Lowry to lead university's first trip to China in May
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Lipscomb’s College of Business will host the university’s first trip to China May 10-19, and the busy schedule of a college president has not stopped Lowry from going on the trip and helping business faculty plan a valuable experience for the students.
“It’s very important that our students recognize that chances are good they will be working in a global economy, maybe a multi-national business, right here in Middle Tennessee,” said Lowry, who led student trips to China for seven years at his previous position as director of the Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution in California. “That was not the case 25 years ago.”
Lipscomb’s Senior Vice President of Advancement Joe Ivey just returned from China where he participated in a 10-day trade mission led by Mayor Bill Purcell.
China has been an area of focus for Lowry since he took on the leadership of Lipscomb in fall 2005. His background as a visiting faculty member at the City University of Hong Kong and Shantou University, put him in a unique position to see the value of spending time in China, a country that very much wants to be a world player, but is very different from most other global leader nations, he says.
“It’s not a democracy, but they have found a way to be comfortable with a free-market economy. That’s something we have not seen before,” notes Lowry.
Last spring when Lipscomb business faculty and students returned from a trip to Switzerland, he suggested that the next global venture should be to China, said Charla Long, assistant professor of management, who is coordinating the trip along with Steve Yoho, professor of management.
Students will visit Hong Kong and Beijing, meeting executives at a different global company each day. The agenda includes accounting firm Deloitte and Touche, Hong Kong Disneyland, the Peninsula Hotel, a manufacturing facility and an advertising firm.
Lowry expects the trip to get students really thinking about the differences between American and Chinese culture and how that effects business operations and relationships. The Chinese culture engenders a very different view of the rule of law, individual rights and truth, all of which can affect a business relationship, he said.
“Most of us have very little appreciation of what’s going on in China and India and few of us understand the full impact of those countries,” said Lowry, noting that China is five times larger than the United States. As a small example of China’s impact, he mentioned an observation he made one evening shopping for his grandchildren at Toys R’ Us during inventory time. He noticed that every single crate of toys was marked, “Made in China.”
“Today many organizations have an international dimension, either as part of a multinational organization, selling abroad or drawing on foreign suppliers,” said Yoho. “To compete successfully in a global marketplace is difficult, if not impossible, without international experience. China holds many of the world's most dynamic regions today, and its complexities make it an ideal study for future organizational leaders.”