DWU students acquaint themselves to Chinese culture, philosophy of business

The Chinese military strategy of knowing your enemy has been around for more than 2,500 years and is still relative today; in fact, the last time someone mentioned “The Art of War,” it was probably in reference to a business strategy.

It seems fitting, then, that the philosophy of knowing an opponent would lead American business students back to where it all began. A group of 10 people from DWU joined a group from the University of South Dakota in spring 2010 and traveled to China to study the history, culture and business practices of the fastest-growing economy in the world.

“Students need to understand the international component of business; it really is more relevant now than ever, and it’s going to become even more relevant,” said Wade Druin, associate professor of business at DWU. Druin has been to China six times and was formerly the director of the East Asian Institute at the University of South Dakota before coming to work at DWU.

The group visited three cities, Beijing, Xian and Shanghai. Each city offered a different flavor and a different cultural or business aspect.

Read more
To read the full article about the 2010 China trip, visit the January 2011 issue of Wesleyan Today and scroll to page 13.