Date: March 22 - 30, 2014
Program Fee: $2,557
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND RATIONALE
This is a one-credit course that includes an international study trip to China in March 2014. The trip includes visits to numerous companies and other organizations in Shanghai and Beijing. In this course, we study the fundamentals of international business, (ii) the environments and challenges of emerging markets, (iii) strategies and operations for succeeding in emerging markets, and (iv) specific aspects of business in China.
China is the most populous country, with 1.35 billion people, about 20 percent of the world. The country has evolved to superpower status in economic, military, and geopolitical terms. China is the world's second-largest economy and the biggest importer and exporter. In the past decade, China’s economy grew about seven times faster than that of the United States (316% versus 43%). The country’s $6,000 per-capita GDP implies that many Chinese remain in poverty. But China’s middle class now numbers some 300 million people (equivalent to US total population), most with incomes more than $15,000 per year. China's retail market is massive and growing rapidly. The country recently became the world’s largest market for automobiles, beer, and luxury goods. China is also an important destination for global sourcing and low-cost manufacturing. Rapid industrialization has brought unintended consequences, including considerable air and water pollution. China’s civilization dates back some 8,000 years. The Chinese invented printing, paper, gunpowder, the compass, and numerous other innovations. Mandarin Chinese is spoken by nearly 1 billion of China's people, more than any other language worldwide. Today, about 140,000 Chinese students study at US universities, the largest group of international students by far. In China, we will visit Beijing, the seat of national of government, and Shanghai, the center of business. Beijing is home to most of China's largest state-owned enterprises. Shanghai is a global financial center and the busiest port in the world.