Previous research suggests that guanxi "costs" are significantly higher for private Chinese enterprises versus all other enterprise types, i.e., state, township and village (TVE), domestic and foreign enterprises. Also, consistent with its cultural context, guanxi is considered to be equally important in business as it is in life for all types of Chinese enterprises. Herein, the discussion is extended to describe the concept of guanxi as a means of garnering social capital in order to maintain legitimacy. Furthermore, some practical means are suggested for entrepreneurs and small business owners to build a necessary foundation for survival.

Companies spend billions of dollars on formalized training, and other less formal methods of learning are perhaps even more pervasive. For these expenditures to be fruitful, organizations must ensure that their employees continually learn from an appropriate mix of sources-training and otherwise-and that the work environment encourages the acquisition and application of new skills and ideas. This exploratory research examined the continuous learning environment in four countries: United States, Japan, Korea, and China. The goals of this research were to (1) examine whether a continuous learning environment survey developed in the United States would translate well into other languages, and (2) gather initial data on the patterns of factors that influence continuous learning in these countries. Results suggest that the Dave Flynn is Professor of Management, Entrepreneurship, and General Business

No abstract

Japan has engaged in rice farming since 300 BCE. The rice farmers are highly respected as an integral part of the Japanese cultural tradition. Soon after the end of the second world war, farming cooperatives were established to ensure the livelihood of the rice farming community. This has been achieved through high tariff walls among other forms of protectionism. With the Trans Pacific Partnership under negotiation, the farming sector must reduce their tariffs. Herein, suggestions are made as to how the rice farming industry can be sustainable if and when the tariff walls are reduced.

No abstract