Entrepreneurship and Business in East Asia

This course is designed to introduce the fundamentals of business culture, entrepreneurship, investing, management, and running a business in Asia. This course focuses on China, Japan, Korea South, and South East Asia, and is divided into several parts. The Part 1 includes classes on China (sessions 2-11) and Singapore and Hong Kong (sessions 12-13), Part 2 (sessions 15-18) focuses on Korea and Japan, Part 3 (sessions 19-23) – on South (mainly India) and South East Asia including, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. The most important part of this course concentrates on the modern trends and nature of business and entrepreneurship in China. In the second part, we will also look to South Asia (mainly India and its neighbors) and South Asian countries (ASEAN region, mainly Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Burma) to compare the national business cultures and to find most effective ways for investments and sustainable business. As a disclaimer, I want to stress that we won’t focus on the macroeconomic problems of the region. So say we won’t discuss the economy as a whole, general structure of the regional economics, its structure, behavior, and economic stability. The course is focused on the main trends of doing business in China, SA and SEA from two perspectives: business environment taking into account the political, legislative, economic, sociodemographic and cultural environment issues, and internal companies’ environment, considering differences in national culture and its management implications This course is designed to introduce the fundamentals of economics and business culture, investing, management, entrepreneurship, and running a business in Asia. This course also concentrates on national identity in China, SA, and SEA, misunderstanding in conducting business in China, Japan, etc. We will also discuss sociopolitical risks and risk- management, decision making in China and Russia, economic factors that affect the costs of doing business in this region; market entry considerations, bookkeeping and audit, taxation, mergers & acquisitions, due diligence, human resource and staff recruitment process, employing foreign nationals in China, SA and SEA, strategies for repatriating profit from China, using trade zones and double-tax agreements, supply chain strategies. In this course, we provide students with a clear understanding of the current business trends related to trade, management and business in China, SA and SEA, as well as explaining how to set up your business in this region. We also attempt to give perspective on what will be Asia countries’ place global economics and look at some of the country’s key import and export regulations. Within the classes, we discuss a range of different topics that affect doing business in China, SA and SEA Asia, including investment models, intellectual property considerations, key taxes applicable for foreign companies, and various types of employment contracts. Topics will also include business culture, protocol, and business customs, traditions, dress, gifts, formal and informal communication, emotional dimension of business behavior in China, Japan, Korea, India, Vietnam and others ; psychological estimation of Asian and European partners, market potential and hot industries; its culture and people; current obstacles and opportunities in logistics; the historical and current problems faced by the economy; economic and political factors that affect the costs of doing business in China, SA and SEA, government relations, regulatory compliance and stakeholder alignment. Several case study focusing on Asia and Europe regional business diversity and local business traditions, way of negotiations is incorporated into this course. We will also analyze everyday situations and common mistakes that arise when conducting business in China, SA and SEA.