Main Topic: Learning Values Through Local Education

Hosts: James Stanworth , Clyde Warden

Guest: Mark Forman

Many foreigners move to Taiwan or China and hit a phase of culture shock. For some, the environment is too alien and they choose to leave--especially if they have children.  Others start the whole process of localizing and working the system to maximize benefits. Mark Forman fits this profile perfectly in that he has learned how to thrive in the Taiwan environment, and through his son's local education, learned a lot about where local values come from and just how important they are.  Mark runs a business (http://www.marlinltd.com) and also blogs at (http://bbluesman.com). The business keeps him busy and the rest of his life is occupied with his family.  In this show Marks into details about how he makes his family life work well to compliment his business life.

Getting ready for crunch time, Mark's son is preparing for high school exams. Clyde has a daughter doing the same and two kids already through the system. What does this mean for marketers? Values, values, values, that's what. Every basic marketing textbook starts out stating how important it is to get close to the local consumer and understand their values. Those values, in every culture, are learned in school, when consumers are children! In a Chinese cultural setting the school system is tough going for everyone, but especially for foreigners. Mark, Clyde, and James discuss the values learned in school and what the implications are for businesspeople, as well as the business links to education in this market.

Good students stay late after school, and even average students are lugging two or three heavy book bags--this is where self discipline and an emphasis on interdependency is learned.

You have to buy into the whole thing... if you try to attack one piece you know the whole thing will fall apart.

Photos:

• 1) Kids are up early, getting to school by 7AM. 1) Kids are up early, getting to school by 7AM.
• 2) Breakfast on the roadside is normal, and convenient. 2) Breakfast on the roadside is normal, and convenient.
• 3) Volunteer crossing guards are all around. 3) Volunteer crossing guards are all around.
• 4) Even Santa lends a hand. 4) Even Santa lends a hand.
• 5) Practice books are bought outside class, but still required for success. 5) Practice books are bought outside class, but still required for success.
• 6) Group behavior is learned in school. 6) Group behavior is learned in school.
• 7) Awards are given out for nearly everything. 7) Awards are given out for nearly everything.
• 8) Official school bag, which is never enough for all the books. 8) Official school bag, which is never enough for all the books.
• 9) A gym day uniform. 9) A gym day uniform.
• 10) The winter jacket for gym days. 10) The winter jacket for gym days.
• 11) Winter jacket school uniform. 11) Winter jacket school uniform.
• 12) Normal uniform (name and number must be sewn on). 12) Normal uniform (name and number must be sewn on).
• 13) An assignment book. 13) An assignment book.
• 
• 15) The standard Geography text book. 15) The standard Geography text book.
• 16) Inside the geography book. 16) Inside the geography book.
• 17) Student's absence book (where official reasons for absence are recorded). 17) Student's absence book (where official reasons for absence are recorded).
• 18) The teacher/parent communication book, which MUST be signed every night by a parent. 18) The teacher/parent communication book, which MUST be signed every night by a parent.
• 19) Inside the book, teacher and parent comments can be seen. 19) Inside the book, teacher and parent comments can be seen.
• 20) Cram schools are standard for night time. 20) Cram schools are standard for night time.
• 21) LED signs displaying a cram school's successful students' exam scores. 21) LED signs displaying a cram school's successful students' exam scores.
• 22) Music class is a requirement. 22) Music class is a requirement.
• 23) Most parents also push private music lessons. 23) Most parents also push private music lessons.
• 24) The most popular instrument is the piano. 24) The most popular instrument is the piano.
• 25) Group behavior can be spontaneous and fun, as kids here signal their homeroom teacher. 25) Group behavior can be spontaneous and fun, as kids here signal their homeroom teacher.
•  

Show Links:

• Learning to be Chinese , by Richard Wilson, a great book with political points, but even today schools run the exact same way but with little on the political side--yet students still learn social norms
• Mark's business Website
• Mark's blog
  
• Culture shock Taiwan gives another interesting perspective on these issues: "Culture shock - Taiwan" by Chris and Ling-Li Bates
  

Bottom Line:

• Textbooks and the practice book market are a huge business throughout Asia.
• The workloads in school are often heavy, but parents can decide how much they want to take on.
• Young people learn their collective values at school, where they do nearly everything together as part of the class.
• The Asian education system makes businesspeople not only competitive but resilient.
• Chinese managers differ from their Western counterparts in company values.
• Yahoo is an example of how a Chinese mentality of the founder (from Taiwan) may have influenced decisions.
• Western managers would move on and simply reorganize while Chinese managers would try to find a solution to help existing employees.
• If you want to succeed in a Chinese market, you need to look at the values that develop in school.
• While it is hard going, young students also have fun--and this group emphasis on fun is an important clue for Western firms to key in on if they want to succeed in marketing to Chinese consumers.

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