Customer Reviews

An American's Guide To Doing Business In China: Negotiating Contracts And Agreements; Understanding Culture and Customs; Marketing Products and Services

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

How can you guys rate this book "5 stars"???!!!
This is a good book for reading on your coffee breaks. I don't believe when the author wrote the book, he consulted with any of his Chinese business partners or friends. There are lots of things that are not true or out dated in the book. Don't get me wrong, this is still a good read for people who want to do business in China and don't know where to start.
However, instead of a "Business Guide", it should be renamed as "Introduction to Chinese Culture." From page 1 - 80 (out of a total 223 pages) it talks about Chinese Culture & Customs which we all can find it over the Internet or tons of other tour/daytrip books or from business partners or even the "Travel Channel!" From page 81 - 223, it DOES talk about things that you should watch out when you do business in China. Much to my disappointment, those things are only briefly explained with NO detail information, NO depth. For example: Chapter 8 (out of 15) of the book - Import/Export and Shipping Issues. This is something that all American company concerns/worries/pays attention about. A total of less than 8 pages with 1 table of Chinese Customs' contact information and that's it. You get the idea.
Since the author claimed that he has been doing business in China for "more than 20 years," a Stanford & Cornell graduate, then maybe he can tell us things that he encountered, problems that he had, solutions that he came up with, cases that he helped his clients. You think?! NOPE, none of that.
Buy this book from Amazon, pay $11 max. Used would even be better. I am being nice to give 3 stars.

Chance favors the prepared mind, that holds true also for a visit to China, whether it be for business or pleasure.

Reading Mr. Saxon's book beats trying to ride the dragon without a safety net. However, the book seems to be more for entertainment purposes than any real "how-to" business guidance.

Apart from the excessive value judgments, some of the numbers seem to be rather out of proportion. Budgeting USD 500.000 as annual expense for a Representative Office is simply ridiculous. I personally am spending less than USD 40.000 for a very successful Rep Office in Beijing - great office location, commission based sales staff. Like Saxon, I am an M.B.A., but with a background in Sinology and 10 years of China experience.

Most of the advice on manufacturing is simply based on due diligence - which should be applied everywhere, not only in China.

Again, it's a good "Starbucks Read", but don't make it your "Business in China Bible".

Some of Mr. Saxon's insights are very interesting. He talks about negotiation methods, selecting a supplier, the need to have well-versed translators, and the ways to setup a local operation. However, he nevers goes into the details of these subjects. It's just a cursory explanation of the topic without examples, case studies or testimonials from other professionals. As other reviewers say, it just becomes a "Starbucks' Reading," without the details. The book is good for those traveling to China and want to learn how to use chopsticks, or want to know where to shop. He actually includes these topics in his book.

Also, he gives facts and figures without footnoting where the information came from. Are these facts that Mr. Saxon calculated himself? Where did he get it? I understand that much of Mr. Saxon's comments are his opinion and I respect that, but he should backup what he says with examples or from professionals in that specific field.

For example, he comments that "Chinese is less precise." He uses the word "surprise" as his proof. In English, there are many words to express surprise, but "Chinese often combines common words for more precise meaning." I don't think Mr. Saxon is in position to comment about this? Does he speak Chinese? Did he consult a linguist? He should back his comments with other testimonials. This is the main problem with the book.

I work for a consulting company that assists foreign businesses in their China and Japan strategies so I'm looking for good books that help us. Mr. Saxon's comments just doesn't do that for us. Infact, many of his comments trivializes the difficulties of doing business in China. He writes about how it's important to use chopsticks when dining with Chinese businesspeople. The Chinese don't care whether Americans use chopsticks or not.

In conclusion, I don't want to be totally negative about Mr. Saxon's book. He makes some good points, but makes many trivial points as well. The good points should be supported with case studies and quotes from other professionals.

Hiroko Furuyama
Business Manager
All In Consulting (www.allinconsult.com)

I am using this book for MBA graduate school class and have found this to have relevant and useful information. We will be visiting China as part of our class experience.

I have done business in China and have logged quite a few trips there. I bought "An American's Guide to Doing Business in China" at an airport book store because I forgot to take reading material, so my expectations were not high.

Every chapter is a different theme, so each can be read independent of the chapter before or after it and lends itself to reading in any order you want. I started with the chapter on culture. Then I read the one on customs. Just those two chapters alone made the purchase worthwhile. Each topic is straight to the point, and clearly and simply explained. It put many events that I had experienced into sharper focus for me.

Then I went into some other short topics that proved to be amazingly useful. Read the section on how to avoid getting sick there.

One of the most relevant topics for me was the method of negotiating and related topics. The recommendations are very different than the methods I was taught, but they seem to work far better than standard methods.

There were also topics I had learned already and some that were not relevant to me. Several chapters I started and did not finish. However, this is one of the most informative books I have bought in a long time.

"I had been to China only once and was impressed enough with the potential there that I bought three books that seem to be the hottest on the market right now. I read the first one and it was interesting. I now know something about where the China of today came from - some history.

"An American's Guide" was the second book I read. Because of the way it was laid out, it was easy to pick the chapters that most interested me and read those first. I found the book easy to understand and straight to the point. I liked the style and the way it was presented. I went from one chapter to another. I ended up reading the whole thing. I got a lot out of it, it was enjoyable, and I really think I got the knowledge I was looking for out of it. I want to compliment the author for keeping the reader in mind.

I still have the third book I bought unopened, if anyone is interested."

This book is a real "User's Guide" to doing business in China. It's refreshing to read a book on China and be given practical solutions rather than being pounded with all of the hype about China's growth and why your business should be there.

The book goes much further than others of its type by not only outlining the real and inevitable challenges that face American companies in China, but in providing usable advice in all areas including negotiating and marketing US products in China.

From how to get around to how to get preferential assistance from the government, it's all here. This book will remain in my briefcase for quick reference.

This is a very informative book. Realy a must read for anybody contemplating doing business in China.

Because of the rapid growth of the Chinese economy and the speed at which the Chinese are adopting modern ways of doing business, the information, observations, and assumptions in many books about China could be obsolete a few years after they are published. This newly published (Nov. 2006) book has the latest updates about doing business in China.

The author covers all aspects of doing business in China, from basic facts and background to issues and problems, business action skills and requirements, and business opportunities in China by industry. This book is a good start to the subject and a general overview.

Busy professionals might want to jump right into Part Four: Business Opportunities in China by Industry. You can see if your specific industry or products are welcomed and needed in China before you invest your time reading the rest of the book.

Recommended.