On The Merchants' Business Activities And Management Culture Of Modern Shandong

In the modern society, the modernization of Shandong province's economy began to start up, and therefore the modern industry and commerce of Shandong developed greatly, with western powers' economy invading. The traditional handcraft industry achieved technique improvement ceaselessly and the overseas handcraft industries were imported in sucession and brought the rebirth of the handcraft industry. Modern mechinery industry came into existence and developed increasingly, and handcraft industry turned into mechinery industry frenquently. The commercial centers changed and formed their magistral new commercial nets. The scale of commerce enlarged and new-style businesses came forth incessantly and foreign trade also flourished. Qingdao replaced Yantai as the center of foreign trade gradually, and Weihai and Longkou were in an accessorial position chronically. The conversion of the industry and commerce was because of the introductory role of the western economy, the advocacy role of the government, the influence of the traffic and communication transform, the merchants' management and so on. The development of industry and commerce provided advantages for the merchants' business activities of modern Shandong.The traditional merchants' capital evolved, and new-style merchants' capital developed simultaneously and the organizations of the merchants metabolized. The new-style merchants' organizations included the chambers of commerce and trade councils, which showed the characters of the industrial and commercial groups. The subrogation and evolution of the merchants' and their organizations was the inevitable result of the modernization of the industrial and commercial economy. The modernization of the merchants' and their organizations promoted the development of the industry and commerce contrary. The area of the business activities of the merchants of modern Shandong enlarged unprecedentedly, which spread all over China and the world, making contributions to the local economy. Shandong merchants' rapid development in northeast China was a reduction of the expansion of the domestic markets, and their management in Korea, Japan and the Southeast Asian countries was the outstanding cases of the expansion of the international markets. The merchants of modern Shandong commenced to deal in some new-style businesses, such as transport and customs, broker's firms, insurance, brokerage and so on. The traditional handcraft industry was rebuilt, and the modern mechinery industry developed greatly simultaneously. Shandong merchants competed against foreign merchants for transcendence. During the course of the development of modern industry and commerce, production and management mode modernized gradually. Cottage industries, handicraft workshops and handicraft plants were replaced by factories and companies, especially the family company management mode amalgamated Chinese and western management systems, which was introduced by many Shandong merchants and promoted the development of the industry and commerce. But the traditional production and management mode still existed diffusely, showing itself the new and old amalgamation.In the business activities, Shandong merchants created regional characteristic management culture. In the outlook on justice and interests, they realized from the theory contention to the attention of practice of industry and commerce and strove for the maximum benefit. They developed the eximious hardworking tradition and started their own business laboriously and had the courage to make progress. In the religious beliefs, they had common supernatural beings and worship of God of Wealth and the gods of trades, which was utilitarian and the religious beliefs were awane. Shandong merchants deviated from nostalgic provincialism, took delight in poverty and observed morals, and were wild about fame and gain and from conservatism to open-minded character. The renovations of management concepts of Shandong merchants were conspicuous. In talent ideology, Shandong merchants appointed people by abilities and made them do their best. They used the agile marketing methods and beat the adversaries by the inimitable marketing strategies and knight service. They attached importance to the technical melioration and the quality of products. Their competitive and exceeding consciousness boosted up, especially they introduced the competition-excess mode to answer the economic invasion of the western powers, and many models who dared to compete and exceed teemed. They attached importance to advertisement which included traditional and modern advertising in order to upgrade the corporate visualization. In a word, they made remarkable progress in many aspects of management culture, which thus guided the business activities more effectively. Furthermore, Shandong merchants' modern service consciousness was strengthened in a way. They maintained the commerce order consciously to help the government to get over a difficulty. They were bound up in the charity affairs and their social responsibility was strengthened obviously. They conformed themselves to the trend of the times, enduing the management of industry and commerce with the national salvation of time connotation.Many typical operators teemed in modern Shandong, who were regarded as the representatives of Shandong merchants. Meng's family from Jiujun town, Zhangqiu county grew into a famous modern nation capital group from farming landlords, which was closely bound up with its inimitable management culture. Meng's corporate management under the household management was their triumphant magic weapon, which amalgamated traditional and modern factors organically. Miao's family from Huantai county grew into a famous modern nation capital group from farmers gradually, who built up their career from nothing and first did business with a small capital and then transformed commerce to industry. The spirit of enterprisers and the aggressive management played an pivotal role in business activities. Song's family capital enterprises from Qingzhou county grew into the biggest woll textile factory of China, that was Dongya Woll Textile Limited Company, which was propped up by foreign missionaries, based on Song Chuandian's operation, especially by his son Song Feiqing's painstaking operation. The company was provided with self-contained corperate culture, that was Dongya Spirit, which syncretized the positive factors of the Chinese and Western cultures. Dongya Spirit advocated the human-oriented management conception, which became a model of the merchants' management culture of modern Shandong. These typical cases showed that the merchants of modern Shandong had thoroughly remoulded themselves from the traditional mode in business activities and management culture. They inherited the excellent tradition and imbibed the advanced western management mode and concept for reference, and had accomplished the task of modernization abecedarianly.Western powers invaded Shandong to throw the local intrinsic ecomomic order into confusion, which started up the economic modernization of modern Shandong externally. Shandong merchants conformed themselves to the transformation of the situation to overcome various difficulties in the situation of internal disorder and foreign invasions. They did their endeavor to deal in the industry and commerce and made achievements, making the industry and commerce develop prodigiously. It was the secret of survival and development that they strived to become stronger constantly, fighted their way out of the industry and commerce, and learned from the precursors and consummated themselves. It was not difficult to know that the business activities were the base of management culture and management culture was the important guarantee of business activities. Shandong merchants altered the traditional industrial and commercial culture to meet the modern requirements ceaselessly, and fetched in, digested and absorbed the foreign industrial and commercial culture and made it be provided with native characteristics. Management culture needed to absorb comprehensively and got rid of the stale and brought forth the fresh. Only in this way, could it be lifefull. It was the only correct way to integrate business activities and management culture organically, which could make both of them interactive and therefore provided conditions for the sucessful management.