer scope of the country, and today was a perfect illustration. We start in Beijing, a city with a population of over 20 million, which is larger than the top 5 US cities combined, then we travel 100 miles to the second tier city of Tianjin, which has a population larger than New York City. And that is the way it is up and down the coast. The implications for market entry are staggering.

In the afternoon we visited a high tech development zone, and a subset within the zone dedicated to start ups. In addition to the scope of the country, we are impressed with the speed at which development happens. In one particular section of the park, they had achieved forty percent capacity within a few years of the start of the project, and anticipated being at full capacity by 2014. New business typically breaks ground within 6 months of securing the land.

Today the MGLM group visited the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace Park, both instrumental in Chinese imperial history. The Temple of Heaven was visited by emperors twice a year: once at the new year to pray for a favorable harvest, and at the winter solstice to give thanks for the year's bounty. Locals practiced tai chi and calligraphy in the outer courtyards, while the inside held the impressive structure crafted entirely without fasteners of any kind, everything was joint fitted.

On the other end of Beijing, we visited the retreat of the emperors that provided relief during the hot summers. Indeed, today was over 100 degrees, so we understood the need. The sprawling park is covered by 300+ year old trees, a Buddhist temple and imperial residences. Both serve to remind us of China's extensive history, and the jarring reality of their recent economic.

On behalf of:
Caleb McNary

Today the team visited Jun He Law firm.  Everyone was impressed to learn how they won "Best Company in China and Bejing" several years including 2013.  The law firm got their start by the founding partners going to school in the US, working in the US, and then replicating what they learned in China.  This certainly gave them an edge up starting business in the US.  In addition we visited the US Embassy.  It was an interesting facility and their data on the future of China remains very optimistic.

This morning the team met with Jennifer Pan from China Sense.  Jennifer's presentation about the China economy was incredible in how she was able to effectively communicate with us and tie all the previous classes together regarding how the Chinese economy functions.  We also visited Pantera where Ken Schultz did an awesome job explaining the importance of branding in China.  He also explained how they ran logos by the Chinese team and an American marketing company to get feedback in hopes of preventing any cultural errors.  It was neat to hear from Ken and his experience as a US citizen living in China for the past ten years.

Business in Beijing

The Great Wall

Sunday evening traffic.

Today we visited the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the Great Wall.  The crowds were incredible at Tiananmen and the Forbidden City.  Families save for years to tour their countries heritage.  Several wanted to have their picture taken with us.  I thought the vendors in India, Mexico, and Jamaica were pushy, but they don't compare to the Chinese vendors.  We spent an hour and a half to drive to the Great Wall.  The drive allowed us to see how people in the city and in the country make a living.  You can see the traffic below; 20 million people trying to get in and out of the city.

The team is ready to board the plane to China!  Everyone is excited to take the knowledge we have gained from two years of classroom experience and put it to work in China.  After all the text books and guest speakers, there is nothing like actually visiting and experiencing the culture.  Several of the businesses specialize in helping businesses navigate all the challenges that come with entering the business market in China.  It will be great to understand how they assist corporations.

Let the fun begin!

I'm staying up late tonight since China is 13 hours ahead of us.  It's 12:05 am here in Wichita and noon in China.  Figured I try and get a head start on curing Jet Lag. 

Beijing, China

Welcome to the Master of Global Leadership and Management program blog from China!

First, a few words about the program: The Master of Global Leadership and Management program is a gateway to students’ exciting business opportunities locally and abroad. http://www.friends.edu/academics/global-leadership-and-management-director 

Business residency abroad is an excellent chance to benchmark theoretical knowledge received in the program against international business practices.

During 2012-2013, the MGLM students traveled to Santiago, Chile. They met with top executives, listened to their presentations and engaged in round table discussions. Their feedback to us: The business residency was a life-changing experience. 

Now we are getting ready for our trip to Beijing, China, July 19-27. Follow us on this Blog – we will do our best to share our exciting week in China with you.

Dr. Valentina Chappell
MGLM Program Director

valentina@friends.edu