Posts filed under ' Shenzhen'
Shenzhen is one of my favorite cities in China. Some find it too overwhelming, new, crass and “sterile”. One reason I like the place is that some of the first friends I made in China live and do business in Shenzhen. I also like its business energy and entrepreneurialism — the wild west mentality of the place, even with its warts and all, fascinates me. The reason it is repulsive to some is the very reason I like to visit this place in southern China.
The NY Times just ran a nice article on Shenzhen, with photo feature. Click HERE for the article and HERE for the pics and short narrative. The students with an architecture background in our program will especially enjoy these pics and the discussion.
Due to the India addition to the trip, we unfortunately won’t have time to visit Shenzhen this year, but in my view, it is one of China’s faces that you should try to see sometime (sooner rather than later) in your business and travel career. Doing so will help you reach a deeper understanding of China.
The money quote in the video feature noted above is right on: Shenzhen is an echo of our own past. You look at it and see what the US did and could do in the 1920s and 1930s and post WWII when it pursued its own massive building of infrastructure and cities (things we can’t really do anymore for a plethora of reasons).
That is exactly one of the feelings I get each time I visit and experience Shenzhen.
For some informative blogs on what’s happening on the ground Shenzhen, see: Shenzhen Undercover and Shenzhen Fieldnotes
See also this related National Geographic pictorial on China’s Instant Cities.
June 9th, 2008
A hat tip to Gary Chou for sending me the below link. I am a National Geographic subscriber, remember the below issue coming out and reading it, but I forgot to put up a post and the issue had since disappeared into the mess on my office desk at home.
Click HERE to check out these great pics on China’s Instant Cities (the photo gallery link is on the right side of the page; the commentary by Peter Hessler is top notch, as is all of his work - e.g., Two Years on the Yangtze). And reading this very good Wall Street Journal article, On the Move: Chinese Officials Want More Farmers to Migrate to the City; But They Are Also Aware That Migration Brings Problems, will put these photos into a good big picture context for you.
Finally, last month, April 2008, National Geographic published a special issue only on China called, China: Inside the Dragon. Check it out. Again, some great short pieces by Peter Hessler and the usual amazing pictures. You can also click HERE to listen to the China Business Network’s recent podcast interview of the Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic Magazine, Chris Johns, about this issue on China. I also had no idea National Geographic is read by 40 to 45 million people each month. Cha-ching. And talk about a company that has put on a clinic for others re: how to manage and build its brand ….
Enjoy.
Prof. Carr June 13, 2008 addendum: see also this related post on instant city Shenzhen I just made (Shenzhen is located in southern China).
May 18th, 2008
Submitted By: Simone Michel
South China was once known as the world’s factory floor. Plants used to spring up like mushrooms and seas of workers would wait in front of the gates in hope of being the lucky one to get a job. Lately, this picture has started to change. Many of the big gates remain closed due to rising costs and shifts in Chinese government policy, knocking hundreds of smaller factories out of business. Some of the factories that are still in Guangdong province, watching how their profit margins disappear, are considering moving to lower-cost countries such as Vietnam. According to this 1,000 shoe factories closed in 2007.
Many reasons come together: Companies are losing money because of the rising value of China’s currency, making it more expensive compared to the US Dollar. Furthermore, raw material prices ballooned and not the full percentage of this price increase could be passed on to customers. Tax shields for foreign companies were abolished. Inflation returned to China last year as well, letting cost of labor rise faster than productivity. As a rule of thumb, foreign managers in Shanghai have to raise wages by 10 percent every year, otherwise their employees give notice.
But rising cost is not the only reason factories have gone bankrupt. On one hand, workers can now find more jobs elsewhere than ever before and South China is experiencing a labor shortage. Furthermore, the workers that can be found are unskilled. On the other hand, China’s government is making it harder on these factories. After encouraging cheap manufacturing for more than a decade, the regime wants to push investment toward high-tech. The goal is to have more sophisticated factories with higher-wage jobs. China is following Japan and Taiwan, countries who have both started out at the low-end and climbed up the manufacturing ladder to the high-tech end.
Furthermore, the government changed labor policies at the beginning of this year. Chinese workers are starting to get aware of the working conditions and are now demanding higher wages, overtime pay and improved safety. The second broadcast of NPR’s China series highlights nicely how the new law is requiring businesses to give workers written contracts and pay compensation if they’re fired.
With more and more workers pressing their rights against their employers, a supplier’s market of labor and rising costs, the factories are forced to come up with new ideas. Do you think the factories in Guangdong province have to shut down because of all these external influences or do you think it’s their own responsibility because the concept of lean production has never played a role in China’s past?
March 16th, 2008
Submitted By: Naomi Guy
The air is hot, sticky, and dirty. Your throat becomes itchy and a bad taste arises. What do you do? Well, in China you better not spit. Renmin University in China has created a Civic Index to measure the “civility” of their cities and gauge progress as the Olympics draw near. The index analyzes behaviors such as spitting, littering, and line forming from over a quarter million observations and surveys. According to this article, Beijing has been decreasing this behavior, but not as drastically as required before the Olympics. In 2007, Beijing scored 73.4 points, up from 69.06 in 2006 and 65.21 in 2005, but not up to the 80 point target. Changes were brought about using both positive and negative reinforcements ranging from flowers to fines. An example of an interesting (yet somewhat derogatory) program is one to promote the peaceful forming of lines. On the 11th of each month (standing for 1 after 1), uniformed officials swarm upon bus stops and subway stations waving flags at everyone to ensure they line up. The program was created by Zhang Huiguang, director of Beijing’s Capital Ethics Development Office. She is now better known as “Ms. Manners”, and claims that changing these bad habits before the Olympics is “crucial in providing a cultural and historical legacy to China and the world as a whole”.
So what’s the big deal? It seems obvious that any country would want to look as good as possible for the hundreds of thousands of tourists expected for the Olympics. Well, we all remember back a few short years ago when SARS was a major health threat. During that time, officials tried to stop spitting in public to help stop the spread of the disease. Sadly, more effort has been directed into putting on a clean image for the Olympics than protecting the health of the country, and the world, just three short years ago (article). A fairly drastic change in behavior has occurred in the past year to create a new image, three years ago, when lives were at stake, it was hardly a difference.
So why is this? Did the government not care as much about health, or were people too stubborn to believe the threat of SARS? Is an external image more important than internal wellbeing? Would you expect this behavior to be true outside of China? Do you agree with Ms. Manners that these changes are crucial to providing a legacy?
I’d like to leave you with this statement by, Zhang Faqiang, vice chairman of the China Olympic Committee, “Ultimately, China’s modernization rests on the quality of its citizens.” Do manners truly make a quality citizen? and can that lead to modernization? I’ve know some key American inventors with little to zero etiquette…
February 26th, 2008
A hat tip to Dan Harris and the China Law Blog for this lead ….
Here is a really, really interesting power point presentation by advertising giant Ogilvy on consumers in China’s Tier II and III cities. Some great stuff in here that will relate to what you are studying or will study in your MBA marketing class this winter quarter (e.g., branding, market segmentation, packaging, impulse buying, distribution channels, price sensitivity, who makes the family buying decisions, etc. anyone?). This material also highlights why so many foreign firms are trying to get into the market there — the consumer class and their spending power in these lower tier cities are on the upswing. This presentation is worth spending a few minutes to click through and study. Doing so, via this compare and contrast measure, also helped me better understand the marketing of products here in the US. Once in China, as you walk in and out of stores, and as you bus from A to B and look out the window, you need to think back to this material and connect some of the dots as related to your coursework ….
February 6th, 2008
Thanks to Christine Lu of the China Business Network for this lead.
A number of the good, attractive and ‘higher caliber’ and higher visibility trade shows in China often take place in October and April.
One of the drawbacks of the timing of our annual MBA trip to China is that it takes place in June/July. Hey, we can’t see and do it all; yet perhaps this year we will get lucky while in the Shanghai area and be able to see one (but I can’t guarantee it as I don’t get to determine when decent trade shows do/do not take place in the Shanghai area!).
When that day comes when you have the opportunity to attend a trade show in Asia, you MUST grab that opportunity, and the following articles are must watches and reads:
YouTube Video on China Sourcing Fair
For a nice searchable examples for worldwide trade shows, click on Global Sources and Global Sources Trade Show Center
Five Tips for Getting the Most out of Exhibiting at Trade Shows
Visiting a China Trade Show
Getting the Most out of a Trade Show Visit in Asia
Selecting the Right Trade Show for Your Needs
What Happens After Your Trade Show Visit?
This video and these articles made me want to go into sales … almost.
October 17th, 2007
I was recently contacted by Christine Lu of the China Business Network re: our MBA trip to China, our MBA program, and our MS in Industrial Technology (IT) program.
Click HERE to listen to the radio interview (5 minutes) re: our annual China trip.
Click HERE to listen to the podcast (20 minutes) about our MBA and MS in IT program.
For the record, the latter 20 minute podcast is a textbook case of how an interviewee (me) can muddle up an interview.
In my enthusiasm for what we seek to accomplish and are doing at Cal Poly I talked waaaaay too much, should have let her talk more, should have let the dialogue naturally flow. Drs. Whitaker and Beamon, who teach your Communication for Mangers course, would rightfully and justifiably take me to task for this blabbing. I would rate my own performance a “D”, at best. I am clearly rusty at giving interviews.
Listen … and learn … how not to do it. Christine Lu was very good and a gracious interviewer. I was not a very good interviewee this go-around.
My main point for this self-criticism is to actually make and educational point: More and more the soft skills are becoming the hard skills in business.
It can be tough for some students and professionals to swallow that something without a formula, something so subjective as communication, can really knock them on their behinds.
My secondary point is that these skills can easily atrophy. They need to be nurtured and developed and refreshed throughout your career — a one time MBA class dealing with communication issues only means you are on your way, not that you are set for life in this important area of business. Don’t assume that just because you made it through your MBA communication course that you can now run back to the back room of your firm and you never have to speak or write in front of people again.
Don’t believe it? Then click HERE and HERE for these recent Wall Street Journal articles [subscription may be required] on this topic.
Ms. Lu has such an interesting background — as I understand it she moved to the US from Taiwan with her family when she was very young, grew up in the Los Angeles area in a Latino neighborhood, did her undergrad at Boston University, spent 4 or 5 years in Shanghai working with/for the Home Shopping Network seeking to make inroads into the Chinese market, and she is now back living in the San Diego area.
I have been perusing her blog. It’s great. I wish I had 1/100th of her web and technology skills. It is a wealth of information and resources. Check it out.
September 16th, 2007
Between 33 students a 4 faculty, we collectively took a bizillion photos. Click on the two below links to see just a small sample of them:
Link From OCOB Grad Programs Web Site (see 2007 photo gallery of pics)
Erik Slayter’s China Trip Blog (he shot some really nice pics)
July 14th, 2007
For the next two and a half weeks, our Cal Poly MBA students will keep this on-line blog highlighting some their travels and experiences in the People’s Republic of China. Below is their first blog entry as of the day we arrive in Guangzhou (soon!) and get settled. Be sure to scroll down and read about subsequent days and experiences on the trip. These MBA students are to be commended for making this investment in their education and professional future. — Professor Carr
Submitted By: Bonnie, Athena, Joe, and Danny
Our trip began with a 14 hour plane ride to Guangzhou. Everyone seemed excited to start the trip and equally excited to get some sleep on the red eye flight. In between Chinese movies and bathroom breaks, we were able to talk to a few Chinese passengers. In particular, one woman was looking forward to seeing her family in Guangzhou after living in California for some time. She will be attending UC Davis next fall and was very friendly and happy to chat with us.
After our surprisingly short wait through customs, we met our guides, Paula and Ken. Their warm personalities immediately made us feel welcome and in good hands. They helped us load up into our bus and we were off to The White Swan Hotel, arguably one of the most famous hotels in China. From the outside, the hotel did not have the same flashy exterior we are accustomed to seeing in an American 5 star hotel. However, the service, breakfast and beautiful art were beyond our expectations. China and the service aspect of its economy seem to be developing nicely.
With time to kill before check-in, our class split up to explore Guangzhou on our own. Some people took a much needed nap in the hotel room, while the more adventurous ones decided to brave the heat to learn a little more about life in the city. Unlike America, the streets were full of people doing morning exercises and playing games like badminton and cards. Almost every block had a large group practicing Tai Chi to music playing from a nearby stereo. Wandering through a park by the Pearl River, we saw a choir of locals singing lyrics from a table-sized paper hanging between two trees. Although we could not tell what they were singing, they seemed to be really enjoying themselves. We were also amazed to see several people washing and swimming in the river. We realized they do not have the luxury, as we do, to be picky about water quality. On the way back to our hotel, we saw an old man painting Chinese characters on the sidewalk. Watching him slowly and methodically paint the characters was both relaxing and peaceful. While these experiences were not extraordinary on their own, together, they gave us a good idea of what life in China is like.
We were next escorted by several English speaking Zhongkai University students to an electronics market. The point of this short excursion set up by Professor Carr was not for us to immediately get off the plane and make a bee-line for the first counterfeit shop we could find in China, but for us use some down time while waiting for hotel check in to get a feel for the sheer enormity of the counterfeiting problem in China and the role that it plays in their economy, despite Western press reports that things are often getting better on this important issue between our two countries. We got the point — the size of this not so underground economy in China is massive. And, it was here that we faced a real world ethical dilemma to test us that any Westerner faces who complains about the counterfeiting problem in China: to himself/herself buy or not to buy the available knockoff merchandise they complain about that comes from China once THEY arrive in China. This market was also an interesting contrast to the massive shopping complex across the street, where prices are high and bargaining is not an option. With the guidance of Lonnie Hodge, an expat American professor who now lives in Guangzhou and previously taught at Zhongkai University, everyone got good advice about Guangzhou and its shopping.
After some fun in the pool and showers at our hotel after check-in, we got back on the bus toward Zhongkai University for a tour. Riding the bus through Guangzhou showed a seemingly endless number of apartment complexes, lined with clothes drying in the sun. After later talking with Lisi, a Zhongkai English major, we found out that the limitless apartment skyrises are necessary to accommodate Guangzhou’s ten million residents. With ten thousand students, Zhongkai University actually has a small student population for a Chinese university. However, expectations for increased growth and a government certification inspection have spurred the University to renovate their library and add some more landscaping touches. Visiting one of the classrooms where students spent thirty hours a week in stiff chairs and no air conditioning made us respect the drive and dedication of these students and appreciate the facilities we sometimes take for granted back in California and at Cal Poly.
Professor Hodge was gracious enough to take us for a walk-through tour of a middle class Chinese neighborhood and then show us his apartment and fantastic view of the Pearl River. He gave us a unique insight into what life might be like were we to live in China as an expat. We bombarded him with questions as our curiousity was peeked. He had nothing but wonderful things to say about the people he worked with and the Chinese culture. He explained that Southern China is the up and coming place for business opportunities and growth and that individuals with our background are in high demand. His comments reinforced the value of our China trip and may have caused a few of us to reconsider China as a possible career destination.
As we sat with stomachs full of Dim Sum during the evening dinner, everyone had an opportunity to reflect on the day and spend more time getting to know our new Chinese friends. Today was just a teaser of all we will see in China in the days to come. And yes, for all our family and friends who wondered about the weather, it is very humid and hot!
Professor Carr Addendum: See this realted posted by Professor Hodge titled C-MBA Programs: Trans-Pacific Crossings. He makes some key points that relate to our visit and one of the reasons we have brought these students to China.
June 18th, 2007
Submitted By: Peter, Lindsay, James, and Ashley
After our last night in Guangzhou, where our group bid farewell to Lonnie Hodge and the delightful Chinese students of Zhongkai University, everyone found themselves being woken up by alarms and wake-up calls for our earliest morning yet. We knew we had a long day of travel ahead of us as we checked out of the White Swan Hotel, but today would hold more educational value than we could have possibly imagined. We would learn much not only from our intriguing firm visits in Shenzhen, but also from our (mis)adventures with Chinese transportation.
The bus ride to our main destination was relatively uneventful, as most of the students chose to catch up on their sleep. But after a two and a half hour ride, our bus finally rolled into Shenzhen, a fast-growing and bustling metropolis. Almost immediately, students could be heard commenting on our new surroundings and how different they were from those in Guangzhou. Shenzhen has a distinctly modern feel to it, which is fitting for a city whose population of 300,000 twenty years ago has grown nearly thirty-fold to its current size of 8 million people. Professor Carr spoke to the class on the way into town, citing Deng Xiaoping’s decision to designate Shenzhen as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) as the primary catalyst for this incredible growth.
As everyone attempted to grasp the scope of such economic development, Professor Lancaster implored us to also consider the ecological consequences that come with such rampant growth. Shenzhen was once an expansive marsh, but there is little trace of this environment left. Such a rapid alteration of a region’s ecology undoubtedly increases the potential for more dire repercussions years down the road.
Our first stop in Shenzhen was the Wal-Mart Global Procurement Center. We arrived right on time and were treated to a wonderfully thorough presentation detailing the Wal-Mart philosophy and how it is applied in procurement operations. Amy Wong, from the Corporate People (Human Resources) department, explained the history and corporate culture of Wal-Mart to establish a foundation for understanding how the company handles its employees, customers, and suppliers. Her presentation was followed by that of Lotus Wong, a divisional merchandising manager, who continued by explaining Wal-Mart Global Procurement, its origins, and its mission. We learned that a whopping 76% of Wal-Mart’s sourced products come from China and that the company conducts ethical audits of every factory to ensure local laws are being followed. After Mr. Wong finished his section, Kenneth Chan, the general merchandising manager, delved into the nitty gritty details of how procurement is handled by various Wal-Mart teams. It was evident from this section of the presentation that the supply chain for retail products is getting very fast and suppliers are expected to catch up. Though maintaining high product quality is certainly a concern for Wal-Mart, that high quality must be delivered quickly and at the lowest possible cost. Efficiency and speed is the name of the game in the retail procurement world.
Following the presentation, our group was able to tour the Wal-Mart offices. The work environment was startlingly westernized in both layout and atmosphere. Casual attire prevailed and cubicles with colorful name tags filled each room. We were fascinated to see such a distinctly American work environment be embraced in a foreign country so wholeheartedly.
Following Wal-Mart, our group departed for the Port of Shenzhen and its most prolific terminal: Yantian. At Yantian, we were set to learn of the marvel that is Chinese transportation. However, en route, we were beleaguered by engine and air conditioning problems from our bus. The irony that the Chinese transport system had failed us did not elude the sweat soaked students.
After 30 minutes of driving in the Shenzhen heat without air conditioning, we arrived at Yantian. Their friendly staff was there to greet us with towels and coldwater. Yantian then provided us with a dazzling presentation about the wonders of the China supply chain. With government support and backing, Yantian was able to gain 50% market share in the Shenzhen port. Furthermore, because of 9/11 and the need for improved security, Yantian and its commitment to technology enticed suppliers and shippers away from other ports. This can be seen in the marked decline in exports that Hong Kong has seen in the last few years, while just a little down the road, Shenzhen is blossoming. Another reason Yantian is prospering is because of the long term view they have taken towards shipping. Realizing early on that mega ships were the wave of the future, Yantian invested heavily in the infrastructure necessary to service them. These Goliaths of the ocean can carry over 13,000 cargo units. Not even the Panama Canal can hold these ships.
The largest ship in the world was unloaded at Yantian in only 9 hours. This world record holding feat is a signpost of the increasing speed of the supply chain. Goods can be transported much faster, with more accuracy, and with better quality control. However, the massive discrepancy between intra and international transportation was made infinitely apparent in our experience at the Shenzhen airport. After a flight cancellation and a 3 hour delay for no apparent reason, we were on our way to Shanghai. To quote airport authorities, “Flight 1361 to Shanghai has been delayed due to delays.” In the time accumulated at the airport, the group got a little taste of home in the form of Big Macs. It will please readers to know that the food quality is on par with any McDonalds in the U.S., and the service, even better.
At the end of the day, we had seen much China has to offer in the way of supply chain management. Wal-Mart has a 97% on time delivery rate and Yantian is capable of handling whatever the shipping industry may throw at it. On the bus ride to Shanghai, we saw signs for the Maglev train: a harbinger of the future of transportation and Chinese efficiency.
June 18th, 2007
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