Poorly Made in China: An Insider's Account of the Tactics Behind China's Production Game |  | Author: Paul Midler
Publisher: Wiley
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $14.30
as of 3/10/2010 22:32 CST details
You Save: $10.65 (43%)
New (30) Used (11) from $14.22
Seller: indoobestsellers
Rating:  28 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6 x 1
ISBN: 0470405589
Dewey Decimal Number: 338.47670951
EAN: 9780470405581
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Features:
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Praise for Poorly Made in China "This fast-paced travelogue through the world of Chinese manufacturing is scary, fascinating, and very funny. Midler is not only a knowledgeable guide to the invisible underbelly of the global economy, he is a sympathetic and astute observer of China, its challenges, and its people. A great read."
—PIETRA RIVOLI, author of The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy "Paul Midler takes us for a ride through the fastest-growing economy in the world, revealing what can—and sometimes does—go wrong when U.S. companies shift production to China. Working in the heart of China's export hub, in the country's southern region, he has the advantage of a front-row seat to the no-holds-barred games played between manufacturers and importers. He introduces us to a cast of real-life characters and tells his story with a mix of affection and skepticism for what is taking place in China today. Midler delivers a revealing and often funny tale of life and commerce in a country whose exports touch nearly everyone on the planet."
—SARA BONGIORNI, author of A Year Without 'Made in China': One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 28
 Unfettered Chinese capitalism April 27, 2009
Ronald D. Mccallister (Scottsdale, AZ USA)
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
Midler weaves his thoughtful and timely commentary in a provocative and thoroughly enjoyable format, using personal anecdotes and experiences to support significant conclusions regarding American business with China. As China rushes to expand trade, it is repeating many of the same mistakes made by U.S. manufacturers in our economic development. Midler's tales of aggressive cost reduction methods recalled the 'Muntz TV,' fabled in engineering circles for its approach to cost margin improvement: parts would simply be deleted until the TV barely functioned. The quality problem is less cultural than a reflection of intense cost competition. It demonstrates the need for China to develop consumer protection laws, OSHA-like rules, and stringent quality control if it intends to expand export trade with developed nations. Equally important, it demonstrates that American consumers need to insist that adequate standards and regulations be imposed on imported goods, from China and other `low-cost' sources.
Very insightful book May 27, 2009
Renaud ANJORAN (Shenzhen, China)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this book. I control the quality of shipments in China myself, so I recognized many situations that I previously encountered. The book is peppered with excellent insights about Chinese culture. It is also often funny, and it is very easy to read.
I would specifically recommend this book to people who are curious about the manufacturing environment in China. They will discover a whole new world.
The only downside is that the book only describes situations where importers are unprepared and fall in the traps of unscrupulous Chinese suppliers. It is not perfectly representative, but it does a great job explaining why so many quality issues originate from China.
ON TARGET September 23, 2009
KungFuzi (Gateway Arch Area)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
Doing business in China and visiting factories there, I have witnessed many of the tactics that the author describes. While reading this book, I thought to myself over and over - "How True!".
My business experience in China is limited to one type of industry that has nothing to do with any of the industries listed in this book. Finding out that the Chinese employ the same tactics in completely different manufacturing settings was a wake up call for me. I believe the manufacturing arena in China is a type of "business culture" that is not fully understood in the West.
My experience has been dealing with small factories. We were not ordering hundreds or thousands of containers. These larger operations may be different (but I doubt it).
After reading this book I started thinking about how I once bought an item that was made fairly well. I bought the same item a year or so later and noticed a few things seemed to be made of less quality. Then another purchase a year or so later showed the item was barely worth owning. The quality had degraded in such a way that I decided to never buy again. This book explains how this happens when dealing with manufactures in China.
I recommend this book to anyone involved with doing business in China or someone who just wants to be educated on the subject.
Provides Good Awareness! April 11, 2009
Loyd E. Eskildson (Phoenix, AZ.)
18 out of 21 found this review helpful
"Poorly Made in China" is made in America (I just had to check) and provides good background information at a number of levels. For example, one learns that 5-star hotel rooms in some cities are available for $50, even less if you are an importer. Also, that petty theft vs. Americans is less a problem than Vietnam, and that kidnapping Americans, a problem in Mexico and South America, is non-existent in China.
It was also interesting to learn that minor disputes are settled on the spot, w/o police or insurance adjusters present.
China has recently come under fire for a number of quality problems. Instances include allegations of talcum powder sprinkled with asbestos, diluted jet fuel, tire failures, heparin, fumes from wallboard, lead paint on children's toys, poisonous chemicals in toothpaste, carcinogens in blankets, etc. As expected, Midler also provides first-hand evidence of Chinese quality shortcomings. His experience was finding cost-shaving at every opportunity - eg. especially steady reduction in packaging (or product) material thickness (until failure). Worse yet, the manufacturer also changed product ingredients without notice, causing unattractive results.
Cultural habits impair quality in some instances. Examples offered by Midler include fingers inserted into supposedly sterile lotion bottles, spitting on the floors, skin infections amongst those producing a supposedly sterile product, etc.
Another frequent problem is warehouses displayed as evidence of manufacturing capability, when the goods may be from another manufacturer (or even imported from the U.S.), stockpiled to gain credibility to begin production.
Midler also tells us that prices quoted vary according to intended market and buyer order size, though this undoubtedly occurs in the U.S. as well.
Midler's requests to improve (or sometimes even just maintain) quality was opposed in every instance - even correcting a problem with bottles incompletely filled was a significant undertaking. Contracting with Chinese manufacturers puts the importer at risk for counterfeiting, and eventually trying to go around and eliminate the importer.
One of the reasons lead paint was favored is that it dries faster. Mattel's supplier had a 15-year relationship with the company, and the supplier's owner was a billionaire - thus, poverty was not the problem.
On the other hand, Midler also points out that Chinese manufacturers are willing to produce at zero profit - instead achieving favored status among local officials for boosting employment, the opportunity to build new facilities on land that will hopefully appreciate, and ultimately achieve other customers at a profit (eg. cutting out the importer). Joint venturers with the Chinese are likely to be overcharged for new equipment and buildings, and find themselves more vulnerable to price increases. Leaders within local production centers are often related or at least know each other, and their collusion can make it difficult to find alternative sources.
Overall, an interesting read full of valuable information, especially to those thinking of doing business in China.
Explodes myths, confirms suspicions, brilliantly written. August 15, 2009
F. Winans (Doylestown, PA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
No politics, theory, or posing in this engaging, page-turner that both explodes myths and confirms your worst suspicions about Chinese business culture. Having written a book about China's political past ("The Man on Mao's Right"), I had a chance to experience one level of Chinese culture, inside the halls of power. Paul Midler's Alice-in-Wonderland journey through China's industrial miracle is a funny, shocking, and revealing page-turner that explains modern China and the ancient Chinese in intimate and nonjudgmental anecdotes that go a long way toward explaining the story behind the headlines about shoddy products and rapacious business tactics. Those who worry that China is going to "take over" the world will find some solace here and those who underestimate the Chinese will be surprised at their sophisticated grasp of human nature and their relentlessness.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 28
|
|
|
|
