ABSTRACT
A Western manager let into the office of his Chinese counterpart at the height of the command economy would have had no hesitation in admitting to being lost in a totally alien world, one dominated by the plan and which was totally innocent of market forces. Today, he or she returning to the same state-owned enterprise would find a more familiar scene, with managers cut loose from the plan and given the task of having to purchase their own supplies and to sell their products at prices set by the market. The conversation would sound more familiar, peppered with references to profit in place of output quotas. The firm itself may well now have a familiar corporate structure, with shareholders and board. It would seem, to all intents and purposes, that the enterprise management were now firmly in the driving seat. The driving could be expected to be a little erratic, but nothing that a little experience and some sound management training, perhaps the odd MBA, could not set to rights.
