Sunday, October 28, 2012

Beijing Experience - Qiaoning Li


This is probably the first time in Notre Dame history that a group of 12 Notre Dame students travelled to China to participate case competition. And also the first time for GVI (Global View Initiative) to have a China session with American students visiting them.  I would say it has been an extremely wonderful week for students from both sides.

My experience is probably little bit different from other students on the team. Born and brought up in China, I had been receiving Chinese education for 18 years of my life. I have always thought that I am no different from my Chinese peers. However, through this trip I found out that Notre Dame education has already made me different. A good example would be the approaches Notre Dame students and Peking Univ. students took to solve the case. Notre Dame students are more focused on framework, the “big picture”, while Peking Univ. students are more focused laying out all the details. In interpreting the case, Notre Dame students are more creative, while Peking Univ. students more realistic, focusing on Chinese economy.
Both approaches are equally important and valuable. And I believe this is probably the reason why our team was able to stand out.

Other than case competition, we had also done a lot company visits, Sino-Steel, China Ocean Shipping Company, Microsoft, and also Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. It has been very interesting for us to learn about how State-Owned-Enterprises to change their business strategy to accommodate a more open and competitive market and how foreign companies establish their business in China.

Food is definitely great! We had the chance to try many different kinds of Chinese food. Yunan cuisine, hot pot, Peking Duck, Sugar Coated Hawthorns, and even Corporate dinning hall!

This is definitely an unforgettable experience. And I hope we will continue our partnership with Peking University and see some of the smiling faces coming to Notre Dame next spring!

Beijing Experience - Nicole Gantz

                My trip to Beijing during Fall Break 2012 was by far the best Fall Break I’ve had so far. I competed in a case competition at a Chinese University, was exposed to Chinese culture, visited a few Chinese companies and, best of all, made friends with 11 incredible Notre Dame Students.
                During our trip, we collaborated with students from Peking University to work on a case competition. Working with the students from PKU was a very interesting experience. Their work styles were somewhat different than ours in terms of preparedness and efficiency, but in the end, we were able to successfully work together to put together a great presentation about the green energy movement in the auto industry and how this affects Chinese companies.
                To immerse ourselves in the Chinese culture, we went sight-seeing and tried to local delicacies. We visited the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, and had a blast at both. We hiked to the top of the Great Wall, took stroll and about 1,000 photos at the top, and then we rode toboggans down the mountain to the bottom. We made sure bring “The Shirt” to show off our Notre Dame Spirit and we also got several photos with an Intermediate Accounting textbook.
                Rather than coping out and eating at one of the many American fast food chains in Beijing--yes, we saw plenty of Pizza Hut, KFC, and McDonalds—we decided to embrace the local cuisine. Nearly all of our dinners were served family-style on a Lazy Suzanne so that we could try everything. My favorite restaurant experience on our trip was our meal at Peking Duck; I finally understand why everyone raves about it. Also, on our last night there, we decided to try some street food, which was fantastic.
                To gain firsthand business experience,  we visited several companies. Our first company visit was to Sino-Steel, which had a great vantage point of Beijing. Sadly, it wasn’t too clear that day, but we were still able to see quite a bit. We also had the opportunity to meet a company executive and eat in their cafeteria. Second, we visited the China Ocean Shipping Company. The speaker as COSCO did a fantastic job and gave us some great insight into Chinese business practices and the global shipping industry. Our final company visit was to the-oh-so-familiar Microsoft. We had the chance to demo several different Microsoft products, which was a ton of fun, and the speaker also gave us some great perspectives on business in China as well as Microsoft’s place in the market.
                The best part of the trip was making friends with 11 incredible ND Students. Everyone on our trip brought a different perspective to the table and everyone had really interesting insights and experiences. I’m convinced that everyone that went on this trip is going to change the world for the better and I’m excited to hear about their future endeavors. Thank you Frank Potenziani, Monica Laidig, and SIBC for this opportunity, it certainly wouldn’t have been possible without any of you.

Case competition preparation - Ava Lee

Each group got together on Wednesday afternoon and night to go through how much each team has researched so far and consolidate all the information Notre Dame and PKU students have found so far. With the information gathered, both teams divided the case questions and determined what question to focus on initially before getting back together the next day to put together the research and presentation slides.

Throughout this process, since we prepared the initial questions without any cooperation between the two sides, we realized there were significant differences between the ways the two teams conduct research and prepare slides.
When preparing the final slides, we once again discovered major differences between the way both teams work, conduct research, and put together final slides. While both teams both had extensive knowledge on the topic through the initial research done, we ran into troubles trying to consolidate the information found.

There were a couple of challenges involved throughout the process.
First, it seemed like Notre Dame students were much more prepared and skilled in finding the appropriate data needed for this kind of research. Through the projects we do in class and the training we have received from our various business classes, we know how to get extensive data from sources like Capital IQ, Factiva, and various industry reports effectively. However, it seemed like the PKU students didn’t have ready access to these types of information, and were in fact surprised when they saw the research reports we have gathered online.
Second, it took longer for the PKU students to gather their information and translate them into slides because English wasn’t their first language. They did all of their research in Chinese and then had to translate that into English appropriately. Throughout the translation process, a lot of the terms got changed and it was hard for them to often convey what they intended to. However, despite the fact that this slowed down the process, we were very impressed by how they were able to pull this off in a very short amount of time.
Third, there were significant differences in how the teams prepared presentation slides. One conflict we had to resolve was whether to put the conclusion or the most important point of the slide in the title or as a textbox at the bottom of the page. We could see the difference in how we think and present our materials – while we are used to having a heading for the slide at the top, and putting a general conclusion at the bottom, Chinese students preferred to put the conclusion on top as it would convey the message quicker and faster. During the process, instead of insisting on one method over another, we accepted the differences in thinking, and this in itself was a valuable experience for all members.
Overall, it was gratifying to see how delegates from both teams were willing to work together and accept differences in thinking and presenting, and in the process, learn more about each other. There were some funny moments for our SIBC team that we just laughed about, and I am sure there were some things Chinese students found funny about the way we did or understood things. Beyond the research everyone did on the industry and case topic, I would say the time spent working with the Chinese students would have been the part where we all learned so much more and will value forever.

Beijing Experience - Verona Lu


                There were numerous highlights in the Beijing trip and it was definitely my best fall break ever. The activities that impressed me most are the company visit to Microsoft and the excursion to the Great Wall. I was really surprised by the fascinating technological products exhibited in the Microsoft Beijing office, and from the presentation by a professional, I developed a profound understanding of the strategies and operations of the technology industry in China’s market under the globalization. Additionally, although as a Chinese, I have been to the Great Wall twice before, the trip to there was still a very special memory for me. It was really exciting to take a Fighting Irish group picture on the Great Wall!

                We also experienced some cultural differences through the collaboration with the Peking University students and thought there is something that may be improved in our Beijing trip next year. For example, our Notre Dame group did not have much interaction opportunity with the Chinese student group that we were supposed to work with, and there appeared some communication problems due to distinctive ways of thinking and working. I hope that during the group work in next trip, students from both sides could have more collaboration and idea exchanging rather than purely follow the instructions of group leaders, and thus develop a closer personal friendship at the end of the case competition.

Pictures

Wall


Opening Ceremony

Peking University Library


Peking Univ. Weimin (unnamed) Lake

Sino-Steel Company Visit

Company visit to Sino Steel: "Peace through Commerce"

Group at the Forbidden City

At the Great Wall

Mu Tian Yu Village's only barefoot doctor

Beijing Experience - Pat Boduch

The SIBC trip to Beijing was the first time in my life that I had traveled outside of North America and it was one of the best experiences of my life. After this excursion to the Far East, I now want to travel everywhere in the world and see as much of it as I possibly can. I love the novelty of being in a foreign place where even a simple drive down the street can become an experience in cultural immersion. That is perhaps the most important thing I got out of the trip and I know it will affect my decision in both where to study abroad and where I choose to travel when I am abroad.
When I think of my week-long experience in Beijing, a hundred great memories come to mind, but there are a few which stand out in particular. The first novelty which comes to mind is the food. While the meals in the PKU dining hall were quite similar to what we experience at Notre Dame, mainly just swiping in and then picking out your food, the restaurant experience was quite different. Most meals in restaurants involved common dishes which were passed around or shared between the eaters at the table. This struck me as very different from say, eating out at Buffalo Wild Wings, where you order one thing for yourself and wait 30 minutes for your food to come. In this case, the food is brought out over the course of the meal, with dishes slowly being added to the table until it is inevitably filled up. I’ve found that this sort of communal eating is more conversational and was a welcome change to what I’m used to. Also, chopsticks were a perpetual challenge throughout the week. It was very hard at first to work them, and it was odd having my fine motor skills tested in such a strenuous way for the first time since Kindergarten. But, after many mistakes and suppressed smiles and giggling from waitresses, by the end of the week, I felt somewhat comfortable using the chopsticks instead of a fork. And so I’m proud of that.
                Another aspect of the trip which stuck out was the hospitality of the students at Peking University. They were incredibly friendly and were willing to talk to anyone at any time just for the sake of having a conversation with you. Many times, I had some of the PKU delegates just come up to me out of the blue and start up a conversation. This was awesome and something which you don’t see too much of at home. And besides that, I found them genuinely curious about our thoughts and our experience at their university. They were constantly asking if we were doing okay and what we thought of their campus. They were also quick to recommend a restaurant or pick up bottled water for us and deliver it to our hotel room. They wanted us to have a wonderful time and their friendliness went miles for our experience.
                Finally, the city of Beijing was incredible. The city consists of a series of rings which expand upon each other and makes the city seemed to stretch on and on. I found this quite different from a city such as Chicago in which the downtown area seemed to be retained to just one area or one street. In Beijing, I thought we had passed the downtown area only to find the line of skyscrapers stretched on and on and on. The city is massive, which is slightly intimidating especially trying to navigate the city but it is also amazing to see so much going on.
                Overall, the week-long trip was awesome and anyone who is considering applying for the trip next year should not hesitate – you will never regret spending your Fall Break in Beijing!

Bejing Experience - Ben McGowan

Traveling to Beijing to partake in the SIBC-GVI case competition was an incredibly rewarding experience.  Working with the Peking University students was both fun and challenging.  Incorporating our different cultural differences in the development and presentation of our project, allowed all of us to gain a boarder perspective on business and general ways of thinking.  Additionally, being able to visit and learn more about companies like Microsoft and CISCO provided the opportunity to further understand international relations with China and the US.  This insight is particularly interesting during this time of rapid economic growth in China, and the increasingly important role China plays in international economy.

Beijing Experience - Elaine Yu

As if the Great Wall wasn’t great enough, we visited Mu Tian Yu Village’s old mayor to hear his story. After lunch at The Schoolhouse, we walked over to his village home to visit him, his wife, and new puppy. His story was one of his struggle for education, his experience in China’s Great Leap Forward, and his fight for Mu Tian Yu Village’s survival.  Watching him tell his story in his native Mandarin Chinese was very touching, thought-provoking, and nostalgic. The mayor is similar in age to my own grandfather. But rather than staying in China during that time period, my grandfather and his family decided to move to Hong Kong where the social, political, and economic situation was and is still so different. It was very interesting listening to someone who made a different decision and witnessing the implications on his entire family lineage even today.

Beijing Experience - Bobby Weltner

Traveling to Beijing for the week of fall break was a great opportunity for learning and growth.  I feel so fortunate to have been able to join the eleven other Notre Dame delegates on this incredible adventure.  In conjunction with the students from Peking University in Beijing, Monica Laidig, Verona Lu, Qiaoning Li, and Ava Lee all did a fantastic job putting together a well-coordinated and well-timed schedule.  This comprehensive schedule allowed us time both to build new friendships with the Chinese students and to experience first-hand many different aspects of Chinese culture.
            The best part of the trip was definitely the opportunity that we had to make new friends with the delegates from Peking University.  It was extremely interesting to learn about the similarities and differences between our two cultures and to discuss the different ways that the American and Chinese students viewed the issues that were presented to us in the case competition.  Based on my personal experience, I felt as if the Chinese students were more detail-oriented in their analysis of the questions, and they seemed to place great emphasis on numbers and charts to support their analysis.  In contrast, the American students, including myself, enjoyed discussing the “bigger picture” more, and we tended to look for more ways to tie the different questions together.  Overall, I felt as if our two unique approaches to the case study complemented each other very well, and in the end, each of the three groups developed very strong presentations.  And fortunately, the team I was on won the competition!
            Outside of the work that we performed on the case, I really enjoyed the opportunities that we had to become fully immersed in the Chinese culture.  First, with regards to food, we tasted many of China’s most famous delicacies, most notably Peking Duck.  This roasted duck was my favorite meal of the week, and we ate it in one of Beijing’s most famous and traditional restaurants where many heads of states have previously eaten.  Second, we learned a great deal about the history of China through our visits to the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.  I was absolutely amazed by the beauty of both of these sights, and it was truly remarkable to consider the number of people who must have dedicated their lives to constructing both of these wonders.
            Finally, I gained valuable insight into Chinese business through our three different company visits.  One of our company visits was to the headquarters of Sinosteel Corporation, a state-owned steel company.  During the visit, we talked to one of the company’s top managers, and it was fascinating to hear him characterize the relationship that the company has with the Chinese government.  I learned a lot from the experience about what it would actually be like to work for a state-owned corporation, and I believe that such an experience is important to have in order to understand the Chinese economy because many Chinese businesses are owned by the government.
            I am so grateful for having had the opportunity to travel to China with the Student International Business Council, and I appreciate the hard work that everyone put in to make this trip possible.  It was truly an unforgettable experience.

Beijing Experience - Mia Swift

It's amazing how much of this one little week I'll never forget. That's not to say I don't remember goofing off with friends on campus or the feeling of an undefeated football season, but nothing has remained so engraved in my mind as my time in Beijing. Just walking alone with my thoughts (and my huge, around the neck camera) through the Forbidden City was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Each gate led to an even greater sight, and all of the colors painted a beautiful landscape against the ever-smoggy sky. Once we climbed to the top of the palace (it'll also be hard to forget all those grueling treks, especially to the top of the Great Wall), we each took a conscious moment to fully take in our beautiful view. As much as I love my camera, it couldn't begin to properly capture all what I saw in those moments.  In Beijing, you'll try foods, meet people, and see those little glimpses of China that will all together form your brand new vision of this very foreign country. Things we forget in our everyday, like interactions with shopkeepers, bus rides, or street food snacks (do yourself a favor and eat as many sugar covered hawthorns as you can get your hands on) will become memories for a lifetime. I wouldn't trade my time in Beijing for anything, and I am so grateful I was provided this opportunity. Enjoy every second of your time there, because good or bad, I promise you that you won't want to miss a thing. 

Beijing experience - Alisha Anderson

I can say without a doubt that going to China over Fall break was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. From the 11-hour plane ride to chuting down from the Great Wall to visiting companies like Sino-Steel and Microsoft to eating too much Pocky, the week was a whirlwind of activities and fun. One of my favorite parts of the trip was simply navigating the huge city that is Beijing. It is one thing to read and hear about different aspects of Chinese culture, and it is another to be in the city and visit a state-sponsored enterprise, attempt to weave through the endless cars and bicycles, etc. Apart from the city atmosphere, perhaps my favorite part of the trip was working with the PKU delegates. I would be lying if I said this was always easy. There seemed to be constant misunderstandings about research assignments as well as the inevitable language barriers.  For example, we had to explain that "gambler" cannot be used interchangeably for "investor" and that there really is a difference between "supply chain" and "value chain." In spite of such apparent difficulties, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. The conversations that we had - both case and non-case related - allowed me to understand that we are much more similar than different. I will forever be mindful of this insight as I move forward in my academic and professional career.

Beijing experience - John Reising


I’ve been back in the states for a week, and I still find myself needing a nap
during the middle of the day and struggling to fall asleep until 4 in the morning.
However, in the time I’ve been struggling to fall asleep, I’ve thought back to the past
week in Beijing and reflected on the tremendous experience offered to all us.
Although only a week, the time spent in Beijing opened a different
perspective on viewing the world. Traveling abroad and leaving the enclosed bubble
surrounding the United States and especially Notre Dame is a valuable asset to have.
By working with the students from Peking in the case study, we were able to
overcome many language and other barriers in order to produce a polished
presentation. Lectures from professors made me more aware of the skewed point of
view the United States takes towards reporting relations with China. Company visits
gave valuable lessons on business etiquette in China. For example, I quickly learned
the Chinese greatly value passing out business cards. You should accept the card
with both hands and read over all the content on the card instead of immediately
putting the card in your back pocket.
The highlight of the trip though was the sightseeing all around Beijing. From
the Forbidden City to Great Wall and many interesting diners, we made the most of
our week there. Each day was packed with a mixture of tourist and business
activities. Also, the Peking students accompanied us on many of our trips and
offered a Chinese point of view that expanded my initial thoughts on everything I
saw or learned.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Hello! 你好!

Hi everyone!

This is the official blog of SIBC-GVI International Business Forum 2012.

Starting from Oct 12th, students participating the SIBC-GVI International Business Forum will share their stories here on a day-to-day basis.

We are all very excited!