Most executives of multinational companies (MNCs) are aware that growing a business in China presents very real and unique challenges that should be factored into the initial investment and the overall business objectives. However, in the rush to take advantage of the so-called never ending growth and scale of China, companies can make strategic and often operational miscalculations that can compromise their ability to meet their goals.

Here’s a list of a few common misunderstandings about China:

1. China is much the same as America was in the 50’s (or Japan in the 80’s, or Mexico in the 90’s, and so on).

It appears like this may be a decent notable similarity; in any case, China is essentially too enormous, excessively intricate, and particularly integrated with whatever is left of the world. Likewise, China’s purchaser society is skyrocketing in its own and an interesting way.

2. China’s open/government information are by and large untrustworthy.

There have been colossal walks as of late in the accessibility and nature of open information, particularly for urban demographics. Close consideration ought to be given to the improvement arrangements of the focal and city governments. Their arrangements are clear and likewise entirely goal-oriented. Government officials are typically more than willing to help new business advance and give different and imperative information/realities (i.e. populace thickness, retail bunches, transportation infrastructure, and so on.) keeping in mind the end goal to invigorate development within their groups.

3. China’s internet resembles whatever is left of the world.

As Google’s dramatization in China was as of late highlighted, their internet is very one of a kind and worth the additional opportunity to investigate. A large portion of the substantial US-based locales, for example, eBay, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, and so on are insignificant and for all intents and purposes, non-existent. China has its internet heartbeat, and it is significantly different contrasted with the Western world.

4. China’s shoppers are part urban and provincial.

This is incompletely right. Be that as it may, most worldwide brands are spending their time and endeavors within a couple constrained parts of China, generally inside the 6-8 mega urban areas. The greater part of China’s shopper business sector is overwhelmingly bunched within urban communities that have staggering populaces. More imperative, nonetheless, is the closeness to the nation’s social focuses, for example, Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.

5. There are huge generational gaps.

Generational gaps are truth be told gigantic, and they manifest more often than not. This is immediate after effect of amazingly quick financial development. Changes in both innovation and society have been the main reason. Today’s young grown-ups in China grew up listening to different Asian kid bands and youngsters in the interim are watching China’s form of unscripted television. Is it any marvel they grasp a different viewpoint, which in turn puzzles their older folks?

6. China is quickly westernizing.

China is modernizing and becoming increasingly influenced by Western society, simply take a gander at all of the KFCs and McDonald’s the nation over. In any case, would we be able to call it truly westernizing if those US-based eateries offer congee as a component of their breakfast menu? While there is a remarkable increase in Western brands and lifestyle alternatives, it is additionally coordinated by an increased interest in notable Chinese society. Truth be told, there is a solid contention that China is becoming more Chinese. Likewise, there’s another often-neglected influence, and it’s situated in North Asia. Japan, the world’s second-biggest economy, sits off China’s shore, and its social influence is at any rate as significant as that of the Western world. South Korea likewise impacts the youthful grown-ups of China.

7. Chinese youth run in isolated groups.

There is some truth to this, and youngsters are segmenting themselves at prior ages these days. In any case, these groups look different from their Western partners. In the West, we can utilize magazines, music, and brand affiliations as an approach to best depict a gathering or tribe. These don’t exactly work in China in light of the fact that the print media is moderately little, and the music scene is extremely disjointed as an aftereffect of theft. Brand inclination can be effortlessly graphic in the bigger urban areas, yet in whatever is left of the nation, brand differentiation is significantly more obscured. Along these lines, children float towards big name inclination, side interests, and participate in different online clubs, and so forth to differentiate themselves.

As we have witnessed over the past 10-15 years, market dynamics within China are changing very rapidly as a result of high growth and an influx of both foreign and local private enterprises. So, market research data must be regularly refreshed and reviewed to remain current. Also, proper consideration must be made to a company’s governance model that integrates their China operations with a global perspective, while retaining in-country business autonomy.

What Makes a Great International Internship?

If you’re considering an international internship, you’ve already taken a big step towards investing in your future. Not only will you reap all the work experience and career development benefits an internship brings, but you’ll also have the chance to live in a foreign country, immerse yourself in a new culture, and form lifelong friendships with your colleagues and fellow interns. But before you begin the application process, it’s important to ensure that the internship you’re choosing will offer you the fullest possible range of benefits. To ensure you’ll get the best from your experience, ask yourself whether the internship you’re considering fulfills the following criteria:

1. A great location

An international internship ought to provide you with the opportunity to live and work in a dynamic, exciting location that suits you ambitions and needs. Whatever city you’re bound for, check whether you’ll be centrally accommodated, what there is to see and do outside of work, and whether you’ll have the opportunity to learn the language. The best internships should make all of this clear in their pre-departure information.

2. A wide range of placements

The best internship companies provide challenging, diverse placements in a wide range of sectors, and work hard to find the right internship for you. Interning in the right sector is really important if you want to ensure that your work experience is valuable and interesting.

3. Expert support and planning

To be of the greatest possible benefit, your international internship should be expertly planned and scheduled. Check out details like airport pick up arrangements, accommodation standards, and visa application processes. Your internship provider should be giving you an end-to-end service that includes all these important services as part of the package.

4. Training and development

Your international internship should also include in-country training to enable you to understand fully your role and how to live successfully in a foreign country. This is especially important if you’re going to be working somewhere where language and cultural barriers may exist such as China, or when the professional culture is significantly different from what you’re used to. Ask yourself whether you feel confident that you will receive the necessary support to allow you to flourish in your new role, or if you have the independence to teach yourself.

5. Work hard and play hard

The best international internships provide an opportunity to integrate career experience with social opportunities; they offer a good balance of social, cultural and professional opportunities, enabling you to play hard as well as work hard. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so make sure you’ll be able to enjoy every minute and make some great new friendships along the way.

Chinese internships are becoming an effective way for new university graduates to find quality resume building work while gaining valuable international work and travel experience. However, the process of establishing contact with the international employers, working out visas with foreign country’s embassies, and finding housing can be overwhelming.

It is because of this that many new university graduates seeking international internships use agencies specifically set up to deal with all the levels of government involved in establishing a full-time job in China. Recruitment agencies have established partnerships with many businesses around China. Most of these businesses are multinationals seeking English speaking staff, but many of them are also Chinese companies. Fluency in Chinese is therefore not essential because most of the work environments are seeking English speakers.

However, people should not forget that working in China is working in a foreign country, and the communication medium for all the regular employees and clients will be in the native language. Most of these placements are in human resource, economics, education, engineering, law, marketing, business development, and research industries.

Appropriate work experience is often an asset in aiding not only one’s placement potential but the negotiating leverage of pay rates. The length of placement with placement companies varies. Most companies work out contracts for either 2-6 months or 6-12 months. The benefits that come with signing a longer contract are many and include higher pay, increased benefits, more travel pay, and essentially a better work experience. Although the length of the contracts varies, the typical work schedule is relatively the same regardless of the length of the contract.
Most companies require at least a four day work week consisting of 8 hour days. Some companies require more hours and can request that an employee works up to 6, 8-hour shifts a week. This should not come as a surprise for those seeking resume building work experiences and a good paying placement, but for those seeking a part-time job they may want to take note of the full-time nature of a Chinese internship.

As unemployment amongst young Europeans hits an all-time high, over 50 percent in both Spain and Greece and the number of people out of work in the Eurozone as a whole hit a 15-year high of 17.2 million. More and more people are looking for employment opportunities outside of Europe, especially in Asia.

Although China is depicted as “The Greater Evil” in European newspapers, recently with the story about the air pollution challenge in Beijing, she still has to offer a lot of opportunities for young people.
Already two years ago the Chinese newspaper China Daily wrote an article about foreign interns “flocking to China” for internship opportunities. Internships have always been a great opportunity to get valuable work experience in different areas and industries, as well as a good way to leave home and immerse oneself in a different culture.

China’s culture can certainly be challenging, and many famous diplomats and sinologists have written throughout the past that the more you get to know China, the less you will understand her culture and her people. Yet thousands of foreign students and interns are drawn to China to study the language or do an internship to enrich their resume. More and more even attempt to find employment in this fascinating country, gradually building a bridge between the East and West, acting as a link between the two so different business worlds.

As an intern in China, you learn Chinese culture, history, and Chinese business world. And of course, you boost your resume and build your all-important network of professional colleagues to help you in your future career! Furthermore, if you manage to acquire some Chinese language skills during your period as an Intern in China, you truly are ahead of the competition!

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