The Economist just published an excellent article entitled “The flaws in Chinese business - Time to change the act.” The beginning of the article focuses on the impact of the current downturn on Chinese business. Then it goes on to explain … [Read more...]
Why quality can be so bad in China
There are all kinds of factories in China. A few are truly world class (think of the joint ventures producing luxury cars, for example). Others are good enough for the core (and the low-end) of Western markets, in dozens of … [Read more...]
Chinese vs. Western business: different ethical standards?
Last night I had dinner with someone from the Trade and Industry Dept. here in Shenzhen, China. A very nice individual, who studied and traveled in the West. I was asking questions about the foreign investors, and he confirmed that many … [Read more...]
Hiring quality inspectors: a few tips
In my previous post entitled Quality control inspectors: an ideal profile?, I introduced the Ned Hermann model to show that only a certain thinking style tends to make a good QC inspector. Now, how to know a candidate’s profile? Recruiters … [Read more...]
Quality control inspector: an ideal profile?
Is there an "ideal profile" for inspectors? Is it enough to write and read English, and have previous experience on the job? I don't think so. Research, and our daily observations, show that every human's brain is "wired" in a specific … [Read more...]
Why is the “China price” so low? And other insights about Chinese industry
I just finished reading Managing the Dragon, by Jack Perkowski. It is a great book for anybody trying to understand modern China, its opportunities and challenges. Here I want to reproduce his description of two very interesting things … [Read more...]
Chinese factories closing: more facts, please
All through the 2nd half of 2008, hundreds of blog posts and newspaper articles mentioned the closing of numerous factories, most notably in the Guangdong province and in the toy industry. Government statistics seemed to confirm this. But … [Read more...]
Securing the quality of imports at an acceptable price
Twenty-five years ago, the companies that imported from Asia were mostly large structures. Some have set up local offices to conduct quality control. Others have secured the quality of their imports by working with large 3rd party QC … [Read more...]