Door Frank Mulligan

Wanneer een bedrijf verrichtingen in China opzet schijnen zij om met twee verschillende keuzen worden geconfronteerd: `lokaal gaan', of het opleggen van de dominante bedrijfscultuur van hun organisatie.

Het is geen gemakkelijke keus, en er zijn geen duidelijke antwoorden waarin verband met de route u de beste resultaten zal brengen. Bij gebrek aan een welomlijnde conclusie kan het een slag van testament worden om te zien welke cultuur zal winnen.

Kies de lokale cultuur en u zult bij machte zijn om lokaal personeel te motiveren effectiever, maar veel van de verrichtingen van de zaken zal ondoorzichtig aan niet-locals worden. De dingen zullen gedaan maar niet noodzakelijk de manier worden het Hoofdkwartier hen aan wil. Wat u in doeltreffendheid bereikt, zoals plaatselijk bepaald, u verlies in zicht.

Vele bedrijven, enerzijds, kiezen de benadering dat er een volkomen goede cultuur binnen hun organisatie is, die hen goed vele jaren in vele landen heeft gediend, en die China geen verschillend is. Deze bedrijven proberen om iedereen overeenkomstig deze cultuur te brengen. Zij kunnen vinden dat reportage van het oppervlakteniveau beter wordt, en de gegevens die zij krijgen zijn nu in een formaat dat HK begrijpt, maar het zou enkel niet de juiste gegevens kunnen zijn.

Of minstens leiden de algemeen gehouden stereotypen ons tot deze twee scenario's.

In de echte wereld er bestaat een gemengde collectieve cultuur die de subtiliteit van de lokale cultuur met de prestatiesrichtlijn van het traditionelere multinationale bedrijf combineert. Finding that blend is an eternal quest, and nobody I know thinks that they have achieved it. Many of these people are aiming for the sun but getting to the moon is good enough.

Retail Research

Then along comes Dr Jos Gamble of Royal Holloway, University of London. He has just conducted research on the retail industry in China, in conjunction with the ERSA. His conclusions are not the usual bromides about thinking globally, and acting locally. There is a welcome depth, and a plain-speaking tone.

He essentially says that China is much like any other market, and that adjustments should really only be made for institutional features, like the labor market. Other than that it is business as usual. You operate as you do overseas, except when there is a specific reason why you can’t, like a law or a deeply ingrained practice.

It’s a bit of a relief when someone just says it out like that.

In the retail sector, this approach equates to replicating exactly the store procedures, employment relations and customer service standards of the parent company. Dr. Gamble studied both Japanese and UK firms and found that they used the same processes, and looked for the same outcomes, in almost all cases. But for some issues, like better customer service, they used a different approach to achieve the same outcome.

Japanese companies operating in China were more prescriptive and detailed in their way of dealing with customers than the UK-owned stores, which encouraged workers to adapt behaviour they used in everyday life. Either approach seems like a good idea to reduce staff turnover. Control over the working environment is a major motivating factor in China.

Dr. Gamble concludes that: “Most of the world’s major global retail firms are desperate to grab a slice of the largest and most rapidly growing emerging market. All the evidence suggests that, whilst it may be necessary to adapt to some extent to local conditions, time-tested management practices actually translate well across cultures.” 

His research was based on interviews with management and staff in eight Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, as well as key players in the UK and Japan. He was interested in how global organisations transfer management practices and retail concepts to their overseas subsidiaries.

The retail environment is different from most others, for sure, but you could probably make the same conclusions for any industry in China. It may well be that Dr. Gamble’s advice is applicable only to stores and malls.

If it is not then it tells us that overseas companies operating in China should make all attempts to introduce their own culture to their operations here, except when there are specific barriers that cannot be overcome, such as law or a custom.

Now, that’s cleared things up a bit.

Frank Mulligan, Talent Software