Product Description

Companies from around the globe are flocking to China to buy, sell, manufacture, and create new products, but as former Wall Street Journal China bureau chief turned successful corporate executive James McGregor explains, business in China is never quite what it seems. One Billion Customers offers compelling narratives of personalities, business deals, and lessons learned, creating a coherent pictures of China's emergence as a global economic power with a dog-eat-dog business climate that has turned bureaucrats into billionaires and left many foreign business executives with their pockets turned inside out.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #173704 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The promise and perils-mostly the latter-that Western businesses face in China's huge but chaotic market are probed in this illuminating if not quite reassuring primer. Ex-Wall Street Journal China bureau chief McGregor presents a series of case studies from capitalism's Wild East, including a rocky joint venture between Morgan Stanley and a Chinese bank; the rise and fall of a Chinese peasant turned billionaire smuggler; Rupert Murdoch's travails in bringing a satellite TV network to China; and a muck-raking Chinese financial journalist's battles with both government censorship and the private media's cozy relationships with advertisers. He caps each chapter with gleanings of wisdom ("assume your procurement department is corrupt until proven innocent") and pointers on such topics as which bribes are ethically acceptable (expenses-paid junkets to America "with generous opportunities for tourism and relaxation") and which are not (suitcases full of cash). McGregor writes with the confidence of an old China hand, occasionally lapsing into generalities about Asian "shame-based" cultures, but generally treating the Chinese businesspeople he profiles with the same sympathy and insight he accords Westerners. Still, the picture he paints of the Chinese economy is a daunting one, ruled by over-mighty Communist officials, bribe-hungry bureaucrats, Byzantine regulations and a murky, cut-throat business culture structured by personal and family ties. Westerners contemplating a plunge into this shark tank will profit from McGregor's cautionary tales.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
McGregor has spent nearly two decades as a journalist and business executive in China. China, as he notes, is crashing its way onto the world scene as a rapidly growing economic powerhouse, and the challenge confronting the nation is learning to manage the large, complex organizations that will be necessary if the country is going to continue its ambitious climb to the top of the economic ladder. McGregor posits that the sudden transition from the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s to the scramble for wealth in the 1980s and 1990s has left a deeply scarred society experiencing an economic and social upheaval. To reach the next step in its economic evolution, he believes that China must find ways to go beyond some of the lingering cultural, social, and psychological barriers that will soon impede that progress. The struggle now is to discover the management principles and techniques that will harness and focus the immense energy and intelligence of the Chinese. A detailed case study of an unparalleled rise to power. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"McGregor illustrates the dangers and allure of the Chinese market."

- The Washington Post

"Colorful and cautionary, offering sound prescriptions for Westerners."

- BusinessWeek

"McGregor is a keen observer and raconteur."

- USA Today

"[McGregor's] book is the best to date...Our little nugget of wisdom on the China market for those wanting to do business there? Read this book."

- Time

 "James McGregor's knowledge of how business is done in China is extraordinary. As a journalist and businessman, he witnessed firsthand China's remarkable transformation in the space of two decades from a backward country to a rising economic power. With his extensive hands-on experience in China and his formidable storytelling skills, his book, One Billion Customers, is filled with valuable insights and advice for both knowledgeable business persons and ordinary readers interested in gaining a better understanding of China's rapidly developing market economy."

- Henry Kissinger

"Help[s] the rest of us understand the labyrinth of Chinese deal making."

-- Fast Company

"One of the best books of 2005."

-- Barron's

"This book should help foreign executives avoid some of the pitfalls."

-- Financial Times

"McGregor sees beyond the normal reasons for China's rise"

-- CBS News

"Chock-full of concrete tips about how not to lose your shirt in China."

-- The Spectator

Customer Reviews

A fantastic introduction to the business culture off China
This book should have been called "One Bill Partners," as there is very little about market research in the book. Rather, "One Billion Customers" is a series of highly readable case studies discussing businesses and joint ventures that went right and wrong in China. Jim's been in China for many years, speaks Chinese, and is able to distill political, economic, and cultural factors into witty advance, such as

"If your CEO wants to do business with China in order to turn around his business, lose his visa."

A brilliant book. Highly recommended.

A Must Read for Doing Business in China
One Billion Customers teaches by example. This book contains modern-day stories of foreigners doing business in China; some do it well, some poorly and some in between. But behind each story is a theme of what can, should, and should never be done when dealing with the Chinese, especially on their turf. There is no doubt that James McGregor is one of the foremost experts in the field given his time and experience in China and his journalism and research skills shine in the stories he relates to the reader. This book is also useful from a historical perspective given the historical details of modern-day China McGregor includes in One Billion Customers. Admittedly, I am not in a position to currently do business in China and as such, this book dragged on a bit for me. But if I ever were to be in China with a specific business task at hand, this book would never be more than an arm's length away.

Interesting case studies on China's business environment
In the foreword to One Billion Customers James McGregor states that his goal was to "convey timeless insights and commonsense lessons about Chinese business practices, and the deeply ingrained thinking and behavior patterns of Chinese people." While McGregor does not argue a single, central thesis, he does return to the importance of understanding the wants and needs of China as a country throughout the book. The book is structured around a series of case studies, each designed to illustrate a number of points. The cases cover sectors from the aerospace industry, to financial services, to telecommunications, and involve actors as varied as Boeing, China Unicom, and Rupert Murdoch.

Each case study begins with an overview of the general situation, details the relevant organizations, actors, and rational behind various actions. The case studies conclude with a section titled: "What this means for you," in which McGregor discusses how lessons from the given case should impact how foreigners conduct business in China.

Overall, One Billion Customers achieves its stated goal. The book provides an engaging, informative, and nuanced view of the Chinese business environment. McGregor also gives dozens of succinct, commonsense recommendations for foreign business leaders who hope to succeed in China.