Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Week 3 Posts Due March 6
Hey everybody, some interesting points so far. 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. Happy reading this week, and enjoy a break from blogging over the spring holiday!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This past week I have read about the "great atmosphere". What that entails is how outside business people add flavour and a different approach in doing business which amplifies the business atmosphere. The author writes in this chapter about a friend of his who was originally from Minnesota and was doing business in China. A colleague of his invited him to his wedding. Upon arrival, he was surprised to see the bride, groom, and entire wedding party who were waiting outside the banquet hall to greet him. He was then seated at the head of the table and even invited to accompany the bride and groom as they made rounds of toasting each table. Another one of his colleagues came up to him afterwards and thanked him for attending the wedding and adding to the great atmosphere. However, he knew that he was nothing but an exotic decoration. The author closes this chapter by describing how as foreigners living and doing business in China, they are here only to add a bit of atmosphere - along with some technology, know-how, and money of course.
ReplyDeleteThrough the reading this week, it has been brought to my attention how outsiders can really create a unique atmosphere within the Chinese business industry. The story above is just one example of how achieve success in networking while adding to the "great atmosphere".
That story is pretty funny. We outsiders might not be considered very useful, but at least we'll feel appreciated. :) I heard from a friend who lived in China for many years that anyone who isn't ethnically Chinese will always be considered an outsider even if he or she have lived in China for decades. It's a lot different from the US over there...
DeleteYour reading sounds very informative. I will have to use this 'great atmosphere' to try and get into some elaborate gatherings. I have had similar experiences like that in Zambia but it can be reversed. I am glad that the Chinese are excepting verses pushy. It will be interesting the get the normal vibe of Chinese rather than just the business setting.
DeleteMy reading this week was most about how the Chinese perceive outsiders. For example, Americans are often thought of as friendly and open though perhaps a little naive. Compared to Chinese history and culture, our history is perceived as pretty short and unimportant. The Japanese are often considered hardworking but untrustworthy due to the turbulant history between those two countries. My book gives plenty of other examples of how the Chinese relate to other nationalities as well.
ReplyDeleteThe Chinese stereotype themselves based on where they live in China, similar to how we do it in the United States. In the US, Southerners are sometimes stereotyped as laid-back, hospitable, and very polite. In China, people who live in southern China are considered very loud and boisterous. They can be annoying when they get together in large numbers because of their chatter. Those who are from the North are believed to be cold and aloof. Not the fun loving people of the South.
It was a really interesting read this week. I feel like Im gaining a lot of insight into Chinese culture. I look forward to finishing the book.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteOlivia, your book sounds pretty interesting. It will be interesting to show up in China and see if the stereotypes are true. I thought about re-reading your post to memorize what stereotypes apply to which geographic regions so that when we go I can have that in mind, but I decided I'll try to have no pre-conceived ideas before we leave. China is huge, so it makes sense that people are vastly different in different parts.
DeleteFrom "Business Leadership in China": Over 70% of big companies in China cited leadership as their highest need. I had no idea these people were so far behind in terms of management skill. The book highlights a few main reason that help explain:
ReplyDelete1. Most of China's would-be successful business leaders of today were toiling in the fields during the Cultural Revolution instead of running companies. Now they lack the experience to effectively manage.
2. Leadership development in not a priority for the Chinese.
3. Chinese managers usually care more about a persons skill level than their personal character, and so they can sometimes end up with unreliable (but smart) workers who try and circumvent managers when getting things done.
China is characterized by mystical religions far more than I realized. Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism all play a huge role in how people think. Buddhism causes people to look for answers within themselves, Daoism causes less formality in relationships, and Confucianism drives patriotic-leadership in companies. I am sure that with these seemingly positive after-effect of religion in China there are also a few negatives, but my book did not cover them. Religious heritage really does make a difference in how things are run, no matter where you are in the world.
I had no idea that China lacked management skills either. The history of China really shows when one looks closer into businesses. My reading suggested that without understanding the Cultural Revolution it is impossible to understand China, that appears to be evident here as well. The Cultural Revolution took away the opportunity for experience which is now appearing in a lack of management. Religious history also seems to play a big part. The ideas that are ingrained in Chinese culture are evident in the workforce and seem to not be necessarily beneficial. It seems as though the business mindset is a rather new idea for people.
DeleteThe second and third chapters of How China’s Leaders Think discuss stability and responsibility relating to the guiding principles of the Chinese. The author explains that to understand China one must understand the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution occurred from 1966-1976 and was a time in which all Chinese seemed to turn against each other. It was a time of terror and anarchy that “paralyzed the country”. Kuhn asserts that the result of the Cultural Revolution is an obsessive desire for stability and need for social order along with a deep rooted fear of chaos. The belief that nothing good can happen without stability is ingrained in the minds of the people.
ReplyDeleteThe sense of responsibility is strong in the Chinese. President Hu is often criticized by westerners, especially for his regard to human rights, but they often miss then three core values of he holds to: maintaining social stability to further economic development, instituting social fairness and rectifying imbalances, and sustaining Chinese culture in order to secure national sovereignty and enrich people’s lives. The author suggests that China’s leaders feel more responsible for making China’s system more accountable to the people. The conclusion of the chapter includes a study report that showed 86% of Chinese people are “satisfied” with their country’s direction. This is an astonishingly high number when compared to America’s 23%.
My book is almost the opposite of yours, mine being about how the minority people in China think. I think the China leaders think they are doing what is best for the people, like your book said about the three core values the President has. It's interesting to hear how the citizens have the strong desire for stability, in fear of chaos breaking out again.
DeleteThis week my reading has focused on China's banking system. The banking system has been protected by the party from serious competition because without this protection the banks would be in major financial problems and most likely failure. The party uses the banking system to loan out capital to state-owned enterprises. This control of the party is thought to manage the risk surrounding China's banks. Four big banks are the main focus of the party's finances and the party utilizes many different avenues to ensure that the banks financial statements look positive. These banks have grown to be so successful that they rival America's banking system. The book does point out that there is much debate to the authenticity of China's financial statement because of China's ability to withhold or forge important information.
ReplyDeleteWhile China has been able to stay relatively stable because of its ability to cut out foreign competition, I do not think this is the best strategy for China and especially the world market. Many companies outside of China do not know the true numbers of China's banks because China does not implement (or release) strict accounting proceeders. I feel that this can be dangerous in the long run due to the possibility of cooking the books.
I really like your post because is clear and direct to the point. The Chinese banking system is not clear, but murky, and they hide too much information—information that other countries in the world are transparent with to keep their banking policies clear and provide accountability. I agree with you when you say that this can be dangerous in the long run for China’s economy and for transparency in its banking (this last part is my personal opinion).
DeleteIn this chapter, the author talks about the perspective on China, covering different points like economic, political, censorship, U.S.-China relationship, capitalism-communism, migration, legal issues, and legislations.
ReplyDeleteEconomically, China changed its image after hosting Olympic Games and when it was accepted to be part of the World Trade Organization. This was very positive for China, both for the way other countries view it and internally.
Politically, China’s government still has the last word, and they make the decisions. It is not liberal, and people cannot freely share their opinions and political views. This is beginning to change in Beijing where the government is taking steps to listen to its people. Many citizens applied for a role of expressing their views to the government, and just 20 people were chosen to represent the opinions of the population.
Censorship is a common practice in China, and companies like Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, etc. need to adapt to this reality in China.
In terms of the U.S- China relationship, China appears to want to be the foremost world power, and they see the U.S as both an important partner and at the same time a major rival. This is one reason that China is holding on to its traditions, but people think that western culture will have more of an influence China in the future.
China is a unique combination of capitalism and communism. They are two differents things, and it is important not to confuse the economic liberalization taking place with political liberalization or democracy.
MIgration within China is one of biggest issues in this country because more than 150 million people have migrated from rural to urban areas.
Legal issues and legislation is another area in which China is adapting in this changing world. From 2001 to now, the government has amended more than 2,000 laws and regulations, and it has abolished more than 800 others within that same period.
In conclusion, China is changing in response to its increasing connection to the ever-changing world. The government still has the power and controls the decisions, and people have to outwardly agree with what it decides. But leaders are also beginning to adapt to the changes.
The next chapter in my book followed the two authors as they toured and learned about the minorities in Northwest China. They visited four minority groups: the Oroqen in the town of Tuozhamin, the Duar in the town of Dular, a minority of the Duar, called the Ewenki, also located in Dular, and the Hezhen in the town of Jiejinkou, located on the Russian border. Each of these minority groups had their own languages, yet most of the people could speak two or three. They all shared similarities, they all hunted, they all had their guns taken away by the government and were forced to stop hunting, and they all did not care for the Han, the people from the Beijing area. The government had taken away guns to end hunting. Hunting was a way of life for these minority groups, and it affected the groups in different ways. The Oroqen just sat around bored in their towns all day, living on their stipend from the government. The Daur embraced their new farming lives, and thought it was much better for livelihood than hunting. The Hezhen were still allowed to hunt sometimes, but their game and fish were beginning to become depleted. The groups treated the authors in different ways. The Daur warmly laughed and talked with the tourists, but the Oroqen and Hezhen were much more reserved, fearing that they might be government spies. An interesting point I read was that when the authors were talking to a government official about a new road being paved to Dular, he said that the government takes good care of the minorities, and that if the non-minority Han lived in Dular, the government would not put in the effort to construct a new road.
ReplyDeleteThe government has a strong influence in the minority groups, yet they feel like the take good care of them, supplying for their needs. Most of the people in the minority groups feel as though the government does not treat them with the same respect as the Han, taking away their livelihood and cultures. However, none of the minority people are about to speak out against the government.
This account of the minority groups and their experience and reaction to government involvement is interesting. It reminds me a little of Native Americans in the U.S. as far as the fact that the government is forbidding some of their core cultural characteristics. I never had thought about China being divided up into different culture groups, which I know is quite ignorant and naive, but I guess I had kind of just grouped them all together.
DeleteThe reading I did this week focused on the author's family history in China. Her grandfather had been the first in her family to pioneer the journey to America to get an education in engineering. It was very interesting, however, because the author contrasted the experience of her grandfather with the factory girls. Her grandfather had gone away from his home with the explicit reason of furthering himself so he could go back and serve his country and his community back home. His whole time in America, his journal recounted the things going on in China, and none of his journal writings included direct references to himself. He ended up returning to China and using his engineering knowledge and skills to help the Chinese government and was ultimately killed as a result of conflict between the Russians and Japanese in the northwest region where his home was. The factory girls on the other hand, had a much more individual and self-serving mindset to their experience in leaving home. Yes, they still came from a collectivist culture and society but they were more driven to better themselves so their own lives could be better, and were not as concerned about going home to help the places and people they had come from. It is very interesting to read about a paradigm shift that has happened (still is happening) between the generation gaps.
ReplyDeleteThe reading from this week was also highly beneficial in that it gave me a lot of chinese history through the recounting of the author's family story.
It's interesting to hear how the older generation was focused on China while the current one is focused on themselves. In my reading, the author talks about how America is focused on the now and China is focused on the future. Makes me wonder how the whole focus on the future is related to their focus on themselves, as opposed to the focus on China.
DeleteThat is a really interesting story and an interesting contrast between the grandfather and the factory girls. It is interesting that the thing that the man wanted to benefit and give back to most was not able to give back to him by keeping him safe and ultimately ended up getting him killed. Where as the girls were really the ones who were probably benefiting the economy more by working and trying to create better lives for themselves but this perspective may just be because I myself are a westerner and have a more capitalist type view.
DeleteContent and context was the discussion of what I read this week. The author talks about how most of the time westerners focus on content like what to do in a business meeting where it is at dinner and the culture have certain traditions as to where you are supposed to sit. However what if you are not the only foreigner there, then you get into trouble because you did not research this new type of situation. The author reasons that context should be more of concern then content. Context is more about relationships between people and will give reason for content. This is more of the general concept of the book in looking at how to find context so that as business people we can create content that will be relevant.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the author that context should be more of a concern then content. I can understand that we need to do our research the best we can before going over there to know the proper Chinese etiquette. However, there is only so much that we can research on and learning by doing is what will really stick to our knowledge. We should be respectful since we are entering another country, but they should also be kind to the fact that we are foreigners and respect that we don't mean to do anything disrespectful on purpose, but rather because we just do not know.
DeleteThis week’s reading in ChinAmerica was entitled America: The Weakening Giant. Jones focused on what has been the leading factors in the gradual decline of American growth. He focuses on what was once one of America’s leading manufacturing sectors, the automobile industry. However, do to high costs of manufacturing, no innovation, and a general lack of competitiveness to face the global market; the U.S. automobile industry has lost market share to foreign cars. Jones contrasts the failing automobile industry with the current winning U.S. industry, computers. He notes that one of the keys to the success of the computer industry in the U.S. has been the economies of scale that have come about with manufacturing specialization. A few changes that Jones suggests would be reducing the cost of doing business in America. He points out that a it is often thought that the strongest competitor will win by producing the best product the cheapest. However, this only works if the playing field is even, which it is not in the global market. Finally, the weakening of American is not the fault of China, but the mindset of America in regards to greed.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read on the specific things that are contributing to America's industrial and economic declining so it was interesting to read a summarized view of what's making that happen. Your last sentence really hit home and made me look at things in a different perspective. China gets blamed for dominating the market, but we've also contributed greatly to that because we'd rather make personal profits than support our overall economy by using our own resources and labor.
DeleteIn this weeks reading, the book covered several topics. First, it pointed out that although china has more than a billion customers. China is not monolithic and should be treated according to its specific local market and culture instead of the Chinese market as a whole. The book also stresses how important it is to get to know the culture before beginning any sort of business relationship. It explained that the Chinese are very understanding of cultural differences but also want to see effort from the foreigners' perspective. They want to see that they've tried to understand and follow cultural norms. The cultural aspect is interesting to me because China does have one of the most unique cultures, particularly compared to Western cultures. I'm interested to see these cultural differences played out in real life while we're there.
ReplyDeleteAs a "foreigner," I appreciate greatly that your book stresses the point that within China lies many different cultures and nuances and ways of life. I think that westerners tend to simplify what is unfamiliar to them, and that often diminishes how dynamic these countries are. In order for us to really gain from the study of another culture, we should lay aside that tendency and embrace all the different facets of their culture.
DeleteI am really appreciating the clear, illustrative way in which Lan Bercu demonstrates modern applications of the 36 strategems in 'The 36 Ancient Chinese Strategies for Modern Business.'
ReplyDeleteFor example, the explanation of the strategem "Deceive Heaven to Cross the Sea" began with the ancient story that brought about this strategy. Then, she described the meaning, enhanced with modern applications in business and even policy. To "Deceive Heaven to Cross the Sea" is to distract from an unfavorable aspect of something you are attempting to sell, like cost or risk, by selling an experience or a feeling. So if one seeks to enact change, something often resisted, he or she would enact it in a way that the other party does not recognize that change is happening.
I really do feel like I am learning business strategies from this book that I can apply today, which isn't necessarily something I expected.
I missed the meeting on Tuesday, but I never received an email indicating that we didn't have to post for Week 4. I am in India right now, but I'm just wondering if that is the case and that we do not have to post for Week 4?
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this week I have learned about the United States' Strategic Partner Thesis Group. Jung states, "The United States has been damaging China's interest for a long time. China should be dissatisfied with the state of U.S. and China relations. It is not a relationship in good condition. If China doesn't oppose the United States, China will be abused by the United States and will become their puppet." I have to say, this is a very strong statement, and I have yet to hear any evidence that supports this claim in my reading. China has claimed to only be a factor and not a foreign power which I find interesting because China obtains the position of wanting to be the most powerful country in the world. And not only wanting it, but doing everything possible to achieve this goal. But power is just a threat if it is not in possession of being used.
ReplyDeleteI find it an oxymoron that the United States' Strategic Partner Thesis Group encloses a statement that has such a negative view of the United States- especially coming from one of its Chinese partner group members. Maybe I am just understanding this wrong.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Kayla, I find it interesting that all of China's actions point to wanting to be the most competitive and powerful county in the world, and yet they are saying they are only a factor of global competition. It seems like they are employing a tactic of unassuming speech but taking actions that do not reflect their unassuming character. This could be because they don't want other nations to see their solidly competitive business infrastructure so they can quickly surprise and overtake their competition when the time comes.
The concept of the United States outsourcing their factory jobs, manufacturing, and industry services caught my attention for this week's reading.
ReplyDeleteThe book pointed out that in order to be more competitive, the U.S. has narrowed their business focus to only keeping the most profitable parts of business in-house (or within the United States). China has taken advantage of the U.S.'s outsourcing by taking over the unwanted production and making it into a huge profitable business for themselves. The book says they can do this because they are able to, "...produce enormous volumes and so reap economies of scale that make them competitive despite a narrow skill base." They use the volume of people available to them, and the low pay these individuals will work for, to their advantage.
This is just one of the ways they have taken over major shares of U.S. companies and become highly threatening to our business markets. Not only are we as a country hurting ourselves in the short-run by outsourcing our jobs and causing unemployment to rise, but we are also hurting ourselves in the long-run as our home grown companies are being scooped up by other countries (particularly China), one share at a time.