What do Chinese university students expect from their future work and leaders? A transcendental phenomenological study on former International Students from China

Abstract: China has in the last three decades undergone massive economic changes due to the market reforms. This has had the consequence that many multinational companies (MNCs) have built up their businesses in China, competing for recruiting Chinese students with a higher education. This study employed a transcendental phenomenological method to explore the expectations of former Chinese International Students regarding their future work and leader. Our sample was former International students from China who has been studying abroad at Lund University, but now is back in China again. To analyze the written data from our ten participants we used the two kinds of computer software; Le Sphinx Lexica and MCA-Minerva. Our findings revealed that the students regarded salary to be the most important factor when choosing a future workplace, followed by the wish for it to provide a sense of satisfaction and a stepping stone for a future career. The common demand among the participants was that their future leader should have the ability to lead both individuals and teams, and have high levels of responsibility, motivation, and calmness, as well as having the ability to deal with emergencies and change.