Government owned 'Entity'

I visited a government owned 'entity', for lack of a better word, last week. Entity is the only word I can come up with for a company of well over 50,000 (see the layout above), that houses all its people on site, has stores, hospitals, schools up through MBA programs, no need to ever leave the site. While I am sure working conditions vary widely over the multitude of these industries that exist in China, this location was nice to see. Clearly, planned economies have their efficiency issues, as did this one. However, there was clearly a value placed on the human being here. Work conditions were primitive with regard to buildings and infrastructure, layout, etc., but reasonably well lit inside. Tools were extremely old and locally designed and fabricated, but quite well maintained. Product designs of the assembly components I was reviewing were generations old, but the manual operations used to put them together currently were as efficient as I could imagine.

The product I was reviewing had been assembled in this manner for THIRTY years. If you read Alan Greenspan's book, he discusses at length the differences between planned economies and open markets. One of the big differences is 'creative destruction', where competition in open markets forces reinvestment and increases in efficiencies that just don't happen in planned economies. What an example I was seeing before my eyes. The only reason I had an opportunity to see this was the same reason this company is actually considering changing their process: the markets here are opening up, and even these leviathans of government owned companies are being exposed now to competition.

Is this a good thing? I suppose the increase in efficiency and reduction of waste is good. On the other hand, the absence (in planned economies) of stress and worry over obsolescence or job insecurity can be a great thing. I could see the beginnings of stress in their eyes, and the awareness that they have no idea how to approach this free market thing, though I am sure it won't take long. The requests made of Lanco were largely to patch problems with their process upstream and product design, primarily. Perhaps they can't fix the machining problems upstream, and don't know how to upgrade the part design, but how do you allow them to save face and still be honest with them? They were clearly proud of their operation, as well they should be. Outsourcing is such a foreign concept to them; they had no idea how to greet potential suppliers, how to write spec sheets for what they are looking for, etc. Amazing.

Also amazing to see:
1. Russian influence in the architecture of some of the older buildings. Don't know the whole story there, but I know they were close during the time of this plant build.
2. Come to find out, back 30-50 years ago, this plant was moved (with all its people) from Shanghai as a way to reduce infrastructure problems if a city was destroyed. It was really surprising to my Shanghainese colleagues when we saw some old Shanghai folk (and their offspring!) in the plant, and they found out the story. We were approx 1,000 miles away from Shanghai, and finding a LOT of locals was not expected!
3. The workers work 8-12, go home for 2 hours to have lunch with their families (school gets out then, as well, and remember spouses are all working here), then return from 2-6 to work. I think this changed when the government mandated 8 hr days vs. 12 hrs, but I still asked if I could have a job there. Another perk of a planned economy. :)
4. Look out, world, when lunch comes. The mass of bicycles and motor scooters is not given justice by this picture. People are as eager to get to get to lunch everywhere in the world, it would seem.

Miscellaneous Collections

Evidence I have been on too many evening conference calls, while here in Hong Kong.
Ever heard of American Standard?Great moments with Bekah on the roof top of Fa Yuen wet market, where there are local restaurants, and great milk tea!
Now this is a fire hydrant, Hong Kong style!

Kowloon Victoria Park with Rachel, May 08. Nice ending to a dentist appointment!
This afternoon David and I rented bikes and rode from Sha Tin to Tai Po. Guess I should have read the map first, to see how far I was signing up David to (how big can it get? This is HK!). David is sleeping soundly tonight. He crashed twice, and got run over by a young lady on a bike coming around a corner and NOT driving in control. He had a good time in spite of it and the rain that came at the end. What a great sport. We got to see some of the Dragon Boat Races; apparently this is a pretty big deal here. Lots of teams on the river, and the cadence setter uses a drum in the front of the boat. Kind of cool, but a bit far for my camera phone.


How is this for a fish tank in a restaurant? See the person behind the tank, for reference. I felt like I was in the Boston Aquarium. They love their fish here.
All right, you engineers. What is wrong with this picture? Highly unHong Kong like, and worthy of a picture.
For those of you saying, huh?, think green means GO.

Out the window of my motel in Taiyuan. Consequence of open market economies pushing industries like coal and steel producing to developing countries. Is that fog you note? Why yes, it just happens to be man made.
Think you could carry this into the passenger cabin on a US plane, after 2001? No problem here! This is in line to get on a plane. For the sake of my own harassment, I won't implicate the airline online.

Alan Greenspan, The Age of Turbulence

WOW. If you want a coherent explanation of how economies work, both planned and open market, this is a MUST READ. It is written so a lay person can read it, and understand what is going on. What a study in the human condition, and how free market capitalism is lubricated and driven by that human condition. While he certainly leans agnostic, and seems to have failed finding the source of who we are and why we act the way we do, he certainly is a fine student of the end results, and able to apply those end results across the worldwide economic landscape. I couldn't put the book down, it seemed, and I highly recommend it to anyone who would like to understand how this seemingly chaotic free market economy works, how our culture affects it and how it affects our culture. The rule of law (and its arguably Biblical premise) weighs heavily in the success of the US economically (Greenspan's primary focus). Fascinating book.

Need I say any more? Boy, didn't she think she was hot stuff.

Hiking with David
Well, I finally got a small hike in. After the ankle incident, I am just now getting to the point of being able to take a walk like this. It was a small one, ~5k, but about perfect for David. 95% humidity, the first clear day after 2 solid weeks of rain, maybe it wasn't the best day for a hike, but we had a great time. Wow, there were a lot of monkeys and mosquitos! We had some good talks, and it was good to get out alone with him. No girls!

Well, it has been an interesting 8 months for the family, to be sure. Oddly enough, it looks like we will be coming home at the end of June. We are entertaining the notion of sending the middle 2 children to school this year, for a number of reasons. Suffice it to say things are different in Hong Kong, and this has the potential to be one of our wiser moves, to get plugged into society, and provide outlets for the children, both with others, and intellectually. It would be a trial, one worth looking into. For all you hard core home schoolers out there, peace and calm, please. :) There is a lot of prayer and consideration in this process. Check it out. http://www.ycis-hk.com