Dr. James Johnson and 12 PMBA students recently returned from Beijing, China, after spending a week there with PMBA students as part of the INTL 606 -- Business in Emerging Markets course. The week in China helped the students understand the complexities, the opportunities, and the frustrations of doing business in emerging markets.
The students visited the offices of Ogilvy & Mather (advertising), Google, the American Chamber of Commerce, and the Quality Brands Protection Committee (a consortium of multinationals seeking to increase intellectual property protection rights), and had briefings from the Economic and Political sections of the US Embassy and from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition, the students visited major cultural sites in Beijing, such as Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and the Great Wall. The students also gathered data for their team research papers on different aspects of doing business in China.
The arrangements in Beijing were organized by Educasian, which has worked with Rollins previously in Shanghai. The hotel was well situated in the center of the city, with well-appointed double rooms for the students, and all visits were made easier by the provision of a minibus and driver. The group had its own dedicated guide for the week: Peter Jacobsen, a Danish national who has lived and worked in China for 14 years. Peter’s caustic humor, fluent Chinese, and knowledge of the culture made the trip unforgettable experience for Dr. Johnson and the students.
Dr. Johnson stated that this was one of the best travel courses he has led in 8 years at Crummer, and much of this was due to the attitude of the students themselves: Andrea Batres, Melissa Collins, Melissa Dubois, Alessandro Garabaghi, Taylor Kennedy, Oscar Leon, CJ Maier, Carlos Mendez, Kathy Savon, Rachel Sutherland, Ina Toderita, and Alexandra Tuttle.
