Teaching in China during the Age of Reform

Abstract

In recent years, the Peoples' Republic of China has seen unprecedented movement toward economic reform. This "reform mania" played a major role in our 1988 experience as visiting professors of organizational behavior and human resource management in a cooperative MBA program with Nanjing University. The culture of reform resulted in flexible, hands-off treatment from university administrators, students' eager acceptance of Western-style management ideas, and complete freedom to teach as we wished. We describe the Chinese environment in which our program was embedded, characteristics of our program, our classroom teaching, our students' responses, and other aspects of our experience. We conclude with a few specific suggestions for future instructors.