Trinity begins

Trinity term started for me today with my first class of the term - Business in China. It was a fascinating class to begin the term with. International business in this rapidly evolving and shrinking world is dynamic and challenging as it is; business with a country like China, even more so. The country's politics, culture, markets, and legal systems are perhaps as different as they can get from the capitalistic west. Yet, more or less every company in the western world wants to do business there. So much so that it has become a cliche to say that one really cannot afford not to be in China. This paradox of evident attraction versus apparent risks makes the study of business in China even more interesting.

Incidentally, many classes, including this one, have started this term in what is still Week zero. This is partly because of complex scheduling and the availability of the lecturers, and partly because of the MBA tournament (more on that later) in the second week of May. The term promises to be the most difficult one yet. Like Hilary, we have electives and different study groups for different modules. However, unlike Hilary six different electives mean more assignments and six different study groups. Though the exact number of assignments during the term depends on the exact electives opted for, I suspect most people would have close to 15 different assignments during the term. I have 14.

I have some very interesting electives lined up for the term, in addition to 'Business in China': 'Branding and Communication', 'Marketing Innovation', 'CSR and Ethical Marketing', 'Retailing', and, 'Strategic Decision Making in Dynamic Environments'. If nothing else, this great mix of subjects should result in fantastic learning opportunities.

We are technically half-way through the year and into our last academic term (the final, summer, term is for projects, internships, theses, etc.), and the rest of the year should really fly by from here.


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