Points of interest: ACM CareerNews: Tuesday, July 11, 2006
“The China Gambit” CIO.com, June 15
Currently, China is facing a shortage of IT executive and management talent, leading many firms in China to accelerate their recruitment of Westerners with hands-on knowledge of how to manage in a multinational environment. … IT in China can be a real challenge for Westerners … managers must confront old and established hierarchies within Chinese companies. … Chinese companies came aboard when their enterprises were run by the state and Communist party. … As is typical within any bureaucracy, they are unaccustomed to rapid change. They often resist new ideas, especially when they come from outsiders. http://www.cio.com/archive/061506/china.html?source=ciocareers
Some notes on this article:
It’s important to point out that the “established hierarchies” the author makes reference to are in fact “ancient hierarchies” and have existed within Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian societies for thousands of years. These hierarchies are engrained in their sophisticated cultures, and aren’t something you can expect to change. I agree, managers and IT workers must confront these structures, but in a similar way you approach “culture shock” - you soak up your new environment, adapt, and practice cultural sensitivity. Most successful companies in Japan work within the bounds of the system (the bureaucracy), with a façade (a presentation layer) of Asian business men as their connection between the companies (the local community) and the IT workers. As an IT worker or a company you’ll have to work against the idea of sustainability, buying local, and various forms of anti-globalization, etc…
“The Broken MBA” The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 23
the MBA degree is broken and no longer relevant for many sectors of the U.S. economy … graduates need to be better prepared for work at small-scale organizations such as those found in areas like Silicon Valley. http://chronicle.com/free/v52/i42/42b01601.htm
Original source: http://www.acm.org/careernews/issues/v2_i11.html
