BSc Computer Science with Industrial Experience

Over the past three decades, China has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world and increasingly acted as a major contributor to and an important shaper of the global political economy. Not only has China been the largest recipient of foreign direct investment in the developing world, it has also flooded developed and developing countries with manufactures and heavily influenced the international prices of key minerals and commodities. In the process of rapid and export-oriented development, China has constantly run current account surpluses with its major trading partners, held huge amounts of foreign exchange reserves, and played an increasingly crucial role in influencing the global trading and financial regimes.

China’s business organisations have been shaped by this process of great economic transformation as they have been shaping it. This module seeks to explore a range of key areas and issues in Chinese management in light of the rising power of China in the global economy. It provides an overview of the emergence, development and transformation of business systems in China over the past three decades or so. Within that context, the module examines changes in management structures and practices that have reflected both the domestic economic, political, social and cultural environments and global challenges and pressures. It undertakes an analysis of the divergence and convergence between various business practices and management models within China’s emergent capitalist political economy.

The aims of this module are threefold. In the first place, it attempts to provide a critical introduction to the existing theoretical approaches to examining the changing nature of business organisations and develops an analytical framework for understanding the institutional underpinnings of management practices in China. Furthermore, it delineates Chinese business and industrial management systems in terms of their development and transition since the 1980s and examines key organisational features associated with these systems. Finally, the module traces the patterns and processes of management and business structures in the context of the changing economic, social, political and cultural dimensions in which diverse ownership forms have been operating and new organisational and managerial models have emerged.

BMAN20142 is a free choice option for students with prior agreement from their home schools.

Over the past three decades, China has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world and increasingly acted as a major contributor to and an important shaper of the global political economy. Not only has China been the largest recipient of foreign direct investment in the developing world, it has also flooded developed and developing countries with manufactures and heavily influenced the international prices of key minerals and commodities. In the process of rapid and export-oriented development, China has constantly run current account surpluses with its major trading partners, held huge amounts of foreign exchange reserves, and played an increasingly crucial role in influencing the global trading and financial regimes.

China’s business organisations have been shaped by this process of great economic transformation as they have been shaping it. This module seeks to explore a range of key areas and issues in Chinese management in light of the rising power of China in the global economy. It provides an overview of the emergence, development and transformation of business systems in China over the past three decades or so. Within that context, the module examines changes in management structures and practices that have reflected both the domestic economic, political, social and cultural environments and global challenges and pressures. It undertakes an analysis of the divergence and convergence between various business practices and management models within China’s emergent capitalist political economy.

The aims of this module are threefold. In the first place, it attempts to provide a critical introduction to the existing theoretical approaches to examining the changing nature of business organisations and develops an analytical framework for understanding the institutional underpinnings of management practices in China. Furthermore, it delineates Chinese business and industrial management systems in terms of their development and transition since the 1980s and examines key organisational features associated with these systems. Finally, the module traces the patterns and processes of management and business structures in the context of the changing economic, social, political and cultural dimensions in which diverse ownership forms have been operating and new organisational and managerial models have emerged.

Knowledge and understanding

On completion of the module, students should be able to:

1.         Critically evaluate concepts and frameworks through analysis of complex and multifaceted challenges facing managers in China;

2.         Familiarise themselves with research methods and techniques in the Chinese context and apply them in the business world or in academic-based research;

3.         Demonstrate a systematic knowledge of:

•          Key organisational and managerial features and processes in China’s emerging business systems from a theoretical and comparative perspective;

•          Major differences in terms of business structures and practices between diverse ownership and organisational forms in China;

•          The changing economic, political, legal and socio-cultural context for business management;

•          The interrelationships between business and management practices and China’s emerging institutional and market-related constraints;

•          The effects of the global environment on China’s business processes and structures and on the ability of various enterprises to respond to and manage change.

4.         Demonstrate an ability to initiate the development of specific skills that students can use if and when they work or undertake business in China.

 

Intellectual skills

On completion of the module, students should be able to:

1.         Apply key concepts and theories in the analysis of evolving business systems and management practices in China;

2.         Critically evaluate the impact of China’s social, political, economic and cultural environments on business strategies and policies;

3.         Critically assess theoretical arguments and empirical analyses developed in published articles and books on China in particular;

4.         Develop a comprehensive and balanced understanding of the causal linkage between China’s management systems and practices and corporate strategies and organisational designs;

5.         Demonstrate an ability to conduct independent analysis and to think logically and critically.

 

Practical skills

The module will help students to develop their ability to:

1.         Effectively work independently as well as in a group;

2.         Analyse and articulate complicated concepts, ideas and propositions, both orally and in writing;

3.         Develop strategies for searching and retrieving data in a systematic and efficient manner through the use of the internet, the library and other sources;

4.         Prioritise their activities appropriately and manage their time effectively.

Lecture programme

This module will be running in ten lectures. In each lecture, the module convenor will clarify theoretical concepts and arguments and present empirical cases on Chinese business and management. The lectures will thus provide the foundations for students’ reading, thinking and writing about conceptual and empirical issues to be covered in this module. Good note-taking and review of the content will ensure good retention of the main points and establish a good revision resource. It is up to students—through keeping up with the reading and seeking out further information and interpretation—to develop their knowledge and build an understanding that can make the most of the lecture experience, seminar activity, group presentations and exam questions.

Lecture One   Market Reforms and Emerging Business Systems in China

Main themes: This lecture will examine the impact of the three-decade process of market reform on the evolution, development and change of business systems and management practices in China.

Lecture Two   Contending Approaches to Studying Business Organisations in China

Main themes: This lecture will provide a critical introduction to the three contending theoretical approaches to examining the development of business organisations in China.

Lecture Three   The Changing Context of Business Management in China

Main themes: This lecture will explore the operational and contextual environments of the firm and introduce students to the key conceptual frameworks for analysing the impact of changing business environments on the strategic management of firms in China.

Lecture Four   Managing in State-owned Enterprises

Main themes: This lecture will examine the process of corporate restructuring and its impact on management systems and practices in state-owned enterprises.

Lecture Five   TVE Management in Transition

Main themes: This lecture will discuss the rise and fall of township and village enterprises (TVEs) and examine the changing TVE business system.  

Lecture Six   Management Practices in Private Firms

Main themes: This lecture will look at the political, economic and social factors that have shaped the development of the private sector in China and explore the key organisational and managerial dimensions of private firms. 

Lecture Seven   Management of Joint Ventures

Main themes: This lecture will focus on the evolution of Chinese-foreign joint ventures in China and examine the changing patterns of interactions between Chinese and foreign managers and of management practices within joint ventures.

Lecture Eight   Business Groups: Development and Organisation

Main themes: This lecture will examine the emergence and development of business groups in China and explore their changing organisational structures and management system.

Lecture Nine   Newly Emerging Organisational Forms

Main themes: This lecture will examine the emergence of new organisational forms in the corporate sector that are manifest in technological spin-offs and industrial clusters and explore the major differences between the new and more traditional forms of corporate organisation. 

Lecture Ten   The Future of Chinese Management

 

This module will be organised around lectures, seminars, case studies and group presentations.

Assessment task	Length	Weighting within unit (if relevant)	Deadlines for submission of coursework	Deadline for the return of feedback
Group presentation     Closed-book examination	20 minutes       Two hours	20 percent       80 percent		Feedback is provided after the presentation

 

Evaluation and feedback are crucial to the success of any module. AMBS wants students to have their say on its modules. Therefore modules are formally evaluated on an annual basis, so please use this opportunity to have your say. If you have any other comments or queries regarding this module, please contact the module coordinator.

Core texts:

Chris Rowley and Fang Lee Cooke. 2010. The Changing Face of Management in China. London: Routledge.

Jie Tang and Anthony Ward. 2003. The Changing Face of Chinese Management. London: Routledge.

 

Other texts:

Lisa A. Keister. 2000. Chinese Business Groups. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Christopher A. McNally. 2007. China’s Emergent Political Economy. London: Routledge.

Doug Guthrie. 1999. Dragon in a Three-Piece Suit: The Emergence of Capitalism in China. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Barbara Krug, ed. 2004. China’s Rational Entrepreneurs: The Development of the New Private Business Sector. London: RoutledgeCurzon.

Gordon Redding and Michael A. Witt. 2007. The Future of Chinese Capitalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Kai-Alexander Schlevogt. 2003. The Art of Chinese Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

J. T. Li, Anne S. Tsui and Elizabeth Weldon, eds. 2000. Management and Organizations in the Chinese Context. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

John Child. 1996. Management in China during the Age of Reform. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Malcolm Warner, ed. 2003. The Future of Chinese Management. London: Frank Cass.

Peter Nolan. 2001. China and the Global Business Revolution. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

For Academic Year 2020/21

Updated: March 2020   

Approved by: March UG Committee