In an effort to explore Chinese business perspectives and cultural diversity, students from the Tuck School of Business travelled to China for a 10-day trip. The trip represents the first official Tuck program to travel to the country.
Students toured companies in different cities to gain on-the-ground knowledge about the business dynamics of the Chinese economy, said Lisa Miller, associate director of the Tuck Center for International Business, who accompanied the student group in China.
The trip was the first in a series of learning expeditions offered by the Center to expose students to the way emerging economies operate, Miller said. Organizers chose China as this year's destination because of its growing prominence in the global market and the ability of Chinese companies to significantly shape international business, she added.
"Given China's rising economic power, it is almost certain that, as [the Tuck students] rise in their professional careers, there will be a point where a deep understanding of China's market will come in handy," Tuck professor Jackie Luan, who also accompanied the students to China, said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
The trip included visits to several businesses representing a diverse cross section of China's economy, including pharmaceutical, petrochemical, education and consumer goods companies, Luan said. Students toured factory facilities and attended management presentations by Chinese business leaders. They were also given an opportunity to pose questions to company members, she said.
The students visited computer manufacturer Lenovo in Beijing, where they learned about the company's business strategies for emerging markets and then toured the assembly lines where products like ThinkPad laptops are made, Luan said.
Students also met in Shanghai with Nguyen Phong Tu '00, who presented a case study of a partnership between SAP China, a business software company, and government-run agencies to introduce a new software platform in China.
Much of the experience was designed to demystify Chinese business and emphasize points of commonality between American and Chinese operations, Miller said.
"I wanted [the students] to realize that there are a lot of common goals, aspirations and desires driven by people and experiences, not by a scary, so-called 'Communist state,'" she said.
Melissa Llarena Tu '10, a member of the group, said she did not expect to find the level of entrepreneurship and capitalism she encountered in China.
"Knowing that the government was not necessarily democratic, that was definitely surprising," she said.
The trip was also intended to expose students to the diversity of the Chinese economy, including an emerging domestic market with foreign exports, Miller said.
"The biggest, best and most modern firms are all focused on the Chinese market, not on exporting to the U.S.," she said, adding, "That's a significant factor in [students'] business lives."
Students who participated in the trip said they gained important practical business experience to complement their studies at Tuck, which include globalization-focused courses and events, Luan said.
"When we were on the ground, it was amazing to see how people were actually doing business and to be able to use what we learned from class and personal research to ask questions and get candid answers," Stone Zhu Tu '10 said.
Trip organizers also sought to broaden students' perspective on business negotiations by introducing them to Chinese culture, which could influence global relations in the future, Miller said.
Llarena, who said she hoped to gain in-depth experience for her Tuck independent study on Asia-Pacific marketing, noted the differences among demographic sub-populations within China.
"China is an incredibly diverse country, with distinctive characteristics and values," she said. "It's really hard to be prepared for that one meeting with a Chinese business person and assume you've got it all covered. You have to be sensitive and culturally aware."
Many of the students who attended the trip have expressed interest in doing business in China in the future, Zhu said.
Zhu, who grew up in China, said he plans to return to the country after gaining business experience in the United States.
"This trip is really a first step to get myself reconnected to China by knowing the people and how businesses operate," he said.
