Changing Work Culture in Western China (Case study 18.2)
It is a challenge for a multinational company to implement global strategy and bring a major change in the local culture of a region or a country. The same happened in western China in a city called Chengdu in 2003 when a major US multinational intended to set up factories and manufacturing plants in Chengdu, a well-known city for traditional Chinese culture and heartland of Chinese. People posed enormous difficulties to US MNC, which was technology, oriented; business centred and only wanted results. Due to China’s strong hold of its own culture, many other firms entering China had questioned whether China would assimilate western culture or it would maintain a Chinese cultural process of doing business.
An Internal OD consultant of the American technology company, which started the setting up of a manufacturing plant in Chengdu, felt that while Chinese workers worked in the factory to construct some buildings like office, warehouse, training centres etc. feared their safety. Previous construction projects had witnessed many deaths due to unsafe processes, but this project clearly mentioned that no deaths and injuries would occur and be tolerated and directed subcontractors to wear safety accessories though, many didn’t like these burdensome equipment’s and even one person walked off due to this. Around 30 expatriates from different were hired to manage the site. These experienced company employees’ trained locals who would support personnel in human resources, purchasing and accounting. Then an early involvement team (EIT) of these Chinese workers was sent to other factories of the company to learn correct processes and behaviours needed for best results. EIT then taught the next batch of local employees mostly college graduates. This training was about learning the job and exposure to work in western high tech factory. As OD manager, he tried to set up systems and developed leaders, managers and teams considering site’s “Vision” “Mission” and “Guiding Principles” by conducting two off site sessions. Small teams of these Chinese leaders concluded from these off-site sessions that in all statement, Chinese and English Words should be used in such a way that it fits in Chinese thought process and reflected in Chinese culture. Each Leader, though Chinese or expatriate held responsibility to convey the message to their team adapting any method going deep by meaning of what they say and putting it in to practice so that it reaches the masses. There was a lot of difference in the thinking and level of middle managers and young university students about management and leadership. The students wanted western style and decision making culture while middle managers practiced a very top down hierarchical culture even within Chengdu to bring middle managers to par, management training and coaching was given to them by expatriate site leaders who taught them managerial skills and development programs in Outdoor sessions. Eventually, 50 Chinese managers graduated in a period of nine months acquiring required managerial behaviour. Corporation stressed upon quality, safety and business excellence. Chinese workers appreciated all these values more especially the safety issue. Besides this, the company also employed six values as basic to its culture such a discipline, risk taking, being open and direct. To get the best results, dialogues, Chinese stories and situation relevant to Chinese culture were used and ambassadors to each value were deployed so that they interacted with people in local Chinese language to make them understand each value except being open and direct, which created some confusion and posing some difficulty in adapting to it inside and outside the factory, all other values were easily inculcated. Chinese workers felt that they lost friends while working continuously at factory and adapting its rules and suggested a middle way to do business that maintained harmonious relationships as well as solved problems. At the same time in Chengdu people practiced their own culture and struggled to achieve those goals of corporation that did not fit Chinese culture and continued to look for the middle way that allows them to maintain their cultural values and at the same time move to corporate culture and capitalistic future.
In my Opinion, it is very difficult for a traditional culture loving native to adapt to high tech western style culture in a short time. Perhaps, it may take some time as younger generation is going global and exploring new situations and adapts easily. It may become possible for them to have real assimilation of their traditional culture and corporate culture having global strategies.