Comments/thoughts re: this March 2006 Harvard Business Review article re: Chinese consumers?  How are they different than American markets and consumers?

• Inside the Mind of the Chinese Consumer [PDF]

A most interesting discussion thread has developed on this blog relates to the role of women in economic activity in China.  I am working on how we might best expose you to women in China who can better comment on this issue but am unsure at this time how this item will pan out.   If you type in the following on Google (without quotes) it pulls up a number of articles about this topic that you can start to peruse:  role of women in Chinese economic activity. 

As as an aside, while in China and dining with several successful Chinese women who own their own business, car and home (many who had children), I was asked on several occassions (paraphrased; don’t shoot the messenger), “Why do so many American women give up their careers once they have children?”  They really seemed puzzled, and one could even say perplexed by this.  It would appear both sides will have much to discuss if we can set something up in this regard, but know that you may have to take it upon yourself to approach such resources on an individual, informal level to discuss when the opening arises, as a public workplace discussion of such an issue while we visit a firm may not be the ideal time or place.  As always, use your good judgment to gather the information you would like to know in this regard.  I think they are as curious about you as you are about them!

Here is an upcoming conference at UC Berkeley Law School that relates to a number of the discussion threads that have developed on this blog …. 

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN EAST ASIA:  CULTURE, PSYCHOLOGY, ECONOMICS AND LAW

May 4-5, 2006, Boalt Hall, University of California, Berkeley

Is there something “different” about East Asian culture and psychology that means that any attempt to reform corporate governance through the adoption of Western norms is destined to fail? Or is the notion of “difference” simply an excuse for corruption and lack of transparency? And then again, do East Asian culture and psychology hold strengths for corporate governance that wait to be discovered?  In a unique but essential dialogue, psychologists, economists, legal scholars and practitioners from the West, China and Korea will debate these questions and propose solutions at “Corporate Governance in East Asia: Culture, Psychology, Economics and Law”. Keynote speakers will include the founder of the World Bank’s Global Corporate Governance Forum, Stijn Claessens, and psychologist Richard Nisbett, author of “The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners think Differently … and Why”. For anyone trying to conduct business or simply understand East Asian cultures, this conference will provide unparalleled depth and breadth of insights.

Please read the AllianceBernstein White Paper on China contained in the “Documents” section of the blog (you can actually get through it fairly quickly). 

According to this report what types of non-Chinese companies are likely to benefit most from China’s growth?  What types are most likely to be disrupted by competition from China?  Most importantly, what are some of the nuggets in this report that, if true, are most likely to impact YOU on a personal level and/or cause you to rethink where you might go with your own business career?