Weekend tourist

This weekend was the best days of this Study Trip. I have known other different China.

We had almost all the time busy with classes and visits. We’re almost unaware Shanghai and this was a shame. We organize hikes and saw ancient cities, food markets, temples. I loved it.

We could see the monks pray during the ceremony. They say it brings good luck, I hope it’s true.

I was surprised that so many local people who visit the temple to pray. They are believers, the youngest too.

On Sunday we visited Hangzhou. We took a boat ride on the lake and I could buy some souvenirs.

I made more pictures in two days than in the entire previous week.

Makes me laugh that local people we observe both us. They are surprised at our appearance. Some of them pointed to my hair and they even made us photos. I really felt very foreign there.

On Monday I had a hard time getting up to go back to class. We begin with a lecture by Goncalves Pereira by Cuatrecasas. He talked about intellectual property.

In China, intellectual property is still room for improvement. Anywhere you can find copies of the best brands.

In the afternoon we went to the Volkswagen factory in Shanghai, the visit was good, but a bit short.

That was it until Monday. Every time there was less to return to Madrid. I felt bad; I felt that I was still plenty to see.

Comentarios desactivados en Weekend tourist / 08 Mar 2013 por Sara Diaz Hermosel
MBAftmad /

RETURN TO SPAIN…

After ten days in Shanghai, we arrived to Madrid on Wednesday. We arrived very tired from the long trip.

At the conclusion of the trip, I think to have been an unforgettable experience. Classes have been pretty good, but in the company visits, I have not made what I expected. These, along with the food are the negatives that I have perceived the trip, but I think it was worth living this experience and learn new things.

During the weekend in Shanghai, we had two tours in which we could see beautiful places of the city.

On Saturday we visited Shanghai:

Longhua Temple

Yu Yuan Gardens

Cruise on the Huangpu River

On Sunday we went to the city of Hangzhou, known as “Paradise on Earth”.

I recommend visiting these places if you have chance!!!

Comentarios desactivados en RETURN TO SPAIN… / 07 Mar 2013 por Maria del Pilar Jimenez Castilla
MBAftmad /

Protocol in China

Chinese people are very hospitable and polite. They are always willing to tell and show you their culture and history.

But their customs are very different from the European and American, and this fact makes you to consider certain aspects before you go and interact with the people in this great country.

There are many topics of education that are essential, as punctuality and presence. You should not make personal questions; it is not a polite behavior. On the other hand, it is very likely that they ask you, because they are interested in Western life.

During a conversation, you have to avoid going straight to the point”, it is better to have a first talking about their country but not about policy. The Chinese entrepreneur must have confidence in the person in front of him, and that means you need time for negotiations and not rush to make decisions.
In business presentations, when there is an exchange of business cards, they should be taken with both hands by the corners, and it is important you demonstrate you are interesting in it. They think that this is a sign of your interest.

Comentarios desactivados en Protocol in China / 06 Mar 2013 por Maria de las Mercedes Perez
MBAftmad /

Do we want to go to China?

It is true that China has some advantages as manufacturing, trading, GDP growth… that make more attractive the possibility of going there to make business. But first of all we have to know if it’s good for us being there.

At the lectures at the University we learnt that a clear and quantified strategic objective is essential for success. And not having one is one of the basic mistakes companies often make.

Strategy is the key word.

We need to have a clear and quantified business goal. Around this goal there are four important concepts: strategy, people, processes and clients.

Strategy: It is essential. China is a completely new economic and cultural environment, so it brings the risk of losing focus. We must get our numbers right and stick to them, involve our stakeholders

People: To choose the right people to work in China is an important decision. We have to create teams with different profiles and skills and mix people from China and from the main office.

Processes: Good processes can literally save our life. Try to improve every process as much as we can and build a culture of competitive advantages.

Clients: We must have the target clear if we want to have success and try to find a niche but be careful, markets disappear and pop up overnight!

Finally, they give us some tips to success in China:

Think in our competitive advantage. Being totally honest!!

Scientific methods are not cross cultural!

Be ready to re-train or leave behind.

Make rules that we are going to follow.

Create new demand in an uncontested market space.

Thinking about it… is interesting for you doing business in China?

Comentarios desactivados en Do we want to go to China? / 05 Mar 2013 por Lucia Garcia Rodriguez
MBAftmad /

Study trip ends

We are going to go back to Spain tomorrow but I’m not sad because our study trip has been long (eleven days) and we’re a little tired.

We have had a nice time. I’ve learnt a lot about China in different aspects about “doing business”. Now, I know how to negotiate, how to manage people and a lot if advices about entrepreneurship here as taxes or business licences.

In general, I’m satisfied with the classes in Jiao Tong University.

But I’m not do satisfied with the visits to different companies. Some of them have been more interesting than others. But it’s been a good opportunity to see how Spanish companies are working in China.

Finally, I’m very happy with the tourism excursions. I liked very much all the places that I’ve seen. Now I can say that I know more about China, its people, culture and values.

Comentarios desactivados en Study trip ends / 05 Mar 2013 por Natividad Prieto Loreto
MBAftmad /

A DIFFERENT WEEKEND

It has been an exciting weekend in Shanghai and I have a lot of new things to share with you.

First of all I would like to tell you some aspects about the lectures I attended last Thursday. We started with the importance of different Chinese market segments. Spanish companies must think about the strategy they are going to follow in order to succeed and take into account next figures. The Chinese consumption distribution is: 36% food; 14% education; 10% accommodation; 7% medical; 10% clothes; 40% savings. Among consumer profiles we can identify 5 segments: lower class, lower intermediate class, medium class, upper intermediate class and rich people. We find the opportunity among 2.7 million rich people because it is easy to sell luxury products to rich people.

Next lecture was an exciting view of Lin Dai about ‘Feel China from the closest’. She told us such interesting things about Chinese culture that we couldn´t blink!

In the afternoon we visit the Spanish Park in Ningbo and some Spanish and Chinese companies. The Chinese government wanted to set an industrial area up near Shanghai. It was founded 10 years ago and the area was chosen because of the location, infrastructure and raw materials.

On Friday we spent the whole day in Yiwu to visit its famous market. Back to the hotel we decided to go to Disco No 88 and discover the real night in Shanghai. It was definitely amazing!

On Saturday we decided to visit the real Shanghai so we went to Qibao to know an original street market. We found from the typical souvenirs to live animals! Then we went to visit the Longhua Temple. It is the largest, most authentic and complete ancient temple complex in the city of Shanghai. Later, we went to Shanghai World Financial Centre. We went up the Observatory that was certificated by the Guinness World Records as the world´s “Highest Observatory” in 2009. It was one of the best experiences I have ever had.

On Sunday we went to Hangzhou, one of the most renowned and prosperous cities of China for much of the last 1,000 years, due in part to its beautiful natural scenery. The city’s West Lake is its best-known attraction.

After all the lectures at Jiaotong University I really wanted to know more about the Chinese cities and I enjoyed a lot with my classmates.

Comentarios desactivados en A DIFFERENT WEEKEND / 04 Mar 2013 por Ángela Pérez Báscones
MBAftmad /

Perceiving Shanghai

We had a lecture with Lin Dai about “Feel China from the Closest” which helped us to know a little bit more about the Chinese culture and it prepares us to get a better appreciation before our touristic weekend.

After the weekend around Shanghai I have had the opportunity to increase my knowledge and my vision of Chinese style of life.

A few days ago I was really fascinated with the huge buildings and their bright and colorful lights, and I still do actually, but at the end I have seen places with an old and real Chinese history. It is amazing to see and feel the contrast between the “future city” and the “old city”.

I really enjoy visiting places such as Longhua Temple, Yu Yuan gardens, the Bund, the Pudong, and Hangzhou and their West Lake, Lingying Temple and the ancient street of Hefang Jie. When the guide told us about the history and curiosities of the religion (Buddhism and Taoism) and their temples we visited, and while we could go for a walk looking everything, a peace feeling overwhelmed me.

Buddhism and its rituals with incense, fire, colors, all the scenes of Buddha, the monks’ rituals and the music, lead to a training of “mind and heart”. It is amazing!

Myths and proverbs are an important part of the Chinese culture even when you see the constructions, temples, parks and so on. Dragon represents glory, excellence, perseverance, heroism, audacity, optimism, intelligence… and good luck. You can find sometimes corridors, which lead to houses, built with difficult and closed angles because if a dragon tries to walk along the corridor, it is not able to turn back and so it carries good vibrations to the house.

The sightseeing in cities like Zanghou is awesome and the temples and figures astonished me every time I saw them.

The financial part of Shanghai is the other side of the same coin. Pudong is impressive to see because of the large buildings and their nighttime lights, but it is a huge contrast when you see other kind of areas of China.
I must say: Everything is possible in China!

I really loved my touristic weekend! I know that China is enormous and I hope and I am really looking forward to going back soon to discover more and more of China and its fascinating customs and culture!

Comentarios desactivados en Perceiving Shanghai / 04 Mar 2013 por Marina Espigares Rooney
MBAftmad /

A DIFFERENT WEEKEND

It has been an exciting weekend in Shanghai and I have a lot of new things to share with you.

The next lecture was an exciting view of Lin Dai about ‘Feel China from the closest’. She told us such interesting things about Chinese culture that we couldn´t blink!

On Friday we spent the whole day in Yiwu to visit its famous market. Back to the hotel we decided to go to Disco No 88 and discover the real night in Shanghai. It was definitely amazing!

After all the lectures at Jiaotong University I really wanted to know more about the Chinese cities and I enjoyed a lot with my classmates.

Comentarios desactivados en A DIFFERENT WEEKEND / 04 Mar 2013 por Ángela Pérez Báscones
MBAftmad /

A lot of news!!!

Good evening ladies and gentlemen!

Yesterday in the morning, we had an interesting class about managing people in China, with Jerel Bonner. He told us the way that companies in this country use to recruit the most talented people, and how to keep them loyal to the company.

Later in the afternoon, we went to visit Dibal China Division. We could see the whole process of creating rolled steel coil and i must say it’s amazing!

Today in the morning, we have had a conference about the different chinese consumer segments and the features of each one of them.

A curious thing is that the main segment to which Starbucks in China is targeted is young people, and that’s because the rest of chinese people doesn’t drink coffee.

Other interesting fact is that Shanghai has 3 Rolls Royce dealers. Certainly, the rich segment in China is bigger than i expected.

In the afternoon, we have visited Ningbo European Industrial park, we have crossed the third longest bridge in the world and we also have visited the spanish park in Ningbo.

I will keep you informed, greetings!

Comentarios desactivados en A lot of news!!! / 04 Mar 2013 por Paula Tejero Lafuente
MBAftmad /

A weekend of sightseeing …

The day started early, Shanghai is a city of contrasts, near the luxurious buildings of the Bund or “Waitan” we find places like the Longhua Temple, dedicated to the Maitreya Buddha, which is the oldest temple and largest area of Shanghai.

We spent the Saturday visiting the city and each of its nooks. From the modernity of the former French colony, to the oldest streets and boisterous which showed us the most ingrained habits of the population.

Strolls through the gardens of Yu Yuan take us back to another time full of harmony, Chinese gardens are a spiritual refuge for the population. Beside them is the “Huxingting Tea House” with the amazing zigzag bridge, as the only access, that keeps spirits away …

On Sunday we visited the town of Hangzhou, capital of the province of Zhejiinag. The visit began with a boat trip through the West Lake, surrounded by hills, and ending at Lingyin Temple.