This "mountain" is unmapped by anyone other than its inhabitants, is very difficult to reach and is made of solid granite. The gold is extremely deep in the mountain, and it will take many years of diligent, patient and backbreaking work to reach the gold. Even if the gold is ever reached, and mined, anything that is removed must be shared with the people that live on the mountain. As an added consideration, the inhabitants of the mountain do not necessarily have much use for the gold, have gotten along just fine with out it, and could continue to flourish if they never had it. .
This article has the potential to impact and influence the manner in which a prospector would go about finding the mountain in question. It (the article) provides some very basic tools for conducting business in China. It not only reiterates the notion that as Americans we must put aside our ethnocentrism, and provides insight into why and how our Chinese counterparts approach and conduct business. If these guidelines are to be taken seriously, it requires us to not only abandon our own methods, but we must become our counterpart in our ideas, thought patterns, and adapt the same motivations for the outcome. The profit potential of the Chinese markets is widely known, but the manner in which to go about tapping those markets has been somewhat of a mystery. The mystery deepens with every failure incurred by what we in the west consider unstoppable giants in our own culture. Never before have companies needed to be more prepared for entering new markets as they must with China. Not being prepared, or being ill prepared to negotiate in China has swift and irreparable consequences. The successful companies are those that have implemented the guidelines (to some extent) outlined in the assigned article. .
The author of the article is forthright in making his point that American managers must not expect to use the same techniques that work in the western world and apply them to business in China.
