Knowledge Management Consultancy in China

Derek Mitchell International Business Technion Multi-Cultural Team Project Atlanta Module-Fall Semester 2011

Team Introduction & Cultural Analysis• Team Introduction• Team Process• Cultural Comparisons• Chinese Culture• Chinese Business Culture

Derek MitchellFrom USA, 30 years oldSingle and full-time student in

Management programLives in Atlanta, Georgia

Likes traveling and music

Team Introduction

Faisal NasirFrom Pakistan, 33 years old

Married with 2 children and lives in Seattle, WAWorks full-time at Microsoft and Enrolled in part-time MBA at University of Washington, Seattle.

Likes reading, playing cricket, volleyball and chess

Silvia Coimbra

From Portugal, 21 years old. Studying full-time and enrolled

in Master in International Management program in Spain.

Likes dancing , music, traveling

Team Introduction

Bas Van der Woert

From Netherlands, 21 years old Working full-time in ABN AMRO

bank and enrolled in transfer program in Management in Italy

Likes traveling and going out with friends

Team Process

Initial bond in the group: life

and family

Flexible and enthusiastic

team members

Following instructions and planning

Decision making: open discussion and

consensus

Coordination and mutual

respect

25% contribution of

each team member

Good time management

Learning about international culture and business

Cultural Comparisons

Dominant Traits

Very Multicultural

Pride in history,

religion and culture

Love discounts

Extremely patriotic

Pride in history,

religion and culture

Social Life

Enjoy being average:

don’t like attention

Fond of social

gatherings and festivals

“Café Culture”

Prevalent club and bar

culture

Religious and Cultural

festivals and gatherings

Work Life Hard workers

Loyal and passionate workers

Entrepreneurial Spirit

Difficulty balancing work and

personal life

Loyal and Passionate

workers

Family Life

Mediocre sense of family

Patriarchal Strong sense of family

Moderate sense of family

Strong sense of family and

family hierarchy

Hobbies/Leisure

SoccerHockey is the

national sport

Sports: football is

most popular

Sports enthusiasts

Dedicated to traditional sports and

competitions

Chinese Culture

High Context

Collectivism

Religion

Face

Indirect, implicit communication Information embedded in non-verbal cues, relationships,

situations and personal involvement Caters to in-group (similar experiences and expectations)

Community is valued over the individual Promotes in-groups and group reliance

Taoism: emphasizes spiritual harmony with the individual and harmonious relationships

Manifest as aversion to conflict, preservation of proper demeanor and ‘face’

Roughly translates as good reputation, respect or honor Four categories

Lessened through action or deed and having been exposed Given through compliments and respect Developed through experience-showing wisdom by avoiding mistakes Compliments made to a third party

Chinese Business Culture

Literally translates as relationships Guanxi is the most vital aspect of Chinese business culture Chinese prefer to deal with those they know and trust Time and effort must be invested into developing a relationship

before business is conducted and is an ongoing process

Exchanging gifts is normal part of business in China Business gifts are viewed as debts to be repaid Must be given for a reason and in front of a witness

Guanxi

Gift Giving

Etiquette

Chinese Business Culture

Work under close supervision Extreme dependence on leadership

Inequality accepted Hierarchy needed

Superiors often inaccessible Power holders have privileges

Punctuality is vital as lateness is perceived as insult Meetings should include a period of small talk

Do thorough research before entering a meeting or negotiation as your Chinese counterpart will meticulously plan and research your business

Be patient, never show anger or frustration-negotiations may take time due to several factors

Lack of urgency Simultaneous negotiations Decision makers are not confident

Meetings &

Negotiations

High Power

Distance

Cultural Comparisons

Hofstede Model

Dimensions

Individualism 78 10 22 91 21

Power Distance 33 50 60 40 63

Uncertainty Avoidance 50 67 95 46 49

Masculinity 10 48 26 62 51

Long Term Orientation 40 5 2 29 118

Knowledge Management Systems• Knowledge Management

• The Business Proposal-Knowledge Management Systems

• Human Resources in China

Knowledge Management

Strategies and processes designed to identify, capture, structure, value, leverage and share an organization's intellectual asset to enhance its performance and competitiveness. KM is based on two critical activities: 1. Capture and documentation of

individual explicit & tacit knowledge and 2. Its dissemination within the organization

Source: www.thebusinessdictionary.com

Business Proposal

Knowledge Management Systems A consulting company

Development of KMS, implementation and coaching, keeping in mind the nature and culture of the business

Why Knowledge management?

Support Chinese corporation development Retain that knowledge so that it can be reused Create new knowledge by promoting communication between employees KM can create competitive advantage in practically any given industry

Business ProposalHuman Resources in China

Collectivism

Good of many over good of

individual

High employer loyalty

Dependence on leadership

Close supervision

Relationships

Sharing

Chinese employees characteristics create the perfect environment to implement KM systems. Implementation should be top-bottom. Importance of measurement in order to evaluate performance over time. We will have a Chinese partner in order to help us develop relationships with Chinese firms.

Business Fit Analysis

Business Fit Analysis

Not a unique idea in USAUSA has a very mature Corporate

portfolios with adequate knowledge management processes

Businesses and people understand the importance of knowledge management due to education and awareness

Power differences are low between government and people so it is easier to setup direct contracts with businesses and companies.

Implementation will not be difficult due to workforce availability and good legal system

Low collectivism will increase our advertising and operation costs to complete work and/or expand the business

Industry in general is weak or still developing so demand would be low in the beginning

High power gaps between Government, elite class and public. Contracts with Government will be required.

Workforce availability is adequate in main cities and literacy in major cities like Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad is high

Long term orientation is low and local industry is not mature so difficult to develop long term customer relationships and risk is high.

High uncertainty avoidance will help in selling the idea of knowledge management

Low long-term orientation can negatively impact the demand for business

USA Pakistan

VS.

Business Fit Analysis

Industry in general is weak or still developing so demand would be low in the beginning

Lack of strong legal system may hinder enforcing contracts

Coalition with government can help in enforcing business model on industry due to power gaps

Workforce availability is adequate in main cities

Portuguese people are humble and loyal and can be great customers

Low long-term orientation will make it difficult to sell the idea to local industry

High collectivism will make it easier to expand business once we get few main customers on board

Easier to launch the business Long history of international trade and

associations Close-knit business community so

easier to expand customer base Extremely direct in their

communication and professional in their business

Promotes smooth customer interaction and makes it easier to develop and maintain internal processes and local employees

Decisions are often consensus-driven and power differences are not high

Uncertainty avoidance is not low and individualism is high so efficiency of individual workers is good

Good legal system to enforce contracts

Portugal Netherlands

VS.

Cultural Advantages and Best Practices

Advantages Best PracticesInvest time to build adequate “guanxi”

Presenting counterparts with

appropriates gifts

Adjust to high context communication

style

Must communicate effectively to build

“guanxi”

Exceptional work ethic and

professional demeanor to increase and

preserve “face”

Loyal employees due to collectivist

attitude and leadership dependence

Long-term business orientation-

emphasizes stability and consistency in

business practices

Validating the InformationJos van der Woert - Businessman in China and Asiajos.vanderwoert@gmail.com“Knowledge management allows to enhance continuity and enables the organization to capitalize on brain trust and knowledge. The system allowed us to retain critical knowledge during a period of high turnover and internal change”.

Desmond Thio - Lived in China, Singapore and Japan thio277@yahoo.com“By retaining the historical knowledge and experience of each individual it provides a collective asset for the organization as a whole, creating an “organizational conscience. It ultimately became a competitive advantage in an increasingly complex business environment that was becoming more and more challenging to our competitors”.

Knowledge Management Systems

Contact Info. Derek Mitchell

dlmitchell3001@gmail.com www.linkedin.com/in/dereklmitchell