Time for a China rise, at least in linguistic terms? American execs are preparing their kids for China, and its market, starting with the language. From the Wall Street Journal:
Pammy Boneparth already had a full schedule of AP courses and after-school sports when she decided to squeeze in a Mandarin class this school year. It has meant getting up an hour earlier to do vocabulary drills at 8 a.m. and extra homework at night.
A big factor in her decision to tackle the extra work was her father, Jones Apparel Chief Executive Peter Boneparth. He urged her to sign up for Mandarin because he sees it as a way to get an edge in a global economy increasingly dominated by China. The next time the head of the $5 billion-a-year company takes a business trip there, he’ll bring Pammy. “I’ll try to be useful,” she says.
Chief executives say language lessons for the kids help reinforce the message they give to investors — that reaching Chinese markets is critical to their companies’ growth. Some say they fear they’ve lost business because they can’t speak to Chinese customers or haven’t been able to fully participate in the social rituals that can build trust. [Full Text, subscribers only]
