Trouble in Paradise with Comments

1. Schmitt’s purpose in writing this travel narrative, is to show the differences between the Chinese and American cultures, when it comes to many different things. Main examples in this narrative are; living under the same roof, loss of a loved one, and funeral etiquette. In the Chinese culture it is excepted to come into common areas in your under clothing. Where in America, this would not be appropriate at all. In most places in America, law enforcement would be called on some one outside of their living area in nothing but their underwear and shoes. The narrative shows the many differences in funeral etiquette. One such being, white floors being the

There is a linguistic gap between the mothers, who are the first generation of Chinese immigrants, and their American-born daughters. The mothers speak only fragments of English and their daughters speak little or no Chinese at all. So the communication often becomes a matter of translations and leads to misunderstandings. The first misunderstanding with translation is shown when Jing-mei tries to explain the significance of the club’s name,

The piece describes what she envisioned her time in China would be like; visions of small talk and drinking tea danced in her head (Schmitt 125). This is a bit admirable to a more reserved person because it shows how outgoing she is when diving into a new culture. However, the reality of a language barrier and day to day behavior settled in. A series of uncomfortable exchanges illustrate the challenge of being accepted into a new culture. Described in the essay are people standing around in bath robes and under garments and popping in and out of rooms like some sort of clown

Over there nobody will look down on her, because I will make her speak only perfect American English.  And over there she will always be too full to swallow any sorrow!  She will know my meaning because I will give her this swan- a creature that became more than what was hoped for.”  (Tan 1)  The culture in China the mothers of Joy Luck dealt with was unlike anything their daughters could ever imagine or appreciate. Between the mothers Lindo, Suyuan, An-mei and Ying-ying, the Chinese culture forced them into being married by a matchmaker, giving up babies, witness desperate attempts to save loved ones, and having an abortion.  In many ways the Chinese culture scared each woman, although they were proud of their heritage, their daughters deserved better.  These four mothers had very high hopes for the better lives that they wanted to give their daughters by raising them in America.  They didn’t like or want to have their daughters looked down upon, just because they were Chinese women.  From each of their own experiences, they learned that they wanted to improve the lives of their following generation.

the officials ...saw an opportunity to play their favorite game, Let’s make a regulation. This bag is too long. You can’t take it on the train….but these weapons are Chinese cultural artifacts, they can’t leave China….it was determined that the weapons might conceivably leave China, but I would need special permission… A Cantonese policeman I had met a year ago suggested that I give a small martial arts demonstrations… my pants split wide open ….a crowd of giggling old ladies rushed forward, convincing the officials to let me through without further delay. (p 3,4)

This memoir of Ma Bo’s sent shock waves throughout China when it was published and was even first banned by the Communist Government. This passionate story paints a clear picture for what the Great Chinese Cultural Revolution was really like. Many Chinese living today can attest to similar if not identical ordeals as expressed in Ma Bo’s story. The toils of being a young Red Guard in inner China were experienced by many if not millions. The horrors and atrocities were wide spread throughout the country, not just in Inner Mongolia. The experiences illustrated in Blood Red Sunset uniquely belong to Ma Bo’s entire generation of mislead Chinese. As expressed in the books dedication the Cultural Revolution

The reason why the author might have chosen the case-study approach to writing this book is because of the numerous similarities between the living conditions and circumstances that Ye and Ma faced. Both Ye and Ma were born in Beijing in around same period, they had both lived through the revolution in 1958 in the city, they became Red Guards in their early youth, and they both were sent to the countryside, and allowed to return back order to study. Also, they both traveled to the United States for their higher studies. Ye and Ma are discussing each aspect their life trajectory paralleled to

In Jan Wong’s entrancing expose Red China Blues, she details her plight to take part in a system of “harmony and perfection” (12) that was Maoist China. Wong discloses her trials and tribulations over a course of three decades that sees her searching for her roots and her transformation of ideologies that span over two distinctive forms of Communist governments. This tale is so enticing in due part to the events the author encountered that radically changed her very existence and more importantly, her personal quest for self-discovery.

According to Lee Chew, a Chinese immigrant who arrived in the 1870’s , Chinese people had minimalistic life styles. They were unpretentious because they had an

Described as utopian in nature, the Chinese culture is often in pursuit for the perfect individual, a harmonious and structured society where the citizens as a whole create the ideal culture. In a collection of short stories entitled The Bridegroom, author Ha Jin documents this aspect of reality in homeland China. Primarily for the purposes of instruction and satirical verse, Ha Jin, shows how people are trying to find themselves in a society that focuses on the ‘whole’ of the country rather than the individual. He is able to interconnect this theme of individualism through four major stories in the book while presenting ‘Chineseness’ or satire of fictional verse as a way to focus on the changes throughout China

Hung’s first foray into the history behind China’s rise centers on the massive influx of American silver into 17th and 18th century China and how it fueled a commercial revolution. He talks about the revisionist image of pre-capitalist China as simply agrarian, and states that this

The geographical area of China is more than 9 million square kilometers and as a result, it is the fourth largest country in the world. There are several ethnic groups in China, the Han Chinese is the largest group, and it is found in almost all parts of the country. Other minority groups include Tibetan, Zhuang, Korean, and Mongol. The Chinese society is high context and non-verbal. The Chinese people acquire the knowledge of what they are supposed to do and say even if they are not told through conversation. Voice and facial expressions play a critical role in determining the feelings in a person. They do not have facial expressions when in a conversation. Direct eye contact is avoided because it is viewed as a symbol of disrespect (Clair & Norris, 2011).

Alternatives and recommendations Four alternatives have been considered for Detroit; a summary of the key characteristics for each is provided in Table 1. The fourth option presented involves creation of a new plant, but varies from the third option in that production would gradually rather than immediately shift from the current plant. Based upon the analysis provided above, any new plant should be built around flexible manufacturing processes. This represents a radical departure from current processes and older members of the workforce may be challenged to adapt; retraining will likely be unpopular and ineffective for these workers. While running two plants in parallel certainly incurs some overhead, it would allow the older workforce to continue the successful manufacture of some Detroit products while naturally retiring from the organization over a five-year period, and younger workers to learn FMS processes and takeover products in a controlled, timely manner.

The Roaring Dragon Hotel (RDH) was a state owned Enterprise (SOE) and was also one of the three-star hotels in south-west China. It had a great reputation as “the region’s premium guesthouse”. Employees of the hotel are usually transferred from other SOEs and government departments based on their strong connections or guanxi. (Grainger, 2008, p.1).

In his first year at the Fredericksburg plant Hinrich implemented many changes that included reducing worker idle time by redesigning employee job responsibilities, installing more efficient machinery and working to attain QS 9000 certification. Although these changes were made slowly, the supervisors and staff seemed to be on board and support the changes as they came. This was likely due to Hinrich’s diligence in including them in the process. Hinrich had a goal of not only meeting the budget, but also exceeding it, and doing so with all of his employees on board. If Hinrich is successful he will help the Fredericksburg plant to meet its goals as well as help GM meet its goals and maybe even change its genetic code.