Chapter 18 Michelin China

Michelin, a well-known French company, is a world-class tire manufacturer. In the 1980s and 1990s, the size and diversity of the Chinese market attracted many multinational companies to set up businesses, and Michelin was one of them. In 1988, Michelin began to enter China, but the company was eager to build its own production base in China to strive for more business opportunities. At the end of 1995, Michelin established its first joint venture in Shenyang. In 2001, Shanghai planned to build China's largest tire manufacturing base. Michelin regarded this as a bigger business opportunity and prepared to come here to show its skills.Analysts predict that from 2000 to 2005, China's tire industry will maintain an annual growth rate of 30%, and the demand for tires in 2010 will reach 108 million.It is expected that the demand for radial tires (a tire invented by Michelin that is more advanced in technology than bias tires and has higher safety performance) will grow more rapidly, and it will triple between 2000 and 2005. Penetration rates will be 100% and 40%, respectively.

Michelin will grow together with the Chinese market.From the day we entered China, we have formulated a clear strategy to make the tires produced in China reach the quality level we have in other countries. There is no doubt that China presents great opportunities for profit, but risks and challenges also exist.The biggest challenge is how to manage cultural differences and integrate Michelin's corporate culture into the Chinese environment.Zujie believes: Updating production facilities to manufacture tires of Michelin quality standards is not just a matter of money, it is also a matter of culture.We have to carefully consider: whether we should adjust Michelin's management model to suit Chinese culture, or implement Michelin's global management policy in China.

As a world-leading manufacturer of tire technology, Michelin operates nearly 80 manufacturing bases around the world and controls about 20% of the global tire market. In March 2001, after 18 months of negotiations, Michelin signed a US$200 million contract with Shanghai Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd (STRC) to establish a joint-stock company: Shanghai Michelin Pull Back Tire Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Michelin Warrior Tire Co.Ltd, referred to as SMW), Michelin holds 70%. STRC is the largest tire manufacturer in China. It has its own radial truck tire and bias truck tire factory with an annual production capacity of 5 million car and light truck tires. Its car and light truck tire production plant has 2,700 employees. The domestic market share is 5%.In addition, it also has the right to use the land of the plant and the right to use the Huili brand.Born in 1947, Huili is a national brand in China.

Although STRC was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 1992, the company's corporate culture still has a relatively common state-owned enterprise thinking mode.Due to the poor use of funds raised from the listing and a series of unsuccessful acquisitions, STRC suffered serious losses in 2000. In the summer of 2000, the Shanghai municipal government appointed a new chairman, Fan Xian, to lead STRC's development.Fan Xian once served as the deputy factory director of Shanghai Soap Co., Ltd., bringing new life to this state-owned cosmetics company.During the process of the joint venture with Michelin, Fan Xian became the main driving force:

Many people have misgivings about the merger with Michelin.Some people feel as if they want to marry their daughter to a stranger, and they can't let go.But such an alliance provides us with a valuable learning opportunity to learn Michelin's world-class technology, craftsmanship, management and marketing skills, thereby enhancing the competitive advantage of Chinese tire manufacturers. In April 2001, Zu Jie, former vice president of Michelin's Asia-Pacific car and light truck tire department, became the chairman and general manager of SMW.Fan Xian was appointed as the vice chairman.

Four groups were established, and while the legal group was busy establishing control mechanisms, the other three groups worked on SMW's operations, communications and business development.Using the experience accumulated in the joint venture in Shenyang, Michelin was able to continue producing the pull-back tires without interruption after the negotiations, and it took SMW only 12 months to produce the Michelin brand tires. Zu Jie is a frank and optimistic chairman. However, when he recalled the difficult days of starting a business in Shanghai in the early years, he looked dignified.Facing market challenges and risks, enterprises need a strong local management team.Since most Chinese managers have very limited knowledge of modern management, Michelin sent more than ten foreign managers to China in the initial stage.Some foreign personnel form a technical team, which mainly leads the repair and replacement of equipment, the standardization of new processes and the application of new technologies.Other expatriates are working on the reorganization of distribution channels, training retailers on marketing and product knowledge, establishing a market tracking system, further strengthening support for the Huili brand, and trying to reverse the habit of customers defaulting on payment.The professional knowledge and skills of these expatriates lay the foundation for the future operation of the enterprise.

Michelin's foreign managers are aware that human resource management is one of the biggest challenges the group is currently facing.Due to the differences in values ​​and beliefs between Michelin and Chinese culture, it is easy to cause misunderstandings and cause unnecessary losses.However, if managed properly, different cultures can complement each other and promote better and faster knowledge transfer within the company. In order to promote the smooth integration of the two parties, Michelin retained the management team of the original Chinese company.At the same time, Michelin places great emphasis on the importance of cultivating local management talents to minimize cultural conflicts.Zujie commented:

From the beginning, we were well aware of the pitfalls and strengths of this joint venture.That's why most of our postings are technologists rather than managers. Compared with the integration of marketing, sales and production, the integration of personnel is a major challenge for Michelin.Zujie's vision is to make all Chinese employees a member of the "Michelin family". Michelin's culture is mainly based on five basic values: 1) respect for customers; 2) respect for others; 3) respect for shareholders; 4) respect for facts; 5) respect for the environment.All the Group's decision-making is based on the above-mentioned values.

Respect for others is seen as a key factor in motivating Michelin's strong ability to innovate.The company encourages managers to delegate authority to subordinates in an attitude of trust, giving employees freedom of speech and action.There are no established and pre-determined career paths, no "through trains" for promotion, and no rigidly prescribed jobs in the company.Michelin employees have the opportunity to rely on their talents, develop their interests, and climb to the top of their careers.Every Michelin employee can seek opportunities for further education outside of their formal education.

From the first day you join the company, you are given responsibility.The company has prepared an entry plan for each employee, as well as training and development plans based on individual situations, to develop and improve individuals and their professional abilities, and promote personal growth and career development.The career structure is not static, and at Michelin, nothing is impossible. The core of the company's mission is to serve customers; our long-term survival and development depend on our customers to maintain long-term satisfaction.Our main responsibility is to provide customers with safe and high-quality products that meet their needs.Likewise, the services we provide are aimed at the highest level of quality, striving for reliability, customer expectations, meeting production deadlines and production costs.

We want to continue Michelin's global expansion plans by developing good relationships with all stakeholders, be they our employees, business partners, public authorities, NGOs, the media or the local communities in which we operate. Respecting shareholders means fully acknowledging their role and the risks they take, involving them in the running of the company, and striving to meet their long-term expectations. To provide our customers with more environmentally friendly products and services.Accordingly, our long-term innovation policy should also aim to improve the environmental performance of vehicles. Respect for facts requires us to be objective and honest, moving beyond personal prejudices or preconceived notions. Michelin hopes to achieve a balanced development of the company and employees through its unique career management.Some Michelin manufacturing engineers go to the product development department to develop new career paths, some production supervisors are transferred to the sales department, or information system personnel are looking for new directions in the marketing department. These internal job changes are common. As a worldwide operating organization, Michelin also provides a wide range of career opportunities internationally, encouraging employees to move between activities, locations, fields, and subsidiaries at home and abroad.This internal mobility is seen as a good opportunity to spread and reinforce Michelin's values ​​and culture within the Group.Michelin also encourages international mobility, with 12% of the company's 4,500 managers participating in expatriate programs, usually staying overseas for 3 to 5 years. Based on the Group's five values, Michelin has developed the Performance and Responsibility Charter, with the aim of measuring and closing the gap between the Group's values ​​and their implementation.To a large extent, the charter summarizes existing practices consistent with Michelin's culture and translates them into company management principles.Edouard Michelin, Managing Partner and CEO of the Michelin Group said: A company's performance is judged not only by its financial performance, but also by its ability to develop the potential of its employees and to live in harmony with the surrounding community and society. In order to emphasize the equality between managers and employees, Michelin engraved the following slogan in stone: talent does not belong to any individual! (Nobody owns the talents!) Christian Tschann, former president of Michelin Asia Pacific and now president of Michelin Europe, commented: Francois Michelin (Francois Michelin) is the veteran of the Michelin company and has been at the helm of this business empire for 45 years.His philosophy is to avoid excessive control over employees, to create a culture that allows mistakes, a culture that promotes independence, perseverance, and the development of strong personalities, and a culture that avoids single-mode thinking.Michelin encourages and takes pride in the "dare to do" style.We encourage middle managers to speak up and challenge decisions made at the top. Michelin's personnel department has 1,400 employees worldwide.The department is independent of other management structures, so the channel of instruction is not as direct as that of many other multinational companies, and the gap with Chinese enterprises is even more prominent.The main missions of this department are: *Integrate an individual's professional development with personal expectations, demonstrated skills and performance. * Meet the company's short-term and long-term requirements for employees. In order to achieve this mission, the personnel department focuses on five activities: 1) individual career management; 2) training and development; 3) management of current and future employee levels and employee capability development; 4) labor relations management; 5) Development of personnel management tools.Zujie believes: Each is unique, with its own qualities and personality.The function of the personnel department is to discover the special potential of individuals so that they can fully develop their abilities in the company and benefit the company at the same time.At Michelin, employees do not just provide support or service, but perform a strategic function. The staff of the personnel department is composed of professional personnel management personnel and personnel from other departments, such as the manufacturing department and the marketing department, which help to better understand the various jobs and the personal qualities of employees, so as to find the best combination of individuals and the company . There is no very clear boundary between the HR department and other business departments, and HR managers must work closely with colleagues from other departments.As a strategic partner, personnel managers need to have the skills of flexible management in order to play their role.However, this has become one of the main challenges for Michelin personnel managers in China, as they do not have a very formal position in the company's organizational structure. Recruitment interviews at Michelin are a two-way process where both the candidate and the company get to know each other well.In addition to examining the applicant's ability, background and education, Michelin pays more attention to their character.After the initial test, candidates will enter the stage of in-depth interviews, where they will have conversations with a number of company representatives, including managers of relevant departments and managers of the HR department.The focus of the interview includes both technical and personal behavior. The candidate's communication skills, leadership skills, teamwork spirit, vision, planning ability, sensitivity, work motivation and adaptability will all be considered.Michelin's international career manager Alan Duke (Alan Duke) has this explanation: At Michelin, interviewers make their own decisions.Most of the interviewers come from the operations department, have keen insight, and understand the needs of the company very well.The screening process is very rigorous, but at the same time very human; we do not use tests and rely only on interviews with individuals.The interviewer assesses whether the candidate is suitable for Michelin's culture and values, and makes a final judgment based on this.We rarely hire to fill a role, what we do look for is value and not just skill.We first find the best candidate, and then develop his potential to help him reach the top of his career.Every employee who joins Michelin, regardless of their country of origin, must share the same vision as the company. At the French headquarters, all new recruits go through a probationary, or "integration" phase of at least three months, in order to get to know the company better and develop their individual career aspirations and talents. In the integration stage, all newly recruited personnel must study intensively and systematically understand the company profile.During this time, they can meet with any executive in the company to discuss their problems and concerns.The company will send them some short-term work assignments, so that they can try for themselves what it is like to work here.Throughout the process, they can turn to career mentors (senior managers who have worked at Michelin for many years) at any time, who will answer newcomers' questions and guide them to realize their career dreams in their future jobs.Each career mentor is in charge of 8 to 10 new employees. After the three-month integration phase, they must evaluate the employees' initiative and talents against the needs of the company and recommend their first job assignments.Integration Manager Elizabeth Grimaldi explained: It is Michelin's policy to send new employees to lower-level factories as production workers for three weeks, regardless of whether they apply for top management or management trainee positions.Sometimes, the working environment here is very different from what they are used to.During this time, they learn to live and work like a worker.They need to have a deep understanding of the production process and Michelin's culture on the front line.Then, write a statement about their experience.In the first month, we may not know what tasks they are suitable for. In the second month, we will have more mature ideas. In the third month, we will be able to make correct suggestions to new employees.If the employee's demands don't match the company's needs, then he or she has to be asked to leave. Personal career planning and personal progress are an integral part of Michelin's management philosophy.Every employee should plan their long-term career direction and career interests, obtain timely feedback and evaluation, and actively participate in the discussion of career interests. Career planning is a shared responsibility of employees and their managers and career managers.Career managers are required to "follow" all employees throughout their Michelin careers, no matter what category they belong to.Every two years, professional managers need to interview employees once to learn their needs and ideas.Michelin's Charter of Performance and Responsibility reads: We manage career development on a long-term basis, which is usually an ongoing process of around 20 years.We strictly screen talents and provide continuous assistance to recruited personnel, giving them opportunities to achieve real career development. Michelin requires professional managers to have good qualities. They should be trustworthy, transparent in their work, and have shown good integrity, correct attitude, ability to listen, and a strong interest in employee management in their previous work.They usually come from various departments of the company.Michelin managers change jobs on average every 3 to 4 years. Michelin career management process: Source: Michelin company information Performance Evaluation and Career Development Process Michelin's evaluation process consists of two parts: annual evaluation (APR) and phased career development process evaluation (PDR).Front-line managers and career managers will work together to conduct assessments that place particular emphasis on providing direction, giving recognition, developing individual and team potential, active listening, and mentoring.In APR, ensure that individual goals are aligned with corporate, departmental, and group goals.Individuals also provide feedback to managers, who are responsible for tracking, coaching, providing resources, removing impediments, and revising goals as necessary.At the end of each year, managers and employees will communicate in the evaluation interview, and the completed APR evaluation form will be submitted to the personnel department. PDR is considered a major part of career management.It is not directly related to the APR and can be done at any time, but at least every two years.During the PDR evaluation meeting, the manager and employee need to agree on the "direction foreseen by the manager", "strengths in capabilities", "areas for improvement", and "suggestions for additional training or experience".According to Michelin's policy, employees' compensation is linked to the performance of each subsidiary.The purpose of this is to improve the mutual cooperation between employees and the company, thereby strengthening the cultural integration within the group. Chinese traditional culture is a culture that respects power and regards humility as a virtue. People respect the inherent hierarchical relationship very much.Traditional corporate structures reflect this culture, where leadership is a natural authority.The tradition of subordinates obeying their superiors makes subordinates lack initiative in their work. In China, job promotions are in many cases based on age rather than ability.In state-owned enterprises, this phenomenon of "seniority ranking" is more common, and the salary structure is also determined based on seniority rather than work performance.People can stay in one unit until they retire. The so-called "iron rice bowl" is a metaphor for this situation.Under this system, the salary difference between employees is very small, which greatly affects the enthusiasm of employees to take responsibility. Implementing a career management system is a major challenge to the hierarchy.The Chinese have long considered functional departments to be more important than support departments (such as IT and HR).That's why some functional managers insist, "I have the most say in how our department is staffed." And it's hard to get them to follow the advice of a third party, a professional manager, who isn't their direct boss.Zujie commented: Chinese employees have great respect for functional department managers.They think that the personnel department is closer to the general manager, and the professional manager is just another person sent to look after them. Zuger wants employees to feel comfortable discussing their career options with someone other than their immediate manager.However, Chinese employees do not seem to understand the company's good intentions. It is also a big challenge to find qualified professional managers in China. Zujie believes: Professional managers must have the necessary character and ability to do the job.They have to discuss it with the various department managers and convince them.This is why professional managers are selected from the business sector.We must implement this approach in China as well.We must strive to develop the talents of our employees so that they have the ability to take on more important positions and make more contributions.This is one of my tasks.Currently we have many vacancies in China, and we need the assistance of employees from other countries.Right now, we're still in the early stages. Chinese people attach great importance to the issue of face.They go to great lengths to hide mistakes, omissions, or emotions that could embarrass themselves or others, especially in front of other people.They maintain a good relationship by avoiding conflict and saving face for each other.Allowing others to lose face may in turn threaten one's own position in the organizational structure, and may even further threaten team harmony and social order. To save face, many Chinese businessmen prefer to avoid conflict.In order not to lose face, they are often reluctant to point out mistakes.In addition, it is considered disrespectful for a lower-status employee to interrupt or correct the speech of a higher-status employee.A test engineer at Michelin reported that some of his colleagues were dissatisfied with the management style of a foreign manager, because the latter was used to direct rebuttals on the spot, which made many people lose face, but the foreigner did not realize arrive. The concept of "relationship" in Chinese has no corresponding translation in English.It refers to a connection established between people on the basis of a reciprocal relationship.In China, it is the basis for many businesses.When a person does a favor to another, he expects that the recipient may also provide some kind of help in return in the future.Such relationships can exist between neighbors, with clerks at local stores, with government officials, with business partners, and so on.However, foreign managers often do not pay attention to spending time on cultivating interpersonal relationships. In the eyes of the Chinese, this "not paying attention" to interpersonal relationships affects the effectiveness of management. Zujie explained: We have to make our employees understand the way we do business, and we also need to understand that Michelin China's employees place more emphasis on "relationships" than teamwork.We have to teach them how to work together within an organization.Many employees do not even understand why a labor agreement with SMW is necessary. Chinese culture is a high-context culture, and there are many non-linguistic elements in communication.The so-called high-context culture means that the other party is assumed to have certain knowledge before the conversation, while in low-context cultures, more information is exchanged during communication.Nonverbal communication includes implicit meaning, nonverbal cues, indirect expressions, and symbolic language.Also, the Chinese are not uncomfortable with silence or pauses in conversation. The Chinese dislike of direct communication stems from the closed family and interpersonal relationships in China for thousands of years.It often assumes that the two parties in the communication have a common thinking.For example, Chinese businessmen seldom say "no" directly when they hear suggestions.Instead, they often suggest that the problem requires further study.Also, they often use open-ended questions in their conversations, and they rarely ask questions that can only be answered with a "yes" or "no" to avoid cornering people.Chinese do not advocate straightforward expression, they like to be polite and reserved, but the result often makes their words ambiguous. Michelin's management puts more emphasis on process and structure, allowing employees to be more empowered.Managers in China worry that rigid structures will prevent decisions from being communicated quickly.Michelin asked them to follow the procedure step by step to solve the problem, rather than looking for some shortcuts or quick ways to solve the problem. In China, maintaining an advantage in technical ability is a prerequisite for becoming a manager.Without solid technical knowledge and skills, it is difficult to earn the respect of employees.In the process of selecting management talents, interpersonal skills are placed in the second consideration. Michelin's foreign staff noticed that some Chinese employees have excellent personal qualities, but they often lack the proper teamwork ability and sense of responsibility to participate in decision-making.China's education system places more emphasis on testing individual skills than on leadership and teamwork. Due to the increase of foreign direct investment in China, major companies have begun to compete to recruit talents, so the retention and development of talents has become an important issue.In China, the lack of management talents is called "famine in the harvest".The resulting lack of people with genuinely good managerial skills has led to higher salaries, increased turnover, and companies' reluctance to invest in training and development.Michelin's Chinese managers are also often tempted by headhunters and other firms.For multinational companies in China, how to retain experienced local managers has always been a difficult challenge, and Michelin is no exception. The existence of cultural differences necessitates a balance between these seemingly opposing values.For Zujie, this is a daunting task.Indeed, cultural differences may seriously affect Michelin's ability to establish common values ​​around the world.The company has always been committed to ensuring that its 125,000 employees around the world have a consensus on management principles. Similarly, these common principles also need to be implemented among employees in China. How should a French-based multinational company deal with the cultural challenges of operating in China?Can the company's effective human resources policy take root in the eastern soil?Questions like these reflect the common conundrum facing business organizations in the 21st century, namely, how companies can strike the delicate balance between globalization and localization.In the context of TCL, Lenovo, Haier, Huawei and other outstanding Chinese companies becoming players in the global market, these issues are especially worth pondering and discussing.International companies often find that the integration of human resource systems is the most frustrating part of transnational operations. The challenges faced by Michelin China include: the conflict between Chinese culture and French culture; the difference between the organizational characteristics inherited from the acquired Chinese company and the organizational characteristics of Michelin; difference.In dealing with these differences, Michelin had to make a decision on the following questions: Should it be localized?How to balance the relationship between globalization and localization?How to grasp the timing of globalization? For most multinationals, the question is not globalization vs. localization, but how to achieve the best balance between the two.On the one hand, a company is an organic whole and needs global consistency to ensure that its organizational identity is not lost due to global expansion.However, it is not enough to have a unified brand. The company must ensure that employees in different regions can convey a consistent corporate image, have the ability to adapt to the company's overall strategy, and effectively share resources and transfer knowledge among various divisions.On the other hand, the diversity of human and institutional environments in various regions requires organizations to have local responsiveness. Excessive pursuit of global unity and control may stifle the vitality of local organizations, leading to head quarters syndrome (head quarters syndrome). ). It is generally believed that it is more appropriate to implement localized human resource management when the following conditions are met: there are significant cultural differences between the home country and the host country; internal isomorphic pulls are weaker than external isomorphic pulls.People with different cultural backgrounds have different values, and values ​​affect people's thinking and behavior.There is a huge difference between the culture advocated by Michelin and the culture that Chinese employees are used to.The internal pull of isomorphism refers to the requirement that branch companies adopt the organizational structure and management model of the headquarters in order to achieve consistency within the organization, thereby creating convenience for resource sharing and knowledge transfer; the pull of external isomorphism comes from the local environment (such as the economic system of the host country). , regulatory requirements, etc.), it requires branches to adopt a management model that adapts to local characteristics.As a country with a transitional economy, China's institutional environment is in a state of rapid change, and the government's involvement in the economic field is relatively high. In addition, Michelin's joint venture partners are state-owned enterprises controlled by the local government. higher sensitivity. Localization does not mean that everything is local. The correct interpretation is to give the company more flexibility or flexibility in human resource management to adapt to the reality of China.The focus of global companies should be on combining global integration with local adaptation so that employees can “think global, act local” (Vladimir Pucik).This should also be the long-term goal of Michelin China. The degree of localization of multinational corporations depends on their own organizational characteristics.According to the tendency of multinational companies in international human resource management (International HRM), they can be divided into the following categories: Ethnocentric, Polycentric, Regiocentric and Geocentric .Home-country-centered and multi-country-centered belong to two extremes. The former highly emphasizes global integration, tends to global international human resource strategies, and dispatches management backbones from the headquarters; the latter emphasizes adapting measures to local conditions, highly empowering, employing local managers, and more draw on local experiences and practices. There are also some multinational companies adopting a dual strategy in international human resource management, that is, adopting a global unified system for management of senior executives, while delegating the management of other employees to various regional companies.However, this strategy may only be a stopgap measure, because in the long run it will reduce the internal cohesion of the enterprise. [The picture is covered with gray background] As a long-established, family-controlled company and the pride of France, Michelin is a home-country-centric company that should pay close attention to the importance of global integration.For Michelin, which is proud of its strong innovation capabilities, how to make the Chinese branch have the same genes is undoubtedly a key task.How to ensure the globalization of thinking?The most important thing is to allow local employees to accept the company's culture and values.In fact, a good value should be applicable to different cultural environments.For example, the "respect for customers, employees, shareholders, facts and the environment" advocated by Michelin is also recognized and supported by Chinese employees. The key is how to translate it into a guide for employees to act. Many employees of Michelin China come from the acquired state-owned enterprises.The original human resource management of these state-owned enterprises is relatively backward, and the quality and thinking mode of employees are relatively limited. Therefore, Michelin will have to replace the original inefficient management method with its "global system". However, China's cultural characteristics and complex and changing institutional environment require more localization.In addition, there is a big gap between the organizational characteristics of the acquired company and Michelin, and the readiness to accept its global human resource management system is very low.If the headquarters system is enforced, it is inevitable that there will be overt or covert resistance.For example, Michelin currently faces great challenges in implementing a career management system, such as the lack of qualified professional managers, the inertia of employees on traditional career development paths, and the recognition of business leaders on the role of human resources. It will take time to change these.How to dilute the unspoken rules of "relationship culture" will not be achieved overnight. How to change the values ​​of Chinese employees to meet the requirements of the organization is also a big challenge.The most effective way is to close the recruitment process and only recruit employees whose values ​​match.The fact that a large number of employees come from acquired state-owned enterprises means that Michelin must give these employees opportunities to help them achieve transformation.Some employees will inevitably be eliminated, which will become Michelin's labor pains in the integration process. Therefore, Michelin China needs time and patience when importing its global management system, and it needs to carry out appropriate localization according to the characteristics of Chinese culture and employees.For example, companies should localize positions that interact more with employees (HR executives, plant managers, etc.).Their Chinese cultural background and local experience will help ease cultural differences and make flexible adjustments to the company's human resource management in practice. However, Michelin is not just waiting for the opportunity to globalize human resource management.The company can create conditions from the following aspects: First, try to make employees accept the Michelin culture, become Michelin people, and use Michelin's values ​​as a guide for action; second, strengthen the interaction between the headquarters and the Chinese branch.This not only helps to alleviate cultural differences, but also helps Chinese employees perceive Michelin culture in practice, which is more deeply rooted in people's hearts than abstract preaching; thirdly, it increases the communication and exchanges between managers and grassroots employees, reduces power distance, and allows employees Feel the company's respect for Chinese culture; finally, use assessment and rewards and punishments to change employees' thinking patterns and guide employees' behavior orientation. In the cross-cultural integration of human resources, the key is to establish and implement consistent values ​​within the company.Only by establishing globally consistent values ​​can it be possible to achieve "global thinking, local action." In 2001, French Michelin Company and Shanghai Tire & Rubber (Group) Co., Ltd. jointly established a new joint-stock company.The new company retains many employees from the original Chinese company, and foreign employees account for 5%. Among the 95% Chinese employees, about 90% come from the original state-owned enterprises, and about 10% of the newly recruited employees come from foreign capital/ Joint venture.米其林很快就发现中法之间及中外方员工间的文化差异给新公司带来了很大的挑战和压力。 中西方文化本身存在着差异。不同的观念、思维模式、行为方式造成了双方的不理解，甚至引起误解。遵从等级、绝对服从上级、大锅饭、论资排辈，过去大部分的国企员工身上多少有这样的影子；而新公司中的原中方员工当初也不例外。同时，他们说话委婉、不直接表达自己的观点、讲究面子、从不在会议上当众指出别人的错误，而是在会后单独对某人提出建议……这些都让外方员工觉得无法理解。而反过来，米其林开放的、尊重个人、注重能力培养的企业文化也让这些国有企业出来的员工一时无法接受。 同时，原中方企业中的员工和从其他外企/合资企业中招聘过来的员工之间开始时也存在着一些不理解或冲突。已经习惯了外企文化的员工们做事方式更为直接，他们并不绝对服从自己的上司。如果他们认为自己的上司做得不对，就会直言自己的想法，并且会向上司解释他们这样想或这样做的理由，而来自国企的上司就会感到不舒服，觉得被冒犯了。 日常工作中的种种误解、摩擦和冲突在一定程度上影响了公司的生产运营。企业文化的整合成为迫在眉睫的重要任务。 如何整合？是把米其林文化全盘复制到新的企业，让中方员工在短时间内立刻改变原有的思想，完全接受？This is obviously impossible.每个国家都有自己特有的文化，文化不是一时一刻形成的，而是经历了长久的积淀，而且往往根深蒂固，不可能在短时间内被改变，更不可能用一种新的文化完全去取代。这种激进的改革措施极有可能引起强烈的抵触情绪，使问题变得更加难以处理。 但是文化整合又是势在必行的，不然就会影响新企业的正常发展。文化的冲突、沟通的障碍，导致员工的不良工作情绪，影响了他们之间的相互配合，也影响了工作效率。所以整合，必须先从双方之间的理解和沟通开始。让外方人员能够了解并理解中国文化、中国人的思维模式和行为方式；同时也要让中方员工了解并理解法国文化、米其林的文化、西方人的思维模式和行为方式。在增进了解和理解的基础上建立起相互之间的信任。 有外资/合资企业工作经验的员工在这里就起到了一个桥梁的作用。他们成为新企业的催化剂，帮助外方员工和原国企员工之间达成相互理解，取得两方面的信任。在新公司中，外方人员大多是技术方面的人员，管理层人员比较少；一线的生产经理等都是原国企员工；而来自外资/合资公司的员工担当起人事管理的职能，他们在外资/合资公司的经验，以及他们对中西方文化的理解，让他们能够比较顺利地承担起执行整合的任务，起到了相当大的作用。 然而整合是困难的，也是缓慢的。新公司的整合从2001年成立时开始，直到现在还在进行中。我们当时保留了原中方公司的管理团队。之所以这么做，是为了尽快建立起中方员工的信任。如果替换原公司的管理人员，从市场上再招收新的有外资/合资企业经验的人员并不是一件困难的事情，但是这就会影响到原国企中的员工，他们会觉得不安，觉得新公司是不是要“大刀阔斧”地进行改革，也许我的饭碗很快也会保不住了，这样就会搞得人心涣散，大家都觉得岌岌可危，令企业无法正常运行。新公司给中方的管理人员提供了很多的培训机会，给予他们足够的时间，让他们理解米其林的文化，学习新的管理理念。新公司还送他们出国学习，让他们开眼界。结果是，这些中方管理人员的思想慢慢地有了转变，认同了米其林的文化。当然，也有一小部分员工，依然没办法适应新的情况，没法满足新的要求，那么公司就会给他们重新做出安排。这样的方式从时间上来说是有一些损失的，但是这赢得了中方员工对外方的信任，消除了中方员工的顾虑。 事实上，尽管双方的文化不同，在一些基本的价值观上还是相同的。比如中外员工都知道让客户满意、生产出高品质的产品是重要的等等。这些基本的理念也是相互沟通和理解的一个基础。 有了信任这个基础，文化整合就开始变得容易了。2001年的时候，米其林并没有在新公司中实施其职业生涯管理系统，也没有实施阶段性职业发展流程评估（PDR）和年度评估（APR）。这些都是在2004年才开始实施起来的。在还没有建立起信任的时候，职业经理（CareerManager）的出现，不仅不能被理解，而且也没法被中方的员工接受。他们不认为这是有助于他们的职业发展的一件事情，反而还会怀疑职业经理是不是新公司来的“间谍”，来探听消息的，更谈不上会对职业经理敞开心怀，告诉他自己遇到的问题了。 经过4年循序渐进的整合，新公司的文化整合已经显现出了相当大的成效。中方员工已经更能接受米其林的文化和米其林的人事制度，而外方员工也对中国文化增进了理解，不像刚开始时那样觉得困惑和吃惊了。如今，大家都能够理解，在不同的思维模式和行为方式下，大家都是为了一个共同的目标——发展企业、生产高质量产品、满足客户、服务客户而努力着。要达成这样的目标，就需要文化的融合，大家认识到彼此都是企业的一分子。顺利启动的职业生涯管理系统也已经初见成效。现在公司里已经有很多职业经理了，他们和员工聊天、沟通，帮助增进中方员工对米其林企业文化的理解和认同。米其林人力资源管理系统的先进性也已经得到了中方员工充分的认可。职业经理在了解了员工的想法之后，就会与这个员工的直线经理联系，共同发展员工的职业能力，促进他/她的成长。 随着米其林公司文化整合的逐步开展，对公司的运营也产生了促进作用，公司的发展取得了巨大的进步。员工的综合能力得到了提升，系统的运作更为顺畅，工作效率大有提高，产品的规格和质量也得到了提高。员工的观念转变了，能力提升了，公司的文化和系统正常有效地运行起来。 从01年到现在，米其林的文化整合是缓进的，米其林也是非常耐心的。刚开始时，中方员工有抵触情绪，没有信任感，不知道该怎么办，但是米其林一方特别的耐心，决不轻易做出责备或处罚，给大家足够的空间和时间去了解和理解。在建立起了信任之后，才会进行大的系统地推行。这源于米其林文化的核心思想：尊重他人（respectpeople）。尊重中国的文化，尊重中国人的思想。整合就是在这样的观念指导下，求同存异，逐步引进米其林的先进文化，逐步获得中方员工的认同，最终达到融合。在这场整合中，米其林采取的是一种米其林中国方式（MichelinChinaWay）。 然而，要达到最理想的状态，还需要一些时间。所以米其林的文化整合依然在逐步的推进之中。