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As recent news reports in the United States have continued to detail, joint ventures in China can pose special challenges for American executives. This paper describes how U.S. executives can improve product quality when working with Chinese producers by better managing business relationships with executives from China. In the United States, business relationships are viewed functionally and evaluated by both sides on a cost/benefit basis. Executives from China often emphasize guanxi, in which the relationship is examined relative to moral and social norms of the Chinese culture. This difference in orientations can create problems when people from these two different cultures engage in exchange, especially when the intended time frame for the Americans is long term and high product quality is important for business success. Consequently, to improve multinational business practice, control procedures for monitoring progress within international alliances are provided to help executives working with Chinese business people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Visions about the establishment of a lunar base and development of the Moon for scientific, technical and commercial ends have been on the political agenda since the beginning of the Space Age. In the past few years a number of spacefaring nations, including the USA, European states through ESA, Japan, India, China and Russia have proposed missions directed at the robotic and human exploration and development of the Moon. This paper argues that an important factor in advancing these missions lies in a partnership between the pubic, governmental sector and the private sector. The paper analyzes the dynamics of this partnership as applied to the case of the US Vision for Space Exploration. The results of the analysis suggest that public–private partnerships directed at lunar development and commerce depend on how government reduces risks for the private sector. The risks identified and discussed herein include political and legal risks, technological risks, and financial and market risks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the aftermath of the recent economic crisis, the world is looking for fresh ideas and new perspectives. Business reality has transformed from "West leads East" to "West meets East." A thriving Chinese business culture represents not only a source of economic partnership but a potential fount of managerial wisdom that can help renew Western economies. Unfortunately, the cultural distance between East and West makes Chinese examples too different, and at times inappropriate, for Western firms to emulate. Outstanding entrepreneurs such as Stan Shih, who have taken the best managerial practices from the East and the West while avoiding the shortcomings, represent ideal "intermediate" role models. By employing such an "ambicultural" approach to management, Shih provides a model for both bridging cultures and instructing organizations in the East and West. In this essay, we discuss these linkages and some of the useful lessons for managers from both cultures. Indeed, "Chinese" as a way of thinking, with its emphasis on balance and self-other integration, offers the promise to bridge global divides and facilitate the formation of global-minded executives. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study was designed to test empirically the linkages between control, conflict, and performance using a sample of U.S.-Chinese joint ventures established in China during the period of 1979-1989. Data were gathered through a questionnaire survey among U.S. managers and personal interviews with both U.S. and Chinese general managers in the selected joint ventures. Results showed that dominant managerial control exercised by the foreign partner had a positive impact on the perceived joint venture performance. The study identified major areas in which conflict between joint venture partners occurred. Empirical evidence was found that conflict between joint venture partners significantly hindered joint venture performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joint ventures promise to be a critical vehicle for commercial interaction between the People's Republic of China and the rest of the world. Yet the joint venture format has proven to be an unstable and problematic form of organization in other settings. This article examines the experience of thirty U.S.-P.R.C. joint ventures. While a number of issues posed formidable challenges for all these firms, most have successfully dealt with the problems. The U.S. partners exhibited a surprising level of satisfaction with the performance of these ventures. Their experience provides useful insights for other firms contemplating or engaging in joint venture activities in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing attention has been devoted in the last ten years to China's 'going-out' strategy around the world. The objective here is to analyse the modalities of China's presence in Latin America and to explore its strategic interests from Panama's privileged viewpoint. Panama is an interesting case, providing an example of a country capable to do business with both Taiwan and China. It therefore represents a regional success story in the fierce chequebook diplomacy between China and Taiwan, in which the shift of allegiance of Costa Rica in 2007 is only the latest episode. While securing energy and strategic materials still represents a priority for China, other aspects of the Chinese presence cannot be underestimated for a correct analysis. A key factor is the support Latin American countries, increasingly looking to China as a development model, can offer in multilateral fora, which suits China's objective of building multi-polarism. The special relation Panama entertains with the US makes it an important test of the bilateral relations between China and the US in the Western Hemisphere, which will ultimately determine many of the scenarios in Latin America in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little has been written about enhancing human resource management effectiveness in joint ventures with China. This study presented a typology of potential relationships between Chinese and American partners in a joint venture based on goal congruence and cultural understanding. Each relationship is described, and implications for the management of human resources are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]