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DiligenceChina
We Want You!
Are you Profile-worthy? Know someone who
is? Let us know. ChinaSolved is always
looking for new views on successful manage-
ment ideas in China.
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Prepare as much as possible BEFORE you get to China. Walk in with the knowledge that managing in China is completely different from anything you've ever experienced before. Do as much research and preparation as possible. Try to familiarize yourself with language and culture in advance. | ||
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| Xin Du provides specialist training in an extensive and growing curriculum of certificate courses in professional and vocational qualifications, covering a wide range of business disciplines. | ||||
A significant challenge was creating an organizational structure were middle level managers are empowered to make independent decisions. Traditional Chinese management patterns don't seem to encourage autonomous decision making, which local managers tend to view as risky. If you don't make the effort to empower the organization, the CEO ends up micro-managing every aspect of the business. Top management can not be effective if they are making decisions about how many pens to order.
Chinese staff seem to feel that if they are paid more THEN they will work harder. I am from a market were hard work is expected to come first, and then a pay rise follows. One of the things I discovered about operating in China is that a pay rise often results in only negligible improvements in performance. There is a tendency for workers to try to get by with the minimum amount of effort possible. In the west, workers tend to put in a reasonable effort, and then if they feel they are not be compensated fairly will leave and search for a new job.
Staff at the lowest level of the organization need to be tightly controlled - to a degree that would not be acceptable in the west. The best person to carry out this level of control is a Chinese person, but the CEO has to set the tone and lay down the standards and expectations. If you don't exert control at the lowest levels the entire organization will suffer. Don assume that middle managers will take the initiative on this point. They expect THE BOSS to take charge. I found it helped to explain to middle managers the "big picture" and explain the reason for all the rules and regulations I wanted instituted, and then left it to them to insure implementation.
Chinese staff seem to feel that if they are paid more THEN they will work harder. I am from a market were hard work is expected to come first, and then a pay rise follows. One of the things I discovered about operating in China is that a pay rise often results in only negligible improvements in performance. There is a tendency for workers to try to get by with the minimum amount of effort possible. In the west, workers tend to put in a reasonable effort, and then if they feel they are not be compensated fairly will leave and search for a new job.
Staff at the lowest level of the organization need to be tightly controlled - to a degree that would not be acceptable in the west. The best person to carry out this level of control is a Chinese person, but the CEO has to set the tone and lay down the standards and expectations. If you don't exert control at the lowest levels the entire organization will suffer. Don assume that middle managers will take the initiative on this point. They expect THE BOSS to take charge. I found it helped to explain to middle managers the "big picture" and explain the reason for all the rules and regulations I wanted instituted, and then left it to them to insure implementation.
I encourage my staff to make independent decisions. I put a lot of emphasis on staff development, and was ultimately successful in delegating authority to every level of the organization. Chinese management tends to be very task-oriented, and this can lead to inefficiencies over time. I succeeded in giving my team a "big picture" orientation that helped them to better understand the purpose of delegated tasks.
I was able to develop an unusually high level of service in my organization, which I attribute to leadership by example. The business climate in China doesn't usually consider customer service to be important, but I am proud to say that my staff consistently delivers excellent service and value to our clients.
I was able to develop an unusually high level of service in my organization, which I attribute to leadership by example. The business climate in China doesn't usually consider customer service to be important, but I am proud to say that my staff consistently delivers excellent service and value to our clients.
Come to China with a willingness to get your hands dirty. Senior managers who are aloof and distant from their teams will not succeed. You have to willing to do a wide range of tasks -- even those you might have thought were not your responsibility. I have made sales calls, answered phones, and other low-level jobs when the situation required it.
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