Yes, yet another book about China, but this title offers an interesting if not controversial spin on what it means to the U.S., if (make that when) China becomes the world's largest economy in the next couple of decades.
Although often paired with India as the rising economic powers, it is China that will most impact the world and in particular, the U.S., Oded Shenkar argues. China is much more able than Japan or any other country to build a sustainable competitive threat to American business.
Shenkar looks at the competitive advantages the country now uses to its benefit. These include the lax controls on intellectual property rights that make it risky for outside companies to do business there, even while China negotiates (and, according to Shenkar, steals) technology smarts from the U.S. and elsewhere. The country's abundant and inexpensive supply of labor has already left a mark on labor-intensive industries. China doesn't have a history of supporting entrepreneurial activities or a strong service sector, but it is involved in a broad range of industries, giving it wide latitude for development. And China is not alone in its development; it is the dominant force in a growing area of integrating economies.
In short, China has both the resources and the will to be the dominant economic powerhouse in the not-to-distant future. When that happens, the consequences will be fundamental, affecting your job, your standard of living, and your paycheck, says Shenkar.
But the book isn't just a "here comes trouble" analysis. China's emergence is also a great opportunity, and Shenkar offers some strategies and tactics for companies to be successful in this new economy. For example, it would behoove American companies to use copy-proof design methods in the creation of their projects, starting yesterday, he says.
Shenkar is Ford Motor Company Chair in Global Business Management at the Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University.—Cynthia D. Churchwell
Table of Contents:
Ch. 1 The dawn of the Chinese century
Ch. 2 The middle kingdom
Ch. 3 Like no other
Ch. 4 From socks to aircraft
Ch. 5 The two-dollar Rolex
Ch. 6 The business challenge
Ch. 7 East, east, and away: where the jobs are
Ch. 8 A TV from Sichuan
Ch. 9 China rising