Walking the Talk
MA Leadership program launches in China—taught in Mandarin
“Influence comes through serving other people—especially in the workplace,” says Stan Remple, Ph.D., who developed and now directs the Master of Arts in Leadership (MA Lead) program in China. “And through serving, one also earns the trust and respect of employees.”
Remple, who has taught at TWU for the last 10 years, has served as a deputy minister and assistant deputy minister in two Canadian provinces, and earned the Governor General’s Award for his contribution to communities, citizens, and Canada. In spring 2011—on the 10th anniversary of TWU’s MA Lead—the program launched in China. While the first cohort was offered in English, all further cohorts will be taught in Mandarin.
Leading economic theorists say the 21st century belongs to China. As the world’s most populous country, China is undergoing rapid economic growth in what has been described as a second industrial revolution. In February 2011, it surpassed Japan as the second-largest economy in the world. Despite this growth, business leaders in China point out that the country’s rate of economic change hasn’t been matched by reforms needed for societal harmony and continuing business success.
The Chinese people see business as the country’s engine. They call business “the father of China” and education “the mother of China.” Says Remple, “Chinese society is essentially relationship-based. In many cases, Chinese law doesn’t matter as much as relationships.” Agreements must be built on relationships. This outlook is apparent in the Chinese word, guanxi, which indicates a positive relationship state with the people you do business with.
TWU is the first foreign university to offer the chinese people an MA in Leadership in Mandarin.
Nearly a decade ago, Remple was invited to speak at several universities in China. He has made over 20 trips since then, building relationships with key Chinese business leaders to investigate how the MA Lead program could be made relevant for China today.
“The notion of Christian values having universal application is important in China because the government recognizes that a lack of shared societal values means a fragmented country,” Remple says.
In 2009, TWU partnered with Leadership Development International (LDI), a Chinese Christian leadership development company based in Atlanta, GA, and Cypress Leadership Institute (CLI), another nationally-owned business based in China, which both share the same vision of leadership. Soon after, TWU became the first foreign university to offer the Chinese people an MA in leadership in Mandarin.
“The notion of Christian values having universal application is important in China because the government recognizes that the lack of shared societal values means a fragmented country.”
The first invited guest speaker for the Chinese MA Lead program was prominent Chinese economist, Zhao Xiao, Ph.D., who gained attention for his paper, Market Economies With Churches and Market Economies Without Churches, which argued that China’s economy would benefit from the spread of Christianity.
Many international graduate degree programs recruit Chinese students to study abroad, and in some cases, once graduated, the students do not return to China. The MA Lead program in China is a 24-month part-time program that allows students to study while continuing to work locally. This method of learning, along with offering transformational servant leadership courses in the students’ first language, reflects TWU’s service-oriented approach to education.
The first English cohort, which began in April 2011, received a positive response. The Mandarin MA Lead program launched its first cohort in October 2011.
by Jennifer Watton
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