Calypso Consulting

(A version of this article originally appeared in Chinese in CHO Magazine in September 2006.  The contents are based on work developed when the author was the leader of a Watson Wyatt task force on competencies.)

A picture is worth a thousand words. Trust me, this is a long line. People gathered last week at a large exhibition center in Beijing for a two-day job fair. There were 300 companies offering 3,000 jobs. But there were 30,000 students looking for those jobs.  These fairs are happening all over China.  But the reality is that companies still find it tough to find employees who have the "right stuff."

McDonalds recently reported that they plan to open 175 new outlets in China in 2009.  Other franchises are following suit.  Century 21 is reportedly doing well in China.  Subway has been growing rapidly.  KFC was the first Western franchise to China and still seems to dominate the landscape. 

(NOTE: A version of this article originally appeared in CHO Magazine in January 2009)
 

The man pictured is Xu Wei, the 50-year-old head of China Central Television’s (CCTV’s) general construction.  Even though he has been with CCTV since 1983, and headed up the construction department since 2005, Beijing police took him away after the tragic Mandarin Oriental Hotel Fire on February 9th.  CCTV wasted no time apologizing for the fire and then pointing to Xu as the one responsible.  It is suspected that he gave the OK to host the fi

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