Chapman University EMBAs Visit “Who’s Who” of Corporations in China and Vietnam

The George L. Argyros School of Business & Economics Executive MBA class of 2007 spent 12 days in August on their International Residential in China and Vietnam. They visited companies and government organizations to gain an understanding of global business operations and an appreciation of Chinese and Vietnamese business culture. The ambitious itinerary for the group included Beijing, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Ho Chi Minh City.

Beijing

In Beijing students visited PetroChina, Asia’s most profitable company in 2005. There they heard of China’s challenges to meet its future energy needs while trying to improve its energy efficiency. At the Swiss-Swedish conglomerate ABB they got to see contributions by leading Chinese scientists to innovations in electricity generation and transmission, including a hands-on demonstration of cold fusion technology. At Shunxin Agriculture Limited they discussed the challenges of state-owned enterprises, including management incentives for investment in physical plant versus intangible investments in building brand equity. Chris Sibley of Beckman Coulter in Orange County, a company with significant business in China, summed up why U.S. companies are investing in there “As a result of rapid economic growth the people are benefiting with increased employment, higher standards of living, higher salaries and more disposable income. Foreign companies see these markets as great opportunities for growth.”

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, the group got to see global sourcing and supply chain management in action at Grainger Inc and Li & Fung Trading Company. At Li & Fung “we learned how their company evolved from a simple trader in the early 1900s to a highly sophisticated supply chain manager by the mid 1990s with compounded annual growth of 23%”, said John Robinson of LPA Inc. Ted Prukop of CHF Solutions was quick to size up the advantages to U.S. firms partnering with a global supply chain specialist such as Li & Fung “the benefits of working with these firms include customization, quick response times, leveraging of buying power, global coordination, transparency to the end customer and product design and development.”

Shenzhen

Next up was Shenzhen, an industrial city located in the Pearl River Delta of China’s powerhouse Guongdong Province. Here the Chapman EMBAs visited Providence Company, the manufacturer of 70% of the world’s supply of soda fountain pumps. Jeff Terkeurst of Emulex described Providence as “our chance to see one of the test locations for FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in China. This was outsourced manufacturing in order to take advantage of skilled labor at reduced prices.”

Vietnam

The Chapman University EMBA group was one of the very few such programs to visit Vietnam this year. George Rodriguez of 3-D Industries, described this location as “one of the few countries that can provide the combination of low wages, infrastructure, and political stability, and is thus the source of significant amounts of inward FDI.” Visits to Pepsi Vietnam and to Unilever Vietnam revealed localization strategies of global consumer packaged goods companies in Vietnam. The information flow however was not all in one direction, as students in Professor Noel Murray’s Global Business Environment class offered their advice to senior management at Dong Tien Garment Company, the largest textile manufacturer in Vietnam, on how to expand their business and the need to better understand the requirements of the international marketplace. Not all the opportunities in Vietnam however are with low cost, low skilled labor. At Paragon Solutions, a software development company, with plans to grow to 5,000 employees in the next few years, Chapman University EMBAs saw the contributions of highly skilled software engineers serving their U.S., European and Japanese client needs for high quality software development at a competitive price.

Robert Tricerri of Istor Networks Inc. summed up the China & Vietnam residential experience “I must say this was an exciting and phenomenal trip for me. The visits to all the companies were educational and exceptional. To have the opportunity to listen to managements’ presentations of their companies and operations and then go on a plant tour was a very significant part of the trip. The residential reinforced all of what I learned in EMBA 611 class and opened my eyes to the globalization of markets. I now have a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities of doing business internationally.”