Blending East and West : How to build a management team in a short time

ENTERPRENEUR VIEW

Blending East and West : How to build a management team in a short time

INNOVASIA

As a young venture grows into a large company, its greatest challenge is to embed its original mission and vision within the company's DNA.

By formalising its values, putting in place management processes and blending western and eastern management styles, Alibaba has shared its entrepreneurial vision with more than 4,000 employees.

Alibaba.com is one of China's fastest-growing Internet companies. In five years, it has grown into the world's largest online marketplace for small and medium enterprises. It owns and operates yahoo! China.

Alibaba was set up by a team of 18 idealistic and passionate founders in 1999, and it had little management planning and process for nearly two years. In 2001, the company brought in as chief operating officer Savio Kwan, then the general manager of General Electric, who had more than 25 years' experience in managing high-growth businesses.

During the next two years, with Kwan's help, Alibaba's management team built a solid management processes. They first agreed on the company's mission, vision and values, and then codified these into clear internal processes and systems.

One such system is Alibaba's "one-over-one plus HR" performance review policy, governing hiring, firing and compensation of employees. Each employee's boss, the boss's boss and the human resources department gauge him or her on performance, as well as adherence to the company's values, ensuring a consistent standard.

Alibaba has also achieved an interesting balance of Chinese personal relations and western management systems. The Chinese company has an entrepreneurial culture that characterises most Silicon Valley ventures, emphasising creativity, innovation and professionalism.

At the same time, it has taken care to blend Chinese interpersonal norms, making room for respect and face-saving, and favouring teamwork over direct confrontation. Alibaba also reaches out to employees' social networks, holding "family days" that keep families informed of the company's activities. This blend of East and West in corporate culture has given Alibaba an edge in attracting and retaining managers and employees.

This article draws from "Alibaba.com", an INSEAD case study by Ming Zeng, written while an Assistant Professor of Asian Business at INSEAD.

General News
Bangkok Post
Saturday January 20, 2007