Skip to main content

The Biggest Challenge and the Hidden Opportunity of Entering the Chinese Market

Image
By
Starwood’s top executives are in Shanghai, China now. They will stay there for a month to get “localized” by the Chinese culture and “Chinese way” of doing business. In this MSNBC News video, Frits van Paasschen, the President and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide provided many good reasons of why Starwood needs to pay top attention to the Chinese market. I agree with him 100% and will not repeat what he said on the video. Instead, I would like to bring up one challenge and one hidden opportunity of entering the Chinese market.

I believe that the biggest challenge is to manage a company’s human capital in China, including recruitment and selection, training and development, and retention management. It is very difficult to recruit well-trained local managerial talents in China. Companies may assume that there must be abundant good candidates in a country with a population of 1.3 billion people. Yet, not every candidate has the proper education or training that a company desires; many college graduates are “book-smart” and needs extra training before they are ready to make sound business decisions on their own. Accordingly, companies need to plan a large budget for some very basic HR functions.

Another relevant area that needs special attention is employee retention. If Starwood is opening a new hotel every other week in China, other hotel companies, like Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton, will not fall behind. Hotels are competing with one another to attract the top talents in a very small pool. If hotels do not want to see their well-trained managers working for their competitors, they had better take good care of their people and keep them aboard.

The huge hidden opportunity of entering the Chinese market lies in the advantage of gaining brand recognition among the Chinese consumers in China. Even though many developed countries still have very tight restrictions of issuing visa to Chinese travellers, I believe these countries, including the U.S., will open their tourist market to Chinese travellers soon. By then, if 1% Chinese will make their own travel arrangements to the U.S., those well-recognized hotel brands, as compared to the other local hotel chains, will probably have a better chance of attracting the 13,000,000 outbound Chinese travellers. Who does not want that business?

 
References:
The picture was downloaded from travelchinatour.com
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Luxury vs. Millennials and Their Technology: The Ritz-Carlton (By Julia Shorr)

By
Embodying the finest luxury experience, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC has been established since 1983. In 1998, Marriott International purchased the brand offering it more opportunity for growth while being independently owned and operated. They are known for their enhanced service level as the motto states, “Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen”. The luxury brand now carries 97 hotels and resorts internationally and is attempting to keep the aspects of luxury while keeping up with the trends of the technologically improving generations. The Varying Demographics of the Target Market The Ritz-Carlton’s typical target market includes: business executives, corporate, leisure travelers, typically middle-aged persons and elders, and families from the upper and upper-middle class section of society .   This infers a large range of types of travelers in which all are similar in that they are not opposed to spending extra for the luxurious ambiance. However, w...
4 comments
Read more

How to Convince AI that You Are the Best Candidate for the Job

By
Last week, we discussed how more companies used AI to screen resumes and analyze job candidates’ performance in the initial interviews. We called for companies’ attention to the  potential AI biases in hiring . This week, we will visit what job candidates can do to help AI pick us and recommend us for hiring. A. Writing a Resume Tailored to AI Screening First and foremost, job candidates must thoroughly research the job and the company to understand its job descriptions and organizational culture. From there, they can: Write the resume in Word and submit it as a Word document instead of a PDF file. Select a straightforward format and avoid using graphics, charts, or complex layouts that could confuse AI. Use headings effectively to help AI pick up the content it seeks, such as “Relevant Job Experience” and “Education.” Strategically pick the relevant keywords that match the job descriptions as the job candidates describe what they perform(ed) at work. Highlight their achievements a...
12 comments
Read more

What Shall We Do When Job Seekers Cheat the AI Hiring Systems?

By
AI can streamline the hiring process, but concerns linger. For example, AI could perpetuate gender or racial biases in the hiring process , just like most human HR managers could do. Meanwhile, to increase the chances of being picked by AI, job candidates must prepare resumes and job interviews tailored to AI’s “preference.” When more job candidates understand how to convince AI that they are the best candidates for the job , can AI still make valid recommendations to hire the best-fit candidate in the pool? Then, if AI makes a mix of valid and invalid recommendations for hiring, will HR managers find it more challenging to select the right candidate for the job? The situation can get even more complicated if a candidate cheats the AI hiring systems. Cheat to bypass AI screening: Is it the cruelty of human nature? Job candidates are eager to get hired. Career coaches want to help. That is a good thing. Nevertheless, I have seen many free online tutorial videos teaching job candidate...
8 comments
Read more