USD President's Report 2000

• asia and the pacific rim

In addition to modi fying thei r products, they also learn to change their behavior, as personal relationships permeate transactions in Asian nations to a much greater extent than in the Uni ted States or Europe. "Business people don't just walk in and make a deal," he says. "Relationships that lead to deals are cultivated over a long peri- od of time, and this often is frusrracing to Americans." Bueche potential payoffs are immense. The smdents in G in's class want to emulate companies like Motorola, whose enviable relecommuni cations success in the Pacific Rim came after a long presence in the region. Before che journey, which includes a rrip into mainland China, G in conducts a three-week session on che Internee, giving students background into each cou ntry's histo ry and culmre, wich a focus on how those co untries might fit into a company's regional marketing and production strategy. "Asia is often thought of as one mono- li rhic enti ry," G in says, "but the countries have very distinct identities." So much so that business students often take non-business courses to achieve a greater understanding of As ia and the Pacific Rim . Lance Nelso n teaches classes in World Religio n and Asian Spirirual iry in USD's religious studies department, and finds his classes increasingly attended by smdencs who plan to work in Asia. "A fo rmer student now working fo r IBM in Singapore contacted me tO say how use- ful che background in religion is," he says. "If you know even a little about the values sysrem and che traditions of the country you're in, it pays off. It creates some trust that would n't be there otherwise." Bu t it's not just business chat draws sru- dencs to Nelson's classes. W hile Chriscianiry has become somewhat incellecmalized, the mystical cradi tions and rituals of Asian religions remain much che same as they have for hundreds of years. Looking at Hinduism, Buddhism and Co nfucianism gives smdencs new perspectives on their own religious cusroms, and can hel p people of all religions reconnect with their own traditions of prayer and contemplation. "It helps t0 get a new perspective on the basic human questions chat all religions address, " says Nelson, who is president of che national Institute fo r Hindu-Christian srudies. "How these religions answer ques- ti ons about life, death and diviniry expands our smdencs' ideas of what religion is."

Left: Religious Studies Professor Leshke Tsomo was 12 when she decid- ed to become a Buddhist, and her fas- cination and belief grew deeper as she studied the religion founded in India around 500 B.C. Ordained as a Buddhist nun at age 32, Tsomo, who lived in India for 15 years, teaches Buddhism and World Religion classes and is an activist and researcher on gender balance within Buddhism. Below: I Nyoman Sumandhi, interna- tionally recognized Balinese puppet- master, performs a traditional masked dance at last spring's "Night in Bali: A Celebration of Balinese Performing Arts."

Bangkok, Thailand

Hong Kong, China

Be ijing, China

""'"~ ] Malaysia Bali, Indonesia

Professot Gary Schneider lectured on electronic commerce this summer at the China People's University and Tsinghua University in Beijing, and was interviewed on the subject by China Central Television and the China Daily newspa- per. He also visitedfacu lty and lectured at uni- versities in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpu1; Malaysia. For the third consecutive summer, the School ofNursing hosted a group ofstudents from the Institute ofClinical Nursing at National Ytmg- Ming University in Taipei, Taiwan. The students, all registered nurses, visited American health care sites to study case management systems and took a Models ofCase Management class. Business and education leaders from Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Malaysia and Micronesia are earning doctorates in leadership from the School ofEducation. Summer sessions are held at USD, but during the year students stay in their communities and use distance- /earning technology for assignments and class discussions. Students in music Professor Christopher Adler's Topics in World Music class get a taste of Southern Asia through Adler's expertise with the khaen, a Laotian mouth organ, and the ranaat ek, a Thai xylophone. Before arriving at Alcala Park last year, Adler spent a month in Thailand, honing his skills alongside local musicians.

How to do business i

Nelso n continues to ponder those ques- tions with his research on highly ideological Hinduism and the rel igion's practical impli- cations. H e's studyi ng medieval Hindu the- ology as well as the relationship between the Hin du religion and ecology in India, findin g that religion strongly affects atti- mdes rnward natu re in chat co untry. In smdying and traveling tO the Far East, Nelso n and G in each fo und a connection to their past. Nelson says Asian rel igions co n- stantly awaken him to new ideas abour his own C hristian heritage, and G in - who was born in Cal ifornia and hadn't previously studied C hina extensively - says being immersed in the business of Asia gave him a greater app reciation fo r his own C hinese background . When he needed pointers on playing the khaen, a Thai mouth organ made of bam- boo, music professor Christopher Adler hopped a plane to Bangkok and got les- sons at the place where the instrument was born.

"I enj oy caking the smdencs tO C hina especially, because they are so surprised ar the level of developmenr," G in says. "It's much more busi nesslike and capitalistic than they expect. At the same time, they realize how far some of these counrries have to go, and they wane to be a part of maki ng that happen." •

E very summer, business Professor Alan G in takes a couple dozen srudents to H ong Kong fo r two weeks. They hear from experts about the nuts and bolts of doing business in Asia and the Pacific Rim: con- sumerism, trade, financial markets, opera- tions, production. But really, they can learn al l that back in San Diego. W hat they get from the trip is context. "You don't get to do business in Asia without knowing the historical and culrural context of the countries," says G in, who has taught the Business Environment of Asia and the Pacific Rim course for six years. "In order ro be a successfu l business person in this region, you need an understanding of how to adapt your practices an d products." Just li ke the number 13 is considered unlucky in the United States, G in says that consumers in the countries the srudents study - China, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, T hailand, the Philippi nes - have supersti- tions chat co uld to rpedo an unwitti ng com- pany's product. Even the color might dam- age its chances.

Alan Gin's summer business class is part philosophy, part history and part trave- logue, adding up to all the background necessary to gain a business foothold in Asia and the Pacific Rim. Students who travel to Hong Kong with Gin get to sightsee too, and a favorite stop is the Sun Vat-sen Memorial, a tribute to the first leader of the Republic of China.

The language of music.

6 University of San Diego

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