Managers and Mandarins in China The Building of an International Business Alliance (Routledgestudies on the Chinese Economy)

185 Pages·2005·0.78 MB·English

by  Jie Tang

11
Managers and Mandarins
in Contemporary China
11
11
11 Are business conflicts in China resolved in much the same way as else-
where? Or are they handled altogether differently? Setting out in search
of an answer, Jie Tang immersed herself in the day-to-day operation of a
major construction project in China that brought together participants from
around the globe.
The result is this in-depth account of the inner workings of the Chinese
business world. It follows the progress of construction from tendering to
111 completion in an attempt to understand the progress and problems of the
project as seen through the eyes of the participants. It also delves into how
conflicts grew out of the structure of the project, as well as the broader con-
text in which it operated. In doing so, Managers and Mandarins in
Contemporary Chinatouches on such issues as differing international stan-
dards and management procedures; the peculiarities of Chinese red tape;
tensions between contractors; paternalism and nepotism; the role of cam-
paigns; and the limits on contract in contemporary China. The book traces
the increasing involvement of local officials in the work of the project,
examining the reasons for this and its consequences for management.
111 Of interest to scholars and managers alike, this study benefits from the
unparalleled access the author was able to secure to all the parties involved,
Chinese and Western, commercial and governmental. Working alongside
managers as a participant observer, the author uses the fine detail charac-
teristic of ethnography to convey a vivid impression of how they faced up
to conflict, intrigue, danger and a race against time. The result is a unique
insight into the lives of managers in China today and the forces with which
they have to contend.
Jie Tang, a native of Shanghai, has worked as a manager in both China
111 and England, and has taught Chinese management at the School of Oriental
and African Studies in London. She is the co-author of The Changing Face
of Chinese Management (Routledge, 2003) and is currently developing
international programmes for London University.
111
Routledge studies on the Chinese economy
Series Editor
Peter Nolan, University of Cambridge
Founding Series Editors
Peter Nolan, University of Cambridge
Dong Fureng, Beijing University
The aim of this series is to publish original, high-quality, research-level work
by both new and established scholars in the West and the East, on all aspects
of the Chinese economy, including studies of business and economic history.
1 The Growth of Market Relations in 10 The Theory of the Firm and
Post-reform Rural China Chinese Enterprise Reform
A micro-analysis of peasants, The case of China International Trust
migrants and peasant entrepreneurs and Investment Corporation
Hiroshi Sato Qin Xiao
2 The Chinese Coal Industry: An 11 Globalisation, Transition and
Economic History Development in China
Elspeth Thomson The case of the coal industry
3 Sustaining China’s Economic Huaichuan Rui
Growth in the Twenty-first 12 China Along the Yellow River
Century Reflections on rural society
Edited by Shujie Yao and Cao Jinqing, translated by Nicky
Xiaming Liu Harman and Huang Ruhua
4 China’s Poor Regions 13 Economic Growth, Income
Rural–urban migration, poverty, Distribution and Poverty Reduction
economic reform and urbanisation in Contemporary China
Mei Zhang Shujie Yao
5 China’s Large Enterprises and the 14 China’s Economic Relations with
Challenge of Late Industrialization the West and Japan, 1949–79
Dylan Sutherland Grain, trade and diplomacy
6 China’s Economic Growth Chad J. Mitcham
Yanrui Wu 15 China’s Industrial Policy and the
7 The Employment Impact of Global Business Revolution
China’s World Trade Organisation The case of the domestic appliance
Accession industry
A.S. Bhalla and S. Qiu Ling Liu
8 Catch-up and Competitiveness in 16 Managers and Mandarins in
China Contemporary China
The case of large firms in the oil The building of an international
industry business alliance
Jin Zhang Jie Tang
9 Corporate Governance in China
Jian Chen
11 Managers and Mandarins
in Contemporary China
11
The building of an international
business alliance
11
Jie Tang
11
111
11
111
111
111
First published 2005
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
© 2005 Jie Tang
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-203-01478-2(cid:13)(cid:10)Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0–415–36363–2 (hbk) (Print Edition)
11
Contents
11
11
11 List of illustrations vi
Preface vii
PART I
1 Introduction 3
111
2 Conflict, culture and construction 16
PART II
11
3 Background to the project 41
4 Tendering 50
5 Foundations 76
111
6 Erection 96
7 Completion 125
PART III
8 Conclusion 151
Appendix: organizations and individuals mentioned
111
in the text 165
Bibliography 168
Index 172
111
Illustrations
Figures
2.1 Conflict orientations 20
2.2 Organizational models 29
3.1 The structure of the joint venture 44
3.2 The architect and the engineering and design consultants 46
3.3 The project management team 47
4.1 Construction in the city: before the reform 56
4.2 Construction in the city: after the reform 57
6.1 The steelwork subcontractor 112
6.2 The relationship of Gang Tie Consortium members before
1998 113
6.3 The relationship of Gang Tie Consortium members after
1998 114
6.4 The cartoon 124
Table
2.1 Overt and covert conflict 19
11
Preface
11
11
11 This book attempts to understand how conflicts between the various parties
involved in an international construction project in China were handled.
It reflects my broader interest in the Chinese business world: in how it
differs from elsewhere and in how it is changing. In a previous book, The
Changing Face of Chinese Management, I looked at this on the basis of
a series of interviews conducted with Chinese managers and officials drawn
from across a broad spectrum of commercial activities. Here I focus on
111 one particular case study, following the progress of a project as it unfolds
from the vantage point of a participant observer.
One benefit is that it provides the inside knowledge necessary to correct
the temptation to dismiss business practices that differ from one’s own as
stemming from ignorance of the proper way of doing things. This is flat-
11 tering to one’s self-esteem, but can simply reflect ignorance of what is
at work. Better to follow Goffman’s advice that ‘any group of persons –
prisoners, primitives, pilots or patients – develop a life of their own that
becomes meaningful, reasonable and normal once you get close to it, and
... a good way to learn about any of these worlds is to submit oneself in
111 the company of the members to the daily round of petty contingencies
to which they are subject’ (1961: ix–x). This applies equally to the world
of the Chinese manager, as we shall see.
Getting to grips with the practical difficulties of conducting such research
in China throws an interesting light on the context in which management
operates. I discuss this in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 sets the scene by outlining
the nature of conflict management in China and in the construction industry.
The story of what occurred on the project is then unfolded in Part II of
the book, and those eager to cut to the chase may wish to start here,
returning to the more general issues addressed in Part I later. I was fortunate
111 in finding myself recording the history of a case that promised to have all
the makings of a good story. The presence of dramatic interest was perhaps
to be expected, given my focus on conflict, always a good ingredient in
any tale. But I also found the project blessed with a cast of idiosyncratic
characters, tensions, danger, intrigue and a race against time. In recounting
111 how conflicts evolved and were handled on the project, I intertwine analysis
viii Preface
with description throughout, though the balance between the two shifts
somewhat as the story unfolds. Description dominates in the beginning,
as the participants are introduced. I also present a more detailed account
of the course of events in the early stages of the project in order to convey
a more vivid impression of life on the project. Part III brings the story of
the project after my departure up to date and reflects on the lessons to be
learned.
My thanks to all those involved in the project for putting up with my
presence so good-naturedly. Special gratitude is also due to Peter Nolan
for all his encouragement and advice. Last, but not least, go thanks to
Anthony Ward, my husband, for nagging me into keeping my field notes
up to date when many a hard day’s work on the site inclined me to put it
off, and for being the source of endless insights into the perils and delights
of cross-cultural partnership.
11 Part I
11
11
11
111
11
111
111
111