Some things just don't change....

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Mr Totomolo

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Joined: June 21, 2008
Posts: 709
Location: Shanghai & Taipei
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Posted: July 02, 2008 - 03:08 PM
Post subject: Some things just don't change....

“The newer occupations, such as manufacturing and publishing, and the export trade, have not built up as yet any code of ethics worthy of the name. Chinese manufacturing almost invariably follows one disastrous cycle. The manufacturer starts with new equipment, turns out a good product and builds up a fair sale for his goods. When he has accomplished this much it seems to be impossible for him to resist the temptation to work off poor materials, the quality of his product deteriorates, his sales fall off, his business fails. Then someone buys him out, starts over again and runs through the same cycle…
“The Chinese manufacturer is also a graceless and shameless imitator of trade marks. As soon as some foreign product which is easily manufactured builds up a good business in China, one or more Chinese manufacturers produce a product with packages and brand names which are similar…
“These imitations are very irritating, but I was never able to feel the amount of moral indignation they arouse in the breasts of my clients, because they never deceive anyone. In fact, I am in some doubt as to how far they are intended to deceive. I think many of them are put out by the Chinese manufacturers because they haven’t the ability to get up something that is entirely original. In any town in the Yangtsze Valley you will find a number of shops which sell small batteries for use in electric torches. If you ask the shopkeeper for a well-known American brand he will offer you the genuine article, but if you find the price too high, he will promptly offer you another battery with the same name and often an identical trade mark and explain that he can sell this at a cheaper price because it is an imitation…
“It is in the export business that the ways of the Chinese business man become the darkest. Chinese are not the only ones who have found it profitable and comparatively easy to sell to the export market goods which are not up to standard and feel secure in the knowledge that the deception will not be discovered until the goods are unpacked in some distant port under circumstances which make it difficult to place the guilt on any one particular person.”

What do you think?? an article form the New York times end 2007 ?
A report from the American or European Chamber of Commerce for the year 2008??

Laughing

All wrong !!!!

It is an excerpt From Carl Crow classic book: “Four Hundred Million Customers” (Hamish Hamilton, 1937)

Some things truly never change

Ohh to be totally honest, I have found this great article here:
http://www.feer.com/tales/?cat=16

under this title :
The History of Shoddy Chinese Goods

Friday, August 24th, 2007 by admin

genghis

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Joined: Apr 02, 2008
Posts: 455

Status: Offline

Posted: July 02, 2008 - 11:23 PM

Yeah, that's just a shining example of the "5000 years of culture", which actually means "People have been doing it this way for a long time, why change?".

Disregard any notion of anything making sense, practicality, or just plain logic. That's how it is here.

Here are some items of wisdom I have learned while here in China, and maybe it will help others who want to do business/work in China:

Spending 4 days coming up with excuses to avoid 10 minutes of actual work is not only encouraged, but expected.

Contracts are actually fancy toilet paper. They can be changed, "renegotiated", and down right ignored depending on whether or not the person involved had a good time at a KTV the previous night.

There is NO LAW in China. It's "organized anarchy". Legal dealings do not follow any sort of rules or structure, but the whims of the "powerful" person "in charge", and the mood of the parties involved.

APPEARING powerful is far more important that actually doing good work, especially in management. For example, it is better to make a deal with a company that makes you APPEAR important than it is to actually make a deal that is financially to your benefit.

"Western Management" to most Chinese companies means having a white guy doing Chinese management.

Yelling and screaming and belittling employees is management. You must show that you are "powerful". Letting employees think and be proactive is weak.

If you are in charge and someone has a good idea, you must destroy it instantly. Letting someone have a good idea that you didn't think of shows creativity, which is an undesirable trait in an employee. You must then yell at them, call them stupid, and refuse to do their idea, then wait at least a week before you have a "brilliant revelation" and implement it as your plan. If it fails, you MUST again yell at the employee that originally had the idea.

No matter how important something is, it will only be done if someone "feels like it".

Schedules are not important. Things will get done when they get done. Negotiated timelines mean NOTHING.

Making excuses to do actual work is mandatory. There is always some reason why something cannot be done right or on time.

When presented with an option, if you did not come up with it yourself, it is a bad idea.

Things that work in China will of course work everywhere else. You do not need to take into account that other cultures and places are different. If you are dealing with things on an international level, you must ignore all other cultures and ideas because Chinese ideals are the pinnacle of thought.

Now, I can add in a ton more stuff, and I'm sure others can.