"Knowledge" and "Practice" --CEIBS and I
By Lin Hen, CEIBS EMBA 2004 student
In the late 1980s I was deputy director of a large state-owned enterprise (SOE). At the time I wondered why my employees were not as capable as a group of migrant workers from Liyang that were only getting paid at the end of the year. The workers demonstrated their proactiveness and courageness in being able to shoulder burdens despite receiving inferior compensations and conditions, and on top of that, they never complained. In contrast, my team composed mostly of political workers never quite performed to their full potential.
At one point I even asked the head of the migrant workers what their secret was, in hopes of transforming my workers to have the same work ethic. His answer was simply, "It is impossible because your workers are paid too well and have good conditions." Eventually this question did not burden me as much since I had grown accustomed to it. However, it resurfaced when I took CEIBS' Organizational Behaviour class.
After two decades of reforms, SOEs have been evolving into private enterprises. Many SOEs have hired migrant workers for their hard-work and ability to shoulder burdens, accepting less pay and conditions and not complaining about their foreign counterparts.
In 1993 I was appointed the Vice County Mayor in a northern county in Jiangsu Province responsible for science and technology. It was my hope to help peasants rise above the means of subsistence through better science and technologies.
However, I soon began to doubt myself. The role of county heads like myself was mostly that of mediation between departments, commissions, offices and bureaus following and enforcing document provisions. In addition to this, various branch laws and regulations often conflicted with one other, making it difficult to know which one to follow. My interest in law eventually made me the only Vice County Mayor to register for the National Lawyer Qualification Examination.
I recall when I took the exam; other examinees in the room were people that worked in courts and the People's Procuratorates of the PRC. Before the exam started, many were reviewing the exam materials in Procedural Law and complaining about its oddities, "We have never gone through such procedures." In retrospect, despite passing the examination despite the 6% passing rate and obtaining the qualifications as a lawyer, I think the main reason that I was able to accomplish this was a result of my full belief in the books as a result of my lack of judicial practice and not the months of hard work studying for the exam.
There have been major improvements in China's legal environment and change of government behaviours over the past decade; however, taking courses at CEIBS has provided me with an environment and chance to ponder the real driving force behind these changes.
At the end of 1995, I was awarded the title "Excellent Vice County Mayor Responsible for Science and Technology." That year I also changed positions from civil servant to a company employee. At that time, I knew nothing about CEIBS except that it was business school and that it was a joint venture between China and the European Union that had been established for more than a year. I was working on a cooperative project between China and the EU. As the only lawyer on the Chinese side, the first case I handled was actually a joint venture project involving more than US $3 billion.
My first time leaving China and going to Europe was the first time in my life where I felt Chinese. I met 50 to 60 Europeans and it was only then that I felt really young as I was shaking hands with all these older individuals. During the negotiations, I think the Chinese side had more of an advantage as a result of our ignorance in the rules of the game. Both sides of the chief negotiators varied in their strengths. After four years of negotiations, the result was a win-win situation. With much involvement in negotiations at various levels, I think knowledge comes from practice and an individual's capabilities are cultivated through battles.
In 2000, a time where CEIBS already established a great reputation, I changed from the position of chief economist of a SOE to a senior legal advisor of a joint venture.
Witnessing the operation of the joint venture, I really felt that both sides were really imaginative. The best way to learn about the pros and cons of a joint venture is to work at one. It is the most effective way to understand international operational mechanisms. Therefore, I was a bit apprehensive about attending a business negotiation class at CEIBS out of fear that I would muddle up the class.
In early 2003, still a party member, I was appointed by the foreign side as general manager of a subsidiary of a multinational company. China's politics and economy have developed in a way that used to be considered "capitalistic" by radical communists, so I felt like I was a spy investigating the capitalist enemy.
When I look at the top 500 companies worldwide I am always am in awe. These companies must face great difficulties. Their huge sizes make it possible for division of labour. Although it can simplify complicated problems, it can also make small ones complicated. After attending the Managerial Economics class at CEIBS, I have learnt a lot. This has given me more confidence.
Over the past 10 years, CEIBS has grown with China's rapid development. There have been so many changes. Take for example the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation who signed the agreement with the European Union, it no longer exists. Many things have contributed to CEIBSĄŻ growth: China's entry into the WTO, economic globalization, the school's history of being a joint venture organization with the EU, and the school's location in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai. However, in my opinion, the "CEIBS' way" has never changed over the decade. It continues to recruit the best professors and admit the best students.
At present any professor who knows little about China can hardly be said to be "internationalized". However, can these famous foreign professors really prescribe problems in China? Do they really have the "golden key" to explore China's wealth? How about the "shock therapy" prescribed to Russia by managerial gurus from Harvard? Russia still fails to completely wake up completely from the "shock" after so many years. Similarly, foreign professors may finally understand the problems in China, but I believe only we Chinese can solve the problems well.
CEIBS, whose internationalized edu-cation demonstrates better effects than studying abroad, is in fact not a place for solutions, but a place for discussions and reflections. By comparing foreign philosophy and cases with our own, we can detect problems we failed to see before.
Upon entering the school designed by I.M. Pei and Associates, one will see four pools surrounding the information centre, like four big mirrors, reflecting the past 10 years as well as its future development.
In review of the past ten years, I have experienced the change from an engineer to an economist and then to a lawyer and from working in a state-owned enterprise to working in a foreign company. It seems that I have done much. However, in fact, I have done only two things: "knowledge" and "practice". It is very likely the two are what I will do in the future. To better the "practice", one has to learn more "knowledge". As for me, I am approaching the age of 40; CEIBS is a good place for me to learn more knowledge.
At CEIBS, I like walking around the pools during the breaks, taking the opportunity to look at myself in the big mirrors. One day, in the glistening light of waves, I see clearly that the golden key to a bright prospect is right in my hand.
