Chinese business class applies liberal arts learning to real-world problems

One Chinese course is blending business with language and culture to exemplify the liberal arts experience. 

Assistant Professor of Chinese Mei Li Inouye and her course, CHN 155: Business Culture in China, are participating in one of Centre College’s newest initiatives to teach business from a liberal arts perspective.  

“Student assignments have been designed as practical work that they can use for a job,” Inouye said. “Students do things like design an infographic on a historical event that has shaped business with China. They take pronunciation quizzes so that they can say the names of clients and collaborators correctly, and they organize, host, and make an instruction manual for a Chinese etiquette banquet that also serves as a networking and professional development opportunity.” 

The etiquette banquet brought together local business leaders, students, faculty and staff to help turn classroom learning into a real-world scenario. 

“It was fantastic to see the variety of students here, from different programs on campus,” said Ben Botiller, senior manager of sales at Hitachi Astemo Americas, Inc. “From my perspective, it was great to build this connection between our business and the College in our backyard. It’s a connection I’d like to build and grow.”  

Inouye divided her students into committees, each working on different aspects of the banquet: logistics, marketing and outreach, hospitality, table conversation, a social etiquette presentation, technical support and debriefing. Students drew up budgets and found sponsorship from Centre Global, the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD), and student organizations like the Student Government Association, Latine Club, and International Student Organization. 

At the banquet, students presented key points about Chinese etiquette and encouraged attendees to engage each other in conversation and practice cultural customs at the table. 

“With this class, I have learned more about customs and industry in China,” said Terique Murphy-Adams, a business major in the class of 2027. “With my major in business, I know I’ll be able to use this information about China and participate in the customs Chinese speakers uphold.” 

Inouye noted how the diverse pool of students from various backgrounds and majors across campus enriches the class with skills and perspectives.  

“It’s great to learn about this different culture,” said Vedant Bhong, a computer science and business major in the class of 2024. “As we talked about in the presentation, Chinese culture is big on respect. Having people show up and listen to us share what we learned over food was a great experience.” 

Vivienne Main, assistant director of Centre Global, recognized the need for campus to interact with cultures that students may be unfamiliar with — and having such an event on the Centre campus was a huge benefit to students. 

“It's really important for students to have these kinds of interactions, especially students who are interested in business, given the globalization of business,” she said. “It's crucial for them to meet people in different cultures and to have these connections. I also think it's wonderful to bring Chinese culture to campus in Danville.”  

In addition to the etiquette banquet, Inouye hosted a convocation series to address opportunities related to living and working in China in industries ranging from start-ups, consulting, fashion marketing, merchandising, automotive and human resources. Two speakers — OT Benson, president Americas of Joyson Safety Systems and Benjamin Coffin, vice president of human resources at Honeywell — delivered an in-person convocation on “Navigating Global Opportunities: Business in China.” Attended by more than 60 students, the convocation allowed students to converse with professionals with decades of experience in China and across the globe about cultural differences, work practices, lifestyle, U.S.-China trade policies and more. 

“Experiences like the Chinese Etiquette Banquet and the Chinese Program Guest Speaker Series are two ways that the relatively new Chinese Program at Centre is trying to connect students with professional opportunities,” Inouye said. “The banquet is already beginning to bear fruit as professors Maria Apostolova and Christine Goble continue their conversations with guests from the banquet by exploring internship opportunities for students in business and engineering.”