Broadway Mansion Hotel- my first impression of the hotel was a very good one. It was very clean and modern but the staff didn’t seem very friendly. When we arrived to the hotel the doorman didn’t even offer to carry our bags off the bus and into the hotel. Also, I had a bit of a hard time trying to communicate with the people at the concierge desk while trying to obtain internet service. Internet access by the way was supposed to be free but turned out not to be true.
Brittne and I had planned on sharing a room but didn’t quite expect to be sharing a bed also. As it turns out when we arrived at the hotel room we had one large bed instead of two single beds.
Tour guide (Molly)- Molly our tour guide turned out to be quite interesting and a very energetic person. She was very helpful and flexible when it came to addressing our needs. One thing that jumped out at me was the fact that she couldn’t sit down and have dinner with us. I think it was part of her company policy or perhaps the Chinese culture which seemed unfair to me. I believe we should all be treated equally but of course I must accept and respect other cultures and their beliefs. Although one night when we went for a boat cruise, she did mingle with us and her conversations were very interesting. She spoke very freely about everything from Politics to culture and even the process of adopting a child in China. She had a lot of knowledge of the country and she had plenty of questions for us also.
McDonalds Visit- McDonalds was the first company we visited once we were in China. It turned out very well because we were able to slowly transition from our normal American food into the tour package dinners. The McDonalds’ staff was very friendly and welcoming. The entire team from store manager to district manager was there to greet us and answered any questions that we had related to their business. They gave us a tour of the location which was very clean and everyone seemed happy to work there. Our visit concluded with the management team treating us to lunch at this McDonalds location.
Silk factory- at the silk factory I was shocked to see the young girl who was working there (also pictured in this photograph), she looked very young and I wondered about the China child labor issues I had previously read about. I decided not to mention anything and rather just observe the process of making silk products. I even got to buy and bring home a silk bed set.
Nanking Road Experience- during our first few days in China we went to Nanking Road, where I finally got to experience the crowds due to China’s large population. There were tons of people everywhere and every store imaginable was located there. One thing that crossed my mind though was how these people could afford such expensive products when the pay is so low but then again there were a lot of tourist in this particular area so maybe they were the only people buying in these stores.
C-trip- The second company we visited was C-Trip. I was not impressed at all by the way we were treated. I almost felt as if we were not really welcomed there. I even felt a bit insulted by the way we were treated. We started our visit by meeting the general manager who was very hesitant to answer any questions we asked (FYI, these questions were provided to them via e-mail prior to our visit there).
Then we proceeded to meet with the H.R person who showed us a video in their language and no one seemed to understand the point of them showing us this particular video. Finally we were given a tour of their parking lot, yes their parking lot! This is what I found to be very insulting as I didn’t quite understood the reason behind this.
Another thing that I found very interesting about this company was the fact that the contact person Frances, had actually not been working at C-trip for the previous four years and yet she was asked to be the contact person for this visit. I can’t even imagine having that kind of relationship with my previous employer here in the U.S. I believe this is part of the Chinese culture in which people stay in touch with each other even after they stop working together. Everyone seemed to be linked to one another, even outside of the workplace. For example when I went to the home visit at Lisa’s, she mentioned that Frances (from C-trip) and Frances daughter had joined Lisa and her son Leo to go strawberry picking earlier that week. There always seemed to be a mention of someone knowing someone through someone else, if that makes sense.
Another thing to point out was that I was not impressed with C-Trip’s facility setup. There were such a large number of employees which were practically sitting on top of each other (that’s how little working space was provided to these employees). There was no personal space and a large number of employees seemed to be taking their lunch and eating at their desk. Everyone seemed to be very young and never once did I get the sense that they were trying to interact with anyone of us.
Home Visit – for our home visit we had the privilege of being welcomed into Lisa Liu’s home. Lisa is an H.R professional who lives with her husband, son Leo, older sister, and temporarily her parents also. Lisa and her family were very friendly and we even had a chance to hear Leo play the violin. Dr. Chaudhry and I had a chance to sit down and chat with Lisa about so many topics including the one child policy in their country, Lisa’s current and past employment, and her family. Lisa mentioned that she had purchase her home three years earlier and that she had already equity of approximately three million dollars. To me this was an indication of how well the economy is currently doing in China.
One thing that stood out to me during the home visit was all the attention that was given to Leo their son and the amount of time they invested in him by taking him to all sorts of activities. Perhaps this was due to the fact that they only have one child.
Grainger – The experience at the Grainger Company was totally different from what we had experienced at C-trip. Here the staff was open to respond to any questions we had. We also were able to tour the warehouse. Information regarding doing business internationally was also discussed and how they had obtained and continued to have a successful business in China.
Kuehne-Nagel –Mr. Ken Wu was the person who we met with during our company visit at Kuehne -Nagel. Mr. Wu presented us with a very detailed and very informative PowerPoint show related to their company. Information about what it takes to do business in China was also discussed. They also were open to any questions we wanted to ask, although they provided so much information that we really didn’t have to ask much since they seemed to have covered everything.
Abb Voltage- Although I’m embarrassed to say that I can’t remember the ladies name who presented to us. I can honestly say that she really made an impression on me. Her story was very inspiring and motivating. Her high position in the company didn’t come easy as she was faced with opposition for being a woman working with mostly men. She spoke of staying focused and how determination is the key to success. We also were able to take a tour of the facility which was very impressive; I had never seen such an advanced high tech facility.
Allied Pickford – Scott Willis is a very funny man with so much knowledge of the Chinese culture as well as international business management, which I got the impression that much of it was obtained through personal experience. He was open to us asking him just about any questions; including his personal life…yeah we are a very curious group. Brittne even felt comfortable enough to ask him to share with her his pictures of the Chinese technique procedure done to his back known as cupping.
Tiananmen Square – All I have to say about my visit to Tiananmen Square is that I felt very uncomfortable due to the presence of so many soldiers. It also didn’t help that I kept on remembering the stories I had previously read about the 1989 incident.
Temple of heaven – here at the temple of heaven, I got to experience what the retired people in China get to enjoy. Here everyone seemed to be so peaceful and full of joy. Everyone was interacting with each other and just enjoying the day although the temperature was very cold. I guess the dancing and playing games kept them warm. During my visit here I learned about how the government forces people to retire at a certain age but I guess that’s okay because they get to come here and enjoy dancing and playing games.
Chinese Acrobatics- The Chinese Acrobat show was pretty much a typical show that we would see here in the U.S. But there was one thing that stood out to me which was the way people acted once the show was done. Both Danelle and I were shocked to see how the audience left their seat while the performers were still on stage. Normally, the audience doesn’t start leaving their seats until the performers have left the stage. During this show the audience started leaving immediately after the show had just ended. I felt it was very disrespectful and rude to the performers.
Great Wall- Brittne and I climbed the Great Wall together and we encouraged one another to continue all the way to the top.
The Great wall was the highlight of the trip for me. Here I had a chance to meditate on what I had experienced for the past few days and also what I had learned not only about international business management but also about the Chinese culture.
During my walk up the Great Wall, I got to meet people and even exchange contact information or take a picture with them. I got to meet different groups of people who motivated me to continue to walk up until I reached the top.
During my walk I met a woman named Marvalyn, who told me that how people handle their climbing experience is a reflection of their life. That some people start up fast but soon get tired and are unable to reach the top(goal) while others take their time and eventually reach their goal.
In conclusion, I had a wonderful experience and I’m very glad to have met every single person in the group. Everyone was awesome and very easy to get along with. I will never forget such a wonderful experience.
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