Abstract

An executive with 20 years of experience in China says that to succeed there, leaders must learn to think differently and devote particular attention to people.

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Abstract

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China's rising importance as an economic and political power makes it crucial for Western business to understand what drives Chinese managers and leaders. For foreign investors in China, this is even more important as they compete for increasingly scarce managerial talent. This contribution uses original research, including in-depth interview and survey data, to examine the values of two generations of Chinese business managers. We use these data to help understand employees' motivations and how multinational corporations (MNCs) can more effectively design human resource management systems to attract, retain and leverage talent in China. The piece concludes by suggesting successful strategies for attracting, managing and retaining staff in MNCs in China and winning the war for talent.

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Chinese management values ;  inter-generational values ;  multinationals in China ;  Schwartz Values Survey ;  talent strategies ;  war for talent

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Purpose – Companies that operate globally have to be adept at managing certain tensions: between global and local, between differentiated and integrated and between many cultures and one organizational culture. So the authors aim to interview top managers to study how global leadership teams are coping with these challenges. Design/methodology/approach – Over the past year, Accenture researchers interviewed more than 40 CEOs and top leaders at multinational companies to shed light on how they handle the “creative tensions” of competing on a global scale. Findings – Three attributes were repeatedly cited as enhancing the performance of top teams and their companies: a clear charter and operating principles; the need to be agile about the way they think and whom they draw into the decision‐making processes; and the ability to “change ahead of the curve,” Practical implications – The article describes how successful firms address each of the three challenges the leaders identified. Originality/value – The article includes a diagnostic that leaders can use to see how they compare with highly successful global firms.

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Competing on a global scale ;  Cross‐functional committees ;  Globalization ;  Leadership ;  Managing global leadership teams ;  Scenario exercises ;  Strategic direction ;  Talent development ;  Team operating principles

Abstract

与国内并购相比，海外并购是一本比较难念的经。以机械制造领域为例，中德之间的并购平均每三宗就会有一宗以失败告终，由于双方在并购之后存在语言文化方面的差异，高层之间往往很难取得信任。五年前，中国国有机械企业天福器具厂收购了总部位于德国斯图加特的中型车床和机械制造公司卡帕机械制造公司，收购双方合作一直十分顺利，逐渐产生了信任。然而五年后的一天,卡帕CEO亨利士？鲍曼突然接到通知，天福器具厂董事会已经决定将三款卡帕重型机械的生产业务搬到天津，另外还要把大部分卡帕研究设施转移到中国。这让鲍曼猝不及防，他之前压根都未参与过这个决策的任何讨论。他试图理解中方董事会的行为，也在思考该如何向工会和监理会解释这种变化。鲍曼开始制订战略，试图保护公司免受中国老板们的“侵害”。鲍曼的行为是否太过杞人忧天？中方的做法又有哪些不妥？应该如何更有效的进行跨文化的商务沟通和决策？天福器具厂的这项决策能顺利执行下去吗？

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收购 ;  跨国公司 ;  中国式管理 ;  德国式管理 ;  文化冲突 ;  机械制造

Abstract

与国内并购相比，海外并购是一本比较难念的经。以机械制造领域为例，中德之间的并购平均每三宗就会有一宗以失败告终，由于双方在并购之后存在语言文化方面的差异，高层之间往往很难取得信任。五年前，中国国有机械企业天福器具厂收购了总部位于德国斯图加特的中型车床和机械制造公司卡帕机械制造公司，收购双方合作一直十分顺利，逐渐产生了信任。然而五年后的一天,卡帕CEO亨利士·鲍曼突然接到通知，天福器具厂董事会已经决定将三款卡帕重型机械的生产业务搬到天津，另外还要把大部分卡帕研究设施转移到中国。这让鲍曼猝不及防，他之前压根都未参与过这个决策的任何讨论。他试图理解中方董事会的行为，也在思考该如何向工会和监理会解释这种变化。鲍曼开始制订战略，试图保护公司免受中国老板们的“侵害”。鲍曼的行为是否太过杞人忧天？中方的做法又有哪些不妥？应该如何更有效的进行跨文化的商务沟通和决策？天福器具厂的这项决策能顺利执行下去吗？

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收购 ;  跨国公司 ;  中国式管理 ;  文化冲突 ;  机械制造 ;  德国式管理

Abstract

Five years ago, Tian Fu Tools (TFT), a Chinese state owned machinery enterprise, bought the Stuttgart-based mid-sized lathe and machinery building company Kaper Maschinenbau. Case A: Enjoying a rare day off, Heinrich Baumann, CEO of Kaper, is interrupted by a phone call from the TFT GM, Zhang Jian, who informs him that the TFT board has decided to move production of a further 3 Kaper machines to Tianjin, and of plans to move a large portion of Kaper’s research facilities to China. Baumann is caught off-guard and is dismayed at not being involved in this decision. He tries to make sense of Zhang Jian’s behaviour and wonders how to explain this change convincingly to the union and supervisory board. Baumann begins strategizing ways to protect the company from their Chinese owners. Case B: Zhang Jian puts down the phone and wonders what had gotten into the Germans. The Kaper management team and Baumann have always seemed like sensible people despite some of the Germans’ odd habits and stifling regulations. But now they are refusing to comply with decisions made by their owner; Zhang cannot imagine what could explain such behaviour. The global markets make it critical to raise competitiveness whilst ensuring high quality and innovation; Baumann must be able to see this. Zhang tries to understand what has gone awry. This case is particularly well suited to Executive MBA and executive development programs focused on cross-border business. The contents are relevant to topics including International Business, M&A, Cross-cultural Communication, and Global Leadership. The cases may be used together or separately to support discussion of Chinese, European, and cross-border leadership challenges. The accompanying teaching notes provide extensive background information including frameworks and concepts, as well as suggested teaching methodologies for the cases.

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Acquisition ;  Multinational Corporation (MNC) ;  Chinese-Style Management ;  German-Style Management ;  Cultural Conflict ;  Machine Building Industry

Abstract

Five years ago, Tian Fu Tools (TFT), a Chinese state owned machinery enterprise, bought the Stuttgart-based mid-sized lathe and machinery building company Kaper Maschinenbau. Case A: Enjoying a rare day off, Heinrich Baumann, CEO of Kaper, is interrupted by a phone call from the TFT GM, Zhang Jian, who informs him that the TFT board has decided to move production of a further 3 Kaper machines to Tianjin, and of plans to move a large portion of Kaper’s research facilities to China. Baumann is caught off-guard and is dismayed at not being involved in this decision. He tries to make sense of Zhang Jian’s behaviour and wonders how to explain this change convincingly to the union and supervisory board. Baumann begins strategizing ways to protect the company from their Chinese owners. Case B: Zhang Jian puts down the phone and wonders what had gotten into the Germans. The Kaper management team and Baumann have always seemed like sensible people despite some of the Germans’ odd habits and stifling regulations. But now they are refusing to comply with decisions made by their owner; Zhang cannot imagine what could explain such behaviour. The global markets make it critical to raise competitiveness whilst ensuring high quality and innovation; Baumann must be able to see this. Zhang tries to understand what has gone awry. This case is particularly well suited to Executive MBA and executive development programs focused on cross-border business. The contents are relevant to topics including International Business, M&A, Cross-cultural Communication, and Global Leadership. The cases may be used together or separately to support discussion of Chinese, European, and cross-border leadership challenges. The accompanying teaching notes provide extensive background information including frameworks and concepts, as well as suggested teaching methodologies for the cases.

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Acquisition ;  Multinational Corporation (MNC) ;  Chinese-Style Management ;  Cultural Conflict ;  Machine Building Industry ;  German-Style Management

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China’s extraordinary economic growth over the past two decades has made the country into a world power, allowing it to accumulate nearly $2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves and to elevate hundreds of millions of its citizens into the middle class. This prosperity has also enabled Chinese businesses to invest in companies overseas (China Daily 07/06/09). However, initial attempts by Chinese industrialists to invest abroad have met with mixed success. Beijing Number 1 Machine Tool Plant successfully acquired Waldrich Coburg in October 2005. Three years after the transaction, the acquisition has proven to be a financial and strategic success. Beijing No. 1 stands as an example for other Chinese companies that wish to expand their businesses into the global market and to effectively manage foreign subsidiaries. In this case, therefore, we explore what worked for Beijing No. 1 in the hope that this will provide useful insights into how other Chinese multinational corporations may replicate Beijing No. 1’s success.

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Cross-Cultural Management ;  Acquisition ;  Multinational Corporation (MNC) ;  State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) ;  Emerging/Developing Market ;  Negotiation

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Catherine Dreyer, leader of Browning Haverford’s implementation team for a new joint venture in China, faces a complex problem. How can she convince the Chinese GM that he must change his way of doing business to transform a successful domestic company into part of a multinational? Browning Haverford is a British company focused on personal hygiene products entering into a joint venture with Ningbo Prime Dental Care Corporation. This case illustrates key cross-cultural management and communication elements in Sino-European cooperation and negotiations, and also raises typical challenges posed by inadequate due diligence in the acquisition of or partnership with a Chinese company. The case is about the common pitfalls of quick deal-making and the complexities of the cross-cultural management issues that arise in such a transaction. This case is often used as the basis for a negotiation simulation that challenges students to adapt their communication style and strategy, and to develop their own viable recommendations for addressing a difficult situation. The case and negotiation simulation (see teaching note) can be used for graduate-level study, EMBAs, and executive programs. It provides an excellent teaching tool in a course on doing business in China, doing business with Europe, or cross-cultural negotiation.

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Cross-Cultural Management ;  Negotiation ;  Communication ;  Acquisition ;  Multinational Corporation (MNC)