Chinese people and creativity
This post might not appeal to everyone but it does has a few good points if you manage to read it all the way through.
The first half of the post deals with different types of workers in China while the second half will outline how to motivate Chinese employees to harness their full potential.
Some say that Chinese people are not creative and that workers in companies are mostly content with doing their 9-5 jobs. Another side of China is bolstering a booming economy, driven mainly by Small and Medium-sized companies. We've seen examples of the latter in this blog already when dealing with secondary markets and IP rights - part 1. So which picture is the right one? Are Chinese people full of initiative and passion or are they lazy, lackluster and simple-minded?
The truth is that both sides are right and both sides are wrong. We can take time to discuss each party in detail. Both kinds do exist and their strengths and weaknesses are true on the surface. But probing little deeper, you'll find contradicting evidence.
The entrepreneurs
The so-called entrepreneurs are mostly mimicking an existing product or service. The factor that differentiates Chinese entrepreneurs from traditional Western ones are a willingness to take risks, partly due to necessity (few ordinary jobs to go around) and partly due to low thresholds for market entry (poor regulation of enforcement). The bulk of these operation are family-run organizations, turning a slim profit and can sustain a fair living standard for the family.
The Office dwellers
The main body of office workers are well educated Chinese youths between age 25-35. They hold university degrees and skilled in many ways to do the tasks required from them. They are highly intelligent people who most certainly would score higher than both you and me on a TOEFL or IQ test. They have goals and ambitions in life, much like any young professional anywhere else in the world. Most of these people start at the very bottom of the pyramidical hierarchy structure. Being new to the business world and under pressure from all sides, the new entrants usually are swamped with simple tasks that doesn't require the inquisitory mind of a free thinker. This is the result of many years in Chinese schools, which emphasizes obedience and order in place of criticism and new ideas.
You often see magazine profiles of some successful entrepreneur in China without a formal higher degree or education. So, the entrepreneurs are not highly educated and the highly educated are not entrepreneurial. Only rarely do you see a mix of the best of these worlds and all too many are non-educated and without initiative. The entrepreneurs don't necessarily need more education as they seem to do pretty well anyway, but how about empowering the young professionals?
The first and foremost is to find their motivation. Today, it is usually tied to financial benefits or some sort. It is natural that these people will strive for things that they have not been able to afford previously. But financial incentives can only motivate some types of people to a certain extent. Those people are also more prone to leave you as soon as a better paying job comes along.
A whole new mindset on talent management is required. Even the newest employee has to be considered an asset and needs to be managed accordingly. Many people have not chosen their career path out of their own will but rather of necessity. Coming to terms with that and figuring out where they want to go it the first crucial step. It is a long process since you not only have to figure out what motivates them and their goals, but also how they can figure it out for themselves.
In doing any of this, one has to understand that the assumption from outset is different in China compared to many Western cultures. Chinese people are brought up to be reserved and not too trusting while many Western cultures teach children to trust others. Chinese youth are brought up as individuals, always competing with their peers while Western youth are taught cooperation and team work. Therefor, winning the trust of a Chinese person is difficult and takes time. They will firstly look towards reaching their goals and sometimes putting that in front of the benefit of the organization in large. This is important when designing award schemes so that people are measured on both individual targets, group targets and organizational targets. It is necessarily a gradual process as it involves changing the behavior of people but delaying it will be a drain on resources as well as the talent pool.
To end this post with something concrete, I will give an example of what might work as incentive instead of cash awards. Namely, the possibility of international exposure or experience as a high profile way of awarding your star employees. It would be beneficial to both the employer and the employee, multinationals as well as for local firms. Most Chinese talk of about international experience as du jin in Chinese, which literary means coating with gold as it will increase their value and their employability. For the company, the inception of new ideas, practices and skills is learnt could be used to improve operations in China. The difficulty lies in costs and execution. The goals of any international trip needs to be clear from the outset and should be coupled with goals met by the employee. In return, he or she should be empowered to implement and drive improvements for the benefit of the entire organization.
Your watchful eyes in China,
/Y
The first half of the post deals with different types of workers in China while the second half will outline how to motivate Chinese employees to harness their full potential.
Some say that Chinese people are not creative and that workers in companies are mostly content with doing their 9-5 jobs. Another side of China is bolstering a booming economy, driven mainly by Small and Medium-sized companies. We've seen examples of the latter in this blog already when dealing with secondary markets and IP rights - part 1. So which picture is the right one? Are Chinese people full of initiative and passion or are they lazy, lackluster and simple-minded?
The truth is that both sides are right and both sides are wrong. We can take time to discuss each party in detail. Both kinds do exist and their strengths and weaknesses are true on the surface. But probing little deeper, you'll find contradicting evidence.
The entrepreneurs
The so-called entrepreneurs are mostly mimicking an existing product or service. The factor that differentiates Chinese entrepreneurs from traditional Western ones are a willingness to take risks, partly due to necessity (few ordinary jobs to go around) and partly due to low thresholds for market entry (poor regulation of enforcement). The bulk of these operation are family-run organizations, turning a slim profit and can sustain a fair living standard for the family.
The Office dwellers
The main body of office workers are well educated Chinese youths between age 25-35. They hold university degrees and skilled in many ways to do the tasks required from them. They are highly intelligent people who most certainly would score higher than both you and me on a TOEFL or IQ test. They have goals and ambitions in life, much like any young professional anywhere else in the world. Most of these people start at the very bottom of the pyramidical hierarchy structure. Being new to the business world and under pressure from all sides, the new entrants usually are swamped with simple tasks that doesn't require the inquisitory mind of a free thinker. This is the result of many years in Chinese schools, which emphasizes obedience and order in place of criticism and new ideas.
You often see magazine profiles of some successful entrepreneur in China without a formal higher degree or education. So, the entrepreneurs are not highly educated and the highly educated are not entrepreneurial. Only rarely do you see a mix of the best of these worlds and all too many are non-educated and without initiative. The entrepreneurs don't necessarily need more education as they seem to do pretty well anyway, but how about empowering the young professionals?
The first and foremost is to find their motivation. Today, it is usually tied to financial benefits or some sort. It is natural that these people will strive for things that they have not been able to afford previously. But financial incentives can only motivate some types of people to a certain extent. Those people are also more prone to leave you as soon as a better paying job comes along.
A whole new mindset on talent management is required. Even the newest employee has to be considered an asset and needs to be managed accordingly. Many people have not chosen their career path out of their own will but rather of necessity. Coming to terms with that and figuring out where they want to go it the first crucial step. It is a long process since you not only have to figure out what motivates them and their goals, but also how they can figure it out for themselves.
In doing any of this, one has to understand that the assumption from outset is different in China compared to many Western cultures. Chinese people are brought up to be reserved and not too trusting while many Western cultures teach children to trust others. Chinese youth are brought up as individuals, always competing with their peers while Western youth are taught cooperation and team work. Therefor, winning the trust of a Chinese person is difficult and takes time. They will firstly look towards reaching their goals and sometimes putting that in front of the benefit of the organization in large. This is important when designing award schemes so that people are measured on both individual targets, group targets and organizational targets. It is necessarily a gradual process as it involves changing the behavior of people but delaying it will be a drain on resources as well as the talent pool.
To end this post with something concrete, I will give an example of what might work as incentive instead of cash awards. Namely, the possibility of international exposure or experience as a high profile way of awarding your star employees. It would be beneficial to both the employer and the employee, multinationals as well as for local firms. Most Chinese talk of about international experience as du jin in Chinese, which literary means coating with gold as it will increase their value and their employability. For the company, the inception of new ideas, practices and skills is learnt could be used to improve operations in China. The difficulty lies in costs and execution. The goals of any international trip needs to be clear from the outset and should be coupled with goals met by the employee. In return, he or she should be empowered to implement and drive improvements for the benefit of the entire organization.
Your watchful eyes in China,
/Y
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Postat av: Harriet
Vad du skriver bra! Intressant och rolig läsning!
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