Why an MBA in China is the New Door to Asia

 This article is sponsored by the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.

 China is the world’s second largest economy – and it is predicted that it will be the number one by the end of the decade.

An MBA in China can, therefore, be an excellent way to give yourself an advantage in the world of 21st century business, as well helping you to get acquainted with the surrounding culturally and economically vibrant Asia-Pacific region.

Doing business in China

When learning the intricacies of doing business in China, finding a program with the right technical focus is crucial, says Li Haitao, the associate dean for the MBA Program at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB).

“At a school like CKGSB, students come here for a year, live here, and then get a front-seat view of doing business in China. Culturally, socially, and politically, things are done differently here and to expose yourself to the real  on the ground culture right from the start; that’s what will give you an edge when you go back to your business career in the future, a school with a focus on this this will help you have an advantage,” he says.

“Even if you don’t live and work in China, in the long run, any candidate, any serious company and any multinational corporation, will need to know how things work in China. This includes trading with China, selling things in China and of course, doing business in China.”

Study in China

To a large extent, an MBA program is only as good as its faculty. Candidates looking to study in China should look for professors who have been  teaching at top business schools around the world, in order for  them to gain  the best that both the east and the west offer.

China is exciting and full of opportunities but in the past, it has been hard for foreigners to study how to do business in China at an international level, Haitao believes, as finding faculty who can match the standard at top business schools in the West is difficult.

“It’s important for any school to have a world-class faculty. At CKGSB for example, almost 90 percent of staff have PhDs from top US or European schools- Yale, Stanford, Harvard, LSE and so on. They have worked as senior professors in those schools before they came back to work full-time and students who are looking to do an MBA in China must remember to look for the right faculty, who can bridge the divide between both worlds,” says Haitao, adding that this is especially relevant when China-born faculty are able to return to China after understanding and learning economic theories and management practices from the West, and incorporate those theories and practices into the Chinese market.

“The MBA classroom should be a place where East meets West. Students looking to study in China must be able to get whatever an MBA student can get from a US business school, and also learn about the various aspects of doing business in China which they cannot learn in the West,” says Haitao, also pointing out that prospective students should look for and expect that the kind of standard they get when they study about the developed markets in China will be the same level as what is taught in schools there- whether it’s Berkeley, Yale, or Michigan.

Chinese economy

As the Chinese economy grows in leaps and bounds, the business space is proving to be in demand, with many graduates seeking to stay and work in China.

“The MBA market in the West is kind of mature and while there are many excellent schools, the economy and job opportunities are becoming more stagnant, whereas China is a really exciting place to be; there are so many things happening,” says Haitao.

He believes that a good MBA in China will also afford students access to a wider network, and allow them to use their alumni connections in order to find existing and future opportunities and really embed themselves in the Chinese economy.

“While students can get additional insights about China from professors who can teach and research topics related to the market, they also need a platform to be connected with alumni. Through these resources, they can learn on the inside, find out more about the Chinese economy and they may have the opportunity to work on projects or intern with companies and eventually they can either work for them or start your own company when they have figured out how it works,” says Haitao, adding that at CKGSB, MBA students often get mentored by top business leaders in China, who are the alumni of the executive MBA program (the companies managed by EMBA alumni at CKGSB cover a wide range of industries and generated revenues of more than $1 trillion in 2012).  Studying in China at a top MBA program like CKGSB is more than a just a degree, it is a set of resources to catapult the career of graduates in China. Perhaps this is why 96 percent of CKGSB graduates move into upper management positions within 5 years of graduating.

This article is sponsored by the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.