From the Great Wall to Wall Street: A Cross-Cultural Look at Leadership and Management in China and the US

291 Pages·2017·4.91 MB·English

by  Wei Yen (auth.)

A cross-cultural look at
LEADERSHIP and MANAGEMENT
in CHINA and the US
WEI YEN
From the Great Wall to Wall Street
Wei   Yen
From the Great Wall
to Wall Street
A Cross-Cultural Look at Leadership and
Management in China and the US
Wei Yen
California, USA
ISBN 978-3-319-33007-5 ISBN 978-3-319-33008-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-33008-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016948751
© Th e Editor(s) (if applicable) and Th e Author(s) 2017
Th is book was advertised with a copyright holder in the name of the publisher in error, whereas the
author holds the copyright.
Th is work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and trans-
mission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or
dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
Th e use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
Th e publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or
the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any
errors or omissions that may have been made.
Printed on acid-free paper
Th is Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature
Th e registered company is Springer International Publishing AG
Th e registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Acknowledgements
Writing a book that traverses diff erent cultures requires an open mind,
and I have many people to thank for that. First, I like to thank my late
father, Jimin Yen, and my mother, Joyce Yen, for instilling in me the
proper values when I was growing up. My mother in particular encapsu-
lated both Chinese and American values as a graduate of the fi rst Chinese
women’s college, Ginling College in Nanjing. As a Chinese son, I wish to
honor them with this book. I also like to thank my wife, Leesa, for her
unwavering support, understanding and patience during the past three
years, when I was absorbed with the pleasure of thinking and writing,
and my sons James and Alex for always believing in their dad. I also want
to thank my brother, Craig, for inspiring me all through my life, and my
teachers at Hong Kong’s Pui Ying Middle School for teaching me the
invaluable Chinese lessons.
In the US I also have many people to thank: Gary Brooks for his
patience in accepting me into his family and teaching this newcomer
the American ways; Ron and Ginny Littlefi eld, Fred Rock and many
others in the great state of Maine for having faith in me and being true
friends; Ray Farinato in Connecticut for surviving with me in a changing
corporate world; Jess Belser at Rothschild Ventures for allowing me to
have an exciting beginning in the fi nancial industry; Jim Parish and Rob
McCreary at Moody’s for taking me under their wings and teaching me
the fi ne art of credit analysis; and John Neibuhr at Lehman for hiring me
v
vi Acknowledgements
the fi rst time in New York, and then having the faith to hire me again in
Hong Kong. Th eir fairness and trust in me has strengthened my faith in
the US system. In Hong Kong, I like to thank Ju Weimin and Chairman
Chang Zhenming of CITIC for entrusting me with the task of rebuilding
the fi nance function of CITIC Pacifi c at a critical juncture in its develop-
ment history.
Turning a collection of random thoughts and notes over a 15-year
period into a book required serious professional help. In this regard
I wish to thank Craig Pepples for reviewing the fi rst draft and giving me
valuable feedback; Skip Press for editing the earlier drafts and suggesting
the use of a pendulum approach to compare the two cultures; John Stuart
for suggesting the main title; Stephen Partridge at Palgrave Macmillan
for taking a risk on me as a fi rst-time author, and who together with
Josephine Taylor helped to shape the manuscript into its current form;
and fi nally Sarah Schott for her excellent index editing.
Contents
1 Introduction 1
2 Chinese Characteristics 7
3 Games people play 23
4 Geography of Management 43
5 Th e Power of the Whole 97
6 Th e Irrationality of Being Rational 105
7 Union of Men and Heaven 119
8 Contemporary Expressions of Tradition 133
9 Etiquette with Chinese Characteristics 165
10 Th e Chinese Model 179
vii
viii Contents
11 Moral Hazard or Moral Imperative? 195
12 Exporting China Inc 221
13 Cross-Cultural Lessons 239
14 Two Systems: One World 255
Index 261
About the Author
Born in China, raised in Hong Kong and educated in the US, Wei Yen
has spent half his life and his career living and working in both the US
and Asia.
Wei has 23 years of fi nancial industry experience, including as
Managing Director for Moody’s Asia Pacifi c, where he ran its Asian fi nan-
cial institution rating practices, and as Managing Director for Lehman
Brothers Asia and Nomura International, where he advised Asian clients
on rating and corporate fi nance. He was also a member of Lehman’s Asia
Commitment Committee. Wei also held corporate positions as Chief
Financial Offi cer for iSwitch Corp., a Mainland Chinese technology
company, and as Group Treasurer for CITIC Pacifi c Limited, a Hong
Kong-listed subsidiary of the conglomerate CITIC Group.
Before relocating to Asia in 1997 with Lehman Brothers, Wei was
a biotech venture capitalist in New York for Rothschild Ventures, and
Corporate High-Yield Analyst for Moody’s, covering the technology and
chemicals sectors. Earlier in his career he was a research physicist and
business manager for the American Cyanamid Company.
Wei received his BS in physics from SUNY at Stony Brook, PhD in
physics from the University of Maine and MBA in fi nance from Pace
University. He lives in Southern California.
ix
List of Figures
Fig. 3.1 Th e yin and yang symbol 26
Fig. 4.1 Business success factors 57
xi