China's Futures

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Summary: Scenario Planning at Work on China
Review: China is the world's third largest economy and America's biggest trading partner in Asia. The path China takes over the coming decades will have a profound impact on business and the economy all around the world. The authors of this book are neither futurists nor experts on China, but practitioners of the art of scenario planning.

In this book, Ogilvy and Schwartz draw on a range of studies conducted for companies anxious to understand the future consequences of the decisions they're making today with respect to China. They present three versions of what China's future might look like and what that will mean for the governments and companies that will be doing business with or in China. Their scenarios are in an absorbing narrative form, like histories written twenty years from now. They explain the predetermined elements, assumptions, and variables that underlie each scenario. They also draw implications and make suggestions about how companies can use each scenario to plan business strategy.

The insights into China's future provided in this book will help global business managers, strategists, diplomats and government policy makers prepare for what many predict will be the Asian Century.

James A. Ogilvy and Peter Schwartz (1946- ) are partners in Global Business Network, a consulting and research firm. They are responsible for the widespread use of scenario planning in business, a process-blending research, trend analysis and well-tutored imagination-that they pioneered in the early 1990s and which Schwartz made popular through his book The Art of the Long View. Joe Flower is a professional writer in San Francisco.

See also my review of THE NEW SILK ROAD: Secrets of Doing Business in China Today by John B. Stuttard.

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Summary: China's Futures : A Review
Review: I have lost count of how many books and articles I have read on the past, present and future of China. Without doubt, this is the most readable, the most concise and the most word-economical of any.

The authors claim no special knowledge of China but apply general scenario techniques to the situation and come up with sensible and understandable alternative futures.

As a side benefit, the book contains a lot of socio-economic data.

My only complaint..I find the conclusions slightly pessimistic but can't fault the logic of reaching them

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Summary: Everyone who wants to set up a firm in China should read!
Review: This book is full of contents while it is easily understandable and fun. After reading this book, you'll have images of China in the futures in your mind that help you plan your busines strategies pretty well. Therefore, those who want to set up a firm in China are highly suggested to read it.