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20 March/April 2014 BizEd of the world's cargo and cruise seafarers. But the vast majority are regular sailors, waiters, singers, or cooks. Very few Filipinos are mas- ters or captains. This disparity could change when the ASEAN countries inte- grate in 2015, a development that will create, in theory, an entity much like the European Union. After that happens, it will not be inconceivable for an Indonesian production plant to have a com- bined Indonesian, Filipino, Malay- sian, and Thai workforce and own- ership. This environment will make for interesting studies for business schools in cross-investment, cross- cultural management and strategy. Broad, Varied, Connected If I were to describe Asia in a sen- tence, it would be "We are many." Asia is a diversity of cultures, economies, and political structures. That diversity occurs not just from country to country, but within single nations. Take India: All of India is supposed to speak Hindi, but each state claims its own unique language, such as Marathi, Kannada, Bengali, or Tamil. The same is true for other Asian countries, all Towers of Babel. Asia also represents a wide dis- parity of income—an October 2013 report from the International Mon- etary Fund notes that per capita GDPs range from US$61,000 in Singapore to $1,600 in Myanmar. But while the ASEAN Secretariat cites an average annual economic growth of 5 percent to 11 percent for ASEAN countries, wide gaps exist in individual countries between rich and poor. A small percentage of Asian billionaires can indulge in fine wines and exotic cars, but a billion or more souls in Asia still do not have access to education, running water, or electricity. When Typhoon Haiyan hit in November, Leyte Island in the Philippines was devas- tated, and people were reduced to cooking over wood fires and fetch- ing water from rivers. But in truth, that was the state of many people in the countryside even before the storm. The storm exposed not only tragedy but disparity. Asian governments range from democracies to dictatorships, with the latter waning as information flows more freely. Indeed, technol- ogy could become the great enabler for the poor in Asia, where com- puting is cheap. Broadband costs as little as $5 a month in Sri Lanka, one-tenth the world average. That reality leads to yet another ques- tion for business schools: Will Asians continue to need face-to- face education, or can they learn more effectively online? And while Asia's growing population does not yet earn and consume as much as Western con- sumers do, it could soon. Consider this: Despite its one-child policy, China has 160 million students in primary and secondary education as of 2012, according to KPMG's Education in China report. That is equivalent to the population of one Russia—or eight Australias—all in short pants. In the years to come, this group will purchase watches and cars and perfumes—and educa- tion. Imagine, 15 years from now, when these young Chinese choose grad schools. If only 0.1 percent choose to earn MBAs or EMBAs, China will need 160,000 MBA seats. The number in India is even more staggering: In 2008, there were almost half a billion people— about two Brazils—between the ages of 5 and 24, according to the Economic Times. If just 0.1 percent of this group pursued MBAs, India would need 500,000 seats per year. The sooner business schools understand the differences and unique phenomena that are driving growth within Asia—and prescribe ways to manage them—the sooner that growth can be mutual and sustaining. The Business of Asian Business Schools Asian business schools face prob- lems similar to business schools around the world—finding fund- ing, coping with rankings, staying true to mission, hiring faculty. But we also must respond to trends unique to this region: Intense competition. There has been a surge of new competition in Asian countries, including for- eign competition. INSEAD is in Singapore, and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business If we focus too singularly on China, we risk missing many untold stories in other Asian markets. Ricardo Lim