American multinational companies outsource manufacturing to China. Why can't a Chinese company outsource management to the United States?
Via Mises Economic Blog [1], “Chinese Buyer of PC Unit Is Moving to I.B.M.'s Hometown [2]”
Now this is a twist—China outsourcing to us, and what they're outsourcing is interesting—management! I've often heard jokes about US (United States) companies to outsource CEO (Chief Executive Officer)s as a way to cut costs, but here we have a Chinese company that's outsourcing their CEO operations to us.
I'm not sure what to make of this. Ironic, in a way sure.
So does this doom us as a country of middle to high management?
A friend who works at IBM [3] sent the following:
Believe me, the move is only temporary.
The only reason Levono is having anything to do with the United States is because, as part of the deal, IBM still retains an 18% share in the PC (Personal Computer Company) Company.
Remember, I work with these types of people every day. It's a good thing they're staying here. If you sent our management over to China, the land mass would be thrown into total chaos by year's end and they'd be strung up in Tienmen Square as enemies of the people.
[1] http://www.mises.org/blog/archives/002909.asp
[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/25/business/worldbusiness/25lenovo.html?