Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/57707
The China Challenge To thrive in China, business schools must weigh the risks, define their strategies, and heed the forces behind China's cultural and economic evolution. by Ilan Alon and John D. Van Fleet C hina has become one of the most intriguing markets in the world, and one of its most dramatic growth stories is the education sector. This growth is driven by demand—according to "China's Looming Talent Shortage," the now-famous 2005 report from McKinsey & Company by Diane Farrell and Andrew Grant, China will need 75,000 internationally capable managers by 2010. The system, however, can currently supply only 10 percent of that demand. This gap attracts attention from business educators both in China and around the world. By the end of 2007, almost 300 MBA programs were oper- ating in the People's Republic of China (PRC), all established in 16 years, first by Chinese institutions and, more recently, by joint partnerships between Chinese and non-native schools. But while there has been an explosion in educational initiatives in China, some programs provide better educational value than others. While the Chinese market presents formidable challenges to business schools, its potential is just as promising. The demand for quality initiatives is on the rise. Many programs with local and international affiliations compete mightily for potential MBA students, but far fewer meet globally recog- nized standards for excellence. This is true, in part, because achieving success proves difficult for most cross-national initia- tives, whether in the education sector or any other. Therefore, business schools cannot underestimate what it takes to succeed in China's dynamic market. Once schools choose strategies that make sense for them, they must com- mit the time and money to make those strategies work—and weigh carefully the potential for risk and reward. 36 BizEd MAY/JUNE 2008