“Haier”: The Un-Chinese Business Giant

Sometimes inspiring stories of the Industries or individuals attaining marked success gives enough courage to dream big. The steady progress made by Haier in the field of electronic appliances is remarkable. Till now, because of its exceptional standards, quality, reputation in International market circles I thought it was either Japanese or a Korean company. But I was wrong; it stands as a towering example of sheer Chinese excellence and diligent work.

The phenomenal growth and success of the company can be attributed mainly to its strict adherence to the quality, deliverance of services and out of box thinking. The working style is quite different. What has started as small fridge factory in narrow shambolic walls of Quingdao province has rose to the peaks of World’s biggest appliance maker. After Zhang Ruimin acquired the charge of the manager of the firm, he strived hard to change the perception of people about Chinese products to be mere cheap imitated products. His initial stint of working in Germany, a country obsessed with quality has made a deep impact on his mind. The revenue of the Haier Group has reached $160 billion mark, quadrupling its revenues in 12years. He sensationalised the nation when he openly hammered some 76 defective fridges on the roads at the outset of his tenure way back in 1985. This marked the beginning of the great transformation set to unfold.

Now he prospects the thought of doing away completely with the middle management as he believes that it is salubrious to the growth of the firm. He never advocated conventional wisdom. Unlike his other Chinese business compatriots, he began marketing his products directly in the developed countries as against the norm of venturing first into competitive markets of South East Asia or Africa. This company has far exceeded the standards set by the Japanese bodies even and cast a steady lead over the leading brands. It is rated among the top 8 most innovative firms of the world marching ahead of the Amazon. The company has changed the style of working by splitting the employees into groups of 2000zi zhu jing ying ti (ZZJYTS). They are self- managed teams and each of them is responsible for profit and loss and individuals are paid as per their performance. Employees are encouraged to come up with innovative ideas and if he is able to work it out, he will emerge as the winner of the team and becomes project leader. Zhang believes that an unsteady and dynamic environment is the best way to keep everyone flexible. As a raising firm in the internet age he assigns great emphasis to customer feedback, their changing requirements, interests. He incorporates the necessary changes in their products and thus the company stays ahead in the electronic market.

“If we don’t challenge ourselves, someone else will” seems to be business motto of the unrelenting Haier’s Godfather.