Free Essay

Shui Fabrics

In: Business and Management

Submitted By DEHawk
Words 796
Pages 4
122

Plrr 2 THr Envrnoruraexr or Mlxecelrenr

t

eAstr s'#ffi" flffi.EY$ff&ff- &ruALYS*S
"But a 5 percent ROI is just pa*tetic," Paul complained. "And we've been stuck there for three years now. At *ris poin! I'd expected to be looking at something more on the order of 20 percenl" He pointed out that greater efficiency plus inco{poratiag more sophisticated technology would allow Shui to reduce its workforce substantially and put it on the road to a more acceptable ROI. "I'm well awalre of the fact that the Chinese work for a fractian of what we'd have to payAmerican worker€, and I do appreciate the pressure ttrc govemment is putting on you guys. But sfill, it doesn't make any sense for us to hire more workers than we would in a comparable U.S. plant"" After an uncomfortable silenc€, during which Ray tried and tailed to picture brmdring the subiect of possible layoft tohis Chinese counterparts, he heard Paul ask the question he'd been &eading: "I'mbegirming to think it's time to prll the plug onShui.Is there any way youciln se totum thisaroun4 Ray, or shouldwe start thinking about other options? Staying inChina is a giverr, but ther:e has to be a better way to do it." Questions
1- FIow would you characterize the main economic, legal-political, and sociocultural differences influencing the relationship betrseen the parhrers in Shui Fabrics? What GLOBE Project dimensions would help you understand the diffierences in Chineseand American perspectives illustrated in the case?

Shui Fabrics Ray Betzell, general marulger for the past five years of a joint venhrrchtween Ohio-based Rocky River Industries and Shanghai Fabric Ltd., was feeling caught in the middle these days. As he looked out over Shanghai's modetn gleaming skyline from his corner office, Ray knew his Chinese deputy general fllanager, Chiu Wai, couldn'tbe morepleased with theway thinp were going. Ten years ago, RockyRiverhad launched Shui Fabrics, a 5G50 ioint venture between the U.S. textile manufacturer and the Chinese compirny, toproduce, dye, and coat fabric for sale toboth Chinese and intemational sporbwear manufacturers. After many obstacles, considerable red tape, and several money-losing years, the ioint venture was fulfilling Chiu Wails expectations-and those of the local govemment and party officials who were keeping careful tabs on the enterprise-much more quickly than he'd anticipated. Byprovidingiobs to dose to 3,@0people, Shuiwas making a real contribution to the local economy. ]ob creation was no srnall accomplishmerrt in a country where outside experts estimated that the actual (as op'posed to the official) unemployment rate routinely hovered at 20 percentFrom Chiu Wai's pointof view, Shuiwas generating just flre rightlevel of profit--not too little and, iust as importantly, not too much. With so many U.S.Chinese jointventures still operating inthe red, Chiu Wai saw no reason Ray's American bosses shouldn't be more than satisfied with their 5 percent armual retum nn invesErenL But those earnings rreren't going to land him in hot water with local authorities, manyof whom stillviewedprofits made byWestern companies on Chinese soil as just one more instance of exploitation in a long history of foreign attempts at dominationIf Chiu Wai had been eavesdrcpping on the conversation Ray had iust had with Rocky River president Paul Danvers, the Chinese ilEnagerwould have eertainly been dismayed. Ray, who'd *mroughly errioyedhis time in China, was painfullyaware of the quiet frustration in his boss's voice as it traveled over the phorre lines from the other side of the world. To be sure, Paul conceded, Shui had cut Rocky River's labor costs, given the company access to the potentially huge Chinese market, and helped inoculate the firrn against the uncertainty surrounding the periodic, often contentious U.S.-Crinese textile trade negotiations- Current U.S. tariffs and quotas could drange at anytime.

2. How would you define Shui's core problem? Are sociocultural differences the main underlying cause of this problerr? Why or why not? How would youhandle the conflictwith yourbossback in the United States? 3. If you were Ray Betzell, what other options to the 5G50 jointventure would you considerfor manufacturing textiles in Ctrina? Make the algument that orre of these options is more likely to meet Rocky River's expectations than the partnership aheady in placeSOURCES: Based on Katherine Xin andMadimir Pucik"fhouble in

hradix,'Haroaril Businm Rmiew (August 20{3): 27-35; Iillian McClanaghan and Rosalie Tung"Sumrary of 'llegotiating and Building Effective Working Relationships with kople in China,'" presentation b1r SidneyRittenberg, hcific Region Forum on Business and Management C-ommunicatiory Simon Fraser University. Harbour Centre,\&ncouvet B-C., Mar& 2L, 199\ lr.n?:l lwww.cic,sfu .calforun/ rittenbe.hf,nt and Charles 14k Ifu Jr.,"China's Rising Unemployurent Challenge,"Rand Corporation Ivlbb page, http:l/www.rand.orgi commentary/O70704AWSJ.html.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Shui Fabrics

...Shui Fabrics Introduction Over the past five years, Ray Betzell has been the general manager of a joint venture between Ohio-based Rocky River Industries and Shanghai Fabric, LTD. Ten years ago, Rocky River launched Shui Fabrics as a 50-50 joint venture between a U.S. Textile manufacturer and a Chinese company to produce and dye coat fabric that would be sold to both Chinese and international sportswear manufacturers. Even though Betzell was beginning to feel like he was caught in the middle because his boss Paul Danvers, the president of Rocky River, was starting to grow frustrated with the 5% ROI Shui Fabrics was receiving and felt that they should be receiving at least a 20% ROI, Chiu Wai, Betzell’s Deputy General Manager, was pleased with the way things were going and felt that the joint venture was fulfilling his expectations, those of the local government, and party officials who were keeping careful tabs on the enterprise. Describe the differences between Ray Betzell's and Chiu Wai's perspectives on Shui Fabrics' Return on Interest (ROI) in terms of the GLOBE Project value dimensions. The differences between Ray Betzell's and Chiu Wai's perspectives on Shui Fabrics' ROI in terms of the GLOBE Project value dimensions are economic, legal-political, and sociocultural influences. Economic factors include economic growth, interest rates, exchange...

Words: 1420 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Shui Fabrics

...including those identified by Hofstede. This paper describes the differences between Ray Betzell’s and Chiu Wai’s perspectives on the SHOU Fabrics’ ROI in terms of the GLOBE project value dimensions. It will explain which of the differences is most central to the issue at hand and why and develops a strategy for addressing the situation. It will also explain how the strategy will appease Ray’s boss back in the U.S. Lastly the specific benefits to the strategy will be laid out. Shui Fabris Perspectives on Shui Fabrics ROI of the Globe Ray Betzell who is the general manager of an overseas venture with Shanghai Fabrics Industry and Rocky River Industries appears to be torn between the two companies.   Though he spent many years of producing; Rocky River’s President Paul Danvers was not pleased with the company’s annual returns on investment (ROI) of 5%.   Chui Wai who is a deputy general manager, believed that Shui Fabrics had a good balance for the ROI and that there was the right level of profit, “not too much and not too little.”   Paul Danvers felt that the annual return should be somewhere around 20% because of the amount of years that they were in partnership.   Ray Betzell and Paul Danvers discussed the production of the company and the output of that alternative methods, he also gave the option of terminating his contract with Shui or everyone coming to an agreement on how to generate better ROI.     There are differences between Ray and Chiu’s...

Words: 1149 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Shui Fabric

...country for foreign businesses to invest in. Manufactures in China are growing fast in industrial and consumer product sold in the United States. Although the market is growing in China laws and regulations are becoming even stricter. Doing business in another country takes time and research. To often management fails to understand that business values and behaviors done in the United States do not translate to the rest of the world (Daft & Marcic, 2011, p. 105). This could be an area that the president of Rocky River failed to research, and understand what business values his joint venture company Shui Fabrics believes in. CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS There are cultural characteristics that influence organizations, those characteristic include language, religion, social organization, education and attitudes. Attitude is a big factor in the Rocky River and Shui Fabric joint venture, mainly understanding each other’s value. As noted in the textbook Understanding Management “Attitude toward achievement, work, and people can all affect organizational productivity” (Daft & Marcic, 2011, p. 111). Just as Paul Danvers doesn’t understand that his counter part Chui Wai is very pleased with the five percent return on investment, referring to attitude of the Chinese culture. Understanding each cultures cultural characteristic is key in a successful joint venture and business or partnership. SOCIAL VALUE Managers need to understand the local culture and one way is to...

Words: 1353 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Shui Fabrics

...SHUI FABRICS Introduction Shui Fabrics is a fabric company based in China. The company is a 50%-50% joint venture between Shanghai Fabric Ltd., Chinese company and Rocky River Industries, U.S. Textile manufacturer. The company produces dye and coat fabric for domestic and international sportswear markets. There are several differences between the American and Chinese views of the company. Let’s discuss some of the ways the two countries differ in regards to the GLOBE project value dimensions. Differences between American and Chinese perspectives The first difference deals with the humane orientation dimension. The Chinese are concerned with job creation, because their unemployment hovers around 20 percent. With this joint venture they would be able to employ around 3,000 people, which is a real contribution to the local economy. The Americans think we should cut workers in order to make a higher profit. The Americans are more concerned with bottom dollar and not the people. The second difference deals with the performance orientation dimension. Chiu Wai, Chinese deputy general manager’s, point of view on the return on investment (ROI) is that they generate an appropriate level of profits “not too little and not too much”, he is satisfied with the 5 percent ROI. Ray Betzell is the American general manager, and his boss and President of Rocky River Industries, is Paul Danvers. Danvers thinks the 5 percent ROI is pathetic and that he expected around 20 percent ROI...

Words: 992 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Shui Fabrics

...Shui Fabrics Strayer University October 28, 2012 Ray Betzell and Chiu Wai’s perspective on Shui Fabrics Economy Ray general manager of the American company feels the disappointment of the low Return of Interest (ROI). In launching this business on Chinese soil there were many barriers from Chinese government. Economically the business venture is more advantageous to the Chinese government rather than the American business because of the high tariffs placed upon American companies. Chinese’ textile trade market allows no negotiations on exports. Per capita, Chinese employees have the lowest wage (below world average). Chinese work for lower wages than Americans but American’s technology advances allow American workers to be more efficient and require fewer employees than their counterpart. Americans are struggling in their own country with high unemployment rates and rising poverty due to the economic downturn. The overall disappointment is that there is no flexibility in expanding in the American capital plan in the scheme of the Globe project. Chiu is pleased because the business is economically beneficial to the Chinese government and the local area. The business is providing jobs for the Chinese people and stimulating economic growth for the Chinese government. China is the largest exporter in the world. Chiu feels that Americans should be satisfied with the ROI. Americans seem to be thought as greedy; Chiu along with local authorities may...

Words: 1390 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Shui Fabric

...Rana, Erec C. Management Dynamics SHUI FABRICS: A CASE STUDY I. PROBLEM Low return on investment is the main problem of Shui Fabrics as to US standards. It has stuck to 5% for three years and the Rocky River President expects 20%. II. OBJECTIVE To increase the return of investment of Shui Fabrics to 20% or better. III. ANALYSIS OF RELEVANT FACTS 1. Shui Fabrics is a 50-50 joint venture between the US textile manufacturer and the Chinese company. Engaging in strategic alliances and partnerships is currently the most popular type of direct investment like a joint venture. The venture is to produce, dye and coat fabric for sale to both Chinese and international sportswear manufacturer. 2. Using the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavioural Effectiveness (GLOBE) Project Value Dimensions, the case presents the difference in perspective between the American and Chinese: The American displays performance orientation whereby it places high emphasis on performance and rewards people for performance improvements and excellence. The American wants to see a better economic performance and expects higher profits, more than 20% ROI and not contented with 5% ROI. Tasked Oriented. One option taken was thinking of pulling the plug on Shui Fabrics if no improvement in the performance. On the other hand, the Chinese exhibits humane orientation. The concern is...

Words: 268 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Shui Fabrics

...Shui Fabrics Ray Betzell, the general manager of a joint venture between Ohio-based Rocky River Industries and Shanghai fabrics Ind. After many years of production, Rocky River’s President Paul Danvers wasn’t satisfied with the annual return of 5%; he desired an annual return of around 20%. But from the view of Chui Wai, deputy general manager, believed that Shui was generating just the right level of profit-not too much and not too little. When operating on an international basis, it is important for managers to give considerable thought to economic, legal-political, and sociocultural factories. Those two companies are from different countries, one is from China and another one is from the United States. China is attractive for low-cost manufacturing of goods, on this way, China has larger market and sales more products but with lower price, which means lower profit. The united states running on opposite way have high income per hour worked, less products but with high quality and high price. That’s why President Paul Danvers wasn’t satisfied with the annual return of 5%. The different perspectives between those two companies go to different side. On one side, the president of was unhappy with the 5% return of investment. On the other side, the Chinese deputy general manager was actually very happy with the venture because it was having a positive impact on the local economy by providing jobs, and producing the right amount of profit allowed by the government. In this case...

Words: 400 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Shui Fabric

...Shu Fabrics Case Study Cecily Rodgers Modern Management Charles Milazzo Oct. 28 , 2012 I. Ray Btzell vs. Chiu Wai Shui Fabrics was a joint venture between America-based Rocky River Industries and Shanghai Fabrics. After loss of investments and obstacles were overcome, Shui fabrics began profiting after several years passed. In response to the profits, Ray Btzell and his bosses were more concerned with the performance orientation. Btzell and the American investors were concerned with gaining more than a 5% return on investment and somewhat closer to 20%. The performance orientation places high emphasis on performance and rewards people for improvements and excellence (Daft, 2010). In the perspective of GLOBE value dimensions, China and United have different views when it comes to businesses and way of life. In the United States, Americans view performance as being indicative of success. If a company is performing well, then the business will continue to gain profits. In contrast to China’s way of thinking, the American investors were more concerned of gaining a higher return on investment because the company was more successful. China were satisfied with the 5% ROI because unemployment rate was over 20% and having a low ROI would allow more jobs to be created. Chui Wai was promoting sustainability in the company by preserving the profits they were making at that time to be set-aside for the future since there were some joint ventures still operating in the...

Words: 812 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Shui Fabrics

...Shui Fabrics: A Case Study Critical Analysis Executive Summary Managers of multinational organizations and joint ventures have to negotiate, operate, and develop strategic plans that adapt to the cultural differences in each environment. Cultural differences among the United States and China often shape the design and implementation of a strategic plan. To increase the probability of success for joint ventures, an understanding of each country’s sociocultural, economic, and legal-political differences is not only important but necessary. Introduction Shui Fabrics is a joint venture between Rocky River Industries based in Ohio and Shanghai Fabrics in China. Ray Betzell has been the General Manager of the China location for the past five years. The central issue in this case is that the president of Rocky River, Paul Danvers, is not satisfied with the profit that is being generated from Shui Fabrics. He would like to see an increase the company’s annual return of investment form 5 percent to 20 percent. Danvers’ suggestion is to reduce labor costs by laying off Chinese workers; however, he charges Betzell with coming up with options to increase efficiency. Identification of Stakeholder’s Problems, Goals, and Concerns Paul Danvers is the President of Rocky River Industries based in the United States. With respect to the GLOBE Project value dimensions, Danvers’ management style places a high value on assertiveness which directly affects how he communicates. His...

Words: 1210 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Shui Fabrics Question - Ans

...relationship between the partners at Shui Fabrics. Chiu Wai operated Shanghai Fabrics LTC located in China, before it became a joint venture with Rocky River Industries in the United States. When the companies became a venture, Chiu Wai became the Deputy General Manager for Shui Fabrics in China and venturing company Rocky River Industries located in US. Ray Betzell who is the General Manager for Shui Fabrics came to China from Rocky River Industries. Many companies who do business in others countries and cultures fail miserably. Managers must do their homework and learn the business ethic and culture lifestyles before even considering venturing into markets in different counties. To me it seems like neither of the managers did their homework and are having problems maintaining the economic factors that influence their company Political officials are going to be a big part of the team because they have strong influence on economic life in China. Ray must reach out to them and understand their goals. Success will depend on the personal involvement of top executives. The partners differ dramatically in terms of what constitutes an acceptable financial return. Chiu Wai is happy with achieving a 5% to 6% profit and believes he is viewed as a local hero. Upon achieving his goal he feels that he has done a good job for his country morally and for their side of enterprise by creating jobs for close to 3,000 people. He wants to grow the scope of Shui Fabrics and establish a national brand...

Words: 948 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Shui Fabrics

...1. PESTEL analysis: * Political/ Legal: This factors influence Shui’s business at moderate level as Chinese government is encouraging foreign investment however not prefer foreign ownership. This means US based company could not further expand and affect deeply its joint-venture in US. However, 50-50 joint- venture with Chinese offer relatively advantages since government would support this business model. Moreover, the Chinese government controls completely the business in their country, so that it is too tough to make a relative with Eastern companies. * Economic: economy development in US and China are developing in the same direction, however, US economy mainly depend on the service sector while China is favor for developing heavy industry sector. This might present the different in US and Chinese manager perspective since service sector normally fast growing while industry sector require long-term development. This might explain the problem that US based manager believe on the fast growth of business (20%) while Chinese manager believe that 5% growth is considered as successful. * Cultural: This may consider as a significant problem that US is a Western country and China is an Eastern country. The Eastern is normally “uncertainty avoidance” and “future oriented” while Western managers are relatively referring “Performance Orientation” taking risk in their business. In other words, Chinese manager (Chiu Wai) would believe that a 5% growth is a strong, reliable...

Words: 724 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Shui Fabrics

...Electronic surveillance in the workplace Electronic Surveillance in the Workplace: Concerns for Employees and Challenges for Privacy Advocates Anna Johnston and Myra Cheng Paper delivered 28 November 2002 International Conference on Personal Data Protection Hosted by Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee, Korea Information Security Agency Seoul, Korea Ms Anna Johnston is the NSW Deputy Privacy Commissioner. Ms Myra Cheng is a Research & Policy Officer with Privacy NSW, the Office of the NSW Privacy Commissioner. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Dr Ben Searle, Macquarie University, in providing an overview of the relevant literature from the field of organisational psychology. Introduction This paper takes up the challenge of talking about privacy in the workplace - a site of potential conflict in which there may be co-existing radically different views on whether workers can or should have any expectations of privacy. As long as there has been employment, employees have been monitored. Nebeker D M & B C Tatum, "The effects of computer monitoring, standards and rewards on work performance, job satisfaction and stress" (1993) 23(7) Journal of Applied Social Psychology 508 at 508. However, in recent years, with an environment of affordable technology, the availability of less easily observable or detectable monitoring devices, and a lack of adequate regulation, there has been an explosion in the use of electronic monitoring...

Words: 6767 - Pages: 28

Premium Essay

Shui Fabrics Case Study

...Background of study : Shui Fabrics is a China based fabric company that is a 50%-50% joint venture between a Chinese company and U.S. Textile manufacturer. At present, it produces dye and coat fabric for both domestic as well as international market. There will be a discussion of differences between American and Chinese perspectives on Shui Fabrics' ROI by using the Global project dimensions. Along with this, a strategy will be also discussed to addressing the situation (2004-2013). Difference between American and Chinese Perspectives. According to Chiu Wai's point of view, Shui Fabrics had a good balance in terms of global project value dimensions for the return on investment (ROI). It is because; Shui Fabrics was generated an appropriate level of profits "not too little and not too much" on its investment in global projects including joint venture between U.S. and Chinese companies. On the other side, Ray Betzell who is the general manager of joint venture between Shanghai Fabrics Industry and Rocky River Industries viewed that ROI of Shui Fabrics should be at least 20% as compared to 5% annual returns on investment in last year. In terms of globe projects value dimensions, there are some differences between the perspectives of Chiu and Ray due to different views on the ROI of Shui Fabrics (2004-2013). In terms of economic dimension, the views of both Chiu and Ray regarding rate of annual returns on investment and labor costs has some differences due to different approach related...

Words: 324 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Shui Fabrics Critical Analysis

...OBJECTIONS TO UTILITARINISM Utilitarianism = Hedonism? Some people said utilitarianism just like hedonism, knowledge virtue and other things are important too But actually Utilitarianism requires that we consider everyone’s pleasure, not just our own. there are more to life than physical pleasure , being knowledgeable are also part of it This Objection said Utilitarianism means we should always act in order to maximize happiness, that’s too Demanding. But Mill’s reply said:  ninety-nine hundredths of all our actions are done from other motives, and rightly so...the motive has nothing to do with the morality of the action.. Not enough time?   Some people said they don’t have time to calculate the happiness before what they do Mill’s said :we don’t need to calculate the happiness. Because we have done by experience in the whole past duration of the human species. That’s why we have the rules of morality Predicting the Future Objection said Utilitarianism requires  that we know what the consequences of our actions will be we cant predict the future but we should perform the action that we have most reason to believe will bring the best consequences  Objection:  Just because something makes people happy doesn’t make it right.  For example, In this case Jack is in the hospital for routine tests, and there are people who need vital organs. Utilitarianism seems to imply that  the doctor should kill Jack for his organs But that would be ...

Words: 271 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Shui Fabrics: Critical Analysis of a Global Problem

...Shui Fabrics: Critical Analysis of a Global Problem GM500 Management Theories and Practice I December 30, 2013 Introduction The objective of this paper is to analyze the Shui Fabrics Case Study to show how to manage effectively globally. The case is about an American company Rocky River Industries, a textile manufacturer, and a Chinese company Shanghai Fabric, a fabric company, forming a 50-50 joint venture that would produce, dye, and coat fabric for sale to both Chinese and international sportswear manufacturers. With this case I will show the differences in cultural views between the Chinese and Americans by using the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) project value dimensions (Daft, 2012). I will also show problems that arose by not understanding the different cultures between the U.S. and China. It will also show the importance of learning the cultural values of other countries. I also will be doing an “Experimental Exercise” that focuses on my strengths and weaknesses and my potential to deal effectively with different cultures. Problems This case analysis is about Shui Fabrics and some of the problems that were faced between the Chinese culture and American culture. Chiu Wai, the Chinese deputy general manager, felt that with the company employing close to 3,000 employees it was making a contribution to the economy when the unemployment rate was around 20 percent. Paul Danvers, the U.S. Company’s president, felt that with...

Words: 1318 - Pages: 6