DOCSLIB.ORG

Competir En Un Mundo “Plano” Sin Costo, a Las Personas Inscritas a Intesys Consulting INTRODUCCION Volumen 10-04

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Competir En Un Mundo “Plano” Sin Costo, a Las Personas Inscritas a Intesys Consulting INTRODUCCION Volumen 10-04 15 de Abril, 2010 Este es un resumen del libro indicado. Estos resúmenes son enviados, Competir en un Mundo “Plano” sin costo, a las personas inscritas a Intesys Consulting INTRODUCCION Volumen 10-04 INFORMACION La triple convergencia entre la compañía Li & Fung, ya SOBRE EL LIBRO la tecnología, los individuos y es posible fabricar ropa, TítuloOriginal del Libro: las organizaciones ha trans- juguetes y otros bienes de Competing in a Flat World formado los negocios y ace- consumo por valor de 9.000 lerado la globalización, millones de dólares anuales Autor: Victor Fung, Wi- lliam Fung, Yoram Wind haciendo que nuestro mundo sin tan siquiera poseer una sea más “plano” hoy que sola fábrica. Con una histo- Fecha de Publicación: nunca. China, la India y otros ria secular, esta empresa de 12 de Septiembre 2007 países cobran cada vez más origen cantonés se inició importancia en la cadena de como compañía intermedia- Editorial: Wharton School Publishing suministro mundial. La geo- ria (trading) a nivel local, grafía ha dejado de ser un pasando después a exportar Nº Páginas: 272 obstáculo y las empresas a todo el mundo (fijando su tienen la posibilidad de exten- base de operaciones en ISBN: 0132332906 der por todo el mundo su Hong Kong) para, finalmen- todo tipo de productos en producción, sus servicios a te, reinventarse a sí misma y cualquier lugar del mundo. los clientes y otros procesos convertirse en la Su secreto reside en la apli- Contenido: de negocio. Esta expansión “orquestadora” de una red cación de una serie de prin- crea enormes oportunidades de más de 8.300 proveedo- cipios de “orquestación” de Introducción 1 de cambio en la manera de res en más de 40 países. redes de proveedores que gestionar las empresas tal y Los autores de este libro, desafían las nociones de como la conocemos ahora. directivos de esta compañía, gestión de empresas a nivel La orquestación de 2 Hoy en día, el éxito de las nos descubren cómo han global, tal y como las cono- redes empresas depende menos de conseguido transformar una cemos hoy en día. Su ámbi- lo que producen que de su estructura organizativa tradi- to de influencia se extiende Competir con otras 3 capacidad para trabajar en cional en una red fluida, en a diferentes actividades e redes red. Tal y como nos demues- permanente cambio, capaz industrias, desde las alian- tra el caso paradigmático de de diseñar, fabricar y ofrecer zas estratégicas, la innova- Como crear empresas 5 alrededor de las nece- EL AUTOR sidades del cliente Victor Fung, doctor por la Universidad de Hong Kong. Crear redes descentra- 6 de Harvard, es Presidente del Grupo Li lizadas siguiendo la & Fung. Ha dirigido el Organismo Oficial Yoram (Jerry) Wind, doctor por la Univer- regla 30/70 de Promoción del Comercio de Hong sidad de Stanford, es profesor de Kong y ha sido asesor de la APEC Marketing en la Wharton School of Como vender a los 8 (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation). Economics de la Universidad de mercados de provee- William K. Fung posee un MBA de la Pennsylvania. Se le considera un experto dores Harvard Business School. Es Director en materias Power of Impossible Thinking. Gerente del Grupo Li & Fung. Ha presidi- Conclusión 9 do la Cámara de Comercio de Hong Kong y la Asociación de Exportadores INTESYS CONSULTING: http://www.intesysconsulting.com, Email. [email protected], Torre HSBC, Escazú, de Multiplaza 100mts sur. Tel. (506) 2505-5005. San José, Costa Rica, Página 2 Volumen 10-04 ción abierta (compraventa adecuado, al momento y biaran y la distribución ge- de procesos e inventos) o precio adecuados. Esta ográfica de las fábricas re- el co-marketing “orquestación” supone un sultara menos competitiva, (cooperación entre dos em- enfoque fluido en la gestión los cambios en la produc- presas con canales de distri- de socios y empleados y ción serían mucho más difí- bución separados y división permite un equilibrio entre ciles de acometer. En la me- de beneficios). autonomía y centralización dida en que la demanda del Así, en el libro se describe de decisiones. Para com- consumidor y las estructuras qué es una “orquestación” prender lo que significa este de costos cambian de forma de redes, cómo ganar en la fenómeno, comparemos la vertiginosa, en muchas in- competencia entre distintas ya mencionada compañía Li dustrias la necesidad de una redes, cómo crear empresas & Fung, que, como hemos flexibilidad y sensibilidad alrededor de las necesida- dicho, no dispone de una mayores hacia los consumi- des del cliente, cómo crear sola fábrica, aunque produ- dores aumentan. Por el con- “...“orquestación”, redes descentralizadas y ce ropa, juguetes y otros trario, la propiedad de los mantener el control sobre productos para las marcas medios de producción está entendida como el las mismas siguiendo la re- más conocidas del mundo, reducida al mínimo en Li & diseño de los gla 30/70 y, finalmente, con el otro gran fabricante Fung y la “orquestación” cómo vender en los merca- mundial de ropa, Esquel. cobra un protagonismo mejores procesos dos de los propios provee- Esta última organización lo esencial. En su caso, la red dores. tiene todo, desde los cam- de proveedores, aunque posibles a través pos de algodón hasta las formalmente no pertenece a fábricas que producen fibra, la compañía, en la práctica de una red…” hilo y tela para sus confec- forma parte de ella: ser pro- La orquestación ciones. Su cadena de sumi- pietario de una fábrica es de redes nistro es completamente irrelevante si se es el único vertical, la necesidad de comprador del 100% de su Los fracasos de la deslocali- “orquestación” de una red de producción. Cuanto más zación, externalización y las proveedores mínima y todo organizada esté una cadena alianzas estratégicas, que el negocio se gestiona bajo de suministro alrededor de con cierta periodicidad apa- férreos controles internos. la “orquestación” en vez de recen en los medios de co- Aunque existen considera- en la propiedad, tanto más municación, hacen necesa- bles argumentos a favor de flexible será. Aunque ambos rio, más que nunca, buscar mantener este modo de pro- modelos pueden funcionar nuevos referentes en la for- ducción centralizado (tales bien, el problema con el mo- ma de enfrentarse a la glo- como un mayor control de la delo de la propiedad de las balización. Una de las razo- calidad y de los procesos o instalaciones es que su ma- nes principales de estos unos costos de supervisión, yor preocupación, a partir de reveses es que los directivos coordinación y logísticos un cierto momento, empieza de las empresas implicadas mucho menores), en el mun- a ser la utilización de las no han reconocido la impor- do globalizado de hoy supo- capacidades de producción, tancia de la “orquestación”, ne reducir la flexibilidad el en vez de dar una respuesta entendida como el diseño de mantener un nivel elevado satisfactoria a las necesida- los mejores procesos posi- de control. Si se diera el des del cliente. Los activos bles a través de una red caso de que una nueva tela fijos obligan a construir una global de proveedores, con llegase a ser más popular cadena de suministro pen- el objetivo de ofrecer el pro- que otras, o las restricciones sando primero en la fábrica ducto adecuado, en el lugar del comercio exterior cam- y no en el consumidor. Este INTESYS CONSULTING: http://www.intesysconsulting.com, Email. [email protected], Torre HSBC, Escazú, de Multiplaza 100mts sur. Tel. (506) 2505-5005. San José, Costa Rica, Página 3 Volumen 10-04 retroceso y va dejando paso see ninguno de los millones suficientes vendedores de al modelo de “orquestación”. de productos que aparecen un artículo, eBay creaba una En contraste con las cade- en su página web. Sin em- nueva categoría para él y así nas de montaje de Henry bargo, sus subastas por In- facilitaba su búsqueda. El Ford, donde todos los proce- ternet y otros negocios rela- negocio se desarrolló aún sos manufactureros están cionados le han reportado más con la aparición de so- bajo un mismo techo, en el ingresos por valor de 6.000 cios en materia de pagos modelo de “orquestación” se millones de dólares en 2006. (PayPal) o de entregas puede decir que el mundo es Sus 13.000 empleados ge- (UPS). En este sentido, la fábrica. No se tiene la pro- neran un promedio de eBay posee una ventaja piedad de la cadena de su- 460.000 dólares por perso- considerable sobre Amazon, ministro, sino que se na, con tan sólo crear y que se vio obligada a crear “orquesta”. mantener la plataforma tec- su propio sistema de alma- “...el éxito queda El modelo de “orquestación” nológica sobre la que se cenes. Amazon ha ido com- invierte el proceso tradicio- sustenta esta casa de su- prendiendo el potencial que reservado para nal de los suministros: pri- bastas. El resto lo hacen los esconde la “orquestación” y aquellas mero identifica una necesi- usuarios registrados, or- ha convertido a sus compra- dad del cliente y luego dise- questados por la compañía dores en vendedores, a los empresas que ña una cadena de fabrica- como vendedores y compra- que permite vender sus li- ción o una cadena de servi- dores en una comunidad bros y otros productos de descubran y cio para satisfacer esa nece- donde se realizan las tran- segunda mano. sidad. Una mayor conciencia sacciones. La “orquestación” de la red satisfagan mejor de las necesidades del clien- La cadena de suministro de de proveedores supone una te y una mejor satisfacción eBay es radicalmente dife- adaptación completa a las sus de las mismas redunda en rente de las cadenas tradi- necesidades del cliente.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Guangzhou-Hongkong Strike, 1925-1926
    The Guangzhou-Hongkong Strike, 1925-1926 Hongkong Workers in an Anti-Imperialist Movement Robert JamesHorrocks Submitted in accordancewith the requirementsfor the degreeof PhD The University of Leeds Departmentof East Asian Studies October 1994 The candidateconfirms that the work submitted is his own and that appropriate credit has been given where referencehas been made to the work of others. 11 Abstract In this thesis, I study the Guangzhou-Hongkong strike of 1925-1926. My analysis differs from past studies' suggestions that the strike was a libertarian eruption of mass protest against British imperialism and the Hongkong Government, which, according to these studies, exploited and oppressed Chinese in Guangdong and Hongkong. I argue that a political party, the CCP, led, organised, and nurtured the strike. It centralised political power in its hands and tried to impose its revolutionary visions on those under its control. First, I describe how foreign trade enriched many people outside the state. I go on to describe how Chinese-run institutions governed Hongkong's increasingly settled non-elite Chinese population. I reject ideas that Hongkong's mixed-class unions exploited workers and suggest that revolutionaries failed to transform Hongkong society either before or during the strike. My thesis shows that the strike bureaucracy was an authoritarian power structure; the strike's unprecedented political demands reflected the CCP's revolutionary political platform, which was sometimes incompatible with the interests of Hongkong's unions. I suggestthat the revolutionary elite's goals were not identical to those of the unions it claimed to represent: Hongkong unions preserved their autonomy in the face of revolutionaries' attempts to control Hongkong workers.
    [Show full text]
  • Enfry Denied Aslan American History and Culture
    In &a r*tm Enfry Denied Aslan American History and Culture edited by Sucheng Chan Exclusion and the Chinese Communify in America, r88z-ry43 Edited by Sucheng Chan Also in the series: Gary Y. Okihiro, Cane Fires: The Anti-lapanese Moaement Temple University press in Hawaii, t855-ry45 Philadelphia Chapter 6 The Kuomintang in Chinese American Kuomintang in Chinese American Communities 477 E Communities before World War II the party in the Chinese American communities as they reflected events and changes in the party's ideology in China. The Chinese during the Exclusion Era The Chinese became victims of American racism after they arrived in Him Lai Mark California in large numbers during the mid nineteenth century. Even while their labor was exploited for developing the resources of the West, they were targets of discriminatory legislation, physical attacks, and mob violence. Assigned the role of scapegoats, they were blamed for society's multitude of social and economic ills. A populist anti-Chinese movement ultimately pressured the U.S. Congress to pass the first Chinese exclusion act in 1882. Racial discrimination, however, was not limited to incoming immi- grants. The established Chinese community itself came under attack as The Chinese settled in California in the mid nineteenth white America showed by words and deeds that it considered the Chinese century and quickly became an important component in the pariahs. Attacked by demagogues and opportunistic politicians at will, state's economy. However, they also encountered anti- Chinese were victimizedby criminal elements as well. They were even- Chinese sentiments, which culminated in the enactment of tually squeezed out of practically all but the most menial occupations in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
    [Show full text]
  • Mao Zedong's Class Analysis Method and Its Contemporary Value Shuang Li* No
    Advances in Intelligent Systems Research, volume 163 8th International Conference on Management, Education and Information (MEICI 2018) Mao Zedong's Class Analysis Method and Its Contemporary Value Shuang Li* No. 232, Wensan road, Xihu district, Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province [email protected] Keywords: Mao Zedong; Class analysis method; Contemporary value Abstract. In the article analysis of social classes in China written by Mao Zedong in 1925, the author combined the Marxist theory of class analysis with the concrete reality of Chinese society, and accurately divided the classes existing in Chinese society at that time, providing useful guidance for the formulation of revolutionary strategies. With the development of Chinese society becoming more and more complex and diversified, Mao Zedong's class analysis is still of great significance. Mao Zedong's thought of class analysis inspires us not to lose the Marxist theory of class analysis; In the new era, we should master the essence of class analysis theory and correctly analyze Chinese social class and class problems. The analysis of ideology should go deep into the class and stratum problems. We should use class analysis to build the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation. Introduce. Since the reform and opening up, China has undergone profound adjustment and reform in its social and economic structure and industrial structure. China's social structure has become increasingly complicated and diversified, and some emerging strata have emerged. How can we properly analyze and grasp this new structure of Chinese society? At the same time, various ideological trends are surging in the ideological field, and people's values are diversified.
    [Show full text]
  • Treaty-Port English in Nineteenth-Century Shanghai: Speakers, Voices, and Images
    Treaty-Port English in Nineteenth-Century Shanghai: Speakers, Voices, and Images Jia Si, Fudan University Abstract This article examines the introduction of English to the treaty port of Shanghai and the speech communities that developed there as a result. English became a sociocultural phenomenon rather than an academic subject when it entered Shanghai in the 1840s, gradually generating various social activities of local Chinese people who lived in the treaty port. Ordinary people picked up a rudimentary knowledge of English along trading streets and through glossary references, and went to private schools to improve their linguistic skills. They used English to communicate with foreigners and as a means to explore a foreign presence dominated by Western material culture. Although those who learned English gained small-scale social mobility in the late nineteenth century, the images of English-speaking Chinese were repeatedly criticized by the literati and official scholars. This paper explores Westerners’ travel accounts, as well as various sources written by the new elite Chinese, including official records and vernacular poems, to demonstrate how English language acquisition brought changes to local people’s daily lives. I argue that treaty-port English in nineteenth-century Shanghai was not only a linguistic medium but, more importantly, a cultural agent of urban transformation. It gradually molded a new linguistic landscape, which at the same time contributed to the shaping of modern Shanghai culture. Introduction The circulation of Western languages through both textual and oral media has enormously affected Chinese society over the past two hundred years. In nineteenth-century China, the English language gradually found a social niche and influenced people’s acceptance of emerging Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review E-Journal No.
    [Show full text]
  • Enriching Lives a History of Insurance in Hong Kong, 1841–2010
    Enriching Lives A History of Insurance in Hong Kong, 1841–2010 Feng Bangyan and Nyaw Mee Kau Translated by Violet Law This book is a revised translation of《厚生利群：香港保險史，1841–2008》published in Chinese by the Joint Publishing (HK) Co. Ltd in 2009. Copyright of this English version is vested with Hong Kong University Press and the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers through arrangement with Joint Publishing (HK) Co. Ltd. Hong Kong University Press 14/F Hing Wai Centre 7 Tin Wan Praya Road Aberdeen Hong Kong www.hkupress.org © Hong Kong University Press 2010 ISBN 978-988-8028-70-2 All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Designed by Cynthia NG Ying Fai Printed and bound by Kings Time Printing Press Ltd., Hong Kong, China Table of Contents Foreword by Chan Kin Por, member, Hong Kong Legislative Council (Functional vii Constituency — Insurance) Foreword by Allan K. N. Yu, chairman (2010–11), Hong Kong Federation of Insurers viii Preface by Peter C. H. Tam, chief executive, Hong Kong Federation of Insurers ix Acknowledgements xi Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Pioneer Insurers in the New Crown Colony: Canton and Union 5 Chapter 2 The Establishment and Development of the Chinese-Owned Insurance Sector 41 Chapter
    [Show full text]
  • Problems of Socialist Orientation in Africa
    RUIL F URI IN AFRI Edited by MAI PALMBERG NORDISKA AFRIKA1NSTITUT!T 19a4 ·02· 15 UPPSALA Problems of Socialist Orientation in Africa Problems of Socialist Orientation in Africa Edited by Mai Palmberg Papers from a seminar on non-capitalist deve10pment in Africa organised by Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, Upp­ sala, in co-operation with the Institute of Development Studies, He1sinki, August 16-19, 1976, in He1sinki, Finland. Contributors: Mohamed Aden & A.M.M. Ashur,jeremy Gould & Riilta Launonen, Parwiz Khalatbari, Peter Mandi, jozej Nowicki, Mai Palm­ berg, Lars Rudebeck, Timothy Shaw & Malcolm j. Grieve, Clive y Tho­ mas The Scandinavian Institute of African Studies Uppsala 1978 Distributed by Almqvist & Wiksell International, Stockholm © Nordiska afrikainstitutet 1978 ISBN 91·7106·141-X Printed in Sweden by Uppsala Offset Center AB, Uppsala 1978 PREFACE Since 1963, the Scandinavian Institute of African Studies has organized a variety of international seminars. As a part of its function as a Scandinavian documentation and research centre on African problems, the Institute has sought to choose topics for these international seminars that \vould be of interest to academics as ~lell as to planners, adminis­ trators and politicians. These topics have included refugee problems, boundary problems, problems of adult education, the role of mass media, co-operative development in East Africa and problems of land-locked countries in Africa. Scholars from abroad - primarily, of course, from Africa - have been invited to discuss their particular topics with Scandinavian specialists and other interested persons. Another of our principle tasks over the years has been to promote and sustain the interest in African affairs among Scandinavians.
    [Show full text]
  • The London School of Economics and Political Science British Opinion
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by LSE Theses Online 1 The London School of Economics and Political Science British Opinion and Policy towards China, 1922-1927 Phoebe Chow A thesis submitted to the Department of International History of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, November 2011 2 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of the author. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. Phoebe Chow 3 Abstract Public opinion in Britain influenced the government’s policy of retreat in response to Chinese nationalism in the 1920s. The foreigners’ rights to live, preach, work and trade in China extracted by the ‘unequal treaties’ in the nineteenth century were challenged by an increasingly powerful nationalist movement, led by the Kuomintang, which was bolstered by Soviet support. The Chinese began a major attack on British interests in June 1925 in South China and continued the attack as the Kuomintang marched upward to the Yangtze River, where much of British trade was centred.
    [Show full text]
  • Uma Fábrica Sem Fumaça: a Empresa Li & Fung, De Hong Kong
    Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Uma Fábrica Sem Fumaça: a Empresa Li & Fung, de Hong Kong Antonio Galvão Novaes Na atual fase de evolução da Logística, em que os problemas de cadeia de suprimento passaram a ser tratados estrategicamente dentro do Suplly Chain Management , as fronteiras entre os fornecedores e a manufatura, e entre essa última e o varejo, estão cada vez mais tênues. Antes, era a manufatura que dava as cartas na cadeia de valor, impondo produtos, preços e prazos aos atacadistas e varejistas. Com as experiências vividas pela Wal-Mart e outras cadeias varejistas, o cenário começou a mudar. Muitas das grandes empresas de varejo já não se satisfazem mais em comercializar produtos prontos. É comum definir suas próprias marcas e especificar alguns produtos, indo atrás dos fornecedores que lhes ofereçam melhor qualidade, preço mais baixo e um bom serviço logístico. Tarefas antes do domínio estrito do fabricante, como projeto do produto, acabamento e montagem, estão sendo feitas, hoje, por outros agentes da cadeia de suprimento. Nesta matéria procuramos focalizar um cenário bastante diferente da nossa realidade brasileira. Apesar da crise asiática, ainda temos muito que aprender com a experiência de alguns paises daquela região. A mão-de-obra barata, que também dispomos, somam-se a agilidade empresarial e uma boa infra-estrutura logística, que ainda não temos no Brasil. O caso que apresentamos a seguir é baseado na entrevista de Victor Fung, presidente da empresa Li & Fung, de Hong Kong, à revista Harvard Business Review*. A empresa Li & Fung é a maior trading exportadora de Hong Kong, e uma inovadora no desenvolvimento do moderno Gerenciamento da Cadeia de Suprimento, num contexto globalizado.
    [Show full text]
  • Introducing Comprador Networks and Comparative Modernities
    $UFKLWHFWXUDO Chua, L. 2020. Imperial Negotiations: Introducing Comprador Networks and Comparative Modernities. Architectural +LVWRULHV Histories, 8(1): 17, pp. 1–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/ ah.550 EDITORIAL Imperial Negotiations: Introducing Comprador Networks and Comparative Modernities Lawrence Chua The comprador classes of the 19th- and early 20th-centuries were critical agents of global capitalism. As ‘middle men’ in the colonial enterprise, they enabled the development of imperial trade networks, negotiated the supply of labor that extracted profit from the local landscape, established new patterns of consumption and taste, and facilitated cultural as well as economic exchanges that were critical to the growth of Asian cities. In diverse treaty ports and colonial entrepôts like Singapore, Batavia, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, compradors drew on a diverse vocabulary of intra- and trans-regional architectural forms, labor, materials, and construction techniques to build homes, offices, godowns, factories, and infrastructural networks that were legible to both European corporations and local populations. The travelling, sojourning perspective of the comprador allows historians to critically examine the fractured, multi-scaled geographies at play across global networks as well as what Raymond Williams has described as ‘the metropolitan interpretation of its own processes as universals’. This special collection examines the role of comprador patrons and architects as active participants in the production of the global modern built environment in the 19th and 20th centuries. The articles aim to create an understanding of treaty ports, colonial cities, and free trade zones not only as sites of local and foreign interactions but as incubators of new ideas about architecture and modernity in the global capitalist economy.
    [Show full text]
  • From a British to a Chinese Colony?
    From a British to Chinese Colony? “With the issue (or non-issue) of Hong Kong independence becoming the subject of increasingly acrimonious debate, From a British to a Chinese Colony? is the first book to place the region’s unique political, economic, social, and cultural transitions From a within their wider historical context. Decolonization, recolonization, or something else—each of the ten chapters in this timely, interdisciplinary volume offers a fresh perspective.” British to a —John M. Carroll, University of Hong Kong “Gary Chi-hung Luk’s thoughtfully edited collection is a timely and significant Chinese Colony? intervention in the growing scholarship of Hong Kong. Timely, because this year marks twenty years since the return of the former British colony to China. In view of Hong Kong such recent events as the Umbrella Movement and Mongkok Incident, it is indeed time to take stock of all the controversies and momentous changes in Hong Kong before and after after 1997. Significant, because this collection brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars who approach some of these controversies and changes in terms the 1997 Handover of colonization and recolonization—ranging from the debate of ‘internal colonial- ism’ to the cultural politics of Mandarinization and the ‘myth’ of the rule of law— with a clear-eyed historical perspective. This thought-provoking collection should belong to the bookshelf of everyone interested in Hong Kong and the general ques- tions of colonialism and postcolonialism.” Luk —Fu Poshek, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “This volume contains a variety of thoughtful essays covering important topics relating to Hong Kong’s colonial history.
    [Show full text]
  • Semi-Colonialism and Informal Empire in Twentieth-Century China
    291 - foreign troops stationed in the national capital and guarding other major Semi-Colonialism and concentrations of foreign property; _ repeated forcible intervention in Chinese domestic affairs ranging from Informal Empire in the casual deployment of a gunhoat to underscore a point made by foreign diplomacy to war-like 'punitive' expeditions; _ the most atrociolls war for colonial suhjugation fought in modern history Twentieth-Century (1937-45); - infringements upon the ability of the Chinese government to implement China: Towards a economic and financial policies of its own (absence of tariff autonomy until 1930, monopoly clauses in the treaties, and so on); Framework of Analysis - far-reaching control over foreign trade by expatriate business houses; - direct foreign investments in mining, manufacturing, transport, public JORGEN OSTERHAMMEL utilities, and so on, in some cases leading to foreign domination of par· ticular sectors and branches of the indigenous economy; - operations of transnational corporations via their own subsidiaries; - control by foreign banks over vital foreign·exchange transactions; Historians studying colonialism in a comparative perspective would be well - large·scale loans, given under conditions unfavourahle to China, many advised not to neglect modern East Asia. The case of Japanese-dominated of which were never applied to productive uses and whose repayment Manchuria from 1931 to 1945 provides an almost unique example of large­ constituted a drain on national wealth; scale industrial development under colonial rule,l whereas the British _ massive indemnity obligations imposed as a result of China's military Crown Colony of Hong Kong embodies a special type of 'peripheral defeats; capitalism' flourishing under a free-trade regime.
    [Show full text]
  • Compradors, Firm Architecture and the ‘Reinvention’ of British Trading Companies
    UNIVERSITY OF WORCESTER Compradors, Firm Architecture and the ‘Reinvention’ of British Trading Companies John Swire & Sons’ Operations in Early Twentieth Century China Howard Cox, Huang Biao and Stuart Metcalfe 2003 This is an electronic version of an article published in Business History, Vol.45, No.2 (April 2003), pp.15-34. Business History is available online at: http://journalsonline.tandf.co.uk/fbsh Abstract This paper provides a detailed analysis of the evolving relationship between the British trading company John Swire and Sons and its Chinese partners involved in the distribution of its products, notably sugar. From the nineteenth century, Swire had utilised the Chinese system of the Comprador. The article identifies various weakness of the Comprador system from a management perspective but illustrates that, despite its evident shortcomings, Swire formally continued to recognise the system until the 1930s. However, in line with Jones’ notion of the adaptability of British trading companies, the paper concludes that significant changes in the corporate architecture of Swire had actually begun to be put in place from the early twentieth century. The emergence of a modern, managerially-based system of organisation in Swire before the 1930s suggests that the image of British trading companies as generally undynamic business institutions is of dubious validity. Compradors, Firm Architecture and the ‘Reinvention’ of British Trading Companies: John Swire & Sons’ Operations in Early Twentieth Century China Howard Cox, Huang Biao and Stuart Metcalfe It is hard to imagine any group of enterprises whose experience more perfectly mirrors Britain‟s economic history since 1800 than that of its commercial trading companies.
    [Show full text]