Kitchen Best

Introduction In 2008 Henry Chan took over as CEO of Kitchen Best Appliance Co., Ltd. (KB) from his father, Chan Dong-hwa. As Chan relied heavily on his senior management for daily operations in China, so did Henry. In his determination to double the business of the small to medium size (SME) appliance company by expansion into Western Europe and America, Henry tended to look the other way when it came to unethical behavior oh his senior management. He chalked the ethical differences up to cultural disparity. Unfortunately, his team members were very corrupt; their interests lie in bribing businessmen to accept inferior products, creating fake invoices to pay for bribery schemes and personal gain, and award suppliers based on personal relationships and kickbacks, rather than producing quality products at competitive prices. Unaware of the extent of corruption , trouble did arise, creating monetary setbacks and threatening KB 's expansion. Current clients such as Honghua Appliances were threatening to take their business elsewhere as managers were no longer allowed to accept bribes and other suppliers could offer better delivery times and product development capacity. KB will not be able to continue at its current pace so Henry must implement control mechanisms to thwart unscrupulous behavior and advance its operational efficiencies to gain a strategic advantage.
Challenges in Conducting Business Globally
Cultural Differences As businesses operate in various countries, they face major cultural differences. For example language barriers or miscommunications can occur. As Henry is most likely fluent in English and Mandarin, his factory employees may all speak Cantonese. The video Impact of Culture on Business: Spotlight on China (2013) stated that the Chinese communicate indirectly and do not like to answer in the negative as they are very agreeable. Hence, a yes may not be a yes, and a put off may actually a be a no. In some countries religion can be a major

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