Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, and Educational Challenges of Administering a Sino-US Joint Venture Campus in China

Year 2008, Volume: 4 Issue: 3, 6 - 33, 01.12.2008

Osman Özturgut

Abstract

This qualitative study explored the political, economic, socio-cultural, and educational challenges of administering a Sino-U.S. joint-venture campus in the People’s Republic of China. China American University (CAU) is an educational joint venture between China Investment Company (CIC) and American University (AU) in the U.S. that resulted in naming CAU a branch campus of AU. Data were acquired through semi-structured interviews, surveys, and participant observations. The researcher interviewed, surveyed and observed U.S. administrators and executives, American teachers, Chinese students, and Chinese staff. This study concluded that there are many challenges of administering such a Sino-U.S. joint venture campus in China. Administering a Sino-U.S. joint venture campus in China requires a broad understanding of the host country and a significant amount of flexibility. More research is needed to understand how American the so-called American education is in China, including what the standards are and who is, as Knight (2004) says, “monitoring” and “assuring the relevance and quality” of such programs (p. 84)

Keywords

Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural

References

• Adler, N. J. (1991). International dimensions of organizational behavior. Boston, MA: PWS-Kent.
• Alston, J. P. (1989). Managerial principles in Japan, China, and Korea. Business Horizon, 32, pp. 26-31
• Andersen, J. F., & Powell, R. (1991). Intercultural communication and the classroom. In L. A. Samovar and R.E. Porter (Eds.), Intercultural Communication: A Reader. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Inc.
• Atkinson, W. (2004). Doing business in and with China: The risks are great, but so are the rewards. Risk Management, 51(3), 24.
• Bodycott, P., & Walker, A. (2000). Teaching abroad: lessons learned about intercultural understanding for teacher in higher education. Teaching in Higher Education, 5(1).
• Bogdan, R. C. & Biklen, S. K. (1982). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods. Boston: MA, Allyn and Bacon, Inc.
• Boisot, M., & Child, J. (1988). From fiefs to clans and network capitalism: Explaining China’s emerging economic order. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41, pp. 600-628
• Bond, M. H. (1991). Beyond the Chinese face: Insights from psychology. Oxford University Press: Hong Kong
• Chan, W. T. (1967). The individual Chinese religions. In Morehead, C.A. (Ed.), The Chinese mind, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, HI.
• Chan, S. (1999). The Chinese learner – a question of style. Education and Training, 41 (6/7), 294-304.
• Chen, M. (1994). Guanxi and the Chinese art of network building. New Asia Review. 40-43.
• Chen, M. (1995). Asian management systems: Chinese, Japanese, and Korean styles of business. Routledge: London.
• Chen, Z. (2002, October 17). Historical accomplishments in education reform and development. China Education Daily, 1-3.
• Child, J. (2000). Management and organizations in China: Key trends and issues. In J. T. Li, Anne S. Tsui and Elizabeth Weldon (eds.). Management and oganizations in China. London: Macmillan, 33-62.
• China International Education Association (August 1, 2004). The U.S.-China Higher Education Summit. Beijing, China.
• Cortazzi, M & Li, J. (1996). Cultures of learning. Language classrooms in China. In H. Coleman (ed.) Society and the Language Classroom. Cambridge University Press, 169-206.
• Cortazzi M., & Jin, L. (2001). Large classes in China: ‘Good’ teachers and interaction. In David, A., & Biggs, J. B. (eds) Teaching the Chinese Learner: Psychological and Pedagogical Perspectives. HK: CERC, 115-134.
• Daniels, J. D., Krug, J., & Nigh, D. (1985). U.S. Joint ventures in China: Motivation & management of political risk, California Management Review, 19(4), p. 77- 94
• Dunne, M. J. (August, 1995). Scaling the wall of China. Management Review. Eckel, P. D., Green, M. F., Caine, B. A. (2004). Curricular joint ventures: A new chapter in U.S. cross-border education? Policy Futures in Education, 2(2), 299-315.
• Franko, L.G. (1971). Joint Venture Survival in Multinational Corporations, Praeger: New York.
• Garrett, R. (Winter, 2004). Foreign higher education activity in China. International Higher Education. Boston College: Center for International Higher Education.
• Geringer, JM and L. Hebert (1991). Measuring performance of international joint Ventures. Journal of International Business Studies, 22(2), pp. 249-263.;
• Ginsberg, E. (1992). Not just a matter of English. HERDSA News, 14(1), 6-8.
• Harrigan, K.R. (1986). Managing for joint venture success, Lexington Books, D.C. Heath, Lexington.
• Hayhoe, R. (1989b). China’s universities and the open door. New York: M.E. Sharpe Inc.
• Hofstede, G. (1980). Cultural Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
• Hofstede, G., & Bond, M. (1988). The Confucius connection: From cultural roots to economic growth. Organizational Dynamics, 9(1), 42-63.
• Holton, R. H. (1990). Human resource management in the People’s Republic of China. Management International Review, 30, 121-136.
• Huang, F. (2003). Transnational higher education: A perspective from China. Higher Education Research and Development, 22(2).
• Jen, T. C. W. (2001). Cross cultural studies in Sino-Foreign joint ventures. Journal of International and Area Studies, 8(2), 37-54.
• Knight, J. (1999): Internationalization of higher education. IMHE (1999): Quality and Internationalization in Higher Education. Paris: OECD
• Knight, J., & de Wit, H. (Eds.) (1999). Quality and internationalization in higher education. Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development.
• Knight, J. (2004). Cross-border post-secondary education in North America. In, Internationalization and Trade in Higher Education: Opportunities and challenges. OECD, Paris.
• Kogut, B. (1989). A note on global strategies. Strategic Management Journal, 10, pp. 383-389.
• Kozminski, A. K. (1995). Lessons from the restructuring of Post-Communism enterprises. In Communicating organizational change: A management perspective. Cushman, D. P and King, S. S. (Eds.), State University of New York, New York.
• Kwong, J. (1979). Chinese education in transition. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
• Leung, K. (1992). Decision making. In R. I. Westwood (ed.), Organizational behavior: Southeast Asian perspectives. Hong Kong: Longman.
• Levine, J. B., & Byrne, J. A. (1986). Odd Couples. Business Week, July, 100-106
• Little, A. (2000). Development studies and comparative education: Context, content, comparison and contributors. Comparative Education, 36(3), 279-296.
• Liu, J. (2001). Asian students' classroom communication patterns in U. S. universities. Westport: Ablex Publishing.
• Luo, Y. (1995). Business strategy, market structure, and performance of international joint ventures: The case of joint ventures in China. Management International Review, 35(3).
• Maley, A. (1983). Xanadu—‘A miracle of rare device’: The teaching of English in China. Language Learning.
• Min, W. (2004). Chinese higher education: The legacy of the past and the context of the future. In Altbach, P. G. and Umakoshi, T. (eds.). Asian Universities: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Challenges. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 53-83.
• Ministry of Education. (March 1, 2003). Regulations on foreign higher education activity. Beijing: Ministry of Education.
• Mok, J. K. H. (2001). From state control to governance: Decentralization and higher education in Guangdong, China. International Review of Education, 47(1), 123-149.
• Newell, S. (1999). The transfer of management to China: Building learning communities rather than translating Western textbooks? Education & Training, 41(6).
• OECD (2004a). Internationalization and trade in higher education: Opportunities and challenges. OECD, Paris.
• OECD (2004b). Quality and recognition in higher education: The cross-border challenge. OECD, Paris.
• OECD (2005). China in the global Economy: Governance in China. OECD, Paris
• Open Doors. http://opendoors.iienetwork.org. May 2004. Accessed on July 10, 2005.
• Osland, G. E., & Cavusgil, S. T. (1996). Performance issues in US-China joint ventures. California Management Review, 38(2), 106-121.
• Parkhe, A. (1993). Partner nationality and the structure-performance relationship in strategic alliances. Organization Science, 4(2), pp. 301-324.
• Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications
• Sapp, D. A. (2002). Towards an international and intercultural understanding of plagiarism and academic dishonesty in composition: Reflections from the People’s Republic of China. Issues in Writing, 13(1).
• Shi, X. & Westwood R. I. (2000). International business negotiation in the Chinese context. . In J. T. Li, Anne S. Tsui & Elizabeth Weldon (eds.). Management and organizations in China. London: MacMillan, 185-221.
• Si, S. X. & Bruton, G. D. (1999). Knowledge transfer in international joint ventures in transitional economies: The China experience, The Academy of Management Executive, 13(1), 83-91.
• Southworth, D. B. (1999). Building a business school in China: The case of the China Europe international business school. Education and Training, 6/7,325-330
• Su, Z. (1999). Successful managers in international joint-ventures in China. The International Scope Review. 1(1).
• Sun, H. C., Vandenberghe, R., & Creemers, B. P. M. (2003). Dilemmas faced by a university president in educational reforms. Qualitative Studies in Education, 16(2), 233-250.
• The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education. No. 5, 2002.
• Tsang, E. (1999). Internationalization as a learning process: Singapore MNCs in China. The Academy of Management Executive, 13(1), 91-9.
• Tse, D. K., Au, K. Y., & Vertinsky, I. (1996). European joint ventures in China: Characteristics and entry strategies. In A. G. Woodside & R. E. Pitts, Creating and managing international joint ventures. (Eds.). Connecticut: Quorum Books.
• Tsui, A. (1996). Reticence and anxiety in second language teaching. 145-167. In K. Bailey & D. Nunan (Eds.). Voices from the language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
• Warren, D. E., Dunfee, T.W., Li, N. ( 2004). Social exchange in China: The double- edged sword of guanxi. Journal of Business Ethics, 55, pp. 355-372.
• Willis, M. (2000a). How Chinese state universities and foreign universities cooperate in an international education market: The development and application of a four tiered Sino-Foreign higher education cooperation model. Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference. Brisbane, Queensland, Paper #254.
• Willis, M. (2000b). An evaluation of entry processes used by foreign universities entering the Chinese higher education market: Was a staggered form of entry used? Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference. Brisbane, Queensland.
• Wilpert, B., Scharpf, S. Y. (1990). Intercultural management - joint ventures in the People's Republic of China. International Journal of Psychology, 25, pp. 643 656.
• Xiaohua, L. (2004). Determinations of cultural adaptation in Chinese-U.S. joint ventures. Cross Cultural Management, 11(1).
• Xiaoping, H. (2002). Soaring fees at institutions of higher learning. Chinese Education and Society, 35(1), 21–27.
• Xuan, G. L., & Graf, G. (1996). Key issues in the creation of international joint ventures with China. In Creating and managing international joint ventures. A. G. Woodside & R. E. Pitts. (Eds.) Connecticut: Quorum Books.