Is the assignment supposed to cover everything, or one aspect?
I remember reading a NYTimes Magazine article about factories in China needing, on average, only one manager for every 5,000 employees. That is staggering by American standards. The theory is that China's long history of obedience to parents and authority figures, combined with a certain conformity and homogeny (I think that's the word I want for very little mixing of nationalities and cultures), has enabled it to have a workforce willing to work hard for little pay and no trouble. Add to that the leap from a farming culture to huge coastal cities suddenly churning out goods in factories (with no legal restriction, pollution laws, etc). And add to all that is a culture steeped in history with a reputation for intelligence and many of the world's first inventions.
|