anaging in China is hard.
Business moves at a breakneck pace. Politically, the authoritarian country is
relatively stable, but still unpredictable. Personal connections are key and ethical
minefields abound. What’s more, leaders of multinational firms find themselves in
a culture clash between a society heavily influenced by the hierarchical tenets
of Confucius and global corporations that increasingly favor flat, egalitarian management
styles.
Running the show in China amounts to a delicate balancing act, whether the executive
is a Chinese national or an expatriate, says Janet Carmosky, chief executive of
consulting firm China Prospects.
"The Chinese leader has to translate the expectations of the foreign party into
something that works in the Chinese setting," says Carmosky, who spent nearly 20
years working in China beginning in the mid-1980s. In choosing a Chinese national,
U.S. companies should be wary of a bias for a "can do" attitude, Carmosky warns.
By contrast, a savvy Chinese leader won’t promise what can’t be delivered.
"A good Chinese leader knows how complex things are and is not going to sell
out to American pressure to make things simple," she says.
Expatriates, in her view, should be charismatic, good at networking, open-minded
and realistic rather than idealistic. "You definitely don’t want a ‘missionary,’
" she says.
Workforce Management, March 12, 2007, p. 18
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