Perdue School Invited to Shanghai Jiao Tong Conference

SALISBURY, MD---When Shanghai Jiao Tong University celebrated its 110th anniversary this spring, its College of Economics and Management decided to host the biggest international business school conference to ever take place not only in China, but in Asia.

On the invitation list were “deans of renowned business schools from around the globe,” according to the conference program—approximately 110 in honor of the university’s anniversary. They included the University of Chicago, the European Foundation for Management Development, London City University, The University of British Columbia, Ie-Instituto de Epresa (Spain), Purdue University, University of Pennsylvania, Washington University, University of Auckland, Osaka University and Salisbury University, among others.

“The deans and other representatives discussed alliances, programs and curricula,” said Dr. William Moore, dean of the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business at SU, who shared conversations and meetings with representatives from North and South Americas, Europe, Asia including India, Japan and Australia, and Africa.

“During the conference it became obvious that Asia, particularly southeast Asia and China, were growing in importance in helping expand business education, particularly international business,” Moore said.

The title of the conference was “Cross-Cultural Leadership: Integration between East and West.” It focused on four areas: international accreditation of business schools, Chinese business schools going global, integration between East and West, and cross-cultural leadership.

According to Weng Shihui, writing in the Shanghai Daily, “Few successful businesses now work with people from only one culture. … The impact of globalization and cost differences between regions means that many companies either outsource part of the business or are outsourcing partners for other businesses. …

“Because of this leaders need to be adept at managing people of different cultures. They need to be able to grasp the essence of each other’s culture quickly, because culture is so important in shaping customer or employee behavior. … a total of 70 percent of business activities are said to be unsuccessful due to cultural barriers.”
“The conference underscored China’s growing importance, not only in business education but in growing businesses globally,” Moore added.

Perdue School students participate in collaborative international programs with universities in China, France and Germany. According to SU’s Center for International Education, nearly 11 percent of SU’s graduating seniors will have had a study abroad experience. The national average is 6-8 percent.

 For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu. "