Marco Polo 2002: Venice By Way Of China

Abstract

As part of an executive MBA program, the authors visited with the top executives at multiple Chinese companies and agencies in several major cities during the summer of 2002. Businesses included several that have recently transitioned from being state-owned enterprises; pure entrepreneurial firms; and multi-national enterprises with headquarters outside of China. The visits allowed us to hear how China intends to manage its challenges and pursue its opportunities as well as to witness some early successes, emerging experiments, and looming problems. In this paper, we will share our observations, which are organized around several themes. We conclude that much of what is going on in China must be viewed as transitional and temporary. While there are serious challenges, China should be recognized as having accomplished more positive change faster than perhaps any other country in the history of the world.