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Project Management in China

Softskills as Succes Factors

©2007 Bachelorarbeit 83 Seiten

Zusammenfassung

Inhaltsangabe:Abstract:
This thesis gives an overview of Project Management in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), with regard to soft skills as success factors. The reason for writing my thesis in China was to experience the effects of globalisation with a practical orientation. China seemed to me the most interesting and challenging country for the assignment. To learn more about the success factors which are essential for the collaboration with the Chinese was a further motivation for me to write this work in China.
During my assignment I learned that soft factors and social competence are key requirements to be accepted and successful in daily business. The intercultural difference and the social behaviour of the Chinese are very different from what Westerners are used to at home. To handle these differences, soft skills become essential for successful collaboration.
After introducing the background knowledge of Project Management in China, several situations which require soft skills are addressed and discussed. Not only ways to improve our own soft skills are stated but also ways to recognise and react to certain situations in the dialogue with others. The role of soft skills is extremely important in modern-day business life and in all divisions of a company. With the following work I want to arouse the reader’s interest and awareness of soft factors in business and convince him of the importance of such a fundamental topic.
Annotation: This work is written in British English with the exception of original quotations. Please note that ‘he’, ‘his’ etc. refer to both genders. Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents:
ABSTRACTII
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSIII
TABLE OF CONTENTSIV
LIST OF FIGURESVI
LIST OF TABLESVII
ABBREVIATIONSVIII
1.INTRODUCTION1
1.1PROBLEM STATEMENT - CHANGING CHALLENGES ABROAD1
1.2PROPOSED SOLUTION - SOCIAL AND PERSONAL SKILLS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS2
1.3OBJECTIVE AND APPROACH OF THIS STUDY3
2.PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN CHINA4
2.1BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT CHINA4
2.1.1General overview4
2.1.2Aspects of culture and mentality of the Chinese people4
2.1.3Facts and figures about China7
2.1.4China's construction business10
2.1.5Environmental problems in China12
2.2IMPORTANT CONCEPTS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT14
2.3THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT15
2.4THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT (MANAGEMENT) PROCESS17
2.5THE COMPETING OBJECTIVES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT18
2.5.1Project Quality Management18
2.5.2Project Cost […]

Leseprobe

Inhaltsverzeichnis


Christian Wolff
Project Management in China
Softskills as Succes Factors
ISBN: 978-3-8366-0745-2
Druck Diplomica® Verlag GmbH, Hamburg, 2008
Zugl. Hochschule für Technik (HFT Stuttgart), Stuttgart, Deutschland, Bachelorarbeit,
2007
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Abstract
I
Abstract
This thesis gives an overview of Project Management in the People's Republic of
China (PRC), with regard to soft skills as success factors. The reason for writing my
thesis in China was to experience the effects of globalisation with a practical orienta-
tion. China seemed to me the most interesting and challenging country for the assign-
ment. To learn more about the success factors which are essential for the collaboration
with the Chinese was a further motivation for me to write this work in China.
During my assignment I learned that soft factors and social competence are key re-
quirements to be accepted and successful in daily business. The intercultural difference
and the social behaviour of the Chinese are very different from what Westerners are
used to at home. To handle these differences, soft skills become essential for successful
collaboration.
After introducing the background knowledge of Project Management in China, several
situations which require soft skills are addressed and discussed. Not only ways to im-
prove our own soft skills are stated but also ways to recognise and react to certain situa-
tions in the dialogue with others. The role of soft skills is extremely important in mod-
ern-day business life and in all divisions of a company. With the following work I want
to arouse the reader's interest and awareness of soft factors in business and convince
him of the importance of such a fundamental topic.
Annotation: This work is written in British English with the exception of original quo-
tations. Please note that `he', `his' etc. refer to both genders.
Keywords in alphabetical order
­
China
­
Competitive factors (flexibility, adaptability, quality and cost)
­
Globalisation
­
Human factors
­
Intercultural competence
­
Project Management
­
Soft Skills

Acknowledgements
II
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this thesis, each one from his or
her unique perspective and expertise.
By finishing the thesis, I am successfully graduating and receiving my bachelor degree.
I would like to thank the University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart for giving me a broad
and well founded education in the field of Business Management.
Special thanks go to Professor Hensler for the support and data he gave me and for the
supervision of my thesis. Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge Winfried Mayer
acting as co-supervisor.
For giving me the opportunity of writing my thesis, I would like to thank TKS
Bauplanung GmbH, especially Winfried Mayer. He also gave me the chance for the
assignment in China as the foundation for this thesis. The stay in China has been a great
inspiration for my thesis and even more benefit for my personal development.
The greatest acknowledgements go to my parents who always supported me during the
stay in China. Without their help, my stay abroad and the creation of this thesis would
never have become reality.
Finally I would like to thank the proof-readers, especially Michael Levene as well as all
further persons, who are not mentioned by name.

Table of contents
III
Table of contents
Abstract...I
Acknowledgements ... II
Table of contents ...III
List of figures... V
List of tables ...VI
Abbreviations ... VII
1 Introduction... 8
1.1 Problem statement ­ changing challenges abroad... 8
1.2 Proposed solution ­ social and personal skills for project success... 9
1.3 Objective and approach of this study ... 10
2 Project Management in China ... 11
2.1 Background information about China ... 11
2.1.1 General
overview ... 11
2.1.2 Aspects of culture and mentality of the Chinese people ... 11
2.1.3 Facts and figures about China ... 14
2.1.4 China's construction business ... 17
2.1.5 Environmental problems in China... 19
2.2 Important concepts of Project Management... 21
2.3 The construction project management environment ... 22
2.4 The construction project (management) process... 24
2.5 The competing objectives of Project Management ... 25
2.5.1 Project Quality Management... 25
2.5.2 Project Cost Management ... 27
2.5.3 Project Time Management ... 29
3 Design and performance of financial project controlling... 31
3.1 Presentation of TKS Bauplanung GmbH ... 31
3.2 The MT construction project ­ brief description... 32
3.3 Analysis of the project's current financial structure... 36
3.4 Developing an effective system to monitor costs and contracts... 37
3.4.1 Overview to developing an effective system ... 37
3.4.2 The redesigning of the project's filing system ... 38
3.4.3 The preparation of the contract and cost record... 38

Table of contents
IV
3.5 Controlling and administering the implemented system ...39
3.5.1 The budget and additional expenses or claims ...39
3.5.2 The challenges within the cost and contract control...41
4 Determining soft skills as success factors in Project Management...44
4.1 Identification of essential soft skills in China...44
4.2 Communication skills ...45
4.2.1 Overview of communication skills...45
4.2.2 Different communication styles...46
4.2.3 Communication
barriers ...48
4.2.4 Ways to improve communication...49
4.3 Conflict resolution or mediation ...50
4.3.1 Overview of conflict resolution...50
4.3.2 Reasons for conflicts ...50
4.3.3 Models of conflict resolution...54
4.4 Body language ...56
4.4.1 Overview of the importance of body language...56
4.4.2 Interpreting
body
language...57
4.5 Rhetoric and negotiation skills...60
4.5.1 Overview of rhetoric and negotiation with the Chinese ...60
4.5.2 Preparing for negotiation ...61
4.5.3 Different argumentation styles ...63
5 Conclusions and recommendations for project approach in China ...66
5.1 Soft factors for project success in Chinese context ...66
5.2 Training soft skills for an assignment in China ...68
6 Summary ...70
Appendix ...72
A Supplemental information to the project's financial structure ...72
A.1 Contract Management of the MT construction project...72
A.2 Cost Management of the MT construction project ...73
A.3 Extracted example of MT cost control - overview ...74
B Supplemental information to the project's implemented system...75
B.1 Overview to controlling and administering the system...75
B.2 The contract related payments ­ payment system...76
Bibliography ...78

List of figures
V
List of figures
Figure 2.1: Map of China... 11
Figure 2.2: China's economic growth in real GDP... 16
Figure 2.3: Migrant workers living in the new buildings, December 2006... 17
Figure 2.4: Skyline of Shanghai Pudong ... 18
Figure 2.5: Air pollution at the construction site in Changzhou at 3 o' clock pm... 20
Figure 2.6: Energy-related Carbon emission ... 21
Figure 2.7: The project stages in the construction project... 24
Figure 2.8: The competing project objectives Quality, Time and Cost ... 25
Figure 2.9: Concrete transportation with wheelbarrow on the site, March 2006 ... 27
Figure 2.10: Transportation of filling material on the site, October 2006... 28
Figure 2.11: Construction worker on bamboo framework, October 2006... 29
Figure 3.1: Layout of new MT Plant (Changzhou) ... 32
Figure 3.2: MT Project ,,Integrative factory", August 2006... 33
Figure 3.3: MT Project "Daheng factory", November 2006 ... 34
Figure 3.4: MT Project "Daheng factory", October 2006 ... 34
Figure 3.5: MT Project "Daheng factory" from birds eye view, October 2006 ... 35
Figure 3.6: MT Project "Integrative factory", February 2007... 35
Figure 3.7: MT Project contract amount distribution ... 37
Figure 3.8: MT Project Capital Expenditure during the realisation phase ... 39
Figure 3.9: Reasons for cost variances in the project schedule ... 41
Figure 4.2: Observing psychological phenomena e.g. Iceberg... 45
Figure 4.3: Relationship between sources and reasons of conflicts... 52
Figure 4.4: Different methods and their effects to reduce conflicts ... 53
Figure 4.5: Conflict resolution approaches... 55

List of tables
VI
List of tables
Table 4.1: Chinese vs. German communication style...47
Table 4.2: Observed body language in comparison ...59
Table 4.3: Important rules for successful negotiation ...61
Table 4.4: Negotiation in six phases ...62

Abbreviations
VII
Abbreviations
B2B
Business to Business
CI Corporate
Identity
CND
Changzhou National Hi-Tech District
CO
2
Carbon Dioxide
CSF
Critical Success Factors
DI Design
Institute
DIHK
German Chamber of Industry and Commerce
DIN
German Institute for Standardisation
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
GM General
Manager
MS Milestones
MT Client
1
MTCA Client
MTCB Client
MTCC Client
NPT
Network Planning Technique
PM Project
Manager
PRC
People's Republic of China
RMB Renminbi
WBS
Work Breakdown Structure
WHO
World Health Organisation
WTO
World Trade Organisation
1
Name of the client is confidential.

1 Introduction
8
1 Introduction
1.1 Problem statement ­ changing challenges abroad
"Human beings are drawn close to one another by their
common nature, but habits and customs keep them apart."
2
(Confucius)
The companies and their business environment are facing drastic challenges within the
age of globalisation. They are confronted with a greater number of competitors, also
caused by increasing market transparency. On the one hand, the companies are exposed
to market saturation and enormous pressure in Europe and the USA, while on the other
hand, they notice attractive production locations and a huge market potential in China.
3
Furthermore a paradigm shift from a production - to a service and information-driven
society requires enhanced holistic learning. To be successful and competitive in future,
adaptability, greater foresight and intercultural competence become requisite.
In the highly industrialised nations, migration to so-called low cost countries has be-
come a business management trend. Profit and increasing market shares are main rea-
sons for corporations to invest in China. For 25 years, China has demonstrated stability
and booming economic growth, providing a good basis for foreign companies to estab-
lish business relations with the Chinese. Today, China ranks as the most promising and
attractive country for foreign investors.
4
When it comes to the construction of new industrial facilities - which is the foundation
for producing new products, project management becomes a key part of the globalisa-
tion process. However, project management in China leads to new challenges and traps
for western executives. Unlike in European countries, China is an `individual related'
country, where personal relationships become more and more significant in business
success. Knowledge of human nature becomes more important in China than it is re-
garded in western countries, where facts and figures predominantly determine the
communication within the business environment. In China, the soft side of management
provides a new challenge.
2
Blackman, C.: China Business, pg. 5.
3
Cp. Lau, A.: Going International, pg. 13.

1 Introduction
9
1.2 Proposed solution ­ social and personal skills for project success
What is the key to successful business in China? It is not only dependent on hard fac-
tors or hard skills such as knowledge, specialised know-how or expertise. The personal
culture in China requires so-called soft skills,
5
which affect business success. Practice
shows that the human factor has a prominent position in project success.
6
This is mutu-
ally dependent on the sole responsibility and a right for the employees to have a say.
In order for a foreign investor to manage a construction project successfully, a solid
background in specialised project management expertise is indispensable. However,
hard-skills are merely the foundation, serving as a basis for project management suc-
cess.
Elemental awareness needs to be assigned to soft skills. They are often underestimated
in intercultural project management, in which the project environment demands a col-
laborative partnership rather than a command-and-control managerial hierarchy. In an
increasingly team-driven workplace, leaders and followers interact more closely and
deficiencies in personality become clearer. Simply stated, we need these soft skills just
to get along with each other.
To be successful, major attention needs to be drawn to the Chinese way of thinking,
their customs and traditions. Soft skills in communication, negotiation, conflict resolu-
tion and team work play a decisive role in business practice and prevent stumbling
blocks. They are critical success factors (CSF) in intercultural collaboration and ad-
versely affect business success.
7
Hence, great sensitivity and the demonstration of soft
skills are required by the project manager (PM) and his team to minimise misunder-
standings and failure in business relations with the Chinese.
To handle business and the differences in tradition, culture and mentality, a sensitive
flair is needed. The mastering of soft skills determines the success or failure of busi-
ness in China.
4
Cp. Sieren, F.: Der China Code, pg. 11 et seqq.
5
Soft skills is a collective term for a group of characteristics which describe human actions in social-
situations allowing the application of a variety of different behaviours.
6
Cp. Gemünden, H.G.: Erfolgsfaktoren des Projektmanagements, pg. 162 et seq.
7
Cp. Möller, T.; Dörrenberg, F.: Projektmanagement, pg. 156.

1 Introduction
10
1.3 Objective and approach of this study
The objective of this thesis is to investigate factors that influence the success of con-
struction Project Management in China. This work is written from a business manage-
ment point of view, not from an engineering aspect. All the experience in this thesis
refers predominantly to the construction project in Changzhou, China during the as-
signment. The thesis is a field report containing empirical appendages and observa-
tions.
For this, background information about China, important concepts of project manage-
ment as well as the project management environment are presented in the theoretical
section. It also describes the project management process and the competing objectives
of Project Management.
The practical section introduces the construction project and points out the design and
performance of the project controlling. It contains the analysis of the project's financial
structure and is followed by the development and administration of an effective system
to monitor the project's costs and contracts.
To handle daily business successfully, soft skills as success factors in Project Manage-
ment are identified in the main chapter. After identifying essential skills in China,
communication skills, conflict resolution, body language as well as rhetoric and nego-
tiation skills are discussed. They are needed for successful collaboration and to manage
the construction project smoothly.
This work ends with conclusions and recommendations for our approach to projects in
China. Soft skills for project approach in the Chinese context give suggestions for the
preparation of an assignment in China. It is rounded off by giving advice on how soft
skill training should be carried out to ensure the best benefits for an assignment in
China.

2 Project Management in China
11
2 Project Management in China
2.1 Background information about China
2.1.1 General overview
In order to bring about successful Project Management, a common understanding of
background knowledge about China has to be established. For this purpose, a short pre-
view of the Chinese culture and mentality as well as originalities within the Chinese
business culture in the Project Management environment will follow. Subsequently,
China's construction business and the resulting environmental problems are discussed
at the end of this chapter.
Figure 2.1: Map of China
8
2.1.2 Aspects of culture and mentality of the Chinese people
Chinese people are a very cheerful folk. Being humorous and able to joke and laugh
with the Chinese is essential to be successful in meetings and negotiations.
9
Doing
such, reduces the probability of being pulled a fast one in business. Thus, it is essential
to break the ice before getting to the actual point of the cause.
Having your face respected is very important in the Chinese culture. They are enor-
mously sensitive to maintaining face in everything they do. Saying or doing anything
that causes someone to lose face can instantly destroy a relationship and any business
8
http://www.maps-of-china.com/china-country.shtml
, Call on 16
th
of April 2007.

2 Project Management in China
12
that might result from it. The rules set forth below should be considered and strictly
adhered to:
insulting or openly criticising someone in front of others resulting in their losing
face is an unforgivable offence,
refrain from making fun of the Chinese, even if it is supposed to be a joke,
find a way to draw back without causing loss of the counterpart's face.
10
A Chinese saying goes: "Don't bruise the lotus, don't stir the water". That means that
you should keep all frustrations inside for the sake of harmony. This is exactly how
most of the Chinese behave.
Education
The reason for the great difference in culture and mentality compared to western cul-
tures has its seeds in the education system. Western mode of teaching which encour-
ages students to question and challenge the instructor is unknown to the Chinese. The
Chinese teaching style is based on models that students then emulate. This contrasts
with the Western school and education system in which students are valued for their
opinions.
11
Moreover, the one child policy influences the behaviour of the Chinese who
are often raised as selfish and fastidious children. Many families invest all their goods
and chattels in their son's education hoping that he will get rich overnight.
Business culture
In Chinese business the rules are simple. The credo goes: China gives market share and
cheap labour to the West. In exchange, Western know-how and technology will be
transferred to China. The individuals themselves participate in the "get rich is glorious"
movement whose credo is private gain.
12
The Chinese want to learn foreign skills, adopt
foreign technology, make money and become powerful, preferably within one day, and
with all methods. In the past, they were not supposed to have personal property. Now it
seems as if that they want to catch up on everything. To achieve their goals, Chinese
use the 36 Chinese strategem,
13
a collection of proven and tested methods to mislead or
9
Cp. Mayer, W.: China Codes, pg. 12.
10
Cp. Blackman, C.: China Business, pg. 100.
11
Cp. Ibidem, pg. 147 et seq.
12
Cp. Ibidem, pg. 115.
13
Strategem is a neutral word for cunning, trickery and slyness. It refers to a smart, unconventional or
unusual way of problem solving.

2 Project Management in China
13
trick opponents. Knowing how to apply such strategem in daily business is a sign of
wisdom from a Chinese point of view.
When doing business in China, invitations to banquets, excessive drinking sessions as
well as the gift-giving are part of the business. Visits to bath houses or karaoke is a
common business practice which often takes place after a banquet. This seems a
strange habit for many Westerners who are in China for the first time. Confidentiality
and silence are ensured concerning all occurrences in the bath houses where you may
obtain massages and sometimes other services. These visits strengthen the mutual rela-
tionship between the business partners giving them confidence and trust.
Guan xi (relationship)
Speaking about business, "Guan xi" (
), known as relationships and network of
friends and family, is an important element when doing business in China. Entire books
have been written on this topic. Chinese society is built on Guan xi. Little or no distinc-
tion is made between business and personal relationships. Establishing strong Guan xi
with the government is particularly important. This prevents the usual hiccups and ad-
ministrative hurdles which come along when performing project management.
With a good relationship, business can become smoother and the probability of failure
will be greatly reduced. Because of the person-related business environment, the Chi-
nese tend to invest more time and effort in strengthening business to business (B2B)
relationships and reciprocity. To improve Guan xi it can be a great benefit to invite the
Chinese to a nice restaurant for a business banquet once in a while to deepen the rela-
tionship. Western executives do well to accept relationship building as a business
strategy. The focus at this is rather on establishing a long-term relationship.
In terms of corruption, China is the sixth most corrupt country in Asia after Indonesia,
Vietnam, India, Thailand and the Philippines. Corruption and nepotism are "necessary"
because of the Chinese family system. For Westerners this is often hard to understand,
however, moral fraud or cunning is a well accepted business practice in China and part
of the 36 strategem. One example: It is possible that a Chinese contractor `works' for
more than one company at the same time. He also possesses fake business cards with
the company logo and his name on it. Therefore it is of utmost importance to check all
references of the participants systematically prior to negotiation. A sound method to
identify the person acting for more than one company is to compare the cell phone
numbers on the business cards.

2 Project Management in China
14
Chinese versus foreigner
The majority of the Chinese feel unhappy about the way foreign business performs in
their market. Foreign products take away market share of Chinese brands and harm
their reputation as preferential treatment is given to foreign enterprises and puts na-
tional products in an unfavourable position. Some feel exploited and put it like this:
"We have been slaves to the Westerners".
14
From a Chinese point of view, foreigners
are temporary employees, earning a lot of money and causing trouble and grief. How-
ever, Chinese people are perfect survivors and very practical.
It is frightening for foreigners that there seems to be nothing to stop them from their
capitalistic thinking and incredible greediness to get rich at the expense of others. That
is also a reason why foreign investors are afraid that China's imitation products will
hurt their own sales. Chinese possess no set of morals such as The Ten Command-
ments. The only thing that counts in the long term is their personal benefit. In my opin-
ion it is not possible for the Chinese to hold real friendship without having some kind
of hidden agenda. In terms of cunning or fraud, the main difference between Europeans
and Chinese is that the Europeans tend to practise barefaced cunning but bashfully hush
it up. The Chinese on the other hand practise barefaced cunning and talk about it with-
out any false shame.
15
2.1.3 Facts and figures about China
China ranks as the third largest country in the world (after Canada and Russia). How-
ever, it is still a developing country. The population amounts to 1.3 billion, resulting in
the fact that 20 percent of the world's population are Chinese.
16
Only 10 percent of the
population are over 60 years old, compared to Germany where 25 percent are over 60
years old.
The country is divided into provinces, autonomous regions and municipal cities directly
under the central government in Beijing. Currently there are 34 provincial-level admin-
istrative areas and 23 provinces in China.
17
It is amazing, that the huge country only has
one single time zone for all provinces.
14
Cp. Blackman, C.: China Business, pg. 102-103.
15
Cp. Senger, H.: Die Kunst der List, pg. 37.
16
Cp. Ashford, L.:
http://www.prb.org/pdf06/06WorldDataSheet.pdf
, pg. 9, Call on 29
th
of January 2007.

2 Project Management in China
15
The climate in China is extremely diverse, from tropical in the south to frozen and sub-
arctic in the north of the country. In central China, in the valley around the Yangtze
River, the summer is long, hot and humid and the winter is short and cold.
China's economy has changed from a centrally planned system to a market-oriented
economy in the last decades. It began in the early 1980s, not because of its culture-
which was relatively unchanging - but because of its policies, which went through a
dramatic transformation by the country's leader Deng Xiaoping. During the 1980s and
1990s many companies went into China, led by the hype from their own governments
and the media about China's new market economy.
18
At the height of the Industrial Revolution, Britain was called "the workshop of the
world". That title surely belongs to China today. It is already the world's fastest-
growing large economy even though it still ranks as developing country. China has
grown around 9 percent a year for more than 25 years. That is the fastest growth rate
for a major economy in recorded history. Therefore every businessman these days has a
dazzling statistic about China.
Future prognoses
According to the Swiss institute "Prognos", China is going to replace Germany as
world export leader in the year 2015.
19
Currently, Germany is still the most important
business partner for China within in the European Union.
20
Statements like "China's
growth is a tougher event than anything we faced since World War Two" or "China is
the Viagra of the global economy"
21
fill the title pages of international newspapers.
Economists say that the size of the Chinese economy is likely to climb in world rank-
ings, from its current position as the sixth largest to the second largest by 2030. There
are also many who criticize China's economic path, but so far at least, none of these
critical prognoses have come true. The economy of the PRC is the fourth largest in the
world when measured by nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
22
17
Cp.
http://www.china.org.cn/english/en-sz2005/indes.htm
, Call on 29
th
of December 2006.
18
www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/goes/ch.html
, Call on 27
th
of November 2006.
19
Cp. Gramke, K.:
http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,druck-461374,00.html
, Call on 29
th
January
2007.
20
http://www.auswäertiges-amt.de
, Call on 24
th
of Nov 2006.
21
Cp. Sieren, F.: Der China Code, pg. 28, adapted from Süddeutsche Zeitung, 31
st
of January 2004.
22
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_People_%s_Republic_of_China#Industry
, Call on 27
th
of December 2006.

2 Project Management in China
16
China's real GDP in %
10,1
10
9,1
8,3
8,4
7,6
7,8
9,3
10,2
10,5
10
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005 2006* 2007*
* prognosis
GDP
Figure 2.2: China's economic growth in real GDP
23
China is now the world's largest producer of coal, steel and cement. The country is
buying most of the world's steel at the moment and a lot of oil.
Regarding the unemployment situation in China, the unemployment rate in the cities
averages at least 8,5 percent and in the rural areas about 30 percent. These are adjusted
figures from the Chinese government. The reason for the high unemployment is the
restructuring of state owned enterprises. It has been estimated that the number of mi-
grant workers is 300 million, many of them working in the construction business and
willing to travel huge distances within the country to get a job.
24
23
Own figure according to
www.bfai.de/China-Wirtschaftsdaten
kompakt
, Call on 2
nd
of January 2007.
24
http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo/de/Laenderinformationen/China/Bilateral.html
, Call on 2
nd
of
February 2007.

2 Project Management in China
17
2.1.4 China's construction business
Project Management, in its modern form, began to take root only a few decades ago,
starting in the early 1960s in the United States. The foundation was shaped predomi-
nantly from the military and aerospace sector. In Germany, the term Network Planning
Technique (NPT) has been used as a synonym for Project Management for many
years.
25
China's construction industry has experienced consistent growth over the last few
years. Thus, Project Management experience and construction techniques have been
invaluable. By the end of 2001, there were 36.69 million people working permanently
in the construction business.
26
The image below illustrates how migrant workers live on the construction site.
Figure 2.3: Migrant workers living in the new buildings, December 2006
27
25
Cp. Schelle, H.: Projektmanagement Fachmann, pg. 36.
26
http://www.buyusa.gov/china/en/ace.thml
., Call on 27
th
of November 2006.
27
Own figure.

Details

Seiten
Erscheinungsform
Originalausgabe
Jahr
2007
ISBN (eBook)
9783836607452
DOI
10.3239/9783836607452
Dateigröße
3.3 MB
Sprache
Englisch
Institution / Hochschule
Hochschule für Technik Stuttgart – Wirtschaft, Betriebswirtschaft
Erscheinungsdatum
2007 (Dezember)
Note
1,7
Schlagworte
china projektmanagement communication skills negotiation globalisation market
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