We spent today learning a little about the private sector in Shanghai. We had the opportunity to meet with part of the leadership team of a textiles manufacturing company. The company has a great story– the founder developed technology to improve textiles manufacturing while he was in school and now has a company that sells its products around the world and has twenty offices in China. What I found most interesting about our conversations with the company’s leadership was the influence of Buddhism on their company’s culture and practices. We were told that Buddhism’s philosophies of remaining respectful to all people, sharing in others’ happiness rather than being jealous, and aiming at doing good so that it might benefit others are what drive this company to succeed. As we toured the factory at around 5pm, we noticed that most of the space was empty –our lecturers mentioned that their company allows its employees to leave early in order to high traffic. I was very impressed with the thought and consideration offered to the factory workers in the organization, it was the prefect exemplification of the values they mentioned earlier in the day.
Tags: Buddhism, China, Company, International Relation, Shanghai