Since Thanksgiving I’ve had 4 people call me about working with SRI or information about new jobs elsewhere, two people talked with me about starting their own companies and a couple others talk with me about networking for other work options. I also met in the airport a new couple just moving over to SZ for new jobs.  After the first couple of guys called, I realized that I should be collecting the ideas that I was sharing for a future post.

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Doing business in the West is usually fairly straightforward compared to Chinese-style negotiating. The Chinese take a more indirect approach in business negotiations, Alexandre Ferreira Lopes, a Brazilian lawyer and guest lecturer in the Essential China Master Classes at Nyenrode’s Europe China Institute, claims. He gives an example: “During one of his missions Alexander the Great was confronted with the Gordian Knot. He was told…

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The Dutch are very attached to their own identity, which includes outspoken opinions and a clear political vision. Others are judged based on knowledge or his/her attitude in certain situations.

The Chinese have a radically different approach. Political visions are difficult to distinguish and opinions are only rarely openly announced. Persons are judged based on career, possessions and the position on…

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Relation gifts are meant, by means of positive memories, to reinforce a relationship. This kind of association will increase trust and will cause the receiver to adopt a more flexible attitude in future business situations.

Entrepreneurs operating internationally may experience difficulties finding the right presents for people with different cultural backgrounds. Aside from statutory…

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By Hank Sheller

Most companies that need help sourcing from China prefer to work with someone they know or someone recommended by someone they know. If “Joe in accounting” has a cousin in China, then Joe’s cousin becomes the company’s starting point. When a company doesn’t know anyone in China, or know anyone who knows anyone in China, they often turn to the Internet. But by then they’re not searching for someone that can find the perfect supplier for their needs, they’re searching for someone that has an existing relationship with the perfect supplier for their needs.

China produces almost everything, and a good China sourcing professional can source almost anything, given enough time and money. But that’s not what most clients want. If a client wants to make their widget in China, they want a sourcing firm that knows widgets and has existing relationships with the best widget factories. When you have a relationship with a supplier, you get competitive pricing, good information and good after-sale support. The firm that has relationships with widget factories has a distinct advantage over the firm that needs to go out and find a widget factory. Read the rest of “China Sourcing Professionals Need an Association” or post a comment