China Now: Doing Business in the World's Most Dynamic Market (Kindle Edition)

by N. Mark Lam (Author), John L. Graham (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Turn East-West Relations Into Win-Win Situations

China has more than one billion people. That's one billion potential customers. China Now is your must-have guide to this exciting world of opportunity, written by a top corporate advisor and a renowned business professor who specialize in East-West business strategy. Together, Mark Lam and John Graham have worked with dozens of Fortune 500 companies and thousands of American and Chinese executives, and now share with you their most successful strategies, tactics, and insights.

A comprehensive all-in-one tour of the world's fastest growing market, China Now is filled with everything you need to know about China's people, negotiation styles, culture, history, economics, and business dealings. You'll learn how to plan, where to go, and who to visit for the best results. And, unlike other books on the market, you'll discover the key differences between various regions and businesses that could make or break the deal.

China Now includes:

• The best regions to do business
• Nonverbal cues and culture-based signals
• Important travel, meeting, and personnel tips
• Laws and regulations on customs, foreign trade, and investment
• Protecting your intellectual property rights

Even if you've read Sun Tsu's The Art of War, this book will help you master the art of peaceful negotiations-and establish long-term partnerships that profit everyone involved. The advice you'll find here is not only invaluable; it's absolutely essential to the future of your business.

From the Back Cover

MORE THAN ONE BILLION CUSTOMERS ARE WAITING

Get ready to do business with…

CHINA NOW

It's one of the last-and largest-untapped markets in the world. But if you're looking to expand your business into China, you first need to understand its richly diverse culture, economic history, and subtle negotiation styles. This complete, one-stop guide gives you all the essential tools and crucial information you're looking for. The authors have between them more than 50 years of experience in international business, particularly in Asia, and they'll tell you everything you need to know to be smart, sensitive, and successful in all of your East-West transactions.

You'll learn:

• How to negotiate with public and private businesses
• What to say and how to interact with Chinese cultures
• What you should know about China's economics, laws, and regulations
• How to handle intellectual property rights and contracts
• How Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore relate to and play important roles in doing business with China

The opportunities are as big as China itself. With this book as your personal tour guide, you'll be able to reach a whole new world of clients and consumers.

China Now offers the best negotiation advice now available for cross-border dealmakers hoping to forge value-creating agreements in the world's fastest growing major economy. In an easy, informal style, this book excels at efficiently conveying a sense of historical context, the dos and don'ts of effective negotiation, and an all-important recognition of critical regional variations.”-James K. Sebenius, Gordon Donaldson Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School and Vice Chair, Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School

“For many American executives China is still inscrutable. Few people writing about doing business in China can provide the academic-practioner and Chinese-American balance that Mark Lam and John Graham provide in China Now. It is a must read for all American managers and executives working with and negotiating with Chinese partners. The book holds the keys for building successful, long lasting business relationships in China.”-Katherine Xin, Editor-in-Chief, Harvard Business Review (China), Professor of Management, Michelin Chair in Leadership and Human Resource Management, China Europe International Business School (Shanghai), and Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior, IMD (Switzerland)

“Few companies, especially those operating globally, can afford to ignore doing business in China or business with Chinese partners. This book permits a rapid assimilation of knowledge on how to understand the Chinese psyche, cultural background, and business mores, as well as others' business experiences of working in China. Vivid descriptions of various cultural traits, as well as, rich examples of positive and negative experiences, provide a backdrop and a way to prepare for challenging, but potentially rewarding business ventures.”-David Pyott, CEO and Chairman, Allergan, Inc.

“A great primer for someone seeking an entry and additional insights to doing business in China. The book is very relevant and current, given the business environment is changing so quickly as China embraces commercial acumen, tools, and infrastructure…to no only compete but lead on the worldwide playing field going into the 22nd Century."-Greg Spierkel, CEO IngramMicro, Inc.

“A magnificent treatment of Chinese and American negotiation styles and what this means in face-to-face business interactions. Lam and Graham provide us with an original, integrative account of the cultural and psychological foundations of cross-cultural negotiations and weave these into a masterful specification of practical guidelines. This is a splendid book with much value for practitioners and academicians alike.”-Richard P. Bagozzi, Professor of Marketing, University of Michigan,

“China has changed faster than the misconceptions held by most international business people. John Graham and Mark Lam provide a clear framework of Chinese history and culture to help readers prepare for, negotiate, and establish sustainable business relationships. Their advice and strategies are born of true insights, not stereotypes."-David Murphy, President, Saatchi & Saatchi

“This is an exceptional analysis of a complex culture and a sophisticated business community. A must read for western business people.”-Edwin D. Fuller, President & Managing Director, Marriott

“China Now is a must read for any foreigner wanting to succeed in the world's most challenging and fastest growing market. Mark Lam and John Graham provide a unique and very necessary perspective to the complex dynamics of negotiating with the Chinese. The multitude of lessons learned and prescriptions are provocative, insightful and, most of all, practical.”-Dean Yoost, Former Managing Partner in both China and Japan, now Senior Advisor to the Group Companies of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Japan

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• Print Length: 385 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Up to 4 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (November 8, 2006)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• ASIN: B001E52T1S
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #118,263 in Kindle Store (See Bestsellers in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Time to Learn Mandarin, July 4, 2007

By	mjmcc61 (Sunnyvale, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: China Now: Doing Business in the World's Most Dynamic Market (Hardcover)

Every time I visit Shanghai, I become more convinced that this is the Chinese Century, much as the last century was dominated by America and the 19th Century by Britain. I picked up a copy of this book at Hongqiao Airport en route to Beijing and finished it within days.

The authors clearly know their stuff, and despite repeating themselves throughout the text, present a compelling case for respecting Chinese culture and learning how to conduct business differently than the typical American practices. I found their comments on intellectual property rights to be particularly insightful and convincing. Their argument that China (or any other country) will not be motivated to respect other countries' IP rights until they themselves have IP they want to protect is supported by the history of Taiwan, Japan and the US.

Anyone who wants to do business in China will benefit by reading this book. Since China is quickly becoming our biggest trading partner and will someday soon have an economy larger than the US, learning some Mandarin wouldn't hurt either.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great information and insight with intriguing statistics, February 25, 2007

By	P. Yu "khunpeter" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: China Now: Doing Business in the World's Most Dynamic Market (Hardcover)

Sun Tzu said "Know yourself, know your enemy, and you will win every battle." This book provides the readers with a key to the critical success factors of conducting business in China. It contains much pertinent information to help understand the people and the culture that drive the business culture in China. As a former expat manager in Asia for a major American telecom company, I found incredible knowledge, intriguing numbers, and insight in this book, and I highly recommend this book for anyone that wants to grow their business or career with the Chinese economy.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars China Now--For Businessman and Layman, February 17, 2007

By	Edward L. Lindsay (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: China Now: Doing Business in the World's Most Dynamic Market (Hardcover)

China Now is a sweeping and practical guidebook for those intending to engage in the formidable challenge of conducting business activities in China. The authors possess first-hand experience which will benefit entrepreneurs as well as corporate executives. There is ample `hands-on' step-by-step guidance, by region, with an emphasis on negotiation preparation, techniques and styles, and approaches to the drafting of contracts and relevant cultural insights. Extensive discussions regarding intellectual property protection with important historical perspective--harking back to the years when Americans provided very lax protection for IP-- provide the reader with an understanding of the opposing views of today. There is also considerable discussion of the existing International IP agreements and the progress made in this area. The various sectors of China's high technology and research and development are surveyed, along with the expanding harbor and container capacity, power supply and information management systems, and air and ground transportation systems.

A brief review of rural China suggests the possibilities for investment by labor intensive industries in these geographical areas that have not significantly shared in the new Chinese economy. There are summaries of the Chinese governmental structures and legal profession, their functions, powers and interrelationships, formal and informal, with discussions of the consequences for foreign business. Useful anecdotal references are sprinkled throughout.

China Now presents historical and cultural perspectives that are lacking in many public portrayals of the nation. China's unforgotten bitter experiences with foreign powers in the 19th and first half of the 20th Centuries are surveyed. The book also offers a present day assessment of the contentious issue of U.S. impediments to trade with China. The authors emphatically set forth their views of the importance of the unimpeded flow of trade for the promotion of mutually beneficial international relations.

In addition to its value for business investors, China Now affords a very useful set of perspectives for the general reader who wants a fuller understanding of the world's `other giant.' It covers not only the principal sectors of China proper (Northeast China, Beijing and Tianjin, Shanghai, the Pearl River Delta (including Hong Kong) and Rural China), Singapore and Taiwan and their economic relations with China, but also addresses the economic importance of the Chinese Diaspora. Historical, cultural and economic relations between North and South Korea and northeast China are also discussed.

Through a portrayal of the evolving business face of China, and its cultural underpinnings, the book serves as a counterbalance to the customary more-or-less dominant focus on the political and military aspects of relations with China. The general reader will find an informative picture of the extensive involvement of Western and Japanese capital investment and business activities in China, Sino-Russian trade and economic cooperation and the growing South Korean investment in northeast China. The mutuality of international economic interests is made quite clear.

America's understanding of China is too important to be left to business people and political operatives alone. China Now can help to bring such understanding to the general electorate. A phrase appearing near the end of China Now: "China and the United States need each other," states an important premise of the book. If this phrase is true and remains true, it is a basis for optimism.

Edward Lindsay
Certified Public Accountant
Member California State Bar (Inactive)
Fountain Valley, California