Posts Tagged ‘China#8217;

IE celebrated this week its 3rd Venture Day in Shanghai. The program was made up of 12 IE startup projects from the Global Executive MBA and Executive MBA+ programs presenting to a Jury of 10 local and international investors, including James Tan from Beijing, Casey Wahl from Tokyo and several local Chinese investors and venture capitalists. The winner of the morning session was a “Curly” (Global Executive MBA), a new hair salon business model (see picture of winners Normen & Stephanie with Paris de L’Etraz).

In the afternoon the top three IE projects competed against 6 local Chinese startups. The winner in the afternoon was also an IE project, Aphenion Energy (Global Executive MBA) which develops renewable energy solutions in Africa for small villages. Over 200 people attended the event at China’s top Accelerator, Innovation Works in Shanghai.

The Master in Management lets you live not only the international environment in Madrid, but also takes you out to one week explorer trips to different destinations in the world. Tamara Zeidan, student of the February 2012 intake, relates her experiences:

Being involved in the unique Global Immersion Week program organized by IE Business School has been one of the most outstanding experiences I’ve lived so far. The following description tries to grasp a small piece of an experience that can only do it justice if you ever visit.

Having read and heard so much about Shanghai my curiosity of discovering this city had been growing and growing. My interest grew even fonder after the Shanghai World Expo in 2010. Many similarities have been drawn with New York; “the city that never sleeps”, “the skyscraper city” or “the financial hub”, but Shanghai is not only that. It also has thousands and thousands of years of history behind it that deeply shape it. Shanghai represents a melting pot between Western and Eastern cultures, between the futuristic skyscrapers and old Shikumen, between a modern generation Y and the old traditional generation and last but not least a blend between Western customs and Chinese traditions. These clashes are the result of a modernization of the city and that is why, I believe, it makes it such a fascinating place to discover.

During our time there, we were lucky enough to visit very interesting companies such as Touch Media, Maersk, Tristate Holdings Ltd and Spring Airlines. We met successful accomplished business people who gave us insights on the main challenges when “Doing Business in China”. They shared with us the reasons why an expanding company, such as Best Buy or Ikea etc., could be unsuccessful or fail upon their launching on Chinese soil. An important cultural aspect in China is that the trust and respect is more important than anything else, sometimes even more than being legal. As John Chan (Managing Director at Streetsmart International Inc.) explained to us, we need to adapt to Chinese markets while respecting their values to successfully conduct business in China and for that, Guanxi (= relationships) are key! If they don’t trust you they can’t do business with you. Basically “There has to be respect and trust in everything you do.” Guanxi, is a complex concept that goes beyond just creating a mutually beneficial relationship; it involves respect, trust, credibility and reciprocity. What is also fundamental in order to establish “Guanxi” is the knowledge and understanding of years of Chinese history. Therefore, one could call Guanxi the art of these relationships.

We also had a great time exploring the city and its cultural attractions when visiting monuments such as the Shanghai museum, the YU Gardens, the old town, the Confucius temple, the markets.. and also the deep water port in Yangshan.

Overall, it was a very enriching experience at every level; personal, professional and cultural. It is the kind of experience that makes you think a lot, not only during but specially afterwards…

To be able to understand how “indescribable” this city is, I hope you will have the opportunity to go to Shanghai within the next three years. This city grows at such an exceptional rate that one year in Shanghai is almost like three years in a western country!

This post was first published on the Master in Management Blog.

Learn what Greg, current student from the IE Brown Executive MBA, and Mary, graduate from this program, have to tell about their experiences and take-outs of this journey.

Q: Hi Sharon, welcome to the Dual Degree program! Can you tell us briefly about yourself?
Born and raised in Tucson, AZ in the United States, I am Chinese-American, a middle child, and extremely competitive. At UCLA I switched to Business Economics with a minor in Accounting when I was told it was the most competitive major/minor combination. The logic was similar in my pursuit of investment banking – why be a public accountant when you could be a “ballin’ banker.” In my penultimate year at UCLA I was a summer analyst at Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (Citi) in its investment banking division working primarily with financial sponsors. This led to a full-time offer post-graduation. I was with Citi for about two years when I forewent an opportunity to join the investment banking technology team to try something completely different. In the time away from Citi, I split my time between my own M&A advisory sole-proprietorship, in which I sold my father’s business in a multi-million dollar transaction, mentored high schoolers, and applied to IE business school.
Q: Can you tell us why you chose IE´s Dual Degree- International MBA & Master in Advanced Finance over any MBA in Finance in the United States, where you are from and where you worked before joining IE. What is it about the DD that appealed to you?
My motivation for IE’s Dual Degree (International MBA & Master in Advanced Finance) was three-fold. First, I wanted an international experience. Given my established American network and the increase in cross-border transactions, I felt I would benefit the most from a European network. In the States, most business schools have less than 25% of their student body as international students. Hence, I only considered European business schools. Second, IE’s Dual Degree would allow me to attain two degrees for the price of one in both monetary and time costs. My thought was that the specialization in finance would further differentiate me from the plethora of other MBA graduates. Lastly, I wanted to go to a top 10 business school.
Q: Now that you have finished the IMBA and starting the 1st semester of MIAF, could you tell us about your learning experience?
In December 2011, I finished the International MBA and started the Master in Advance Finance in the beginning of 2012. Although the MBA experience was excellent in expanding my operational and general management skills, my experience in the Masters in Advance Finance has been incredible! The level of education and the network I am experiencing continually amazes me. With highly established professionals and active practitioners as my professors, the knowledge gained is not simply academic or “theoretical” but very practical. Many times I feel as though I am being taught best practices that would have impressed my old managing director and saved me a lot of “on-the-job trial and error.” The specialization of the academic content, the high quality of my peers, and the network I am gaining has made the value of this experience much higher than my expectations.
Q: Which values do you think that IE’s DD is going to add to your personal growth and professional development?
IE’s Dual Degree has added 1) an international professional network with top managers in the industries I am interested in and 2) the academic skills I know I need in finance given my previous experience. During my business school application process, I sought an academic experience that would open the doors to goals that, at best, could only be quantified as dreams. Now, after attending IE’s Dual Degree, these dreams are becoming reality. In closing, a quote from Benjamin Franklin comes to mind, “If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

Thank you very much Sharon for the interview and we wish you all the best luck!

This post was first published on the International MBA blog.

IE China Club hosted the Chinese New Year event on 19th January 2012, celebrating the Year of Dragon.

The Ambassador of China to Spain, Mr. Zhu Bangzao, has attended as the Guest of Honour delivery the opening speech for this event. Around 80 corporative executives from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Caja, Telefónica, BBVA, IBM, Loewe, Peugeot España, ZTE, BMW, LAVINIA, Hotel Ritz Madrid, Organe, have participated the event.

The IE Chinese Dragon Year 2012 event is organised by the world-class institution’s China Club was been held at Serrano 99. The event has featured by cultural events which include performance such as Lion Dance, Martial Arts, Face-changing, Pekin Opera, Chinese musical instrument and vocal performances collaborated with Ouhua News agency (El Madarín), the only official Chinese news agency in Madrid, and VIP cocktail reception with LAVINIA.

The event is sponsored by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, ITC , YouMobile, Casa Asia, China Club Spain and Ouhua News, the largest Chinese press in Spain.

IE商学院龙年文化节

1月19日下午4点至9点，IE商学院（IE Business School）和IE中国会在西班牙马德里Serrano大街 99号 的户外空间隆重举行 IE 中国龙年活动庆典2012。旨在认识并了解中国文化，以精湛的文化活动和东方美食鉴赏，中西合璧为契机，本次活动不仅面向学校来自全球90国超过1000名管理精英中推广­了中国正宗”年”文化，而且将作为一系列以IE商学院为基石的商业合作和创业论坛的起步，积极地和国内顶级商学院和大型企业和企业背后的管理巨人资源进行交流互换。

此次活动隆重而盛大，首次在位于马德里的世界顶级商校举行，也成为今年春节期间马德里庆祝龙年春节活动中的亮点。

Where are you from?
I am from Shanghai, China.

Tell us something interesting about yourself.
I am an INFJ (introversion, intuition, feeling, judging) ever since high school. How can an INFJ appear in a business school?

Why did you choose the Master in International Management at IE Business School? What do you find to be the most attractive component of the program?
I chose the Master in International Management because it covers all kinds of business courses which will facilitate me to work in a multinational environment. Why IE? Top school, great location, good timing, and nice people!
Diversity is the word. The program is composed of people of 48 nationalities. I have talked with my friends in other top business schools in Europe or in the States, and I’m pretty sure none of those schools have a class profile as diverse as IE has. When I am in the classroom, I feel like being in the United Nations. Obviously, I can learn a lot from people with different cultural and academic backgrounds.

What new things have you been learning the past month?
Learning to be awake until 3am or even 7am! For those who are thinking of applying to IE, you should ask to yourselves whether you’re ready for the heavy workload, or the better term is “work hard, party hard”. Madrid is a cool place to live, but it’s a dangerous place to study. Imagine working on Financial Accounting all day along and then going to Pacha for the MIM welcome party till morning! Time management is an additional course at IE.

You have only just started the program, what is your overall impression so far?
IE might be the best fit business school for me. The students are smart, the faculty is really strong, and yet they are overall nice human-beings. IE takes pride in its emphasis on entrepreneurship and Cooperate Social Responsibility, which are key factors in today’s business success from a long-term perspective.
Ambitions? To tell the truth, I don’t know. I am open to any possibilities though I would prefer to work in my hometown Shanghai, which is a most dynamic city with increasing opportunities. The most practical ambition may be to help IE establish a high reputation in China either by building strong alumni network or by organizing more activities/events between IE and China.

First published on IE Master in International Management blog.

IE Business School survey reveals that expectations for economic growth in 2012 are focused on the BRICs. The highest growth rates in 2012 will be found in the BRIC countries. So say 94% of the directors who participated in the 2012 IE Global Alumni Forum (GAF)  survey of the world economic outlook for 2012.

Some 827 directors from 61 countries in all five continents took part in the survey, drawn up by IE Business School in the lead up to its Global Alumni Forum – GAF Madrid 2011, set to take place on September 30. Speakers include Ángel Gurría, General secretary of the OECD, who will be examining the world economic Outlook, together with Guillermo de la Dehesa, President of IE’s International Advisory Board de IE.

According to participants in the survey the BRICs are the countries with the greatest potential for growth in 2012, with Brazil being the country most expected to have the highest rates (40%), followed by China (39%), India (17%)  and Russia (5%). Meanwhile, 91% of participants think that the Latin American region will either maintain its current rate or grow faster. The survey results point to a generally held belief that the Latin American countries with the best future potential were Brazil (58%), Chile (17%) and Peru (10%). With regard to Europe, 77% feel that the European economy will stabilize or grow in 2012. Sixty two percent think the same about the EU. Within the EU, 64% consider that Germany will have the best growth rate, followed by Poland (7%) and the UK (5%). Read more…

IE Focus | By María del Pilar Galeote, Professor at IE Law School

China’s growing presence in Latin America is a reality, but is only half the story. Now it´s time for Latin America to do the same in China.It is a proven fact that China´s presence in Latin America is on the increase. Analyses have been made of the advantages and opportunities brought about by the situation, but disadvantages and threats it may hold for Latin American economies in the long run have also been revealed: Latin America has the opportunity to become a large-scale supplier of raw materials and, in particular, an area that demands processed products from China. That is why the route between China and Latin America needs to become a two-way affair. Like many Western countries, Latin America needs to increase its presence there.

There are many strategic reasons for encouraging entrepreneurs to invest in China. First of all, there is a significant competitive advantage in terms of costs. Low labour costs, as shown by the hourly pay of a worker in the manufacturing industry, even if current studies show that labour costs will increase in China over the coming years. If that were the only attraction of the Chinese market, decisions about investing in the country would not always be taken because the same competitive advantage also exists in other countries. However, there are other strategic reasons that justify the decision, such as the Chinese market’s huge potential at the present time. It is a market with a growing middle class that is increasing the level of demand in a large number of sectors. Read more…

IE Business School and Casa Asia are organizing this conference to discuss the concerns that Asian companies have in Europe and vice versa, in order to show the full potential, from the business point of view, of relationships with three of the major Asian countries: China, India and Japan.

Every time we have more and more evidence that Asia will be the center of global economic growth over the coming decades, due to the enormous strength of the Asian economies. In Europe, Asia is perceived as a great opportunity for its high growth rates, demographic factors, infrastructure needs and rising middle classes. In Asia, Europe is perceived as a market with high rates of consumption that is valued technological capacity of their firms, the relevance of their brands and the degree of excellence shown in the design of certain products.  Read more…

IE is set to take part in the Shanghai World Expo, which is expected to receive 70 million visitors between May 1 and October 31. IE will be present at the beginning and close of the Expo in Spain´s Pavilion and the Madrid Pavilion, with activities that include the presentation of the Caso España case study.