Monday, April 1, 2019
Week 7 Posts Due April 5
I hope you all are not only enjoying your reading, but also looking forward to the journey ahead. When you have time, check out this 5 minute documentary about the people and culture of the Yunnan province in Southwestern China. While we will not be visiting this area, the documentary will help you to realize that China is a much more diverse nation than many at first suppose: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r9nHrGten8
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Rebecca Oxentenko
ReplyDeleteThis week's reading focused on Chinese culture. Just as the US culture shapes its business practices so does Chinese culture shape its business practices. The Chinese are very proud of their heritage and culture and place a strong emphasis on maintaining those values.The book suggests that the recent Olympic games and the growth of major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing are prime examples of a country that has embraced a modern future without forgetting its past. For years the Chinese lived under severe rulers who would enforce the death penalty if you disagreed with them. Those years were also a time when if you were aggressive with enough initiative it was possible to gain massive amounts of power for yourself as well. Even though these times are in the past they have caused a duality in Chinese culture. There is a combination of caution on one hand and aggressiveness on the other which has translated into some very successful business practices today. In many parts of the world people feel they have a right to power and glory. In China everyone has always had to work for and maintain success. Ancient rulers needed to maintain the balance of power and respect in order to stay in control because loyalty was a hard driven bargain for many years. One habit that lasts to this day was born during these eras in Chinese culture. People would keep their true feelings hidden until they knew it was safe to trust someone. Chinese culture today is very much the same in this aspect. The chapter went on to talk about how important education is to the Chinese culture and how respect for the elderly as well as opportunities for young people have shaped the society. However, my main take away from this chapter was the importance of balance in lifestyle. Over and over again the author brought up the duality in nature for the Chinese in various practices and behaviors. More and more I am convinced of how important this balance can be to success.
In my speech class this week, we were learning about different types of communication and how men typically communicate much more aggressively in business while women tend to be cautious, wanting to wait until they know for sure that the ending result will be good. It seems as if the Chinese have established a good mixture of both natures due the influence of their history. I am curious as to how many Chinese start-up businesses succeed compared to American startups, because they seem to have a different culture regarding this. I also wonder what impact the current Chinese government has on the aggressiveness or cautiousness of Chinese business owners?
Delete-- Ashley Blake
My reading for this week was heavily focused on how young women could become successful in Southern China. Going along with the documentary that Professor Schilleman posted, China is a very diverse country, with a lot of marked differences between the North and the South. The girls in the story were raised in the North in a rural village where education was not valued very highly. They were surrounded by farms and they had little to no opportunities for other work besides farming or prostitution. Now that they have moved to a more urban location in the south, they have to learn a new dialect, and they are encouraged to gain an education if they want to work somewhere other than a factory. Xiaohong and Sijiang both signed up for college classes after realizing that they would never be their own boss one day if they didn't. I really enjoyed this chapter because it showed how hard it is to stay motivated in the work that we deem tedious or annoying, yet we are all working towards a greater goal in the end.
ReplyDelete-- Ashley Blake
Its crazy realizing how limited education options are in other parts of the world. things that are so simple for us are considered a luxury and necessity to life for others.
Delete-CobyFederowski
Whenever I read of how limited, or how hard it is to get an education in some parts of the world I can't help but wonder what we can do to make a difference. I like that you were able to see the bright side about working for a greater goal, because it is true.
DeleteWhenever I read of how limited, or how hard it is to get an education in some parts of the world I can't help but wonder what we can do to make a difference. I like that you were able to see the bright side about working for a greater goal, because it is true.
Delete-cynthia roman
Wow! That insane. I’ve always heard about how stressful working in countries like China and Japan can be, but I never figured that it’ll be like that. It’s kind of weird that just moving to a different zone if your country results in having to learn an entirely new dialect. Given that I was born in a small island that concept is hard for me to process but it is really fascinating!
DeleteIsaac Fernandez.
What an interesting reading! I think it is good for us to see how hard some people have to work for freedoms we take for granted.
Delete- Becky Oxentenko
DeleteCoby Federowski
ReplyDeleteThe chapter I read addressed the recommendation of developing a flexible and well equipped management team. Most importantly, Chinese entrepreneurs require 3 eyes. One focused on organization of the business and it productivity, the second focused on the customer to realize emerging needs and wants, and third to observe the changing governmental regulations. The chapter gives the history of Ruimin Zhang, and how the Haier Group, Chinas largest appliance manufacturer was founded. I a nut shell, Zhang was given the company to manage after 4 others had turned it down because of how bad the market structure was and the disorganization of the company. Zhang took it and hired two people on to his elite managerial team; one to focus on efficiency, the other to focus on customers, and himself focusing on government relations. They realized the quality was an emerging trend and pushed their products to compete with European standards. They accredit their success to the flexibility of their team which enabled them to take a company known for cutting corners to the 1 one spot in the market.
In this weeks reading i discovered that the Chinese communist Party is in charge of the Central Organization Department, which is the one that appoints and changes the top executives of State Owned Enterprises (SOE), meaning that they have the real authority over the SOEs. China in the attempt to globalize their SOEs, decided back in 1996 to take some of their SOEs to Africa because it was very dense with natural resources but also was easier to work with because they were under a dictatorship.
ReplyDeleteThis has showed me how hard it is for companies to start in china and how hard it is for shareholders in these company to have a say, or for the company on its own to have a say. The Chinese government makes this appearance of having these independent companies that re global and shareholders have a say, but in reality the government controls it all. this also play a big role in why China has had a difficult time in trying to surpass other western countries when it come to innovative advances, because they do not let the companies have room to think for themselves and actually be innovative.
-Rodny Aquino
That is interesting to take note of. A big thing in business is the creative side and if you stifle a company/business and put them into a box, they will have a hard time creating a path for themselves and will not survive well.
DeleteThis week’s reading introduced another young female migrant worker, Qianqian was from the Anhui Province and was working at one of the largest factories in Dongguan, Yue Yuen. The story of Qianqian is similar the millions of other factory girls that leave home, but the way she described it was telling. She said that the girls had a complicated relationship with home. When she was at home she was bored to death but being at the factory made her long to go home, and she said that being a migrant was to be “constantly abandoned by those around you.” It seems that one common theme that shows up repeatedly is just how lonely life as a migrant worker is. Chang also described what life was like inside the Yue Yuen factory, which is the main manufacturer for brands like Adidas. The factory has around 70,000 workers which she compared to the size of Santa Fe. Yue Yuen is like its own little city: it has a dormitory for its workers, a cafeteria, and shops. It also has a kindergarten for the children of the employee’s children and a hospital and various activities are offered like theater performances and English classes. While Yue Yuen offers stability there are also many things that factor into the quality of life inside Yue Yuen. Issues like love triangles and out of wedlock pregnancies that lead to abortions are very common. And as Luke Lee, an executive says “whatever problems a city has, we have in the factory.”
ReplyDeleteThis week’s reading introduced another young female migrant worker, Qianqian was from the Anhui Province and was working at one of the largest factories in Dongguan, Yue Yuen. The story of Qianqian is similar the millions of other factory girls that leave home, but the way she described it was telling. She said that the girls had a complicated relationship with home. When she was at home she was bored to death but being at the factory made her long to go home, and she said that being a migrant was to be “constantly abandoned by those around you.” It seems that one common theme that shows up repeatedly is just how lonely life as a migrant worker is. Chang also described what life was like inside the Yue Yuen factory, which is the main manufacturer for brands like Adidas. The factory has around 70,000 workers which she compared to the size of Santa Fe. Yue Yuen is like its own little city: it has a dormitory for its workers, a cafeteria, and shops. It also has a kindergarten for the children of the employee’s children and a hospital and various activities are offered like theater performances and English classes. While Yue Yuen offers stability there are also many things that factor into the quality of life inside Yue Yuen. Issues like love triangles and out of wedlock pregnancies that lead to abortions are very common. And as Luke Lee, an executive says “whatever problems a city has, we have in the factory.”
ReplyDelete-Cynthia Roman
It is so sad how many of these girls go through so many emotions every day. It is so interesting to know the inside of the this huge companies like Adidas, Apple, etc.. We just buy the products without really knowing who makes them and what they go through!
DeleteIn this chapter, the author attends another funeral service for a woman who recently passed away. He remarks about how the husband is a well educated man with a college degree who teaches at a school, but when it comes to the rituals of the service, the yinyang man arranging the funeral with no schooling apart from learning this trade is giving him orders to follow. The tables have turned. This funeral was attended by many city folk who were amazed by the beautiful work that the yinyang man performed. The Communist Party had made people write in simplified Chinese characters so to see someone writing in the complex, traditional characters was mesmerizing. These people want to hold onto their past traditions but it is quickly being mixed with the fast pace of city life. They want their ceremonies and rituals that make them the Chinese people that they are but they want them done quickly so that they can go back to their lives. It is a difficult mix of trying to hold onto the past while being pushed into the future.
ReplyDeleteIt is so interesting to find out how different cultures practice some of the basic things such as weddings, funerals, etc. It is beautiful that it is passed down through generations.
Delete-Allison Barreto
DeleteIsaac Fernandez
ReplyDeleteThis weeks chapter discusses the different values that westerners and Chinese place on Tittles and on elders. The author states that the Chinese culture is based on tittles and levels of authority, so it’s very rear for a Chinese employee to disrespect their boss. However, in western cultures it is more likely for a boss to be disrespected by their employee. The main reason why this is shown is because Chinese culture values respect and authority unlike western cultures.
Being an entrepreneur was an unknown term in the Chinese socialist economy. It is increasing its value every day a little more. The now CEO's, directors, and managers were once simple government officials who had no opinion and no freedom to make their own choices independently. They were reign by orders without a say in it. Time has passed, giving them the chance to turn into entrepreneurs through competition and the ability to take risks. One of the best factors that an entrepreneur can have is having agility, being fast and adaptable, compared to many bureaucrats that have prevail for a long time in the Chinese market. The successful innovators, as soon as they can, start putting in order the best world-class practices that have been used since early times and that were the ones who started the business cycle of life. This chapter is very interesting because it explains how these amazing innovators maximize the benefits of bringing back innovation.
ReplyDelete-Allison Barreto