<p>I'd have to say I disagree. I have a lot of relatives in finance (I'm Indian). Plus many of the writers in the the economists are indian, as are many in that work for international agencies. Granted, these are not top dogs in trading, but I think a lot of that also has to do with the fact that Wall Street gets most of the attention; the Indian hedge fund industry is growing quite rapidly.</p>
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[quote]
to UCLAri,
you're just naming a few out of the millions. of course there are going to be some successful asians, but the majority are not. most asians work honest jobs. i get what i work for. in business, you've got to be aggressive and on top of someone.
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<p>kguo,</p>
<p>This is as meaningless as saying, "There are only 400 whites on Forbes!" I could have named many more prominent Japanese businessmen, but I got bored of listing names for no real reason. There is a perfectly good reason why entrepreneurialism is weak in the East Asian countries outside of Japan. China, up until the 1980s, was a command economy. South Korea was largely driven by the Park regime's central plan.</p>
<p>You have very little entrepreneurialism in systems like that. And it's not just "oh their culture is different." How much entrepreneurialism was there in East Germany? In the Soviet Bloc? NONE. </p>
<p>Today, however, is a different story.</p>
<p>311grif,</p>
<p>
[quote]
One such example is that Asians consider profusely apologizing as a gesture of goodwill
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<p>I think you're thinking about the Japanese. Indians are not the same, nor are Chinese prone to bowing apology fests like the Japanese.</p>
<p>Yet there's still a good amount of entrepreneurialism in Japan...go figure.</p>
<p>^^ well unless their political system is extreme communism where the government controls everything, there is naturally going to be entrepreneurialism or the economy would go to crap.</p>
<p>311Griff,</p>
<p>And this is what occured in China up until the 1980s, correct? There was NO entrepreneurialism since everything was controlled by the CCP in Beijing. </p>
<p>Now look at today.</p>
<p>Did Chinese culture change from the Maoist era up until now, or is it just that the system changed and now people are taking advantage of it?</p>
<p>A lot of asians come to America with barely any money from Asia. They have to work full time during the school year and during the summer to pay for college (without loans, without financial aid because they don't get any). Now some of asian parents are engineers because they're good at math and science but not great at english. Does that make them "safe" people. No way, a lot of these immigrants could have easily failed along the way to America and ended up worse off than they were in Asia. They took a big risk into coming here and supporting themselves throughout college.</p>
<p>Okay, so here's is my plan. Go into medicine and pursue being an orthopedic surgeon, stable life, good income. Then get a MBA degree, build my own practice and then spread into the medical industry (there are so many opportunities!) Business by itself is too risky for me. Sure, there are people who succeed, and we can point and look at them, but it doesn't mean that everyone can attain that level. </p>
<p>To a certain extent, a person is born with the talent of businness, if you have that, then props to you and good luck in your career!</p>
<p>I know what I want to pursue! :)</p>
<p>funnyman-I would have to disagree. I think business instinct is an acquired skill.</p>
<p>I'm taking the risk and I'm going straight into finance, with no medicine/law/engineering/whatever detour.</p>
<p>The successful business people do indeed mold their business skills through experience, but innate skill is still the determining factor in the end.</p>
<p>Cause two graduates from with Harvard MBA degrees who land in the same company doing the same job with comparably drive will not turn out the same. In the end, innate skill determines who gets promoted and who gets left behind. :)</p>
<p>If you're talking about making millions, then yes you might not do it. However, who said you're guaranteed into medical school?</p>
<p>I have connections... :)</p>
<p>I don't in the business world.</p>
<p>Who's going to guarentee you a job out of med school? And who's going to guarentee that you'll be able to pass the licensing requirements (which involves a ridiculously hard test)? Who's going to guarentee that you'll go into the speciality that you picked?</p>
<p>Sure in practice, you're virtually guarenteed a job, but theoretically, you could drop out of med school and never be able to become a doctor.</p>
<p>my parents are both doctors, it runs in the blood. :)</p>
<p>for everyone saying that asians are risk averse and dont take chances, have you guys ever been in a casino? </p>
<p>they love to GAMBOOOOOOL</p>
<p>yeah, they have to have money to gamble first.</p>
<p>Just follow your dreams you guys, everything will turn out fine.</p>
<p>funnyman-that doesn't guarentee that you WON'T drop out of med school....for all I care, you might wonder "What the hell am I doing here?" the minute you step into med school then drop out. And just because your parents were something doesn't mean you are that thing.</p>
<p>Case in point: My dad's an engineer, but I suck at physics and science. I despise/detest/abhor all science. My mom's a professor. I get very impatient with kids. </p>
<p>And about the gambling thing: they're on vacation. They've probably had a few too many drinks and don't know what they're doing. I don't think a sober Asian person would gamble that much. My mom did it once in Las Vegas airport because she's never seen a slot machine before, but she stopped after losing a few dollars.</p>
<p>I still think that business skills are purely acquired. You're not "born" to be anything. A lot of whether you're going to be successful in business depends on how much effort you put in, your ability to work LIKE A DOG, and your general intelligence. Business instinct can be acquired just like social skills can be learned. You can "learn" to think like a successful businessperson by going to a business school.</p>
<p>ihateCA, (you need to change this name, too negative :) ) I probably won't drop out of medical school or residency because I know how hard it is already. I like challenges, the harder it is the more I want it. It's grueling, but it's the same in business, they recently instated a 80-hour limit on residencies, so it's not too bad. </p>
<p>Sure some skills can be learned, but I believe a lot of it is innate.</p>
<p>Doctors will always garner respect, something that is VERY important to me. And I'll never starve. Money, respect, and potential to make even more money through MBA = :)</p>
<p>I hope I've said enough.</p>
<p>Damn going through med school and then on top of that an MBA, you must enjoy school</p>
<p>I believe that business skills are:</p>
<p>98% Acquired
2% Innate</p>
<p>Therefore, the person who acquired his/her business skills is only at a 2% disadvantage over someone who has the innate skills.</p>
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you need to change this name, too negative
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<p>I'll change the name as soon as I (hopefully) get into NYU Stern.</p>