Our first impression of the VanceInfo offices was that they were very unprepossessing. One of the ways that I like to judge the overall wealth and success of a business in a developing country is the quality of the bathrooms, particularly the women’s bathrooms. A newer, lower-revenue company will have squat toilets only, whereas a newer, more expensive building will typically have western-style toilets. VanceInfo had poorly appointed squat toilets.
We were ushered into a very sad little room with tan crepe-ish drapes on the sides. It was incredibly hot. Our speaker was a soft-spoken American named Ken Schulz, who had been living and working in China for a number of years after getting laid off by HP after the first dot.com bubble burst and outsourcing was ramped up in earnest around 2000-2001. He gave us a marketing style presentation demonstrating VanceInfo’s phenomenal growth, and expansions of graphs for the case we studied prior to visiting the location.
The most interesting business aspects of VanceInfo are its growth, and its status as a Chinese-owned company on the NYSE. Just two years ago, when the Stanford case we read was written, there were only 5,000 employees at VanceInfo. When we went on Tuesday afternoon, Ken said that there were nearly 11,000. Entirely aside from the daunting HR challenges that would pose, this sort of growth is virtually unheard of outside of a developing country. The jobs for unskilled labor aren’t coming back to our economy, they are going to developing countries and are likely to stay there. However, VanceInfo does have offices in Seattle, San Diego, and somewhere else in the U.S., so perhaps growing Chinese and Indian outsourcing companies will start hiring locally in the U.S. as prices continue to rise in the home countries. The second important aspect of VanceInfo is its status as a NYSE traded firm. This allows it to offer stock based incentives to employees, and provides an important source of pride for the Chinese government. It is my opinion that this status will help it immensely in the coming years.
By the end of Ken’s presentation, no one was listening because it was so hot. There was no A/C, as apparently it was considered unnecessary, but if there isn’t to be A/C, there at least needs to be a fan. We took a tour of their other building, which was also A/C free, but at least had more airflow. I think by the time we left, no one was able to pay attention to the value of the information we were receiving because they were too overwhelmed by the volume of sweat stuck to the backs of their legs and the small of the back.
Also, apparently a “low voltage area” is a “weak electricity room.” I will never tire of reading amusing English translations.
Our case debrief in the bus focused on VanceInfo’s future prospects, as they offer a very low-end, not much value-added service to their partners. This is work that virtually anyone could do, so what is the reason VanceInfo would be chosen above anyone else? To be honest, there isn’t any reason other than that they are Chinese. They are low cost, certainly, but there are other low cost locations globally. VanceInfo is first and foremost a Chinese company, and this is the value they will add over a long-term partnership, which is the proper way to approach setting up a business relationship in China.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
China Study Tour: Microsoft
Tuesday morning we went to Microsoft’s R&D Center at the Sigma building. We received a presentation from Yongdong Wang, General Manager of Search Technology Center Asia, meaning that he was responsible for the development and growth of the Bing search engine for China, Japan and Korea.
The presentation was very tech/future focused, as might be expected from an R&D facility. He focused on three screens connectivity, client and cloud functionality, natural user interface, Green IT and more. The center currently holds 300 engineers, and their new campus will hold 5,000.
Yongdong showed us a chart of R&D spending by country for BRICs. It was interesting that while China outspent them all, nearly outspent them all combined, China doesn’t have the reputation that India does, and I would say that sending a job to China wouldn’t be any more guaranteed than sending it to Brazil, India or Russia – and yet, they have invested much more heavily in R&D and infrastructure. Perhaps this investment will pay more dividends in the future, but for now, they seem to be spending quite a lot for a minimal return on investment.
When asked about piracy and data privacy issues facing Microsoft in China, Yongdong stated that Hotmail’s servers are located outside of China, as is sensitive cloud data. He also said that if Microsoft were actually paid for the volume of Microsoft products in China, they would probably quadruple their current income easily.
After his presentation, we were presented multiple promotional videos by a young Chinese woman wearing hipter 80’s glasses. These videos ranged from 1-3 years old, so we questioned the “cutting edge” aspect of the work. Overall, I think it will be interesting to see what Microsoft comes up with in the next few years, as they have the cash to invest heavily in R&D in a variety of markets.
The presentation was very tech/future focused, as might be expected from an R&D facility. He focused on three screens connectivity, client and cloud functionality, natural user interface, Green IT and more. The center currently holds 300 engineers, and their new campus will hold 5,000.
Yongdong showed us a chart of R&D spending by country for BRICs. It was interesting that while China outspent them all, nearly outspent them all combined, China doesn’t have the reputation that India does, and I would say that sending a job to China wouldn’t be any more guaranteed than sending it to Brazil, India or Russia – and yet, they have invested much more heavily in R&D and infrastructure. Perhaps this investment will pay more dividends in the future, but for now, they seem to be spending quite a lot for a minimal return on investment.
When asked about piracy and data privacy issues facing Microsoft in China, Yongdong stated that Hotmail’s servers are located outside of China, as is sensitive cloud data. He also said that if Microsoft were actually paid for the volume of Microsoft products in China, they would probably quadruple their current income easily.
After his presentation, we were presented multiple promotional videos by a young Chinese woman wearing hipter 80’s glasses. These videos ranged from 1-3 years old, so we questioned the “cutting edge” aspect of the work. Overall, I think it will be interesting to see what Microsoft comes up with in the next few years, as they have the cash to invest heavily in R&D in a variety of markets.
Monday, September 06, 2010
China Study Tour: Jinshanling
Normally, Madhu takes the group to the Simatai portion of the Great Wall, but it’s currently closed for renovations, so we have gone to Jinshanling. The trip there is to take between 3.5 to 4 hours, depending on traffic out of Beijing. We had been warned from the first Saturday class of the steepness of Simatai, the need to train, and so on, and provided pictures demonstrating the point. We were told by our study tour guide, Peter, that Jinshanling would not disappoint as a replacement.
Before heading up the wall, we had a traditional Chinese lunch. It was pretty much the same as anything one could get in my favorite Chinese restaurant at home, Shanghai Gardens, making me think that it’s more authentic than I thought. We had noodles, various types of veggies, sweet & sour pork, cashew chicken, egg drop soup, corn fritters, and watermelon to finish off. My favorite was the garlic bok choy. My favorite dish in Singapore was bok choy with oyster sauce or garlic bok choy, and it has been one of the things I’ve been looking forward to most, culinary-wise, as I’ve never been quite able to replicate the flavor or texture in stir fry at home. The spread is reassuringly familiar and there is virtually no spice. This will be a much easier trip for my stomach than last year’s sojourn to India. I still can’t even look at red chili without my stomach clenching in remembrance of red curry. Stir fry bok choy sounds wonderful to me.
These sorts of groups are apparently one of the only ways for farmers in the region to make money, so they attach themselves to one tourist each on their trip along the Great Wall. My guy’s name was Zhou, and he was from north of the wall, and he is ethnically Mongolian.
Just the walk to get onto the wall was quite steep, and we’d driven very close on the bus. Actually being on the Great Wall was amazing. You could see all of the nearby peaks and could view dozens of guard towers before the wall disappeared into the gray-blue sky. We were there the same day as a cooperative marathon between Chinese and other nationalities. From what I could tell, mostly Germans were participating, and these folks were running a marathon along the Great Wall in sweltering heat. I commend them. Many of the non-Marathon tourists were also German, although I noticed a few French and Americans not with our group. I will use this as anecdotal evidence that Germany is recovering from the recession faster than everyone else, and will not listen to any protestations that that is completely anecdotal and can’t really be relied upon. All of the Germans, and speaking to a couple of them, made me a little homesick for Austria. I haven’t been back since May 2008, and it is my second-favorite place in the world, outside of Seattle.
Madhu wanted to make it to the thirteenth tower along the wall from the Jinshanling. However, from what I heard, Tami and Seu-jin decided to run the wall instead, and they went further, thus necessitating that Madhu go further as well. I did not participate in this portion of the Great Wall entertainment, having been nursing a particularly nasty travel migraine all day. Rubina’ and Zhou helped me get to the third tower, at which point I had to decide between my pride and my body, and my body won out. Still and all, I made it to the third tower, got some amazing pictures, and have gained a new appreciation for the sheer scale of what was accomplished when this wall was built without the benefit of any modern machinery.
Before heading up the wall, we had a traditional Chinese lunch. It was pretty much the same as anything one could get in my favorite Chinese restaurant at home, Shanghai Gardens, making me think that it’s more authentic than I thought. We had noodles, various types of veggies, sweet & sour pork, cashew chicken, egg drop soup, corn fritters, and watermelon to finish off. My favorite was the garlic bok choy. My favorite dish in Singapore was bok choy with oyster sauce or garlic bok choy, and it has been one of the things I’ve been looking forward to most, culinary-wise, as I’ve never been quite able to replicate the flavor or texture in stir fry at home. The spread is reassuringly familiar and there is virtually no spice. This will be a much easier trip for my stomach than last year’s sojourn to India. I still can’t even look at red chili without my stomach clenching in remembrance of red curry. Stir fry bok choy sounds wonderful to me.
These sorts of groups are apparently one of the only ways for farmers in the region to make money, so they attach themselves to one tourist each on their trip along the Great Wall. My guy’s name was Zhou, and he was from north of the wall, and he is ethnically Mongolian.
Just the walk to get onto the wall was quite steep, and we’d driven very close on the bus. Actually being on the Great Wall was amazing. You could see all of the nearby peaks and could view dozens of guard towers before the wall disappeared into the gray-blue sky. We were there the same day as a cooperative marathon between Chinese and other nationalities. From what I could tell, mostly Germans were participating, and these folks were running a marathon along the Great Wall in sweltering heat. I commend them. Many of the non-Marathon tourists were also German, although I noticed a few French and Americans not with our group. I will use this as anecdotal evidence that Germany is recovering from the recession faster than everyone else, and will not listen to any protestations that that is completely anecdotal and can’t really be relied upon. All of the Germans, and speaking to a couple of them, made me a little homesick for Austria. I haven’t been back since May 2008, and it is my second-favorite place in the world, outside of Seattle.
Madhu wanted to make it to the thirteenth tower along the wall from the Jinshanling. However, from what I heard, Tami and Seu-jin decided to run the wall instead, and they went further, thus necessitating that Madhu go further as well. I did not participate in this portion of the Great Wall entertainment, having been nursing a particularly nasty travel migraine all day. Rubina’ and Zhou helped me get to the third tower, at which point I had to decide between my pride and my body, and my body won out. Still and all, I made it to the third tower, got some amazing pictures, and have gained a new appreciation for the sheer scale of what was accomplished when this wall was built without the benefit of any modern machinery.
China Study Tour: First Impressions
The road from the airport provides a marked contrast to the road from the New Delhi airport in India. For that trip, we shared the road with all manner of conveyances, including oxen, multiple combinations of bicycle usage, pedestrians, and hand-drawn carts. This was a proper highway, with a wide variety of cars.
From the bus windows, I could confirm what I had viewed from the plane, the widespread communist influence in architecture and city design. This is something seen frequently in Eastern Europe: exactly the same ugly high rise apartment building five times in a row. Occasionally, one could also see an exceptionally ugly concrete structure that could only have been built during China’s more austere days. For the most part, though, China reminds me most of Eastern Europe than any other place I’ve been. They seem to be working as hard as they can to shed their Communist aesthetic and embrace the new cars, bright paint, and shining lights of the typically Western cityscape.
On the way to the Beijing Hotel, I learned that Buick is apparently a prestige brand in China, I saw a number of brands of vehicle, from Peugeot to Audi, to Ford, Jeep, Hyundai, Volkswagen – one could probably find nearly every brand of car imaginable on the highway from the Beijing Airport.
When we arrived at the hotel, we passed Raffles Beijing Hotel, which gave me a momentary pang of remembrance for Singapore. The only place I’d truly felt comfortable and happy there was reading a book in the courtyard of Raffles Hotel, a stately European style hotel named after the Raffles that half the downtown seems to be named after. This Raffles is also stately and European in styling, although not nearly as beautiful or inviting as the Singapore Raffles in terms of the foliage and location of the hotel. The interior of our hotel reminds me of an old lady who has put on a lot of jewels to try to hide that she has gotten old. The rooms increased my opinion that this was, in fact the case. The windows are double paned windows of the style that were in my 100-year-old Austrian apartment building, and the styling is also older. The beds are incredibly firm, and nearly everyone has had problems with a lack of cleanliness in their rooms. Relatively speaking, they’re clean, but a 5-star hotel in the States or Europe would not have flecks on the toilet upon arrival, or questionable still-sticky stains on the carpets. It’s a classic hotel, but not quite as nice as the similarly appointed hotels we stayed at in India.
We took an evening walk to Tian’anmen Square to stay up a little longer and perhaps put off worse affects of jet lag. There are very few street people in Beijing compared to any city in India, even compared to Seattle. All of the street people we did see were selling cheap knick-knacks or playing music, there were no outright beggars that I saw on the way there and back. As I am sure there are many homeless and destitute in Beijing, I conclude that they must have been moved elsewhere.
After our walk, the group splits up, some to experience the Night Market and see scorpions on a stick, and some decide it’s time to give in and get some sleep. Tomorrow, we travel to the Great Wall.
From the bus windows, I could confirm what I had viewed from the plane, the widespread communist influence in architecture and city design. This is something seen frequently in Eastern Europe: exactly the same ugly high rise apartment building five times in a row. Occasionally, one could also see an exceptionally ugly concrete structure that could only have been built during China’s more austere days. For the most part, though, China reminds me most of Eastern Europe than any other place I’ve been. They seem to be working as hard as they can to shed their Communist aesthetic and embrace the new cars, bright paint, and shining lights of the typically Western cityscape.
On the way to the Beijing Hotel, I learned that Buick is apparently a prestige brand in China, I saw a number of brands of vehicle, from Peugeot to Audi, to Ford, Jeep, Hyundai, Volkswagen – one could probably find nearly every brand of car imaginable on the highway from the Beijing Airport.
When we arrived at the hotel, we passed Raffles Beijing Hotel, which gave me a momentary pang of remembrance for Singapore. The only place I’d truly felt comfortable and happy there was reading a book in the courtyard of Raffles Hotel, a stately European style hotel named after the Raffles that half the downtown seems to be named after. This Raffles is also stately and European in styling, although not nearly as beautiful or inviting as the Singapore Raffles in terms of the foliage and location of the hotel. The interior of our hotel reminds me of an old lady who has put on a lot of jewels to try to hide that she has gotten old. The rooms increased my opinion that this was, in fact the case. The windows are double paned windows of the style that were in my 100-year-old Austrian apartment building, and the styling is also older. The beds are incredibly firm, and nearly everyone has had problems with a lack of cleanliness in their rooms. Relatively speaking, they’re clean, but a 5-star hotel in the States or Europe would not have flecks on the toilet upon arrival, or questionable still-sticky stains on the carpets. It’s a classic hotel, but not quite as nice as the similarly appointed hotels we stayed at in India.
We took an evening walk to Tian’anmen Square to stay up a little longer and perhaps put off worse affects of jet lag. There are very few street people in Beijing compared to any city in India, even compared to Seattle. All of the street people we did see were selling cheap knick-knacks or playing music, there were no outright beggars that I saw on the way there and back. As I am sure there are many homeless and destitute in Beijing, I conclude that they must have been moved elsewhere.
After our walk, the group splits up, some to experience the Night Market and see scorpions on a stick, and some decide it’s time to give in and get some sleep. Tomorrow, we travel to the Great Wall.
China Study Tour: 1 confiscated water bottle, 2 packs of M&Ms, 21 fellow study tour participants, getting through security with a box-cutter: priceless
I hate airport security. When I arrived for my flight on Hainan Airways, the check-in staff seemed apologetic that I had to wait even the five minutes that I did, and there was a literal red carpet for the business class travelers. They were polite, efficient, and fast. Security was also fast, but polite and efficient is definitely stretching the definitions of the terms. I got an admittedly cheap water bottle on my recent trip to Sitka, Alaska. However, it was my water bottle, and it was my souvenir, and it posed no terrorist threat whatsoever. I find that airport security makes me feel angry, harassed, and not at all safer, especially once I discovered that while my cheap water bottle had been confiscated, the box cutter in my purse apparently wasn’t an issue at all.
After submitting my pre-departure paper from the gate waiting area (Madhu only said before we fly out…), I grabbed some snacks at Hudson News along with a neck pillow. I found on the plane, however, that while the peanut butter M&Ms were as yummy as they always are, the neck pillow was not a brilliant investment. Hainan Airways has quite possibly the tiniest seat dimensions of any airline I’ve ever flown on. When I, a 5’5” female feel scrunched and uncomfortable, I can’t imagine how the taller guys in our group are feeling.
Customs and Immigration in China provided a marked counterpart to American security. In fact, the customs folks even had satisfaction buttons at their stations. I could express my pleasure or displeasure at the quality of customs arrival! I want one of those for security at home.
The first place everyone in the group noticed upon arrival was the KFC and Starbucks. While no one went for the KFC, Starbucks provided an allure that was nigh irresistible – cool, delicious coffee drinks. Somehow, even though I ordered a caramel frappuccino, I got a caramel cream frappuccino, which is more like an iced blended milkshake than a coffee drink… so there were some communication issues, but a cream frappuccino is still refreshing after a non-stop Seattle to Beijing flight. Everyone else got the coffee they wanted, and apparently the only difference is the taste in soymilk.
Somehow, our second professor Rubina’ was stopped in Customs, we are assuming because her passport is in Urdu. So, while we waited, we observed all the people around us. My favorite was a young Chinese guy dressed like the Situation from Jersey Shore. There was also a sign for “Familie Kuh” – Family Cow in German – which made me giggle. When Rubina’ finally arrived, there was much cheering and imaginary champagne toasts. We had all arrived safely in China.
My name is Rachel Greer, and I’m writing the student blog on behalf of the China Study Tour 2010 for the Albers School of Business at Seattle University. This blog will include the group activities and experiences on our trip, as well as my personal reflections and impressions. I hope you enjoy learning about China through our first-hand experiences.
After submitting my pre-departure paper from the gate waiting area (Madhu only said before we fly out…), I grabbed some snacks at Hudson News along with a neck pillow. I found on the plane, however, that while the peanut butter M&Ms were as yummy as they always are, the neck pillow was not a brilliant investment. Hainan Airways has quite possibly the tiniest seat dimensions of any airline I’ve ever flown on. When I, a 5’5” female feel scrunched and uncomfortable, I can’t imagine how the taller guys in our group are feeling.
Customs and Immigration in China provided a marked counterpart to American security. In fact, the customs folks even had satisfaction buttons at their stations. I could express my pleasure or displeasure at the quality of customs arrival! I want one of those for security at home.
The first place everyone in the group noticed upon arrival was the KFC and Starbucks. While no one went for the KFC, Starbucks provided an allure that was nigh irresistible – cool, delicious coffee drinks. Somehow, even though I ordered a caramel frappuccino, I got a caramel cream frappuccino, which is more like an iced blended milkshake than a coffee drink… so there were some communication issues, but a cream frappuccino is still refreshing after a non-stop Seattle to Beijing flight. Everyone else got the coffee they wanted, and apparently the only difference is the taste in soymilk.
Somehow, our second professor Rubina’ was stopped in Customs, we are assuming because her passport is in Urdu. So, while we waited, we observed all the people around us. My favorite was a young Chinese guy dressed like the Situation from Jersey Shore. There was also a sign for “Familie Kuh” – Family Cow in German – which made me giggle. When Rubina’ finally arrived, there was much cheering and imaginary champagne toasts. We had all arrived safely in China.
My name is Rachel Greer, and I’m writing the student blog on behalf of the China Study Tour 2010 for the Albers School of Business at Seattle University. This blog will include the group activities and experiences on our trip, as well as my personal reflections and impressions. I hope you enjoy learning about China through our first-hand experiences.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Snohomish farm
Today I stayed home from work because of the headache that prevented me from being able to walk without looking like a drunk octogenarian. I worked at the kitchen table, which overlooks the horse pasture. My in-laws have two beautiful chestnut horses (at least, I think that's what they're called). I just fed them some carrots.
I also checked on the kohlrabi, carrots, rainbow chard and basil I'm growing. The kohlrabi (white and purple) have already started to germinate, the first little sprouts are always the most fun for me to see. I may be pretty terrible at growing plants indoors, but I feel happy when I have dirt smeared hands and my knees and back ache from weeding and tending plants. I don't really like flowers all that much, although I'm a big fan of perennials. What I really enjoy is planting vegetables or fruits and then eating them when they're grown. There's just something so satisfying about sustenance gained from your own work, and knowing exactly where your food is coming from.
While I'm not a huge fan of the new commute, I love our new place. When we buy, I want enough space for a garden - kohlrabi, chard, lettuce, spinach, carrots, herbs, and cauliflower or broccoli. And I want some lovely perennial flowering plants surrounding the house and yard. I am so glad that, unless something truly odd and unforeseen occurs, I will never live in another apartment.
I also checked on the kohlrabi, carrots, rainbow chard and basil I'm growing. The kohlrabi (white and purple) have already started to germinate, the first little sprouts are always the most fun for me to see. I may be pretty terrible at growing plants indoors, but I feel happy when I have dirt smeared hands and my knees and back ache from weeding and tending plants. I don't really like flowers all that much, although I'm a big fan of perennials. What I really enjoy is planting vegetables or fruits and then eating them when they're grown. There's just something so satisfying about sustenance gained from your own work, and knowing exactly where your food is coming from.
While I'm not a huge fan of the new commute, I love our new place. When we buy, I want enough space for a garden - kohlrabi, chard, lettuce, spinach, carrots, herbs, and cauliflower or broccoli. And I want some lovely perennial flowering plants surrounding the house and yard. I am so glad that, unless something truly odd and unforeseen occurs, I will never live in another apartment.
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