ABSTRACT
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) (Zhonghua renmín gongheguo) is fast becoming an ‘economic super-power’, of this there is now no doubt. It has transformed itself from a ‘command economy’ into a ‘market’ one, albeit ‘with Chinese characteristics’, in the past three decades (Nolan et al., 2007). But one of the critical issues facing both the Chinese government and businesses operating in the ‘Middle Kingdom’ is the lack of trained managers, hence the need for management education (guanli jiaoyu). The pace of Chinese economic growth has, pari passu, outstripped the ability of the market for labour to supply much needed managerial talent. A number of questions thus come to mind:
How is China responding to the challenge of management training and development (guanli peixun he fazhan)? Are the Chinese simply following Western practices or are there signs of management training and development with ‘Chinese characteristics’? How far is ‘soft’ technology transfer possible? How far are management forms transplantable across frontiers? How far can business schools (shangxueyuan) be adaptable to unfamiliar cultural environments? Is the MBA still the qualification of choice for employers or do we see the beginnings of resistance?
