Thank you for this valuable information. Turning to the legal services sector, could you please tell me what is the talent pool and market like for leadership (i.e. partners) and associates of foreign law firms in China? Are there patterns of loyalty among local attorneys towards local, as opposed to, foreign law firms? Do managing partners often change firms? Is there a pattern among foreign firms, such as a formal or informal arrangement with a local Chinese firm?

Thank you very much for your thoughts or references to other articles.

I find it important that the manager should first outline the out-of-bound markers, rules and restrictions to the staff before embarking on the project launch. The scope and purpose of the operations must be fully and clearly explain to the staffs. In these ways, the staffs know where the limits are and would manage the project confidently with some risk takings. The Chinese will take risks once they have a good understanding and analysis of the situation.

There is also another factor that makes the staff less proactive. It is a common to find that the most able and talented staff is given the toughest or most assignments. This has discouraged staffs from stepping forward in fear of getting more tasks as the Chinese saying “能者多劳” (Neng Zhe Duo Lao – a capable guy will have more work). Thus most of the staffs are perceived less risk-taking with their docile behavior. The manager must be fair to allocate the assignments and courage enough to assign the tough jobs to less conspicuous staffs. In this way, the manager is developing more able and proactive staffs in his or her organization instead of relying on few capable staffs. The morale in the department will go up too.