Report
One Nation, Different Values in China
One nation, different values in China- China with its vast population and resources is one of the fastest emerging powerhouses which benefited the most from globalization along with India. So instead of going with the approach of spreading universal values and norms, many companies went in with different values in China.
For Google, to enter the Chinese market certain amount of data had to be censored. So Google came up with Google.cn for its Chinese users. Google.cn censored some data on the request of the Chinese Government. But in 2006, search engine companies Yahoo! and Google found themselves in the public spotlight for censoring data that their Chinese users could see. Yahoo! also handed over information to authorities which led to imprisonment of its users. Like in the case of an online writer who was jailed for 8 years for his article on corruption. Political topics such as police brutality, Tibetan independence movement, Taiwan independence were censored. This censoring of data was similar to the case of Star TV’s dropping of BBC from its Chinese networks.
Retailers focus is on social and environmental standards for imports to Europe and North America. That is they are more concerned with providing adequate working conditions, proper wages etc. In China, consumers are more concerned with safety and quality issues than with labor or the environment. As labour was easily available and at a cheap rate, it was never a concern. Nike, the world’s largest athletic footwear company, was fined 4.87 million Yuan ($779,416) for selling sneakers in China at a higher price and of a lower standard. Nike set the price for one of its basketball sneakers, which it advertised with double air cushions inside, at 1,299 Yuan in China, more than 500 Yuan higher than the same one in other countries. It was later discovered the company misled customers with an advertisement as the footwear only contained one air cushion.
The Government felt that the nation’s prosperity and stability depends on a vast pool of disenfranchised labour. Hence, the government was worried by attempts to improve labour standards and organize workers. Moreover, officials and factory owners sensitive to hints of imperialism felt that corporate responsibility concept is a foreign concept that is insensitive to the Chinese context.
Some multinationals justified their very presence in China on the basis of their potential to be a force for good and see corporate responsibility in this light. Yet the double standards leave retailers open to accusations that they want most of all its cheap produce and access to the potentially vast Chinese middle class. Different groups of people have different needs, wants and demands. So each group is a different target market. Hence, it is not wrong on the part of companies to approach their consumers with a different set of values and standards.

By, Ayush Agarwal MBA (tech)-Manufacturing Roll no: 302