Introduction
China over the years has grown to be one of the
most important business centers in the world.
With many sources of investments in the form of
foreign direct investments, multinationals and
subsidiaries as well as branches directed towards
China, the country has become a cause for concern
for competition in growing markets while providing
growth opportunities for others. The Chinese government
has made many attempts in changing the country
to suit these business individuals and FDIs but
the fact remains that China is a communist country.
Although, it considers itself to be a republic
nation today, its background cannot be negated.
This background has been the concern for many
individuals. One of the reasons being that the
Chinese communist regime and its population is
huge and this population is gradually changing
the workforce and economic dynamics of China.
This issue is at the heart of the discussion by
David Wank in his book "Commodifying Communism".
In the following sections the author will try
to explain the various aspects of Wank's book
in the context of the Chinese communist regime.
Discussion
Wank's book "Commodifying Communism"
has a consistent theme throughout the course of
the book. It focuses on the thesis that the Chinese
population is generating a large population of
entrepreneurs and workers. In the process it is
also growing the local industries so that the
entrepreneurs are becoming well established due
to added knowledge and background. For example
Wank mentions the growing population of Chinese
entrepreneurs which have been marketized during
the 1980s through state policy. This group of
individuals is educated in their particular so
that by the 1990s they have become mature entrepreneurs
with expertise gained from working in the private
sectors. This generation is better than the group
prior to the 1980s who have been speculators,
uneducated and relied a great deal on the under
performing economic conditions. On the other hand
the younger generations who are semi skilled and
unskilled have finally become skilled workers.
Another aspect that Wank has covered in his book
is that Chinese during the pre-Liberation period
had more business experience before 1949. Today
most of the entrepreneurs who have the skills
are from families of this bourgeoisie and possess
the capital for generating businesses as well.
And perhaps this has been the reason why Wank
finds that there is a less population of women
entrepreneurs as compared to male counterparts.
Wank raises issues that are of concern for any
business individuals who are interested in the
development of Chinese growth market. Wank's concern
is that there is a growing population that would
be well equipped with entrepreneur knowledge and
expertise that the public and the authority must
capitalize. From Wank's discussion one also understands
that these entrepreneurs are sources for Chinese
future development. The government should take
steps for progressing these people before they
become wasted or channel their skills to other
countries. Wank thinks that the government policy
is important for capitalizing on this human resource.
Another aspect that Wank points out is that this
new generation challenges the communist way of
operations and work environment. By tying the
economics’ zones and established trade policies,
Wank wants to show that the government has taken
steps in producing and developing the private
sector so that it would accommodate the pool of
human resources. For example anti-corruption campaigns,
ethnographic approach to dealing with the Chinese
society, the policies involved in entrepreneurships
as well as relief’s from the government.
The basic purpose is to allow entrepreneurs flourish
so that the state can benefit.
From this idea one can understand that "institutionalization"
is important for managing the new work force.
But since the institutions are still communist
base, for this reason Wank believe that the Chinese
government is in the process of commodifying its
communist background. Issues such as building
familiar infrastructure so that entrepreneurs
can work both in a bureaucratic environment as
well as new republic are coming forward. The basic
premise is that the government is making communism
a positive practice for entrepreneurs to adopt.
For this reason there has been a spread of communism
in many countries without any objection.
Wank's approach to writing this book has been
rather complex. Instead of relying on the book
as a source for information, Wank relies on his
investigation of the country and for providing
the information pertaining to Chinese culture,
habits, attitudes and behaviors in business dealings.
For this reason one sees that Wank's take a step
by step approach in address one by one issue.
However, one also notes that the book is filled
with arguments that outline institutional COM
modification rather than the COM modification
of the individuals or groups. One of the aspects
that the author find surprising is that Wank does
not rely on subjectivity. Instead he likes to
use facts and figures obtainable through samplings
of the new Chinese working population to show
how accurate his subjective reasoning is. This
also shows that Wank is keen on the development
of China in the form of semi and skilled workforce
along with techniques in entrepreneurship as these
features would allow for the Chinese to progress
in the future.
Wank's approach to the different topics is not
simple. For each topic he has sub topics dividing
the book to sections and subsections which allows
him to identify each section differently with
separate arguments and opinions of the author.
Similarly, one also observe that the author has
divided the book in such a manner so that the
reader first gets oriented with the content; it
is then compared with other nations and states;
and then it is compared with the different regions.
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