Dennis K wrote:
It's not so much that its a different country, but that its a new economy which hasn't gotten to the "fat, lazy" stage yet. I'm sure, given time, any company will become lazy and undynamic.
I think, Dennis, that you're misreading the facts. The Chinese economic system is a blisteringly violent mechanism with little to no interest in worker rights and little in the way of concern for their safety. Community safety is also a low priority. A relative who lives in Hong Kong tells me all about the crappy engineering that gets passed as 'fit' over there. Additionally there was an engineering inspector on the ABC just last week saying that during his time over there he was appalled by the shoddy work and dangerous consequences. It's easy to make a radical change or 'fix' a problem in these circumstances. It's possible to be impressed until you consider the cost. These are the greater causes of the differences, rather than some idealised notion of being "lean" or "without fat" or "new". Regards, Patrick