Dear SafetyXChange Members,

Like many in North America, you might be contemplating career opportunities in China. If so, there's a report offering advice about the China market that you need to see. It's filled with insight on how to get into the minds of potential partners and competitors in China. It also contains a few surprises about the state of development and career opportunities China offers.

The Report

The report, China's Five Surprises: A Guide to Doing Business in the World's Fastest Growing Economy, comes from the business consulting firm Booz, Allen, Hamilton. It's printed in the firm's online journal strategy + business presents a report. Click here for the report.

China's Five Surprises

The Booz Allen report lists five observations about China that some might find quite surprising:

1. Local entrepreneurs in China are interested in producing global brands, not just low-cost commodities.

2. China has become a hotbed for rapid innovation.

3. Executives from around the world are moving to China for the long haul.

4. Good management and transparency are starting to count more than patronage, at least in some sectors.

5. China is becoming a catalyst for growth in emerging markets throughout the developing world.

The Career Angle

David Heenan, a leading expert on globalization and author of the book Flight Capital, confirms the allure that China holds for executives from around the world, especially Chinese-Americans. Until it can raise its standard of education, China will need to lure top talent from the West to achieve its goal of becoming the next global economic superpower.

There's an excellent article in the online journal of McKinsey & Company, The McKinsey Quarterly, about China's need for talent and the career opportunities this presents for Americans and Canadians. It's entitled "China's Looming Talent Shortage" and you can read it by clicking here.

Implications for America

There is lots of talk in the executive recruiting industry about the worldwide war for talent that will develop as the baby boomers retire. Given current trends, America's current economic supremacy might well be determined by its capacity to win this war and keep top talent within its boundaries.

"Forget terrorism," Heenan told us. "Forget weapons of mass destruction. The next global war will be fought over human capital." For years, Heenan explained, America was a magnet for gifted, well-educated people from around the world. "Immigrants provided a constant pipeline of brainpower to the United States. From Alfred Hitchcock to Albert Einstein, a steady stream of energetic and highly skilled newcomers yearning to breathe free propelled America's ascendancy."

But the rise of China and other global economic powers represents formidable competition to the U.S.'s historical position. This is making it harder to both attract and retain talent. Heenan says, "today, with the rising appeal of overseas opportunities and growing hostility toward skilled legal immigrants, many of America's best minds are searching for new horizons. If this continues, U.S. technological and scientific prowess - along with the nation's standard of living and national security - will be endangered."

Conclusion

As the worldwide talent pool shrinks, competing with the Chinas and other emerging economies of the world won't be easy. In Flight Capital Heenan makes the case that America is already showing signs of losing this war. America's foreign-born superstars are hotfooting it back to their motherland in alarming numbers - up to 1,000 per day. What's worse, they're among the best and brightest in science and technology - the kind of immigrant brainpower that propels today's innovation economy and gives rise to the Googles, Yahoos and eBays of the world.

It's food for thought, friends.

Wishing you career success,

Lauryn Franzoni
www.ExecuNet.com

LAURYN'S THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday, far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.

Rainer Maria Rilke

DEATH IN THE COAL MINES

That worldwide war for talent that Lauryn refers to might well encompass safety engineers and specialists in the mining field. Sixteen workers were killed in the coal mines of West Virginia last month prompting the Governor to take the unprecedented action of asking the mines to close pending safety inspections.

Sixteen deaths in a single month is appalling. But in China, 16 coal miners die every day . Last year, more than 6,000 Chinese miners died in fires, floods and explosions. That makes China's coal mines the world's deadliest. The worst accident occurred at the Sunjiawan mine when a gas explosion killed at least 211 people.

To its credit, the Chinese government has pledged to improve safety. In 2002, the government enacted the country's first set of workplace safety laws. But those laws are spotty - they generally place the onus on workers to ensure their own safety - and poorly enforced.

SUPER BOWL SAFETY

Special Report on Football Injuries

Korey Stringer: Minnesota Vikings' tackle who died tragically of heat stroke during practice on Aug. 1, 2001.

In the four NFL seasons between 1999 and 2003, there were:

6,558 total injuries, including:

1,205 knee injuries

928 broken or sprained ankles

685 pulled or shredded hamstrings and groins

1 death (to Minnesota Vikings' Tackle Korey Stringer who died of heat stress during a grueling workout at Vikings' camp in the summer)

The Safest & Most Dangerous Parts of the Field

Which side of the ball do you think is more dangerous - offense or defense? Most of us would probably prefer being the hitter to the hittee. But in fact, defensive players get hurt more often than the foes they tackle. The most dangerous position: Defensive back, where nearly 2 of 3 suffer an injury. Here's a position-by-position rundown:

OFFENSE

Wide Receiver: 52%
Tight End: 52%
Offensive Tackle: 45%
Guard: 47%
Center: 41%
Quarterback: 43%
Running Back: 56%

DEFENSE

Defensive End: 47%
Defensive Tackle: 56%
Linebacker: 57%
Cornerback: 63%
Safety: 61%

Not even kickers are safe. About 15% of Punters and Kickers suffered injuries in this four-year period.

TOUGH JOBS

NFL team injuries vs. real-life industrial namesakes (per 100 workers)

		Steelers NFL players: 86 Steel workers in blast furnaces: 9
		Packers NFL Players: 82 Meat Packers: 15
		Jets NFL Players: 42 Airplane Pilots & Mechanics: 6
		Dallas Cowboys NFL Players: 35 Ranchers: 12

Source: These statistics were compiled from NFL team injury reports between 1999 and 2003 and printed in an article "Bloody Sundays," Pittsburgh Tribune Review, Jan. 9, 2005.

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