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Hong Kong workers are dexterous, and hard working. They are willing to work overtime. Our recent success in denim manufacture is an example. In the United States, large factories usually carry out the entire process of production. They cannot take on sudden increases in orders or special requests because everybody is an employee, and workers are not enthusiastic about overtime pay. In Hong Kong, there are numerous small owners. Therefore Hong Kong can take on special production. It is beneficial to existing spinners. We can make goods of uncommon specifications even for relatively small orders. Only Hong Kong can do this. After the yarn is spun, there are specialized factories to do the dyeing. Afterwards, we can take the dyed yarn to yet another factory to be knitted. The whole is divided into parts, and this increases our flexibility.'
The nub of his observation was that people in Hong Kong were prepared to try their best and put in extra effort when they were working for themselves or when it gave them the chance to accumulate future business capital. But for individual firms, this urge to strike out on one's own undermines team work. In Hong Kong business establishments, according to a Shanghainese management specialist,
'The number 2s are impatient to be number 1s and number 1s are impatient to get out and start their own business, no matter how small. The result is the atrocious downgrading of standard and quality.'
Local employees, he says, 'curse the jobs they are paid for', (Pan 1974: 4-5). Entrepreneurs have to find some ways to cope with this low motivation among their subordinates and the threat posed by their desertion. Most spinners appeared to adopt a defensive strategy based on a distrust of their staff. The areas of executive initiative and responsibility were deliberately curtailed. The low degree of delegation of authority was unwittingly shown by the general manager of 'Hong Textiles, Ltd,' (Espy 1974: 279):
'Since my father and I handle all the negotiations with our buyers, we don't need any sales or marketing departments. Our Export Manager handles all routine correspondence with
164
Hong Kong workers are dexterous, and hard working. They are willing to work overtime. Our recent success in denim manufacture is an example. In the United States, large factories usually carry out the entire process of production. They cannot take on sudden increases in orders or special requests because everybody is an employee, and workers are not enthusiastic about overtime pay. In Hong Kong, there are numerous small owners. Therefore Hong Kong can take on special production. It is beneficial to existing spinners. We can make goods of uncommon specifications even for relatively small orders. Only Hong Kong can do this. After the yarn is spun, there are specialized factories to do the dyeing. Afterwards, we can take the dyed yarn to yet another factory to be knitted. The whole is divided into parts, and this increases our flexibility.'
The nub of his observation was that people in Hong Kong were prepared to try their best and put in extra effort when they were working for themselves or when it gave them the chance to accumulate future business capital. But for individual firms, this urge to strike out on one's own undermines team work. In Hong Kong business establishments, according to a Shanghainese management specialist,
'The number 2s are impatient to be number 1s and number Is are impatient to get out and start their own business, no matter how small. The result is the atrocious downgrading of standard and quality.'
Local employees, he says, 'curse the jobs they are paid for', (Pan 1974: 4-5). Entrepreneurs have to find some ways to cope with this low motivation among their subordinates and the threat posed by their desertion. Most spinners appeared to adopt a defensive strategy based on a distrust of their staff. The areas of executive initiative and responsibility were deliberately curtailed. The low degree of delegation of authority was unwittingly shown by the general manager of 'Hong Textiles, Ltd,' (Espy 1974: 279):
'Since my father and I handle all the negotiations with our buyers, we don't need any sales or marketing departments. Our Export Manager handles all routine correspondence with
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