Danelle Post #5

From a business perspective, it is very wise for Google to enter the market for Internet search in China due its rapidly growing online community. By doing so they stand to increase their market share, revenue and profits and ultimately remain the dominant search engine provider. The one drawback to entering this market, which is my argument for not entering, is the company would have to compromise its core values by collaborating in censorship, potentially hurting the brand name elsewhere in the world.

From an ethical perspective, to not enter China would be to deny Chinese users access to the high level of quality information available via Google, even if some of that content is censored.
On the other hand, if forced to give the Chinese government the names of dissenters, the company may be violating its 'do no evil' principle

I think Google should enter China even if they have to censor some of their search results. The amount of information that it will make available will still be an overall positive for the Chinese people. To mitigate negative impact, the company should take a stand on delivering the names of known dissenters to the government. The company should stand firm on that issue and in doing so it will help maintain their brand integrity as well as not compromise their values.

Knowing the particulars of Google and China's controversial relationship makes me a little apprehensive about conducting an Internet search of any kind while I am in China. Although I have no intention of searching for any information or content that may be considered "unhealthy" or "inappropriate", I think it would be in my best interest to not take any chances. In general, I think it would be wisest, especially since this is my first time visiting China, to avoid any activity that gives me reason to question whether or not I have violated a law.

Danelle Post #1

I found the videos to be highly entertaining and had several thoughts relating to the business environments depicted, however one thought nagged at me throughout. It seemed as though the Brits were undermining themselves by exposing their business ideas to the Chinese businessmen with no strict copyright and trademark laws to protect them. Without these laws in place, the Brits are taking an enormous risk by sharing their business ideas with the Chinese businessmen who could easily steal these ideas so they can sell these products on their own for a larger profit. While this is a risk of doing business in that environment, I find it shocking that so many people would think it is worth the risk to acquire the cheaper labor/materials.
Another interesting element of the business culture that I noticed was that there was very little said by either Vance or Tony about the quality of the goods and labor they were securing by outsourcing all of their production to China. In recent years with the scare over lead paint on toys and other health and hazard issues coming out of China, it seems as though the world is forfeiting quality for accessibility with regards to outsourcing manufacturing. It stands to reason that as China becomes even more of a world power and faces issues created by its own rising middle class, the quality of goods produced there will come under scrutiny from within as well. In such an environment I am certain we will see labor and material costs rising in China.
It was interesting how Peter was forced to adapt his approach and take on Cecil, a relatively unknown quantity, as his business partner. Peter's story was drastically different from the other two in that he was focused not on securing labor and materials FROM the Chinese, rather he was actively selling TO the Chinese. His attempt to do so raised some issues that foreign companies will no doubt continue to face as they attempt to take advantage of China's growing consumer population. One of these issues was the need to tweak their business approach to fit the environment from a language standpoint. The need to incorporate the many Chinese dialects one encounters if one is to sell TO the Chinese is quite an obstacle that will require companies to hire many Chinese workers simply to account for language differences withing China itself. As a marketing major, the thing that interested me the most was Peter's story. Looking toward the future, the Chinese middle class will continue to grow and with that growth will come expectations for their quality of life. They will then likely look to luxury items produced overseas as a mark of prestige (as most cultures do as they enter the first world). There is already a huge market opportunity for the companies that are willing to take the risk, and social trends will likely only increase that opportunity in the short term. Overall, the experiences of the British businessmen in this film are great examples of the drawbacks of the international supply chain as well as how successful it can be.

January 15, 2010 8:49 PM

Danelle said...

Based on this video, I think it will be interesting to see first hand how companies are positioning themselves to sell to the Chinese.

Post #4 - The controversial "Summer Palace"

The movie I chose to watch was Summer Palace. The film deals with a young student who leaves her small hometown to study at the fictional "Beiqing University". There she meets a fellow student and begins an intense romantic relationship in the backdrop of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. The film also follows the eventual disillusionment of these young idealists after the crackdown, as the years progress through the 1990s and into the 2000s. The film is named after the Summer Palace located in Beijing. Although I found the movie "interesting" it is the reaction of the Chinese government to this movie that I found to be most fascinating. Summer Palace's explicit sex scenes and political undertones made the film a touchstone for controversy in China, leading both the director, Lou Ye, and his producers into conflict with China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT). After screening Summer Palace in the 2006 Cannes Film Festival without government approval, the film was de facto banned in Mainland China, and its filmmakers officially censured. Before I move on and provide any more detail into the synopsis of this movie, I think it should be mentioned that the reaction of the government in China is astonishing. This movie was hardly offensive, at least in comparison to American movies. I also found the Chinese government's actions unacceptable; again compared to how the American government may have reacted to this movie. There is plenty of sex and controversial topics found in an endless number of American movies. Clearly, the Chinese government is wound too tight and to their dismay I am confident that in the years ahead, perhaps the next 10-20 years, they will realize that they cannot keep films such as Summer Palace from being shown in China. I think right now, the Chinese government is afraid that because the producers and writers of Summer Palace have touched on sensitive topics regarding the Chinese government of the late '80's that the movie will serve as a reminder of where China came from, in terms of government, and where they are heading in the future. A film like Summer Palace is too liberal for China because it evokes the emotions and energy of a growing nation that is craving its break from Communism. With that said, the following are my take- aways from the movie:

• Many American influences in habits and behaviors: smoking cigarettes, rock-n-roll music, attire, characters were very promiscuous; characters were very mellow dramatic (typical of most late teen/early twenty something year-olds)
• The acceptance of a female to the university was perceived as a bigger deal than a male being accepted
• Students at the university seemed extremely immersed in the university life
• Students demonstrated an eagerness to find particular books in the university library in a manner not commonly demonstrated by American students (not to say American students are not excited about books and reading but the availability of desirable books differs)
• Dorm rooms normally suited for 2 students in the U.S. was housing 4 students.
• Dorms looked like bomb shelters - no aesthetic quality; very old (almost decrepit) but functional
• Clear division between the educated and uneducated
• There are scenes where students are discussing controversial matters such as labor laws (also typical of American college students)
• As time moves on in the movie the main characters are shown moving to Germany and other major cities in China
• Strong connection with German students - characters relate to both countries having a wall built in their respective lands that divided their people
• Students were caught by school officials having sex - part of their punishment was having this act made public and shaming the two offenders
• Real footage from the Tiananmen Square protests were shown - these scenes were very moving -its always a powerful experience to witness citizens taking a stand against their government

Ultimately, the evolution of the main character's life mirrors the evolution of China, Russia and Germany (as major contemporary changes in these countries were also touched on).

From this movie I think it is fair to assume that I should not expect some degree of sexism in China while I am there however I am sure Chinese women are subject to this regularly. More so, however, I expect to see many manifestations of familar American attitudes and ideologies as the Chinese continue to emulate the West.

Post #3 China Fears Rise in Inflation

I think the article below is interesting. It discusses how China is taking measures to control inflation as there is clear indication it will rise. It is important to control the inflation rate in China because China is the world’s factory and the global inflation rate is directly coupled with the Chinese inflation rate. By cutting back on lending, China hopes to sustain their economic growth. By doing so it will ultimately benefit the world in the long term.

China Tries to Cool Economy by Ordering Banks to Boost Reserves

February 12, 2010, 04:06 PM EST

Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- China’s central bank ordered lenders to set aside larger reserves for the second time in a month to avert asset bubbles and restrain inflation in the fastest-growing economy.

The reserve requirement will rise 50 basis points, or 0.5 percentage point, effective Feb. 25, the People’s Bank of China said on its Web site yesterday. The existing level is 16 percent for the biggest banks and 14 percent for smaller ones.

Policy makers are reining in credit growth after banks extended 19 percent of this year’s 7.5 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion) lending target in January and property prices climbed the most in 21 months. Oil, copper and European stocks fell after the announcement on concern that tighter lending in China will damp the global recovery.

“Policy makers are becoming more concerned about containing inflationary expectations and managing the risk of asset price bubbles,” said Jing Ulrich, chairwoman of China equities and commodities at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Hong Kong. “2010 is likely to be characterized by further policy tightening.”

The central bank moved after Chinese markets closed and on the eve of a weeklong Lunar New Year holiday when the nation enters the Year of the Tiger from the Year of the Ox. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index fell.

The move doesn’t alter the central bank’s “moderately loose” monetary policy, the official Xinhua News Agency cited an unnamed official from the bank as saying yesterday evening.

Asia’s Global Role

Record lending last year and a 4 trillion yuan stimulus package have helped China to lead the recovery from the first global recession since World War II. Greece’s budget crisis and a report yesterday showing a weaker expansion in Europe highlight Asia’s importance in sustaining global growth.

“With China’s increasing economic significance in the world economy, major policy moves will always touch a nerve with global markets,” said Qu Hongbin, chief China economist at HSBC Holdings Plc in Hong Kong. “Still, timely tightening in China will help sustain growth and avoid overheating, benefiting the world in the long term.”

Investors’ concern about investment bubbles in China, and what action the government may take to prevent or deflate them, has mounted this year.

“There’s a monumental property bubble and fixed-asset investment bubble that China has underway right now,” hedge fund manager James Chanos, founder of New York-based Kynikos Associates Ltd., said in a Jan. 25 Bloomberg Television interview. “Deflating that gently will be difficult at best.”

Exiting ‘Crisis’ Mode

The central bank said Feb. 11 that it planned to gradually normalize monetary conditions from a “crisis mode” after gross domestic product grew 10.7 percent in the fourth quarter, the fastest pace in two years.

Chinese policy makers have left benchmark interest rates unchanged since cuts in 2008. They are also yet to drop the yuan’s effective peg to the U.S. dollar, which was adopted in July 2008 to aid the nation’s exporters, stoking friction with the U.S. and Europe.

Credit Suisse Group AG estimated that yesterday’s move will remove about 300 billion yuan from a financial system also facing inflows of cash from investors betting on the nation’s recovery and likely gains by the yuan. China’s foreign-exchange reserves swelled to a record $2.4 trillion in December, partly on inflows of “hot money,” or speculative capital.

More Tightening

“The central bank will keep raising the ratio frequently until the middle of the year,” said Lu Zhengwei, a Shanghai- based economist at Industrial Bank Co., who predicted yesterday’s increase. “The central bank wants to stay ahead of the curve by tightening before inflation starts to gain pace.”

Lu forecast an increase in the benchmark lending rate from 5.31 percent as early as April. In contrast, Citigroup Inc. said the central bank may not raise rates until the third quarter as inflation stays “mild.”

“Raising the reserve ratio on the eve of the Chinese New Year holiday really makes a lot of sense as it will give markets time to react,” said Mark Williams, an economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in London.

Property Price Surge

Economic data this week showed property prices across 70 cities surged 9.5 percent in January from a year earlier, exports climbed and producer-price inflation accelerated. Bank lending of 1.39 trillion yuan topped the total for the previous three months combined.

The central bank on Jan. 12 increased banks’ reserve requirements for the first time since June 2008. The latest move will soak up liquidity from maturing central-bank bills and also money injected into the financial system for the holiday that begins today, China International Capital Corp. said.

At Morgan Stanley, Hong Kong-based economist Wang Qing said that yesterday’s increase would counter foreign-exchange inflows which “must have been persistently strong since January” and also withdraw money added for the holiday.

Reserve-requirement increases will continue through 2010, Wang said. “The market should get used to it.”

--Li Yanping, Kevin Hamlin. Editors: Paul Panckhurst, Brendan Murray

Post #2 About Me

Hi Everyone,

So a little about me:

• I am a second year MBA student and will graduate in May
  
• My major is marketing
• I earned my undergrad degree at DePaul -I was a full time student and worked full time during the day and still managed to have a pretty active social life which included mentoring and tutoring foster children, political campaigning for a Chicago alderman, volunteering at the Chicago History museum, etc.
• I began working in healthcare right after high school - in total, I have almost 11 years of experience working in this industry
• I worked on the non-profit side of healthcare for the first 10 years and desperately needed a change. I was a Senior Financial Assessor at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked with a wide range of patients, from the homeless to local Chicago celebrities such as Oprah and Roger Ebert, and was instrumental in developing and implementing the financial assistance program and the CSEP program.
• I left Northwestern for a position as a Contract Consultant at Humana Inc, on the profit side of healthcare, a.k.a. "the dark side".
• It took 10 months for me to finally decide I was done with healthcare and needed to pursue my real interest, marketing and advertising. So, I quit my job, returned to school to earn my MBA and began temping to supplement the savings I was using to live off of while I earned my degree.
• I hit it off with the first company I temped for and I was offered a full time position as an Administrative Assistant with the understanding that I would be moved into the Human Resources department as soon as a position was approved.
• I was moved to Human Resources but unfortunately, this company was severely effected by the economy and I was laid off months later.
• People who say sometimes the best thing that could happen to you is getting laid off are right.
• I've had time to assess my life and consider what really makes me happy and what I really want out of life.
• After graduation I would like to start my own company. I am currently taking steps towards that goal now and hope to be up and running by fall.
• Another goal I have is to finally take time to travel to Europe and meet my relatives who live in the Czech Republic. For one reason or another, I have never met this branch of my family and have only corresponded by e-mail.
• Aside from traveling to Europe to meet my family, I have put together an extensive plan for travel to several other countries that I hope to execute once I know my business is secure
• I usually have a plan B if plan A doesn't work - in the case of my career, my plan B right now only consists of doing what ever it takes to keep me from being trapped in a cubicle behind a computer.
• I plan to uphold my commitment to identifying and eliminating things in my life that cause me unhappiness and actively acquiring what does provide me happiness.
• Regarding hobbies and interests, here they are: skiing (you should see me on the bunny hills!), hiking, biking, reading (fiction is fun but I prefer non fiction - there are too many great stories to be told about real people and real events - I am currently reading The Life of Olaudah Equiano), foreign films (love them!), live theatre, travel, learning languages ( I have taken classes for Spanish, Italian, French and Polish but I'm not fluent in any of them!), I'm learning to sew and will be taking a gourmet cooking class soon but have started to test my skills on my own and I'm not so bad of a cook! I love pilates and have been meditating and love to drink tea. I have started a tea set collection and spend too much money on loose teas. I am a big fan of Edith Piaf, Hershey Felder and Chopin and I am probably the only person my age blasting their music in my car. Most of all, I am an aunt to 12 nieces and nephews and I love to spend time doing fun kid stuff with them.