Next semester my b-school is offering students the opportunity to participate in an overseas trip to one of four locations; Spain, India, China, and Japan. While visiting these countries we will interact with executives at various corporations, both global and domestic. There will be deliverables due so that we can receive credit, though exactly what those are will vary.
So I have to chose between Japan and China, as neither of the other two trips really interests me. Here are the blurbs for each:
China:
Japan:
So Dopers, give me your thoughts on which of the two you’d chose and why.
For business-related learning, given the choices you describe, these days I’d choose China, even though I suspect that China and Japan would be more rewarding than China alone. With China you get to see the peak of a booim in a country that is still pulling on the clothes of business capitalism.
I’m doing a study-abroad in China right now. I’ve also been to Japan, though only as a tourist.
Things are palpably happening in China, that is the best way I can explain it. It’s a great experience, and if you want a good pizza, just hit up your local “Crow’s Nest” in Beijing.
Another vote for China. The places you will be visiting (AFAIK) are vastly different from each other. Hong Kong is very different from Shang Hai, Beijing etc.
I lived in China for a year and have visited Japan for work. The prospect of a homestay during the Japan trip is very intriguing to me. For that reason alone I’d go with Japan.
I would personally choose India, but if that’s not an option, China. The Forbidden City The Great Wall! That’s not something many people get to do in their lives.
I misread your OP as neither of China or Japan interested you, but this is something you had to do and was looking for the lessor of two evils. I was ready to rip you a new one!
A few things to consider. A short trip like this is just a taste of the culture, but even that is great.
There is as much difference between Chinese and Japanese business cultures as there are between US and either of the two.
China is the player of the future. If you are looking at just business, they will be a greater part of the world, but Japan isn’t going to disappear either.
Expect two different experiences. China is more in your face. Japan is more reserved, and very polite to guests. So much so that many, if not most people get a misconstrued view of the culture. Both are great countries, so you can’t go wrong.
The homestay is a plus. Interacting with ordinary people from the culture is a wonderful experience.
China certainly has a lot going on, and business-wise is the place to be. For all the people ranting about how they would never go back to “Communist China”, when the heck were you there? While I think living here as an ex-pat is tough, for a traveler it is an easy and rewarding place.
The drawback to China is that it is extremely eager to put on a good face to the outside world. While travelers are mostly free to travel around, as a business student you may find yourself being wined and dined but not really given the chance to delve into things. You may end up with the impression that China is all banquets and guided tours. And as a student, you may get frustrated with people’s reluctance to get into the nitty-gritty. Thanks to years of conditioning and extreme nationalism that goes right down to the personal level, people are really uncomfortable with even slightly controversial topics. People can and may open up during one-on-one conversations, but you will spend a lot more time with people spouting glib patriotism than people willing to honestly probe the issues.
Count me as another who would vote for China. As much of a Japanophile as I am, I have to admit that the future belongs to China. I’d jump at the opportunity. Consider it a very attractive piece of information on your future resume.
Japan is also a good choice and, as others have mentioned, the host family option is invaluable for getting totally immersed into the culture.
I would have chosen Japan because I get the impression that there is a higher probability of visiting a “local” company, as opposed to the local branch of a foreign company.
I was in China and Japan two months ago. I would probably choose China for the vast difference between the places mentioned Though if I were moving there, I’d choose Japan for a higher quality of life.
I’ve lived in both and ironically enough work for one of the companies that has hosted your program in china. It is even possible that I spoke to your program in Shanghai as I’ve done a dozen of these over the years.
Since you’re picking the lesser of two evils. I would suggest Japan. It’s much cleaner, people are polite, you can drink the water, etc. Off the cuff, it doesn’t sound like you’re really into the local culture and just want to check it off on your program.
In the corporate world, having been to China will be worth more. Frankly, given the tour you’ve outlined, it won’t really be too much like going to China and you’ll be able to cocoon yourself the entire time if you feel like it. You probably won’t be further than a mile from a Starbucks, McD’s or Pizza Hut the whole time. Ha, communist China.
Speaking only for myself, I was there last summer, 2008, just before the Olympics. Frankly, if that’s what the country is like when they’re on their best behavior under an international spotlight, I don’t want to know what it’s like other times. I found it scary. Not “I’m going to get mugged” scary, but “the people in charge can do damn near anything to you” scary.
I was part of a group going to see the total solar eclipse. We had permits, permissions, signed, sealed, photographs with arrows on them, and we still got hassled and pushed around. Formal agreements and previous permissions meant absolutely zero. Armed guards marching in formation through the airport and on the streets in Beijing.
En route to the eclipse site, our bus was stopped frequently at checkpoints, sometimes searched, sometimes everyone’s passport was collected (and eventually returned). At one spot we originally had permission to set up for the viewing, and some of our group got to conversing with the locals, showing them the eclipse-viewing equipment, etc., which was when the army came over and made us leave.
Also, we found it distressing that there seemed to be little or no concern about maintaining cultural history, other than things like the “forbidden city,” which has been made into a tourist trap crammed with vendors aggressively hawking souvenirs. Great Wall, same thing. A magnificent sight, but you have to run a two block-long gauntlet of people wanting to sell you stuff, much of which is garbage, and not wanting to take “no, thank you,” as an answer.
In Beijing there is a fascinating historic neighborhood that is gradually being torn down to construct Soviet-style concrete boxes. Our tour guide cautioned us to please never speak to anyone of the Tianamen Square unpleasantness a few years ago. “It’s a sensitive issue.” Not wanting to be dragged off somewhere, never to be seen again, we all complied.
Frankly, we had more freedom to move about and were more warmly received in Libya in 2006.
Oh, good Og, no! My dream job when I finish would involve traveling to places like China, Japan and India on a regular basis doing financial and/or consulting work.
One of the reasons I chose this program was because of the opportunity the overseas trip presents. I’ve long been fascinated by other cultures and enjoy learning about them. I’ve only crossed off India because I’m not fond of the professor running that trip, but if I could, I’d go to both China and Japan without a moment’s hesitation.
I don’t just want resume fodder. I’m genuinely curious about experiencing another culture and its business environment. To be honest, I’m more fascinated by the business elements in China as it is, in many ways, still a developing country. It is in the middle of a massive transition and will likely dominate the economic landscape in the future. Japan on the other hand I’m more interested in the cultural elements, the differences (and similarities caused by our intertwined history over the last 70 years) will, I think, be incredibly educational and fun.
In both cases, I want to see how they do things different first hand, and be able to weigh the advantages and disadvantages, to hopefully take with me into my career after grad school.
I can see how my original post gave the wrong impression by trying to be a little too bare bones in presentation. As I mention above, I certainly don’t see this as a ‘lesser of two evils’. I am much more in the ‘kid in a candy store with only one thin dime’ mindset. I seem to have given the exact opposite impression of what I meant!
I hope that if one is interested, one can actually experience what China is like, not just the Westernized parts of it. In that regard, since you’ve spoken to similar programs, what’s the experience like for someone actually open to experiencing a different culture? Honestly, I’d be a bit disappointed if this were just a vacation dressed up with a deliverable and some credit hours.
The comments in the thread have helped immensely. I think I’d be better off going on the China trip; as I’m more interested in the business aspects of that trip than the one to Japan. I can always go on vacation to Japan later.
Sorry if I misunderstood. China can be awesome and frankly MLS your tour was horribly organized and managed. I spent years backpacking around China back when it *was *a totalitarian socialist police state (1985-89). The economy has double twice since Tiananmen - it is a different place. Of course, all bets are off if you overtly fuck with the government but that’s pretty true in a lot of places. It’s an amazing country and a great place if you are a student of China. Of course the pollution sucks and there are a LOT of people.
Alas after 20+ years I’ll probably be hanging up my chopsticks as the youngest China bambina has special needs that are not being met here.
I’m glad to hear you are really interested in the program. As I said earlier, I think either one would be good, so you really can’t lose.
One thing to remember when hearing about about a foreign culture from someone from your own culture (such as hearing about Japan or China from a fellow American) is that it can be quite enlightening, but also don’t let it overly color your own experiences.
In other words, if someone says “Chinese are like XX” or “Doing business with Japanese, XX,” etc., is useful, but there are 100+ million Japanese and a billion plus Chinese, so not everyone is going to be the same.
However, it can sometimes be more instructive to hear how it is to do business with the natives from an expat than from a native. It’s really best to hear it from both, of course, but don’t be overly concerned if you are just getting Western companies the first go-around.