Poorly Made in China: An Insider's Account of the Tactics Behind China's Production Game

by Paul Midler Narrated by Paul Midler

Overview

Poorly Made in China is the narrative account of an American who helped facilitate China's booming relationship with the US. The book details compelling and, at times, alarming accounts of seven distinct US-China relationships that the author has managed. The author addresses a disturbing trend he refers to as quality fadethe deliberate and secretive habit of widening profit margins through a reduction in the quality of materials. US importers usually never notice its happening; downward changes are subtle but progressive. The initial production sample is fine, but with each successive production run, a bit more of the necessary inputs are missing. The author sees this as pervasive in China, with no end in sight. The result is faulty or even dangerous products being sold in the US. While some quality issues are not all that serious, others are downright frightening. In one example, American company had been importing a line of health and beauty products for over a year when the cardboard boxes that held its product started collapsing under their own weight. There was no logical explanation for the collapse except quality fade. In another, more disturbing example, American company decided to outsource the production of the aluminum systems used to support tons of concrete in the construction of high-rise commercial buildings to China. There, the supplier elected to reduce the specifications, and the amount of aluminum used in the supports. When the "production error" was caught, one aluminum part was found to be weighing less than 90% of its intended weight. While there are many books out on China, most fail to appeal to a broad audience, relying primarily on heavily statistics or abstract history lessons in their content. This book takes business lessons from China and wraps them inside a narrative account written form an insiders perspective. The book offers business lessons, as well as constructive reflections on the worlds most dynamic economy. It is an adventure through the manufacturing sector and will read like a travel book.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Awards

Best Book 2009 (The Economist)

Best Book for Business Owners (Inc.) 

Great Finance Book of 2009 (Forbes) 

Best of 2009 Business Book (Library Journal) 

"Midler has upended a lot of the assumptions about this factory for the world." (Forbes) 

“A must-read for people engaged in mainland business.” (South China Morning Post) 

“Important, timely and entertaining.” (Taipei Times) 

“Most of the people in Mr. Midler’s position would not dream of disclosing what they see.” (The Economist) 

“Manages to be both instructive and entertaining.” (National Review) 

“A fascinating, funny and important book.” (Asia Times) 

“An invaluable book for anyone considering doing business in China.” (Epoch Times) 

“A lively dissection of the cultural clash.” (Malaysia’s The Star) 

“You won’t look at the label ‘Made in China’ the same way.” (Toronto Now) 

“His warning is worth heeding – is China listening?” (Business Times) 

"Plenty of laugh-out-loud moments." (Financial Times) 

“Strongly recommended.” (Bangkok Post)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940177725840
Publisher:	Ascent Audio
Publication date:	07/20/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged

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