Project Quality Management in China - Research Paper Example

?Running head: PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN CHINA Research on Project Quality Management in China Insert Insert Grade Insert February 20th, 2011 Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………3 Quality management, policy, and control in China…………………………………………..4 Financial background of China ………………………………………………………………..8 Chinese government policies that attract foreign investments …………………………….9 Cultural differences and difficulties (China vs. US).................................................…....10 Quality Standard……………………………………………………………………………….12 Conclusion…………………………………………………….………………………………..13 Project Quality Management in China Quality management is a key instrument to the success of every form of a project, whose objectives are well defined by project implementers. The recent decades have seen most countries implement new techniques that are geared towards producing the best results out of an initiated project however small it may be. Most industrialized and urbanized nations, China inclusive, have recently concentrated on quality improvement plans, ensuring appropriate standards in the quality of their products and services in order to fit in the global economics. Generally, quality management is the process by which an implementer of a particular project ensures that the value of the project at hand is able to satisfy his clientele in the best way possible. Quality is the characteristic of an item meeting the required standards by the customers or a producer or the government, as well as giving the producer a value of business sustainability and increased performance (Cleland and Gareis, 2006). Techniques of project quality management that are desirable are those that make sure that the deliverables of a particular project are able to meet the expectations of customers or even go beyond these expectations. Therefore, monitoring a project in the best way possible is considered ample, since errors and chances of project misinterpretations are duly eradicated. Additionally, standards of quality are deemed vital in the implementation of any project, and the meeting of such standards is made possible through the application of suitable plans to manage a project. Planning of a project is important because it helps ensure the effectiveness of the factors that influence project management as well as the activities that are conducted by the project stakeholders. Quality is at the same time acquired through a certain series of processes that are continually handled until the best result is acquired. Thus, no project incepts at its best level, but all start at a poor level tending towards the best. More over, it is crucial that project implementation team communicate appropriately with the project stakeholders in order to lay the best foundation for quality improvement that is continuous. Thus, when planning the budget for every project, it is crucial that quality be put into consideration. It is always good to emphasize on quality and not quantity for a stakeholder willing to give the best and not only to gain (Cleland and Gareis, 2006). This paper is aimed at investigating into the project quality management in China, being one of the most industrialized countries. Additionally, it will seek to establish the policies, quality control, as well as the techniques that are duly applied in the country. It is also important to come up with a definite reason as to why Chinese products, despite being of low quality are prevalent in the world. More over, it will seek to investigate into project management in china, in regard to the aspect of globalization. Furthermore, it is geared towards providing an insight on quality standards in regard to the management of quality by Chinese stakeholders. In addition, it is highly valued that the paper establishes the background of China, in regard to its financial status. More so, for a better understanding of the project management themes of china, it will be crucial to study the cultural distinctions that are evident between China and the United States. Finally, it is coherent to study the Chinese government policies that attract foreign investments. Quality management, policy and control in China China is one of the world’s most industrialized states today, thus quality management must be a matter of concern in their project implementation procedures. The management of quality is possible where some principles are operational, which are aimed at making the best out of everything. The policies are vital since their application in the quality control processes ensure that all projects are ideally implemented in the areas of requirements and that quality standards are met. Quality management in china is facilitated by the adoption of certain important policies that are deemed crucial as drivers to project quality management. The government in the country adopted the policy of open market, which has paved way for increased awareness of quality by the Chinese stakeholders in any form of a project. The aim of the government in the implementation of such a policy is to emphasize the significance of quality in the products that they produce. Therefore, with the implementation of the policy, most of the enterprises located in the country have found it ample to implement the policy in the recent years in order to make the best out of their initiated projects (Zimmerman, 2010). Additionally, the Chinese government has adopted the policy of market economy, whose main aim is to help intensify the implementation of total quality management policy with an aim of overcoming the challenges of competition at all costs. More over, quality management in china is rooted in the historical development that has taken a sequence of events. The cultural background of China is also known to have control over quality management in the projects that are carried out everywhere in the country and out of the country (Zimmerman, 2010). Nevertheless, the quality management aspect has been sometimes a challenge in China since initially, their carrying out of projects was not aimed at producing quality but to gain quick money and become wealthy. Thus, the issue of quality management has been a challenge in China because of producing fast goods for the sake of self-gain. However, historical developments in the recent years have made it possible for China to adopt the sense in quality management, thus a recent slight improvement in the china made products. Modern aspects of quality management have long been misinterpreted in china due to the utilization of a top-to-down approach in project implementation, where authority comes from the government, to the top management in the enterprises, and then laws are enforced to ensure that employees participate in projects. This limits the aspect of participation since employees do not have a choice to make any sound decisions when it comes to any project, but work under command, a factor that contributes to recklessness and lack of responsibility, for working to fulfill a certain law by laborers. More over, due to the hierarchical form of project management system, the top management does not find it necessary to train their employees properly on quality management in the notion that they have to work under command, thus ignoring training services that should be desired. The combination of all these forces has made chine not to be competitive in producing quality goods. In addition, being more industrialized, china has valued competition in an aspiration to become the most industrialized country in the world to enhance globalization (Overholt, 2005). On the other hand, current market forces have set a new pace for China in quality improvement and management, in the realization that quality is what matters in the global economy and not quantity. In their aspiration to join the world organization, they are working hard to ensure that quality is a priority of every project stakeholder, regardless of the nature of the project. Originally, China had only state-owned enterprises that were mainly controlled by the government’s top-down approach, but today have been transformed from an economy that is planed to one that is market based. This has allowed the emergence of private enterprises that compete with the state-owned ones in terms of producing quality goods and services, thus awakening the motivational spirit of every Chinese worker. Additionally, the recent implementation of open-door policy is a positive move towards quality improvement. The policy was introduced since; in the world economy, competition has become the order of the day and not mainly based on prices, but quality. Thus, the policy emphasizes on the production of minimal products, of high quality and quality prices, contrary to earlier poor quality products with cheap prices. Traditionally, the Chinese cultures have not been giving room to intensified education to young people, thus educational courses such as those of entrepreneurship and management have not been well taught, thus limiting the idea of project management. However, with the recent rapid growth in China’s population, foreign investors have developed sound interest in selling to the large population, thus establishing their foreign industries in china. Some foreign investors have come together with the local industries making up of joint ventures. The joint ventures give room for introduction of new technological procedures as well as new management procedures, with an aim of improving the quality of products. Furthermore, the fact that china has exported products globally in the recent decades, there is an urge for them to maintain high quality standards in order to comply with the set international standards (Overholt, 2005). Financial background of China China is among the most industrialized countries in the world, thus having a good foundation in the financial background. The national economy has continued to grow in a rapid phase over the years, where the demand of consumers always shows a positive increase. The market in china has been expanding ever in history of financial growth. The financial background successes are attributed to the aspiration over the years to become the best and the most successful industrialized country in the world (Lee, 1997). Corporate governance is a key feature in China, whereby the state, corporations, as well as the individuals are responsible for group projects and activities. More over, china can be attributed with the aspect of being outgoing, in that they always expand trade relations with other countries, factor that has greatly contributed to the cash inflows into the country. Though a negatively perceived aspect, Chinese have always desired to produce quick goods that are sold at cheap prices, and this has long contributed to the stability of the china as a country. In addition, in terms of the financial institutions, china has been developing every day as a result of cash inflows from trade, contract businesses etc. Furthermore, they have a stable financial background because of massive exploitation of natural resources in every corner of the country, without concentrating in specific areas, a factor that limits many other countries who emphasize on urbanization. In addition, it is not a big deal for Chinese to invest in tangible and intangible assets, out of believe that both types are very crucial in projects implementation. Thus, the economic and the financial background of the country have had more successes than failures over the years due to their penetration into the global market (Lee, 1997). The table below shows the financial position of China that contributed to its growth as during the 2003 and 2004 fiscal years. Source: Country report. (2003). The Securities Association of China (SAC). [http://www.anbid.com.br/institucional/documentos_download/Fundos/Congressos%20IIFA%20de%20fundos/2004/Country%20Reports%202004/China.pdf] Chinese government policies that attract foreign investments Traditionally, china had always to be an independent nation due to the desire to preserve cultural values. Thus, chances of interaction with other countries especially the western were limited, except in business, due to the fact that china is an outgoing country in terms of trade and business. A centralized policy had been in control of all businesses, projects that that the voice of the government was duly respected. Project quality was always deemed low since they lacked the spirit of participation in the working places, education on project management was duly taken for granted and foreign interference was not Marjory respected. Recently, the government decided to adopt policies that would be put in place for the sake of quality management improvement in all areas of the economy in the country. The eradication of a planned economy policy was a positive step towards attracting foreign investment. This was a great transformation to a market economy that gave room for private investors to have access national resources. The private investors brought about the aspect of competition where the state-owned institutions would now emphasize the aspect of quality to ensure sustainability and increased productivity (People's Daily, 2004). As a result of rapid population increase in china, open policy was introduced that was meant too pave way for foreign people to invest in china in order to satisfy the needs of the massive population. It paved way for attraction of many foreign investors, who introduced new technologies that have a main aim to improve the quality of china’s products. More over, the government also allowed the foreign investors to form joint ventures with the local industries. This merger policy was meant to enable the industries to produce better quality goods and projects due to the merging of technological knowledge as well as project management skills. Thus, the introduction of these policies by the government played a key role in attraction of foreign investment as well as the globalization of China (Country report, 2003). The table below shows the level of foreign direct investments from selected countries as per the 2003 records. Source: http://www.piie.com/publications/chapters_preview/3810/12iie3810.pdf Cultural differences and difficulties (China vs. US) China is globally known for its unique speed in terms of industrialization. However, a number of factors are known to have great influence on project implementation processes, including the cultural factors of a particular country. However, every country in the world normally has a particular culture that is usually in control of most activities. Thus, great distinctions occur in the cultural background of china in comparison with other industrialized states. A number of differences between the culture of china and the United States have been studied. First, china exhibits a hierarchical and formal societal structure, where certain rules are set to govern the society and one must abide by them in order to be acceptable. On the other hand, such structures are not rampant in the United States, thus freedom is an aspect that is highly valued, where no social rules are governing the state. Additionally, the aspect of confrontation or conflict is highly revoked in china, such that in case of any misunderstanding in business by various parties, a different way of solving a problem should be put in place to avoid arguments. While in the United States, it is not a big deal that one finds business people or any people in a particular ground conflict with each other (Wu, 2010). Thirdly, the Chinese value a group authority rather than self-authority. They also believe that achievement of a goal or an objective is only possible through group operation and not individual activities. Thus, there is a lot of influence of each other and everybody must agree with a group in order to be successful. However, this idea is ignored in the United States where one has the freedom to utilize his individual knowledge to come up with a project and design it, thus group work is a choice. On the other hand, a sound reputation of all is highly valued in China. Actions that will cause humiliation are not tolerated by the government in any way. This aspect is absent in the cultural values of the United States since it is taken that everybody has his rights and freedoms. It is also important to note that socialization is highly valued as part of business relations. It is widely known in china that in order for people to conduct business together, it has to take up a secondary position while socialization takes the primary position, unlike in the United States where business is business and the same for socialization. More over, morals are highly valued in a Chinese society in issues regarding marriage and misconduct. Marriage is not allowed until one is in his/her late twenties, while the United States doesn’t enforce any law concerning morals. It is believed that every other person has a personal life where they can choose what they want to do at what time. Furthermore, the Chinese value humility regardless of the prevailing situations as well as the aspect of time. Time is a precious asset to all Chinese people and that must be put into consideration in all activities by all people. The respect for authorities and for one another is also highly valued under all circumstances, the reason why the planned economy had dominated in the early twentieth century since even project quality management was centralized. However, in the United States, it is not easy for humility and respect to be applied in human life (Zimmerman, 2010). Quality standards Quality standards imply regulations, laws, and policies that are put into place by an authority to control certain areas, be it business, project implementation or even the entire country governance. A number of standards have been set to govern local activities of a country as well as international ones that are meant to govern the international countries. In the current globalization trends, the international bodies require that all goods and services provided and supplied by international stakeholders meet the international requirements to enhance global sustainability. It is surprising to realize that China has been a global giant over the years regardless of the poor quality of products they have been making. As a result of their culture, they have not been able to address the issue of quality in the major areas of production. The government had been in control of quality, but despite the enforcement of strict rules upon stakeholders and employees, china did not make it to meet either the international or the customer standards. Goods and services that met the international standards must go beyond the expectations of the clientele, a factor that china did not put into consideration. However, the recent implementation of new policies regarding private and foreign investment attractions have spearheaded the idea of project implementation in regard to project quality control. The foreign investors as well as private ones have come up with new technologies and policies that have increased the Chinese awareness on quality of goods and services, and it is also a global concern today (Lee, 1997). Conclusion China has had a history of weak quality management approach rendering them produce poor quality goods, despite their aspirations to produce quality goods since 1950’s. The failure in the achievement of quality goal is attributed to the aspect of a centrally planned economy that limited the essence of participation. Additionally, the china’s culture has also had a lot of influence in the project management processes, having in the rule of a hierarchical system that requires authority from the government, to the enterprises’ top management, then to the subordinate workers. Thus, the idea of comprehensive respect to the authority had accelerated the importance of state-owned enterprises and no room for private ones, which were definitely authoritative. These factors had led to poor quality management procedures taking pre-eminence for quite a long time (Wolff, 2008). However, with the implementation of a policy that is open door gave an opportunity for many foreign investors to invest into china’s economy. This has enabled the implementation of management standards that are standard as well as a lot of technological knowledge. In addition, the fact that china has been trading with the west has made it to face a challenge in terms of quality and have recently embarked on improving their quality. More over, the transformation form a planned economy has facilitated the implementation of a market economy that has encouraged the initiation of private enterprises. The private enterprises, due to their urge to overcome the state-owned ones have been committed in producing quality goods that meet quality standards, both locally and internationally (Wolff, 2008). This aspect of competition has enabled every industry, whether state-owned or private to work towards improvement of quality. It takes time for any project to achieve its best quality. Thus, china has recently embarked on education as a key instrument to quality improvement; since by teaching young people on the importance of quality will help in the upcoming projects that require high quality standards. Furthermore, it is important that China emphasize the importance of quality in all areas of project implementation in order to become part of the global economists. More over, it is ample to seek advice from other industrialized entities in the world for instance Japan in order to grasp more on what quality demands and to enhance their sustainability in the global levels. However, the aim of the research paper was achieved having established the project quality management in China. References Cleland, D. and Gareis, R. (2006). Global project management handbook: planning, organizing, and controlling international projects. NY: McGraw-Hill. Country report. (2003). The Securities Association of China (SAC). The People’s Republic of China. Retrieved from http://www.anbid.com.br/institucional/documentos_download/Fundos/Congressos%20IIFA%20de%20fundos/2004/Country%20Reports%202004/China.pdf. Overholt, W. (2005). China and Globalization. Rand Corporation publishers. Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/pubs/testimonies/2005/RAND_CT244.pdf. Lee, p. (1997). Structures in the new millennium: proceedings of the Fourth International Kerensky Conference on structures in the new millennium, Hong Kong, 3-5 September 1997. NY: Taylor & Francis publishers. People's Daily. (2004). Attracting foreign investment China's long-standing policy: foreign investment. Peoples daily online publishers. Retrieved from http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200412/03/eng20041203_166074.html. Wolff, C. (2008). Project Management in China: Soft skills as Success Factors. Berlin: Diplomica Verlag publishers. Wu, D. (2010). Modeling Risk Management in Sustainable Construction. NY: Springer books. Zimmerman, J. (2010). China law desk book: Volume 1. NY: American Bar Association. Read More