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October 8th, 2007 by Business China Editor
By Nicolas Cappuccio
In the Chinese booming economy, a broad network of suppliers producing quality and competitive industrial parts and equipments is rising. Sourcing in China is the opportunity for Western industrial companies to increase margins, create or maintain a competitive advantage.
But there are many challenges in the implementation. The biggest one is to manage CHANGE internally. Here is a list of changes essential to make it happen.
More and more Western company leaders decide to start sourcing goods from China and take advantage of its low production costs. But we see many of these China sourcing initiatives without a strong Change Management part: They usually underestimate the time and efforts needed explain, train, demonstrate and convince employees to shift to Chinese suppliers. Read the rest of “Effective sourcing in China requires Western companies to change” or post a comment
October 4th, 2007 by Business China Editor
China: godless, but not heathen!
By Ernie Tadla
Confucius, the most influential man in Chinese history, was born out of wedlock in 551 BC, five and a half centuries before Jesus. His father had nine daughters and one crippled son. At age seventy, he mated with another woman, who was 15, hoping to get a healthy son. His father died when Confucius was three and his mother raised him in poverty.
He rose in the state government to the position of Justice Minister, but around age fifty, resigned and embarked on a twelve-year odyssey around China. When he returned home, he spent his last years teaching and writing. He died at seventy-two. Read the rest of “China Lesson Three: Confucius Says…” or post a comment
October 3rd, 2007 by Business China Editor
By Frank Claeys
Most Chinese speak poor English. This can create humorous situations.
Once we went on a trip to Guangzhou with a German colleague. After a hard day’s work a person has to relax. So we all go to the massage parlour in the hotel. In these kinds of parlours they have every service; you can get your ears cleaned, your nails cut, a Chinese massage and many other treatments. Usually the food and beverages are included in the price. Everything is relatively cheap. Read the rest of “Chinese wake up call” or post a comment
October 2nd, 2007 by Business China Editor
By Vincent Cheung
Not surprisingly, closing down a representative office in China is a lot more complicated process than its establishment, especially when your representative office hires a lot of staff and expends a big sum of money. It can be an intolerably lengthy process if not handled in a proper way. Usually, it takes several months to shut down a representative, or it can take forever. The first and also the most critical step to take is tax clearance. You are going to be in big trouble if you cannot prove that you are not evading tax. The tax bureau is exceedingly serious about it. First, you need to contact the revenue officer, who was designated to manage your rep office’s taxation affairs in the process of the establishment of your rep office. A cancellation form will be sent to you from the revenue officer. Read the rest of “How to Close Down a Representative Office in Shanghai” or post a comment
October 1st, 2007 by Business China Editor
By Antonio Fonduca
Humor theory suggests that humor and laughter are primitive ways of signalling good news and consent in a group. Having a common sense of humor can be experienced as sharing a secret code. Humor also says something about the person expressing humor as confidence, intelligence and timing are all required for a well placed humorous remark.
Humor requires the ability to respond to others in the moment and its use can be effective in difficult negotiation situations. For example, engaging in humorous interaction right after a difficult agenda item has been addressed may function as a release of tension. Ultimately, humor may constitute an effective way of managing guanxi between negotiating parties. Read the rest of “Humor in Sino-Western business relations” or post a comment
