Blog Archives

Next time in China: Guanxi

Guanxi: Connections and relations are what matter most, while contracts, rules and laws are to likely to be overridden if they are in conflict with harmonious relations.

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Supply Chain Risk: Culture Shock

Is culture shock the reason why so many global and cross-culture business relationships fail? When it comes to Western buyers and Chinese suppliers this may very well be the case, and while issues related to product quality or supplier reliability may seem as the obvious cause externally, cultural differences may be the root cause internally.

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ARTICLES and PAPERS
The impact of supply chain glitches
The other day I wrote about supply chains and  disasters. Today I will deal with something that is m[...]
From the back room to the board room
Supply chain management used to be relegated to the logistics department of businesses and hardly th[...]
BOOKS and BOOK CHAPTERS
Book Review: HBR on Crisis Management
Close calls and near misses are not unusual in the business world, but how do companies deal with th[...]
Book Review: How Nature Works
How Nature works is a fascinating book. I first heard of the late Per Bak and his sandpile theories [...]
REPORTS and WHITEPAPERS
Global Resilience Index
The 2015 FM Global Resilience Index provides an annual ranking of 130 countries and territories acco[...]
Infrastructure - essential for competitiveness?
Regular readers of this blog may have noticed my regular rants about the state of the Norwegian infr[...]
from HERE and THERE
Supply chains compete, not companies
"Supply chains compete, not companies" is the motto on Martin Christopher's web site, www.martin-chr[...]
Sustainable Manufacturing Summit Europe
Soaring fuel prices combined with increasing awareness of the need to adapt for a low-carbon future [...]