I had a good discussion with a client whose background was in auditing for a Big Four accounting firm. He pointed that audits, in that context, is mostly about looking at what happened in the past. In contrast, when buyers request factory audits, the purpose is: To identify risks by pointing to gaps that might have a serious impact on business performance (and to avoid giving much business to a high-risk supplier) By making the most serious gaps obvious, to put pressure on the … [Read more...]
Why Do Most Chinese Dislike Processes?
I have written many times that most Chinese people are not process thinkers. By this I mean they tend not to spend time thinking of HOW to do something: what steps should we follow, what resources do we need, what results should we expect, how to optimize our approach, what issues can come up, etc. I was discussing this recently with a friend (from mainland China) and he had an interesting perspective. There are three reasons behind this, in his mind. 1. They want to show they are … [Read more...]