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May 18, 2009
Day Sixteen - Panels & Chanels
This morning we were back in class at Tsinghua, which began with our project team presentations on Wal-mart vs. Carrefour in their corporate strategies for their presence in China. I was impressed by all of the groups' excellent concepts and presentation skills, as I often forget that we're all in Business school together instead of at summer camp. Brad wrapped up the class soon after the presentations and we were free until 3PM. I took a walk in search of a milkshake to complement my Luna bar (lunch was pre-ordered KFC) and wound up at the Charlie Brown Cafe. It was the first time I had gone somewhere on my own while in Beijing, and it was kind of a nice experience, as I felt more integrated in the city as if I actually lived in China. On the way there I stopped to by an authentic, chunky, colorful necklace, which I got for 10 RMB (or ~1.5 dollars, which is amazing!). The woman I bought it from said the symbol on the pendent meant "prayer." I did some coursepack reading in the cafe and then headed back to the hotel to get ready to leave with the group.
It took us about an hour to get to the largest shopping mall in Asia, which was close to the location of our Alumni Panel. we browsed around the mall for a little while and noticed the upper-class face of China that we had not previously been exposed to. The income-gap situation is a real eye-opener. The mall was gigantic and super upscale, lined with Chanel, Gucci, the works. It barely looked like we were in China, which we didn't really care for. Katie and I gravitated towards Starbucks and chatted it up for a while, as others from the group passed by and mingled. We then all colluded to go to the Alumni Panel.
The Panel consisted of UofM alums - all of which had their MBA from Ross. There were representitives from Intel, Amazon, a private equity firm, and an investment bank. It was interesting to hear about their experiences, as they have been active in the business world in both America and in China. Post-panel, we stopped at the nearest McDonalds (double cheeseburger, no bun, and fries) and got back on the bus to the Wenjin. I have never been so excited for a bag of hot, fast-food in my entire life.
Only one more "business week" left in China, :(
Karen
Posted by rockwood at May 18, 2009 01:23 PM