China has a hundred cities with a population of over one million, and will add at least a hundred more over the next twenty years, along with and at least six more megabits containing populations over ten million people. These megabits bring mega-problems including population growth, poverty, insufficient transportation infrastructure, and housing concerns,14 on a scale most Americans cannot fathom. Environmental pollution, urban overpopulation and corruption also hinder the development of society in general.
At the same time, these development issues are becoming more personal and tangible to the public. Environmental and safety disasters are occurring in individuals’ own backyards, and this is moving people to demand more from their leaders. These factors all drive the government to put more effort into improving existing practices and removing obstacles to healthier and more sustainable development, while pursuing the fundamental goal of a harmonious and prosperous society.
Sustainable industrialization is a development process that builds capacity and sets conditions for enterprises of all sizes to meet the Tab’s financial, social, and environmental objectives, and to provide the requisite institutional reform and commitment to innovation. The government also stresses overall structural reform of industry, regulation based on a broader array of instruments and voluntary assures, and both fiscal and financial reform. Practically, China is drawing upon globally-recognized concepts such as echo-efficiency, pollution taxes, cleaner production and echo-industrial parks.
Recently, the government has gone all out to complete pollution reduction tasks. It has emphasized environmental protection for the sake of economic development, public health, rural conditions, and rehabilitation status. 1 5 Thus, the Chinese government’s measurement and actions concerning sustainability are becoming more specific and powerful. Practically, China has introduced carbon cap-and-trade programs to reduce missions. The government set limits on CA discharge for industrial companies and public buildings.
Polluters that emit less than the limit can sell the difference between their emissions and 14 15 http://www. Tab. Com. PC/megabits-megalopolises-institutions/ http:// www. Cited. Net/enhanced/policyholder’s/report/201206/t20120604_230865. HTML Page 6 of 9 the cap to other polluters, thereby aligning environmental goals with market incentives. 16 Green logistics has also been practiced in China for several years as a means of reducing the environmental and energy footprint of freight distribution.
Practices include carbon footprint, echo-driving, green logistics parks and information/communications technologies for climate-sound logistics. 17 Corporate Initiatives & Practice Together with the government’s effort, corporations in China have begun to implement corporate social responsibility (CARS) standards, aiming to embrace responsibility for the companies’ own actions and positively impact the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders, and other members of the public sphere. 18 These initiatives are primarily motivated by regulatory demands and overspent relations.
For this reason, many TAB programs dovetail with the priorities of local or provincial governments. Another objective is to build a sustainable working environment through encouraging employee volunteerism, which many companies have found to reinforce workplace camaraderie. In addition, consumers in China are growing more concerned about sustainability issues, such as in food safety, public health and air pollution, and are calling for corporate responsibility. One survey even found that China consumers are more concerned than Americans with business ethics. As in the United States, consumers are inclined to switch to brands associated with a good cause, assuming the same price and similar quality. 83% of respondents in China said they refused to buy a company’s product when they learned that the company acted irresponsibly. Companies themselves want to enhance their brand image and build a good reputation. Geol. is a privately-run car manufacturer, perhaps best known in the West for its recent acquisition of Volvo. Galleys recent activities include donations to natural disaster-afflicted areas in China, sponsoring a youth orchestra, and raising ands to help poor students.
Many executives are also adopting the notion of leading by example. They may participate in private or public philanthropy, working closely with not-for-profit organizations such as Roots and Shoots, Project Green Hope, and so forth. Http://en. Wisped. Org/wick/corporate_social_responsibility http:// extemporaneousness. Org/green-logistics/ 18 http://articles. Economists. Mediates. Com/2013-08-10/news/41268124_1 _dioxide- emissions-greenhouses 19 http://www. Chinaware’s. Com/Chinese-consumers-more-concerned-with-business- ethics-than-Americans/ 17
Page 7 of 9 Apple and Nikkei in China As described previously, Apple in China began to realize the importance of building a sustainable working environment, especially for Chinese phone and pad factories. They are pushing supplier Foxing to improve working conditions in these factories. Foxing reduced worker’s hours, increased workers’ wages greatly, installed an automatic shut-off function on machines and provided cushioned seats for assembly line workers. The increasing consumer base in China forced Apple to react to ethical issues damaging its reputation more responsively and quickly.
Perhaps even more than Apple, Nikkei has been widely censured over working conditions in its Asian factories, and has openly admitted that its business is not environmentally sound. 20 Among other initiatives to combat these problems, Nikkei has agreed not to allow forced child labor (referring to children under age sixteen, in the case of China) and has set a goal of implementing cutting-edge data collection systems to reduce solid waste at every contracted factory. 21 Even as far back as 2001, over half of Nine’s rubber waste from Chinese factories are reused, and this figure cached 90% at several locations. 2 Nikkei has even been known to reject prototypes containing PVC,23 a common but probably harmful substance used in plastics-based goods such as footwear. What Next? For an entrepreneur committed to sustainable practices, China and the United States each offer remarkable business opportunities as well as unique challenges. Their similarities and differences are so deeply ingrained as to transcend current states of economic development, and may best be understood through the lens of Greet Hypotheses theory of cultural dimensions.
This framework for cross-cultural immunization posits that there is no such thing as a universal management method or globally-applicable management theory. Even the word “management” has different connotations and lexical derivations across the world. 20 http://www. Reachable. Common=316 http://incline. Com/system/assets/1835/Nikkei_IFFY _CRY_report_original. PDF 22 21 Page 8 of 9 Drawing on Judge and Robbins’ evaluation of American and Chinese work cultures,24 let us take a closer look at how the respective nations compare in terms of Hypotheses five value perspectives.
Whereas the US exhibits low power distance due to a deep- dated belief in equal opportunity, the entrenchment of power and wealth differences in China results in a higher power distance. Taking each culture’s power distance values into consideration, it would be important to have collective buy-in to TAB initiatives in the US for ease of acceptance so employees will feel like participants in the final direction. In contrast, the upper management of China should present a united front when launching TAB initiatives for quicker implementation to avoid any possible turmoil.
Consistent with the American emphasis on personal opportunity and advancement, it s also a highly individualistic culture, especially in comparison with China’s collectivist tendencies. Americans are much more strongly oriented toward the short term, where Chinese workers are both more long-term oriented and more reverent of tradition and cultural obligations. TAB initiatives need to be sensitive to this orientation and able to withstand the short-term acceptance if TAB is truly in the best interest of the company.
A well planned business model should be presented that accounts for long-term changes and trends and embedded in the new mission statement. However, America and China do show similarities in the predominance of distinct male and female roles, as well as low uncertainty avoidance (I. E. , relative tolerance of uncertainty and ambiguity). As this is the case, a pro/con internal and external PR campaign is recommended to set expectations and involve the community in which the business operates so that the public can hold the company accountable should there be any sway in implementing TAB initiatives.
In both countries, Judge and Robbins argue, these factors manifest themselves in several ways that we find highly relevant to entrepreneurs. A consequence-?and, perhaps, cause-?of the American legal and political system is that ethical guidelines are more clearly defined in the US than in China. 25 These ethical norms are woven into American business culture and quite widely acknowledged, at least in principle if not always in practice. Thus, if launching TAB initiatives in the US, careful attention needs to be paid to the legal and political system to avoid any potential deterrents.
Not surprisingly, Chinese workers typically do best in groups, place heavy emphasis on mutual trust, and share much information through unspoken, contextual miscommunication. Their American counterparts prefer individual work (although collaboration is also viable), 24 Judge & Robbins 128 Ibid. , 157 Ibid. , 293 25 Page 9 of 9 partly as a result of an individual-oriented incentive structure. American communication is expected to be almost entirely through words, whether spoken or written,27 with the intention of being understood by those who are outside the context of the original communication.
When conflict arises, Americans usually broach the controversy directly, and default to rational appeal as a means of persuasion. 8 Directness is essential to communication in general, and contracts should leave no doubt about either party’s obligations or expectations. The Chinese approach to conflict is more indirect, due partly to employee-supervisor status differences and the obedience that accompanies seniority and rank. 9 This knowledge reinforces the fact that all TAB initiatives in China should be transparent as not to surprise employees and break trust with the company. It would be wise to exercise the same policy in the US, but take it a step further and document the changes and expectations in a clear manner. In spite of highly disparate business cultures, customs, and ethical frameworks in the US and China, a TAB-based approach likely holds the key to many of the social and environmental issues that have accompanied each country’s rapid economic development.
Conscientious firms have considerable power to mitigate China’s growing pollution problem while creating Jobs for a rapidly urbanize population. Collectively, American firms have remarkable global influence that virtually puts them in the position of a business, development MONGO, and government all at the same time. Companies that remain profitable and well-regarded at home in the States, moreover, position themselves to be sources of employment, innovation, and growth for decades to come.
Despite its traction in China and the United States, sustainable business is a young idea that still faces much criticism. Arguments about economic efficiency and the vague or unquantifiable nature of TAB objectives are best hashed out elsewhere, but a critical leadership dilemma is that outside advisers, issues advocates, government agencies, and other stakeholders can present a web of introductory exhortations, such that following one may completely preclude another -?all in addition to whatever customers may desire.
