Rozprawy doktorskie na temat „Management in China”

In this study the aim was to investigate and nuance how the Volvo Construction Equipment (VCE) production Hub can evolve their environmental work, at Chinese wheel loader producer Shandong Lingong (SDLG), to reach Volvo standard. The study also aimed to investigate what international companies in China should take into consideration in their environmental work. The work was carried out by answering the following research questions; In which way or ways can the VCE Hub at SDLG evolve their environmental work to reach Volvo standard? What should international companies take into consideration in their environmental work when establishing on the Chinese market, and why? A lot of the information in this Thesis is based on empirical data, i.e. interviews. Three interviews with Swedish companies have been carried out. They are all highly valuing Environmental work but use different methods, their situations are unlike and they produce diverse products. Several interviews with people working with environmental issues in different ways have also been done, as well as with the SGS; a Chinese certification body. Three different companies with production in or around Shanghai were chosen; Volvo CE, SKF, and Sandvik. All three companies are originally Swedish but with production in China. Environmental work is highly prioritized in Sweden and the companies have global environmental policies and goals. The three companies were chosen because they are in different production areas but they are striving in the same direction with environmental issues in China. They are working differently and their situations are of various kinds. In 2006 Volvo CE invested in a Chinese wheel loader producer named Shandong Lingong. Volvo CE has a Hub, at the plant, which runs independently. SDLG are still not ISO 14001 certified and do not have an environmental management system (EMS) that is conformably with the Volvo demands. The most important to take into consideration when doing business in China is according to the study; top management support, to do training for the employees, mediate the importance of awareness, and to have knowledge about Chinese regulations. These are some of the issues International companies have to deal with when doing business in China. A well established EMS is a necessity for a good environmental work. To implement an EMS in the Hub as a pilot project is the best solution according to the information gathered in this thesis. SDLG could be a part-, they can evaluate-, and later it could be possible to implement the process in the whole SDLG. Due to this methodology they will learn how to work according to Volvo requirements and obtain benefits of an implementation. There are three different alternatives for the ISO 14001 certification of the Hub according to this work. For the Hub to be ISO 14001 certified together with another Volvo plant seems to be the best alternative thought it reduces the amount of work with legal authorities. VCE’s EMS will also not be compared with SDLG and it will be moneysaving. The policies and Environmental aspects (EA) though have to be rewritten to be suitable for both the factories.

China's different economic environment, government infrastructure, and legal system might cause different management buyout procedures and results from management buyout procedures in the United States. Management buyout was originally created to increase efficiency and reduce agency cost in the United States in the 1960s; but management buyout in China is merely a tool to provide incentive programs for current management teams and reduce state-owned corporate shares.

Management consultancy has received increasing academic interest due to its growing importance in the global economy. However, current research has been predominantly focused on consulting companies in Anglo-American and European countries. This thesis aims to provide a focused study of the practice of global management consultancies operating outside of the western context. China is commonly regarded as having distinctive market and industrial conditions that distinguish it from western developed countries. Based on empirical evidence from interviews and participant observation, this thesis examines the activities of global consulting companies at market, firm and client project levels in China, with a focus on the deployment of their global knowledge resources. The central question explored in the thesis is whether and to what extent the Chinese context has limited the diffusion of global management consultancies and the applicability of their western management knowledge. This thesis finds that in China global management consultancies have emphasized their international image and extensively replicated global models of management. While importing global knowledge assets has had mostly positive effects at market and firm level of practice, it has caused a mix of benefits and challenges during the actual consultation process due to insufficient and inappropriate adaptation.

China has been attracting significant foreign investment since it opened up. Yet, foreign investors' performance in this strategic market has been variable. Previous literature does not fully investigate the causes and forces that explain their performance differences. This study contributes to our understanding of this issue by looking into the role of local knowledge and investigating its management strategies. It examines the concept and the nature of local knowledge, identifies local knowledge sources, explores the local knowledge management process, and investigates its implementation in terms of resistances and strategies. The study first advances a general framework of knowledge management. It then introduces the key argument of this theoretical framework into the Chinese business context and develops a theoretical model of strategic management of China local knowledge, from which eight qualitative hypotheses are derived. A multi-method qualitative empirical study was undertaken in order to examine the concept of local knowledge and investigate how local knowledge was actually exploited by multinational firms. Eleven face-to-face interviews with managers from 11 European multinationals in 10 sectors, field observation of 2 Chinese projects involving 6 European companies, and 17 multi-level interviews with local managers from 4 Chinese organizations were conducted. The empirical findings were compared with the key arguments of the theoretical model in order to assess the extent to which they support the theoretical stand, and propose a justified model of strategic management of China local knowledge. It is concluded that the findings supported many, but not all, of the theoretical arguments. The most striking findings are as follows: First, unlike global knowledge transferred to China market, which is codified and accessible, China local knowledge is highly tacit, undiffused and fast-changing. It is this intrinsic and fast-changing nature of China local knowledge determines its greater impact upon the multinational firm's business performance in this dynamic market. Second, local knowledge cannot be effectively managed unless specific management conditions are created. These conditions include common knowledge, multi-layered knowledge interfaces, and a 'pull and push' system. Third, knowledge transfer is not an optimal choice of managing local knowledgc~ to exploit the full value of local knowledge both knowledge transfer approach and knowledge integration mechanism should be employed.

This thesis project was carried out within the cooperation between theIndustrial Ecology Department at Royal Institute of Technology (KTH),Stockholm, Sweden and Center for Space Thermal Science of ShandongUniversity, Jinan, China. The aim of this thesis report is to investigate Environmental ManagementSystem (EMS) and its support system, give a general view of theenvironmental work in companies in China, and make recommendation forSwedish joint ventures how they should work with environmental issues inChina. The conclusions, drawn from the thesis investigation, are that the Chineseway of working with environmental issues is similar to the Swedishapproach. There is a comprehensive support system in forms oflegalization, other demands and standards. The main differences arecompulsory EMS and Cleaner Production Law. It is not always voluntarilyto work with an EMS in a company; some companies, which are perceivedto be hazardous for the environment, are forced to work with compulsoryEMS. However, there is also voluntarily EMS such as ISO 14001. Thesecond differences are that China has, as the only country in the world,Cleaner Production as a law. The company visits to Qingqi, General, Shandong Huangtai Thermal PowerPlant and Huawo showed that Chinese companies work active onenvironmental issues and use the existing support system. The recommendations for joint ventures between Chinese and Swedishcompanies that were drawn from this thesis report are; compile withChina’s environmental laws, criterion, standards and demands; be a partof China’s environmental management system, both compulsory andvoluntarily; make the environmental work in the organisations transparentand infiltrated it in all levels; educate all employees and assure that theEMS has full support from the top manager; combine EMS with safety,health and quality management systems; work with high quality EducationCenters and Certification Bodies; and finally, take a moral responsibility.
www.ima.kth.se

High rise buildings are commonly found in Hong Kong. Neighbours are so close to one another that activity next door could bring disastrous effect to the whole building even if only minor malpractice is found in daily activities. There had been a number of fires with large number of casualties and deaths in the recent years. Fire safety management in buildings across Hong Kong has been one of the most discussed topics in the territory by the government, politicians and the general public. Investigations of those incidents revealed that there are common malpractices found in those buildings – ineffective means of escape routes, unauthorized alteration to building usage and structures and low awareness on fire safety management. The government did take remedial actions after each fire by imposing more requirements on fire services equipments and systems for types of buildings that had been burnt in previous fires. Furthermore, ad hoc fleet checks to buildings with similar characteristics as where the fires were had also been carried out to meet public concern right after blazes. Long term measures such as enactment of new laws, amendments to existing codes of practice on fire safety equipments and systems, strengthening execution of laws towards offenders, launch of promotional programmes by the Fire Services Department to raise public concern on fire safety awareness have been in effect aiming at lowering the figures on fire cases and hence loss in lives and properties. After series of actions taken, number of fire cases, casualties and deaths result from fire did not go down in the past few years. Building fire safety condition in two cities in South East Asia, Singapore and Tokyo, are taken for comparison with that of Hong Kong. It is discovered that there are merits from the two cities for our reference in order to get the safety levels of our buildings be raised. The two governments in Singapore and Tokyo take proactive approach on control and promotion of fire safety in buildings while our policies are passive ones. Besides, both Singaporean and Tokyo government plan their policies with focus on the weaknesses found that bring adverse effect to the key issue. In order to cultivate safe atmosphere for citizens in Hong Kong, the government is strongly recommended to adopt proactive approach that addresses the root cause of the issue. Compulsory appointment of independent Fire Safety Manager, adoption of total fire safety management concepts with focus on emergency planning and drills, incentive programmes to raise the public awareness on building fire safety are expected to strengthen the concepts of fire safety in the community. On the other hand, compulsory formation of owners’ corporations, legal review and amendments to current ordinance on building management in order to maintain equilibrium for management power among stakeholders, including building managers, of buildings and last but not least, putting legal liability on professional building managers for fire safety malpractices are suggested measures to address the root causes of the phenomena.
published_or_final_version
Housing Management
Master
Master of Housing Management

This thesis investigates how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has tactically managed and defused major crises between 2002 and 2008 which put its credibility and legitimacy to the test. Contrary to conventional wisdom that major crises are likely to challenge and threaten regime stability in authoritarian systems or even undermine their viability, this thesis argues that the CCP has managed to sustain its political hegemony to date through the manipulation of these major crises and through the maximum tinkering with the current political system it reigns over. In order to explain why manipulation is the key in the CCP’s successful crisis management, this thesis first develops a critical reassessment of the conception of crisis and elaborates on crisis’s tripartite political utilities. These are (a) shift the dominating paradigm, (b) centralise political power and (c) (re) gain popularity and legitimacy. These altogether form an analytical framework for crisis, which is followed by a chapter that sets the backdrop against which our case studies unfold and explains why the Chinese context is particularly favourable for crisis manipulation. The thesis then proceeds with three case studies: the 2003 SARS epidemic, the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the Sanlu milk scandal occurred in the same year. The thesis suggests that although the CCP’s responses were not flawless, and not always timely, it managed to manipulate all three crises in its favour via the aforementioned political utilities and subsequently defused these crises. At the same time, its Leninist structure was able to unleash formidable mobilisation capacity to help the regime rapidly bring situations under control. Overall, the CCP’s crisis management efficacy was satisfactory in the short term. Nevertheless, the thesis concludes that despite the short term usefulness of crisis manipulation, in the long term the efficacy of the same strategy as well as the political utility of crisis are decaying, as illustrated in reference to more recent crises that stretched the CCP’s credibility. Therefore, the CCP is in need of embarking on substantive political reform in order to develop an alternative crisis displacement mechanism. This thesis makes an original contribution to the existing literature in the field. It complements the public administration and public management literature by bringing politics back in. It also updates the empirical knowledge base of past studies as well as offering a comparison of crisis responses. This is a timely contribution to the study of Chinese crisis management and to the study of the nature of Chinese politics.

China’s decentralization has been recognized internationally, as it has arguably made significant contributions to rapid economic growth and social development in the past three decades. However, the impact of decentralization on resource management is more ambiguous and less studied. Given the largely negative environmental outcomes of economic growth, it is critical to ask why decentralization has not fostered environmental sustainability in China, even as it has facilitated socio-economic development. This research aims to improve theoretical and empirical understandings of natural resource decentralization by taking forest decentralization reform in China as a case. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, it examines the effects of decentralization on forest management as well as the interactive processes between policies and local institutional dynamics which have shaped decentralization and conditioned its outcomes. By an interdisciplinary strategy, the study employs a multi-scale approach that includes the collection of data from a wide range of involved actors extending from the central government to local communities and from multiple sectors to generate a holistic picture of forest governance in China. From the research findings, it is clear that forest decentralization in China has been established in law but not in practice. Governance reforms set up a wide range of governance constraints which limit downward accountability and sufficient power transfers to lower-level administrative bodies. The research also argues the critical role of the local state, which plays not only mediator role between state and society, but also struggles with the central state for power. Meanwhile, the exercise of knowledge-based power in the form of scientific forest management undermines the possibility of potential power transfers to local people. These findings carry important implications for policy and further research on decentralization in theory and practice.

This thesis report is aiming to make a literature review on the risk management of PPP projects. At first, 22 risks are identified from different literatures, and next the suggested risk allocations from various literatures are given and get compared with each other. In addition, one more important part in the risk management, i.e. risk mitigation strategy, is collected from some literatures.  The risk management of PPP projects will not focus only on Chinese area, but mostly on the management of commonly occurred risks in PPP projects worldwide. Also, the PPP projects will only focus on the infrastructure projects. The scientific research method in this report is mainly qualitative data collection. In the discussion chapter, knowledge risk management is introduced to be added to the risk management of PPP projects. The SECI model and PPP knowledge base are two rational ways of handling risks. They can not only improve the communications and understandings among the stakeholders, but can also tackle many risks and the knowledge gaps. Finally, conclusions will be drawn from the results and the discussions; recommendations for future research will be given.
Denna examensarbete syftar till att göra en litteraturstudie om riskhanteringen av PPP-projekt (offentlig-privat samverkan). Först identifieras 22 risker från olika litteraturer, och därefter ges de föreslagna riskallokeringarna från olika litteraturer och jämförs med varandra. Dessutom samlas en viktig del i riskhanteringen, dvs riskreduceringsstrategin, som är samlad från vissa litteraturer. Riskhanteringen av PPP-projekt kommer inte att endast fokusera på kinesiskt område, utan mestadels på förvaltningen av vanliga risker i PPP-projekt världen över. Dessutom kommer PPP-projekten endast att fokusera på infrastrukturprojekten. Den vetenskapliga forskningsmetoden i denna rapport är huvudsakligen kvalitativ datainsamling. I diskussionskapitlet introduceras kunskapsriskhantering som läggs till i riskhanteringen av PPP-projekt. SECI-modellen och PPP-kunskapsbasen är två rationella sätt att hantera risker. De kan förutom att förbättra kommunikationen och förståelserna bland intressenterna, även ta itu med många risker och kunskapsbrister. Slutligen kommer slutsatser att dras av resultaten och diskussionerna. Rekommendationer för framtida forskning kommer att ges.

The interaction of the personnel boundary in inter-firm relationship management is viewed as particularistic in China instead of universalistic as in many Western cultures. Specifically, guanxi networks, the Chinese system of inter-personal relationship, have strong strategic implications for business interactions. The practices of guanxi and the social norms associated with guanxi are complicated. On the one hand, guanxi practices can be traced back to Confucianism; on the other hand, guanxi???s significance has been changing in line with China???s economic reform. In this research, we have attempted to find what presently constitutes good guanxi in inter-firm relationship management against this dynamic backdrop. Additionally, from the transaction cost economies (TCE) perspective, we provide an analysis that guanxi-based business practices offer transaction cost advantages as an alternative to market-based practices. We argue that such advantages partially result from guanxi???s effect on the reduction of opportunist behaviors. Backed up by 97 questionnaire responses from firms in Shanghai and 15 semi-structured interviews, our study confirms that, in inter-firm relationships management, trust, affection and long-term orientation are features of close guanxi. To enhance guanxi quality, familiarization by self-disclosure and the presence of mutual benefits are also necessary, providing practical implications for business practitioners in China. Our study also indicates that guanxi business partners are expected to be obligational in business and flexible in contingencies. Opportunistic behaviors can be mitigated by adopting guanxi practices, supporting the TCE logic. In an absence of a rationalized legal system, guanxi may fill the gaps in the enforcement of the written contract.N

China is simply bigger and growing faster than any other country. The rapid growth of China during the past few decades has led to suggestions that China is exporting deflation, but many of studies of this idea have found no significant effect of China on trading countries' price levels, mainly due to the small share of China in world GDP. This study will look at China's impact not through trade shares, but by analysing the price effect directly. For actual competition, we use a model loosely related to the Bertrand model to find the Chinese price effect on Mexico's export prices in the US market. China's productivity has increased faster than any other country's and we assume that the increased productivity as the main exogenous driver of China's market expansion in the world market. The Chinese price effect is indeed statistically significant; after experimenting with various robustness tests, our regression results show that a 10% drop in Chinese price will cause Mexico to drop its price by around 4% to 8%. We also found that China can influence Mexico's price even if it has no direct exports to the USA; the mere threat of entry into the market is enough to constrain Mexico's exporters' pricing ambitions. We term this effect potential competition. The Chinese price effect for the set of potential products is present and is positive and statistically significant at around at 0.20 to 0.50. To compare the Chinese price effect in a relatively small market, we repeat the analysis on Singapore. We found that China influences Malaysia's prices in the Singapore market and the results are comparable to those in the USA. One of the necessary conditions for China exporting deflation is its competitive price effect on other manufacturing producers' prices; we tested for this and have found support for this condition.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2010.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-73).
Logistics efficiency is low in China. In 2008, total logistics costs accounted for 18.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) in China, which was almost twice that of the United States. Increasing logistics efficiency can save an enormous amount of money, hence is worthy of study. Since the U.S. is similar to China in many areas and its logistics efficiency is high, I study the U.S. and compare with China, then draw lessons from the comparison. Five aspects of logistics in both countries are analyzed: 1) logistics history, 2) transportation infrastructure, 3) logistics structure, 4) logistics IS/IT, and 5) logistics governance. Lessons from the comparison conclude: 1) railways should receive a higher priority for infrastructure investment, 2) logistics market is too fragmented, consolidation among logistics operators should be encouraged, and 3PL market needs government support to grow, 3) I/IT application in logistics is still in its infancy stage. Standardization of IS/IT in logistics and public information platform should be supported, and 4) logistics governance plays an important role in eliminating local government protectionism and easing imbalance between inland and coastal regions in China.
by Ming Xiong.
S.M.

This study has been written to increase our knowledge about Sino-Western business relations and to understand how to successfully embark in China. It aims to create a deeper context understanding of the Chinese consumer and the Chinese market – in order to successfully manage your business in China. A qualitative case study methodology is used, involving the abductive method and a hermeneutic approach. Appropriate interviewees have been selected, i.e. those having valid and reliable insights and experiences to this study. The empirical results are portrayed as short stories along with reflections, to enlighten key findings in the research. Results of the investigation show that a willingness to understand and being humble are key in the creation of a successful business relationship with the Chinese. Certainly, the importance of guanxi and trust are tremendous. Thus, learn the rules and play by them – use them to your advantage. Show empathy and patience and trust the universal law of reciprocity. Indeed, as we understand the underlying forces, the cultural values and traditions, we appreciate how to effectively communicate with the Chinese and ultimately how to deliver value to create a healthy business relationship in our marketing efforts. A plethora of stories are presented that illuminate various situations that experienced Western business managers have encountered, and how to manage these. Key findings in this research may benefit not only academics, as new theory is introduced, but also everyone interested in China and aiming to create a healthy Sino-Western relationship. Finally, top managerial implications are presented that are of relevance to readers both intending to and already doing business in China. Some of the most important ones advise us to remain patient, to gather all the information possible and to never underestimate the Chinese.

Our essay focuses on short-term capital inflows and their effects on China’s economy.The reason for this work was the increasing vulnerability of China’s economy and the risk of newupcoming world financial crisis, all because of uncontrollable amounts of speculative capitalflows. Because of this problem, we raised a main question that we try to answer in this essayhowto reduce the possibility and the severity of the future financial crisis in China? In order tosolve this problem, first we searched for the existing theory of capital flows, mainly short-termcapital inflows. We analysed why investors choose capital flows and some specific countries,why it is profitable, but also risky and what could be done by countries, to stop these inflows orat least to diminish their effect on domestic markets. After that, we looked for past experiencesof countries faced with surges of capital flows and their measures for controlling them, weanalysed, if the theoretical tools were actually effective in reality. To finish the model, weapplied these measures to China’s economy and gave our viewpoint on what could be changedin order to avoid the dangers of short-term capital inflows. Last, we sum up the whole essay andsuggest the best mix of measures that China could use to control capital inflows as well as theireffects on the economy.

Inventory management has become a favorite topic in the literature. However, research focusing on inventory performance and management in China is quite limited. A good understanding of inventory control would provide valuable information about the mechanism through which a firm determines its target inventory level and adjusts the inventory volume. Moreover, this study also contributes to examine inventory management improvement and its implement in developing country. This research uses a large sample of firm-level panel data from China to study inventory management and performance from three aspects. First, using a variant of error-correction model, we empirically study the adjustment pattern of inventory and the effects of certain determinants on firms’ target inventory level with emphasis on industry heterogeneity over the period 2000-2009. We find strong evidence indicating a partial adjustment mechanism in short-run and the speeds of adjustment are various among different industries. From a long-run perspective, sales, ownership structure, political affiliation and managerial fixed cost are detected to be significant indicators of target inventory level. Second, we employ an asymmetric error-correction model to study the adjustment mechanism of inventory in different macro business regimes. We find that an asymmetric adjustment mechanism could be commonly claimed in short-run: firms tend to be more sensitive when they confront negative demand shocks. However, the indicators of target inventory level work symmetrically regardless of external business environment. Last, we test whether there is a link between innovation and inventory reduction. We find that total factor productivity (TFP) is a better indicator of innovation, and higher TFP contributes to a lower inventory volume. Moreover, when allowing the asymmetric adjustment mechanism, the impact of TPF is symmetric between the upswing and downswing of business cycle, which means the benefits of innovations are lasting and cannot be discharged by adverse economic environments.

Embarking on a construction project means taking a risk. Project risk management (PRM) provides an effective approach to improve decision making and minimise project risk. Project risks may not possess the same level of significance for different countries, markets and projects. Current research on PRM in China has been rather theoretical, addressing technology issues. Considering the current practice in the Chinese construction industry (CCl), the PRM needs understanding and support from the industry and a mature market environment. This research aims to establish PRM strategies for identifying and adopting the best practice to provide practical guidelines for the CCl, thus improving the PRM, motivating the reform of the Chinese construction market, and enabling the CCl to function in the competitive environment of globalisation. An extensive literature review and a number of case studies for construction projects in China have been conducted, addressing issues closely related to the research. A systematic analysis is employed and developed for project planning and decision making. Contractual risks are considered as the first step and catalyst for improving the PRM in the CCl. Built on the findings from the case studies and analysis, the research puts forward a framework of contractual risk management to study the concept, identification and classification of contractual risks. Contract interfaces are analysed for contractual risk management under various project procurement routes (PPRs). The potentially large improvements to the PRM and reform of the Chinese construction market from the introduction and application of innovative PPRs and their contractual conditions are addressed. Two mathematical models -a probabilistic analysis model and an effective information entropy model for key contractual risks -are presented. The validity and applicability of the models are demonstrated with sample data for the CCl. Detailed recommendations and guidelines for the implementation of the proposed strategies are suggested.

Humankind has been dealing with all kinds of disasters since the dawn of time. The risk and impact of disasters producing mass casualties worldwide is increasing, due partly to global warming as well as to increased population growth, increased density and the aging population. China, as a country with a large population, vast territory, and complex climatic and geographical conditions, has been plagued by all kinds of disasters. Disaster health management has traditionally been a relatively arcane discipline within public health. However, SARS, Avian Influenza, and earthquakes and floods, along with the need to be better prepared for the Olympic Games in China has brought disasters, their management and their potential for large scale health consequences on populations to the attention of the public, the government and the international community alike. As a result significant improvements were made to the disaster management policy framework, as well as changes to systems and structures to incorporate an improved disaster management focus. This involved the upgrade of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) throughout China to monitor and better control the health consequences particularly of infectious disease outbreaks. However, as can be seen in the Southern China Snow Storm and Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008, there remains a lack of integrated disaster management and efficient medical rescue, which has been costly in terms of economics and health for China. In the context of a very large and complex country, there is a need to better understand whether these changes have resulted in effective management of the health impacts of such incidents. To date, the health consequences of disasters, particularly in China, have not been a major focus of study. The main aim of this study is to analyse and evaluate disaster health management policy in China and in particular, its ability to effectively manage the health consequences of disasters. Flood has been selected for this study as it is a common and significant disaster type in China and throughout the world. This information will then be used to guide conceptual understanding of the health consequences of floods. A secondary aim of the study is to compare disaster health management in China and Australia as these countries differ in their length of experience in having a formalised policy response. The final aim of the study is to determine the extent to which Walt and Gilson’s (1994) model of policy explains how disaster management policy in China was developed and implemented after SARS in 2003 to the present day. This study has utilised a case study methodology. A document analysis and literature search of Chinese and English sources was undertaken to analyse and produce a chronology of disaster health management policy in China. Additionally, three detailed case studies of flood health management in China were undertaken along with three case studies in Australia in order to examine the policy response and any health consequences stemming from the floods. A total of 30 key international disaster health management experts were surveyed to identify fundamental elements and principles of a successful policy framework for disaster health management. Key policy ingredients were identified from the literature, the case-studies and the survey of experts. Walt and Gilson (1994)’s policy model that focuses on the actors, content, context and process of policy was found to be a useful model for analysing disaster health management policy development and implementation in China. This thesis is divided into four parts. Part 1 is a brief overview of the issues and context to set the scene. Part 2 examines the conceptual and operational context including the international literature, government documents and the operational environment for disaster health management in China. Part 3 examines primary sources of information to inform the analysis. This involves two key studies: • A comparative analysis of the management of floods in China and Australia • A survey of international experts in the field of disaster management so as to inform the evaluation of the policy framework in existence in China and the criteria upon which the expression of that policy could be evaluated Part 4 describes the key outcomes of this research which include: • A conceptual framework for describing the health consequences of floods • A conceptual framework for disaster health management • An evaluation of the disaster health management policy and its implementation in China. The research outcomes clearly identified that the most significant improvements are to be derived from improvements in the generic management of disasters, rather than the health aspects alone. Thus, the key findings and recommendations tend to focus on generic issues. The key findings of this research include the following: • The health consequences of floods may be described in terms of time as ‘immediate’, ‘medium term’ and ‘long term’ and also in relation to causation as ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ consequences of the flood. These two aspects form a matrix which in turn guides management responses. • Disaster health management in China requires a more comprehensive response throughout the cycle of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery but it also requires a more concentrated effort on policy implementation to ensure the translation of the policy framework into effective incident management. • The policy framework in China is largely of international standard with a sound legislative base. In addition the development of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has provided the basis for a systematic approach to health consequence management. However, the key weaknesses in the current system include: o The lack of a key central structure to provide the infrastructure with vital support for policy development, implementation and evaluation. o The lack of well-prepared local response teams similar to local government based volunteer groups in Australia. • The system lacks structures to coordinate government action at the local level. The result of this is a poorly coordinated local response and lack of clarity regarding the point at which escalation of the response to higher levels of government is advisable. These result in higher levels of risk and negative health impacts. The key recommendations arising from this study are: 1. Disaster health management policy in China should be enhanced by incorporating disaster management considerations into policy development, and by requiring a disaster management risk analysis and disaster management impact statement for development proposals. 2. China should transform existing organizations to establish a central organisation similar to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the USA or the Emergency Management Australia (EMA) in Australia. This organization would be responsible for leading nationwide preparedness through planning, standards development, education and incident evaluation and to provide operational support to the national and local government bodies in the event of a major incident. 3. China should review national and local plans to reflect consistency in planning, and to emphasize the advantages of the integrated planning process. 4. Enhance community resilience through community education and the development of a local volunteer organization. China should develop a national strategy which sets direction and standards in regard to education and training, and requires system testing through exercises. Other initiatives may include the development of a local volunteer capability with appropriate training to assist professional response agencies such as police and fire services in a major incident. An existing organisation such as the Communist Party may be an appropriate structure to provide this response in a cost effective manner. 5. Continue development of professional emergency services, particularly ambulance, to ensure an effective infrastructure is in place to support the emergency response in disasters. 6. Funding for disaster health management should be enhanced, not only from government, but also from other sources such as donations and insurance. It is necessary to provide a more transparent mechanism to ensure the funding is disseminated according to the needs of the people affected. 7. Emphasis should be placed on prevention and preparedness, especially on effective disaster warnings. 8. China should develop local disaster health management infrastructure utilising existing resources wherever possible. Strategies for enhancing local infrastructure could include the identification of local resources (including military resources) which could be made available to support disaster responses. It should develop operational procedures to access those resources. Implementation of these recommendations should better position China to reduce the significant health consequences experienced each year from major incidents such as floods and to provide an increased level of confidence to the community about the country’s capacity to manage such events.

Thesis: S.M. in Management Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2016.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (page 44).
Along with the rise of the Internet and smartphones, e-commerce plays a more and more important role in the Chinese consumer market. In 2009, Alibaba first created the "11.11" shopping festival. In 2015, the total GMV of "11.11" exceeded US$14.3 billion, which was even more than the total transaction volume of the "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday" in the US. Then, what is this "11.11" phenomenon, and why is this "11.11" so incredible? This thesis aims to study this phenomenon. The paper will start by providing an overview and development of the "11.11" shopping festival in China. Then, it will illustrate the reasons for the success of the "11.11" phenomenon from policy, economy, social and service, and technology aspects. Afterward, it will analyze the impacts of the "11.11" phenomenon to consumers, suppliers, express companies and point out the problems and challenges in this phenomenon. It will also compare the "11.11" shopping festival with the Black Friday in the US. In the last part of the paper, it will summarize some takeaways from the analysis. The data used in this paper are mainly from secondary sources, which consist of research from large institutions such as National Bureau of Statistics of China, Chinese Ministry of Commerce, and State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), previous research by well-known research houses such as McKinsy, Deloitte, and several others. Key words: "11.11" shopping festival, tmall.com, e-commerce, online shopping.
by Lu (Alora) Chen.
S.M. in Management Studies