N° 100 - june 2010

IN CHINA, BETWEEN GUANXI AND THE CELESTIAL BUREAUCRACY

By Philippe D’IRIBARNE

Article translated from French by Gail Taillefer and Geneviève Tréguer-Felten Article published in French in Gérer et Comprendre [June 2009] http://www.annales.org/

In analysing the reaction of local workforce to the management style introduced by Lafarge in its cement division subsidiary in China (Box 1), we came up against a general question that puzzles companies rooted in the West but with subsidiaries in that country. These firms seem to face a key dilemma: should they adapt themselves to “Chinese” management? Or should they —and can they— practise management in conformity with the orientations taken by the parent company? Or yet again, should they look to implement some sort of synthesis taking into account both Chinese and “Western” practises (with all the ambiguity implied by the latter)?

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