Debunking the Myths about Doing Business in China
Business Week came out with an article titled, China: Debunking the Myths. The authors, Charles Bien and Brian Renwick, lay out eight common myths, and shed light on them. Very interest stuff.
MYTH ONE: "Western companies should view the rapid development of the Chinese economy as a competitive threat to which they are vulnerable."
[As globalization increasingly link all nations and markets, i.e. U.S. subprime problems, this view seems quite simplisti. But, in an election year in the U.S., this view might generate good will among some voters.]
MYTH TWO: "The position of Asian superpower can be won by either China or India, not both."
[A Chinese saying has it that “there can be only one tiger in a mountain.” Will that be a self fulfilling prophesy?]
MYTH THREE: "China is a huge, single market with weak local competition."
[If investors get beyond the big first-tier cities, this myth will probably disappear real quick.]
MYTH FOUR: "China has a consistent management culture, which is ripe for introducing human-resource best practices."
MYTH FIVE: "Multinationals wishing to establish operations in China should hire Chinese 'returnees' who have valuable international experience, a non-Chinese perspective, and non-Chinese business education."
[Not all “sea-turtles” d/b/a “returnees” are born equal. An Asian appearance does not make you Chinese, I guess.]
MYTH SIX: "The 'war for talent' is a Western phenomenon. No such war for talent exists in China where supply of talent outstrips demand among leading firms."
[What kind of talent are ye talkin’ about? So, it depends.]
MYTH SEVEN: "Since the reunification of Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China, the administrative and business relationships are seamless."
MYTH EIGHT: "China is a low-cost manufacturer, not a platform for product and service innovation and the development of its own intellectual property."
[Change the “is” into “was.”]
Read the full article here.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Debunking the Myths about Doing Business in China
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1 comment:
I am attracted to your comment about MYTH#5:
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MYTH FIVE: "Multinationals wishing to establish operations in China should hire Chinese 'returnees' who have valuable international experience, a non-Chinese perspective, and non-Chinese business education."
[Not all “sea-turtles” d/b/a “returnees” are born equal. An Asian appearance does not make you Chinese, I guess.]
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As a Chinese Returnee, I can relate to your comment about relating Asian/Chinese face to being a Chinese.
The often unquestioned 'wisdon' is a Returnee's single biggest value-add to his Western employer lies in his/her perceived ability to integrate with the locals better than a non-Chinese; this coupled with his/her training in Western business ethics/governance/process-oriented-thinking/straight-talking should in theory make the Returnee an ideal 'expatriate'.
In the past ten years I was twice posted to the Greater China Region. While I had experienced success at a business level, my social integration was at best described as abysmal. The respect for me as a senior manager was there, but cultural norm did not encourage after work or weekend socialization between my staff and I. Instead, my social circle comprises of a mix of non-Chinese expats and some Returnees.
My times in Greater China had also allowed me to better understand the racial composition of the 1.3b Chinese citizens. While 92% of them is classed as Han Chinese, there are NINE distinct language groups (each with its own dialects) among the Han - Gan {9 dialects}, Guan (Mandarin) {49 dialects}, Hui {4 dialects}, Jin {6 dialects}, Kejia (Hakka) {9 dialects}, Min (Hokkien) {47 dialects}, Wu (Shanghainese) {35 dialects}, Xiang (Changsa) {18 dialects}, and Yue (Cantonese) {38 dialects}.
Their lingual difference (oral at least) is as far apart as say Putonghua and Japanese or Hanggul (Korean). In essence, these nine groupings could have become a different nation had Chinese history taken a slightly different twist.
Even though I was posted to a 'province' which majority Han people came from the same region as my grandmother, i.e. Min, they wouldn't accept me as one of their own. During my other posting among the Yue speaking people, I faced the same hurdle. Most frustratiing for me is that on both these postings the locals do not regard me as a Chinese.
Who then is a Chinese? The 1.1b Han Chinese, or is it several million of original Han people who lived around the Yangtze river.
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