China's metal fatigue

Article Abstract:

Chinese industrial giant Wuhan Iron and Steel Group (Wugang) aspires to become an international powerhouse in the 21st century. The Hubei-based conglomerate is the country's fourth steel manufacturer and employs about 120,000 workers. As part of its efforts to become one of the Fortune Global 500 companies, Wugang is currently undergoing a radical reform to eliminate the damaging corporate structure imposed by Mao Zedong when he created the firm in 1958 on the eve of his disastrous Great Leap Forward. The reform program involves downsizing the steel plants' workforce by at least 12,000. However, Wugang simply cannot lay off workers since it is Wuhan municipality's largest employer. It is also required to support the huge social welfare system called the 'iron rice bowl,' which serves about 250,000 people. This system includes providing education, hospital care, housing and pensions to employees or retirees.

Iron and Steel Mills, Blast furnaces and steel mills, Coke Ovens & Blast Furnaces, Management, Case studies, Steel industry, Company Profile, Corporate social responsibility, Steel mills, Wuhan Iron and Steel Corp.

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The great China headhunt: recruiting talented local managers is a headache for foreign companies in China

Article Abstract:

The dearth of qualified local managers is the chief complaint of human resource managers at large foreign companies in China. The shortage of homegrown executive talent is traced to a mentality problem rooted in two cultural experiences. One is the habit of unthinking obedience that remains prevalent in many Chinese enterprises, which is a legacy of communism. Another is an educational system which teaches by rote and produces obedient toilers, instead of encouraging lateral thinking and decision making that would prod students to become self-starters. The dilemma of foreign companies in China is compounded by the high cost of maintaining expatriates and families in the country and the familiarity and effectivity of local Chinese in a business culture that is alien to foreigners.

Foreign corporations, Recruiting, Executives, Chinese, Chinese (Asian people), Executive recruiting

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Tough at the top

Article Abstract:

China's new Prime Minister Zhu Rongji is widely considered to be the man most qualified to take on the difficult task of reforming the Chinese economy. He has already outlined his economic objectives until the year 2001, which include reducing the central civil service by 50%, to separate the government's regulatory and business arms, revive the state-owned industrial sector, and commercialize Chinese banks. Furthermore, the 69-year-old 'apparatchik with attitude' intends to push for liberalization, and to scrap free health care in favor of a national medical insurance. Rongji acknowledges that is arduous, but many foreign observers are confident in his ability to push China toward a complete market-based economy.

Economic policy, Privatization, Privatization (Business), Zhu Rongji

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