Monday, February 20, 2017
Week 3 Posts and Comments due Feb. 24
Hey everybody, you've made some interesting points so far, and I'm enjoying seeing you get to know one another a bit further through your thoughts and ideas. It's fun to see some conversation going on about the various topics your encountering in your reading. I'm still missing some posts or comments from some of you, though, so try not to get too behind and accrue too many late points. Happy reading this week!
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This week's reading on exploring "Myths About Doing Business in China" covers the idea that the Chinese market is easy. The thought is that as the Chinese market has become more open that everyone has jumped into the marketplace. In reality the Chinese market has become very complex an challenging. The number of regulations and laws have greatly increased but enforcement is not consistent throughout the providence. In addition, if you don't know the right people, navigating the bureaucracy is almost impossible. The attractiveness of the low cost wages is a real benefit, but only if you need unskilled labor and is then offset by the need to hire higher skilled labors in a market that cannot provide enough of them.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most interesting aspects I found in my reading this week was the idea that the central government has given more power to the Providences. From the description it almost sounded like the balance between the US Federal Governments and the State Governments. However, while some control was decentralized there is still a heavy presence from the central governments.
As we visit China this summer, I believe this will topic will provide many interesting observations.
As I began reading your post it reminded me of my book as well! Looks to be an interesting book and I will be very interested to hear how this book affects your experience in China.
DeleteIt was very interesting to read your post this week about your book. I really enjoyed reading about the correlation that you pointed out between the different governmental systems in the United States and China. Although I do not know much about the government, I do know that the Federal Government holds more power than State Governments in the United States which according to your post then interestingly parallels that of the Central Government in China and the Government of the Providences.
DeleteThe government in china does control almost every aspect of life and commerce. I was reading that in the 1960s there was a government mandate that people in their work groups have to get permission from their work group leader in order to marry or move out of the work group. It is sad that so many people from around the world are not able to have basic rights as to decide where to live or who and when to marry.
DeleteThis week's reading on "Acknowledge the Fog of the Future" focused on the ever rapid shifts of regulations at multiple levels of government, global markets, as it relates to business growth and national GDP. It discussed how these variables have had a tendency to fog the foresight of leaders and managers in the business environments. This forces entrepreneurs to accept the "fog" that obstructed the future and focused on anticipating and seizing unforeseen opportunities, responding to unexpected threats, constantly preparing for contingencies, and raiding outmaneuvering other start-ups. All in all it focused on more short-middle term growth that could hopefully build a bases for the future, namely a capital base.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that short-term planning, at least in this chapter, was given an increased glorification than traditional western perspectives might have on the short-term.
Good to know that different books share the same issues. What I read this week also talked about the fast pace of regulations yet further explained that in addition to regulations changing rapidly that there was not equal enforcement throughout the country.
DeleteYour comment about short term planning jogged my memory. Earlier in my reading the author comments on the short term focus in current Chinese business culture. He briefly explained that the current short-term focus of both native Chinese and multinational firms has to do with survival and squeezing maximum profit from low labor costs.
DeleteMultinational firms want to quickly take advantage of low labor costs, maximizing profit in the short-term. In order for native Chinese firms to survive, they have to focus on short-term profits to maintain market share and not get squashed out. Mr. Gallo points out that this short term focus negatively affects the leadership culture in China because firms do not have as much capital to invest in leadership building programs.
This week as I was reading "The Chinese Way to Business" I had to take note of the idea that Western business people must be very aware while doing business in China. The author mentioned that the Chinese have an extraordinary ability to entertain, please, and distract foreigners. Although we will not be creating partnerships or corporations with different Chinese business people during our visit, we will be interacting with numerous business people including street vendors and restaurant owners. I believe that this is good to keep in mind as we travel overseas so that we do not become distracted and end up paying more money for a product or being taken advantage of and receiving a bad deal. I believe that there is a large possibility that while we are there, some of the street vendors will try to charge us more for products which has been mentioned several times during our meetings. Therefore, this is very important to take be aware of.
ReplyDeleteI am very excited to continue reading and I look forward to uncovering more ways to do business and things to be aware of during our travels that we can all benefit from.
My grandpa went to Russia back in the 1950s or 60s for his company and he said that the business culture was very different than what it was here in America. One thing that I found very interesting and not necessary was that if ones coat did not have a little... loop to hang on a hook, they would become less friendly and more difficult to work with. It is amazing how different cultures have small differences.
DeleteMitchell, your comment made me so curious, I did a little research and came upon this article about the tyranny of Russian coat checkers via a travel website: http://www.passportmagazine.ru/article/1430/. Apparently, coat checking is a major part of Russian culture, and they don't use hangers, but hooks. The lack of a hanging loop has so angered some coat checkers that they have punched a hole in the coat! While it seems a little silly on the surface, it actually reflects a deep sanctity in Russian culture for the indoor space. So fascinating--thanks for sharing some of your own experience to enrich ours!
DeleteAs I continued my reading through this week I underlined many things in my book, "One Child." Mei Fong connected the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing to China trying to show the world how great it was as a nation like any host of the Olympics would. But it was all a hoax! So many things that took place just in the opening ceremony (if known) did not uphold/relate to China. Just to name a couple of things: the fireworks seen on tv were computer animated, the little girl who sang, lip singing (originally it was supposed to be a different girl but she was not pretty enough so last minute they switched to a prettier girl). It was all a cover up over the disaster that had just occurred which was a massive earthquake that killed 69,643 people with 17,923 missing. How does this all relate to China's one child policy one may ask? There were children that were sent away to school who died in this earthquake. "but the earthquake was not the government's fault." Correct but the situation that the children and parents were in (single children households who's kids died) was directly from the one child policy. I am interested to read more and find out anything while in China.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like such an interesting book! I've always been interested to find out more about the "One Child" policy in China. I've heard a lot surrounding the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics but I never knew that all of that was true! I'm really interested to hear more about your book in the future.
DeleteI don't recall where I was reading it but the one child policy is definitely controversial. What I read talked about the idea that there is a whole group of individuals that were never "born" according to records but are living in China.
DeleteThis is so interesting! Because your book focuses on the one child policy, which is now not existent as of a few years ago, I want to hear more about it because my adoption is the result of that policy.
DeleteAlso, Ryan, my book mentions that as well!
In my recent chapters of "China Fortunes: A Tale of Business in the New World" we begin to see the change in economic climate. Jack's own secretaries from his office began to ask him for stock tips, and at this point it was evident: the golden age of an easy money fueled Wall Street was on the rise. At the time, the author was selling Catapult Energy, a company he started 3 years earlier based in China, for $1 billion dollars. Unbelievable growth in such a small time. The recipe was simple to grow a company, since they used cheap Chinese equipment, cheap service, and the ability to spend it wherever he pleased due to relaxed laws (for the time being). We're really starting to see the ease and pace in which China began to prosper. I'm looking forward to learning more about how the Chinese came into such an age of prosperity, and how we can learn from their strategies that apparently work so well!
ReplyDeleteThat's very fascinating Jesse! It is great to learn how fast China grew from one point to the next; especially financially. I'd be interested to see how volatile their stock market is.
DeleteThat sounds really interesting!
DeleteI honestly have no idea of how China became so powerful and I look forward to learning more about it through your book!
As I have progressed through The People's Emperor Mao, I've been enjoying learning about how Mao Zedong became the person that we know him to be today. In the chapter I read this week, it talked about his early education and how he valued classical reading and when he first heard about America. It was interesting because he talked about how he looked up to George Washington and Napoleon. My question while reading was: how did he look at these two figures of somewhat differing political ideology and adhere to communism eventually? I'm sure I'll find the answer as I continue, but for now, I'm just going to continue to enjoy the book.
ReplyDeleteThat's really interesting! Especially how he looked up to such different figures who really had different aims. I want to hear more about how his political views developed as well.
DeleteOne way that I think Moa might have looked up to people like Washington and Napoleon was in their legacies as strong leaders and how they changed the political landscape of their respective regions. I think that one way that Moa might have been influenced would be because he too wanted to be a strong leader and to change China, but to take different methods politically.
DeleteI find the Emperor Mao's interest in George Washington and Napoleon very curious like how did he relate those two political views and still have communism. I look forward to reading about the developments that lead to his political view. But the book in general sounds interesting learning about China's leader and his journey.
DeleteThis week I am continuing my reading of "Made in China: Secrets of China's Dynamic Entrepreneurs." I'm fascinated more and more by the way the chinese entrepreneurs move with their flow in business, especially entrepreneurship. Zong Quinghou was very successful in the beverage industry by venturing from nutritious drinks, to purified water, then to cola. Before he attacked the cola industry in China, he paid special attention to detail to the statistics and frequency of sale of his products. He would do this by personally and physically going into small merchants or shops in deep, rural communities and study the dates and serial numbers of the bottles. The newer the tags and seral numbers, the better ratio of distribution his product was for the particular community in China. After creating a form of statistical data for his product, he introduced his own form of Cola. I found his marketing very critical because his first announcement of the cola was during the 1998 world cup in France. He knew that many people were attentive to the game and the launch was a success. At the time, only 30% of drinks bought in China were essentially cola; and the two companies dominating that sector was Coke and Pepsi. His future cola business was a success when compared to Coke and Pepsi due to the fact that Future Cola grew a whopping 550% in just two years compared to Coke's (12%) and Pepsi's (43%) growth percentage from 1998 to 2000. I'm very excited to read more of Zong's company and how it truly came into fruition.
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest areas where Chinese culture is the reverse of Western culture is in the area of trust. Especially after governmental abuses in the Communist era and the cultural revolution, Chinese think that the government agencies and business firms are out to get them. While Americans do often distrust the government or firms, it is not to the extent the Chinese do. Moreover, Americans tend to trust other people. As one Chinese man said, "Americans will trust you until you do something bad, then they will not trust you anymore." To him, that was a strange idea because in his culture, people are only trusted after many interactions and experiences.
ReplyDeleteReflective of this distrust of other people, Chinese courts until recently presumed the suspect was guilty until proven innocent. Depending on the era of history, if the suspect couldn't be proved guilty, they would be punished for a probable crime, which would be lighter than the sentence for someone who definitely committed that crime, but would still be a punishment.
I also read about the Chinese ideas of etiquette and, in particular, gifts. In China more than in any other country, the book says, gift giving is important. In fact, some important people receive so many gifts that it is a burden to them.
So far, this book has really helped me understand some of the thoughts of friends and family members who are Chinese and why they view certain things in a different light than Westerners, and I think it will help me to relate better to Chinese in business as well.
Maybe I am prejudging but it seems like the Chinese seem to be okay with their government. At the same time I can understand how the Chinese find it convenient to go along with what the government commands to get what they want or out of fear.
DeleteThis week I learned that harmony is a really big deal in China. It is part of their heritage and everyone tries to do their best to not lose face. For foreigners, it is best to try to avoid any type of confrontations, maintaining temper not raising their voice etc.
ReplyDeleteSometimes though, Chinese people will use this to their advantage to search for weaknesses in a foreigner and to easily dominate a situation.
Another thing that I learned was the term "Guanxi". When someone has "guanxi" it means that this person is very powerful and can influence others, doing and asking for favors.
The last thing is that Chinese people are very superstitious the numbers 4, 44, 444 and so on are of bad luck. These superstitions will often affect how business is conducted and when it is conducted.
That is really cool how China strives to be harmonious when in America its a much different environment. We all want peace but it will be interesting to see how harmony is integrated into China's culture.
DeleteIt is easy to look at something like guanxi as bribing from a Western viewpoint. Remember, though, that as a collectivist culture, it is much more natural to take care of one's own; Chinese businesspeople are highly concerned about maintaining relationships and drawing potential business partners into a more intimate circle.
DeleteAs I was reading a chapter in "What Everyone Needs To Know About China's Economy" this week I learned a bit about China's agriculture, land and rural economy. Although less than 10 percent of China's gross domestic product comes from agriculture compared to industry and services, almost half of China's population lives in rural areas and about 300 million people work in the agriculture industry. What really surprised me was that farmers do not own their own land but have contractual rights to it instead. The rural economy is very important in China but unfortunately there are not many rights. Using different methods like large-scale agriculture and townization China is slowly reforming its agricultural rights.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is really interesting, 300 million people work in agriculture. That is a lot of people in my mind. I also had no idea that they had such little power when it comes to owning their own land. A question I have about the contractual rights is, what do they have to pay or do in order to have those rights? Do they have to pay it back, does it have to be through what they produce? I can't wait to hear more about China economy and how it works.
DeleteAlong with my reading I have been listening to a lecture of the past 200 years of Chinese history by professor Richard Baum. As I continue in the lecture series, it is very helpful in understanding Chinese culture and how past events have influenced current Chinese business culture.
ReplyDeleteOne interesting thing to note is the switch from a planned economy to market economy and how this has impacted hiring practices and promotion attainment. In the early formation of the Chinese Communist Party, trustworthy companions were difficult to come by. I believe this was only exacerbated by Mao, who was known to be manipulative and power hungry. When China began its move from the cultural revolution to a planned economy, trusted individuals were given good jobs based much upon their service to the Chinese Communist Party, not talent or leadership ability. Promotions were given not based upon productivity or results, but loyalty and consistency. As China continues to move further toward a market economy, This has grown much less common, but can still be found in state owned entities.
I would love to see Western culture adopt the family mentality in business. If we reward loyalty and consistency, we develop an 'empire' mindset to the advantage of the brand and by word of mouth.
DeleteThis week my reading was about students testing to become a white collar in society. From a very young age the students are studying day and night to take gaokao to enter the top high schools of their region. After they have taken that test students start studying for the next test for three years to enter the best university. For students who come from middle class or high class they have a much higher advantage to pass because they do not have to worry about working to survive unlike the lower class rural students.
ReplyDeleteYour book sounds so interesting! It is amazing to see that even at a young age the amount of dedication and hard work these students put into preparing for these exams. I also see some similarities in the United States and China when taking into consideration the middle class and high class having a greater probability of passing. I look forward to reading your other blog posts!
DeleteIt's interesting to see how even at a young age, it's already acknowledged that some students have advantages over others. There is clear privilege.
DeleteThis chapter in "Leftover Women was very interesting to me because it continued to talk about how property ownership related to economic disparities between men and women. According to the author, since males in marriages are most likely to have full ownership of houses. When houses accrue wealth over the years, that contributes solely to the man. This puts men in the position to gain and have much more overall wealth than women. While there still is a pay gap between men and women, which is even larger than the U.S., the wage gap is not the sole determinant of overall wealth disparities. This raises the important question as to how women's issues are seen comparatively by country.
ReplyDeleteThis part of the chapter made me think about how economic inequality and women's issues are seen differently according to region. In an underdeveloped country, the fact that there are so many educated and successful women would mean that there is high economic and social equality, but in reality the best and brightest in that demographic are being pushed out both socially and economically. This chapter broadened my idea of how gender issues in the Unites States and other countries in the world, no matter how developed, still differ drastically.
Very interesting Rachelle. I have long been fascinated by the differences between cultures and countries in terms of how it makes people behave. I know that issues of gender do vary greatly between countries. For example, I was fascinating to see the different views of modesty that women are held to in different parts of the world. In Ghana for example, the shoulders and upper arms are considered very private while areas that we would consider very immodest are left bare. While this is a little different than wage and property inequality, I still find it interesting and informative to learn more about other countries in the ares
DeleteThis week I read the next Stratagem from The book The 36 Ancient Chinese Strategies for Modern Business. Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao. Avoid a head-on attack and wait until your enemy is despersed. Subdue your opponent indirectly by attacking his week spot.
ReplyDeleteThe story is told of the period during the Warring States in China. Around 353 BC the sate of Wei launched a full force attack on the state of Zhao. Zhao asked the state of Qi for help. General Tian Ji led his army toward the army of Wei, planning to attack them in battle. However, general Tian was counseled to not attack directly because he had much less men. So instead, General Tian Ji attacked the state of Wei. When the army of Wei heard this they rushed back to the save their towns. However, after the long march they were ambushed and defeated.
There are several modern applications for this. For example, neighborhood store survives and thrives against the powerhouse. Here a small store (General Tian Ji) faces a large competitor (Wei) . In order to survive the small store can not try to compete directly against the big store on price, economies of scale or scope. Therefore, they must attempt to fight against the competition in a different way. They do this by specializing in or tailoring their approach to a very specific. In this way, the small store "besieges Wei" to "rescue Zhao".
The more I read this book the more I have been impressed by what they have to say. There are some many practices that we think the western or business world has developed when in truth they have been around a lot longer. I am curious to see what is in store next.
This week as I continued reading, "The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom" it began discussing business that American and China have done. In the 1700s China was very hesitant to do trade with Westerners, so they set compounds. These compounds were called "factories", where the Americans and other countries could trade with special merchants called the "Thirteen Hongs." The "factories" were cut off from the general population, right off the Perl River. Many laws were set up, but the most interesting law that was set up for trade was the fact that Americans were not allowed to learn Chinese. Because of this they created a new language called "pidgin" this was a mix of English, Portuguese, Dutch, French, and Cantonese. The word "pidgin" means "business." Another rule that was very surprising, yet understandable was that, "a foreigner was prohibited from spreading Christianity." Although we are going to China for Business, History, and English we have a great opportunity. There are still many rules in China about Christianity, so we may not be able to tell them openly about Jesus, but we will be able to show our character by being kind, loving, and joyful, like Jesus was. I know that our group will have matching polos which may make the Chinese curious, so if we share our Christianity through our behavior and actions our group will have the opportunity to be disciples. We will be able to give our school, group, and church a good reputation, hopefully bringing some one to Christ. I can't wait to continue reading my book to find more interesting facts.
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts Autumn--keep thinking critically and considering how what you're reading will tie in to future travels.
DeleteThis week, I continued reading "How To Do Business In China: 24 Lessons In Engaging The Dragon." The book highly emphasized that China is not a monolithic market. This means that China is composed of a very diverse set of regions that all have different and varying levels of development, so they each require their own market strategy. The author suggests that it is important to research and plan your approach when deciding to enter the market in China. This is due to China's market diversity. For example, coastal provinces are far more wealthy and well developed when in comparison to the inland regions. He suggests that when entering the market choosing the most "obvious but saturated" choice, the coastal provinces, is not always the appropriate entry place. He instead suggests to consider the second and third tier cities or even inland provinces so they could obtain less competition, preserve local jobs, and maximize fiscal revenues. Knowing the answers to the author's following four questions can greatly help one address their strategy for entering the market: What are its goals and aspirations in China's domestic market?, What segments of the domestic market will be targeted?, How will it win market share in those chosen markets?, and What capabilities must be in place before moving in? Overall, this book has been thoroughly interesting and I am looking forward to learning the next lesson on how to do business in China.
ReplyDeleteAs I have been reading more, I have found out that Chinese adoptions started off as an extremely low-key, undercover, super sketch process. Before adoptions became a government process, there were families who were going undercover and hiding children and not registering them as a part of the population just so they could keep them. So, China has/had a one-child policy and as you may or may not know, in China it is the boys who are favored more in their culture. If a family had a girl first, they would many times have forced abortions or abandon the child at a number of different places. (Bus stops, police stations, market places, etc.) However, in more rural areas, the once-child policy was not as strict. Of the families interviewed, there were a few who had a number of daughters aside from the prized son. I also found out that there were/are domestic adoptions in China, something I never even fathomed. It is an old Chinese tradition to have a mother, father, daughter, and son for the "perfect and complete" family. There are Chinese families who pay off the big fine to have a daughter and a son in order to fulfill this old tradition. There is also the idea that a daughter brings happiness, so. there are families who adopted domestically specifically for that reason. Another interesting fact is that in China parents are able to file to be the child's biological parents. Of course in an international adoption this isn't possible, but I thought it was interesting that the government would allow parents to lie to their children and have some legal document account for them to be "biologically related". I also found out that in the early 1990s, when international adoption was staring to surface, that BBC made a documentary to appeal to foreigners, showing the horrible conditions that abandoned [girl] babies are put in. Of course, much of it was true, but it was also skewed in favor of foreigners. This then planted the idea of "an unwanted abandoned baby girl in need of a family" into many heads which then started the growth of international adoption. I am looking forward to reading more about the adoption process and how it came to be, along with getting to the families' personal journeys of loss/growth.
ReplyDeleteWow! I'm surprised they had domestic adoptions in China, that's something I didn't know and find shocking because of how much they try to limit their population. I've also noticed the the perfect and complete family is true today even for Chinese how live in the U.S. I have a friend back home who is Chinese and his parents kept the tradition of having a "perfect and complete" family after having him and his sister. He's also not allowed to date unless their significant other is also Chinese. Another thing I find interesting is how in China they prefer sons over daughters but in South Korea more boys are put up for adoption than girls. I just find that interesting because these two countries are so different even though they are so close in a geographic and even culture sense.
DeleteIn this part of Factory Girls I read, it talked about a character named Wu Chunming. She was describing her typical day working in a factory and how she doesn't have enough time to get everything done. She talks about how she works in the factory for twelve hours, leaving the remaining twelve hours to eat, wash her clothes, shower and eat. However, this leaves very little time for reading and learning. While reading this, it really hit me how extraordinarily difficult it is to rise above poverty or working a factory job. Essentially, to rise above it, you have to educate yourself, but these sorts of work environments leave little time for that. It makes me think of a term I learned in another class "Strong as they will. Weak as they must." In these sorts of political climates, the lower class does whatever they must to survive. On the other hand, the upper end of society can do whatever they want and force the lower class into a lesser quality of life.
ReplyDeletethe book i am reading is now starting to describe the efficiency of chinas economy and how much it has changed in the passed twenty years. the chinese economy is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. in the passed twenty years, industry has started to contribute for more than 50% of chinas economy and agriculture has decreased significantly.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting in my reading that dating websites were a recently a knew thing in China. People are searching for love and hoping to find a good match outside family matchmaking. One of the high requirements for an man to be consider an eligible man to get married to in china is that he must have a house or own his own apartment. Woman do not want to live with a man who lives with his mom because she does not want the mom bossing her around. Many Chinese men do not consider themselfs ready for marriage unless they have a house of there own.
ReplyDeleteThis week in "China Business Culture" I started getting very excited because I was getting into the traditional Chinese business values. The chapter started with the Chinese belief in Confucianism by first explaining what it is and how it influences the Chinese. What I found interesting about reading about Confucianism is how it highlights valuing collectivism, hierarchy, and "face." Collectivism emphasizes the importance of harmonious interpersonal relationships. Unlike Americans, who encourage and individuals to do their own thing the Chinese avoid competition and work in unity so they will all look good not just one person. Reading about the hierarchy I came a across a Chinese saying that supports the hierarchy system, which is that "if an Emperor asks a subject to forfeit his life, then the subject must do so without question; and a son must sacrifice himself, if his father asks him to do so." Reading that quote was quite surprising to me because their is evidence that even today the Chinese people still accept inequality not just in their social life but also in their work life. My favorite part of this chapter was reading about "face" which is the concept of self-image. For the Chinese "face" does not solely apply to one's own self but also the relationship with others. The Chinese people have concerns with how to protect or enhance their "face" and others "faces." It is a relationship-oriented and their are many different aspects of face such as 'losing face', 'protecting face', 'having face', and many others that the Chinese use in the workplace. In my opinion,I believe that a lot of their business values comes from their Confucian culture influences.
ReplyDelete