ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case of Gunther Dane who was the new general manager of Guangdong Electronics Co. Ltd. (GE), a joint venture between Deutsche Elektro-Informatika (DEI), a huge German electronics company with a global presence, and Rural Red Star, a Chinese state-owned electronics company with 1,200 employees. The agreement to establish GE was signed in 1991, and operations started the following year. It was DEI's first joint venture in the People's Republic of China. DEI executives viewed the agreement as an important step towards enhancing their goodwill and relationships with the ministry in Beijing, and the Chinese vice minister agreed to attend the joint venture signing ceremony. Dane's first management group meeting was scheduled for November 5, 1998. In late August 1998, a management meeting took place. Herbert Klein, the immediate predecessor of Gunther Dane, chaired the meeting, introducing Gunther Dane, the new GM, to the management group. Dane had been offered the job in July.
