Professor Xiang Bing of Beijing’s Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business says the courses offered at American institutions show little understanding of Asia’s developing economies.
Xiang Bing says humanities are essential because successful companies are about interaction within the corporate culture ? with customers as well as with the wider world ? to ensure sustainable growth. China’s future captains of commerce need to study a new strategy to take mainland corporate culture to another dimension of competitiveness, and it’s not some international economist’s theory for profit maximisation. It’s a course in humanities.
Professor Xiang believes this is where the understanding and practice of humanities will play a pivotal role in transporting Chinese companies into a new era, beyond the role of low-cost manufacturer. He said, ‘If we don’t have enough understanding of the humanities, we won’t have the sophistication to push creativity to another level … the design and innovation of our [Chinese-made] products will always remain at the functionality level. Without this knowledge, we will be generating [negative] competition in doing business, which itself is not just about anti-dumping tactics and legal battles. Importantly, [business] is about winning the hearts of the people.’
Beijing’s Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business has since its establishment in January 2002, moved from organising seminars for its students to an elective course in humanities for its MBA and EMBA programmes. The institute, founded and funded by the Li Ka-shing (Overseas) Foundation, has admitted more than 650 MBA and EMBA students over six intakes.
Professor Xiang says Cheung Kong Graduate School’s strategy is driven by one simple question ? what’s next for China and how can it grow? Putting aside the emphasis on humanities, the school has drawn on a few principles in setting its direction. For one, Professor Xiang says, China has become part of the world’s global business chain. Mainland companies, therefore, must have a global perspective, while keeping an astute understanding of the home market,
CKGSB has the distinction of being the first private and independent business school in China.
Source: China Broadcast
