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Living BMW——A Way towards Career Success

Apr 18-2013   



By Sun Yi & Bin Hai 

May 6, 2011, National School of Development and Beijing International MBA Programs (BiMBA) at Peking University welcomed the guest speaker Ms. Zhao Jing, Head of Human Resources of BMW China, carrying out a high-end face to face interaction with the BiMBA students. The Career Development Department (CDD) of BiMBA coordinated this talk and provided BiMBA students with an opportunity to get a well-rounded understanding of the automobile industry, the uniqueness of BMW, and in particular, the successful career path for young managers. Ms. Crystal Fang, Senior Manager of CDD, hosted the event. 

Zhao Jing gave her speech in three parts, the history and culture of BMW, the operations and development of BMW China and the career path planning for young talents. In the international management, BMW focuses on the consistency and standardization of her global strategy, and the delivery of the culturally attractive products. BMW, a typical German company, adheres to the strict style in management, and attaches great importance to human resources development. In BMW, every employee is considered as an associate. 

More than once, Zhao mentioned the opportunities and challenges that BMW encountered in China market which has been rapidly growing through the years. The company has experienced unprecedented expansion and growth in China, and to keep this trend, it needs to balance such factors as profit, customer satisfaction and brand acceptance. 

Next, Zhao introduced the BMW recruiting procedure. From her view, HR pays more attention to the overall quality and character of the candidates rather than the technical skills. She humorously interpreted BMW as Bold, Mature, and Wise. Although the integrity, motivation, adaptability to new challenges, team spirit and communication skills, and innovative ability are important to a young manager’s success in the company, the match of one’s personal value to company’s culture does count. BMW, a German business with a long history, enjoys a mild, harmonious culture of "pleasure", which is quite different from the competitive culture of some U.S. companies. As a Chinese executive who working with a German company for a decade, Zhao finds the sharp contrasts between her Chinese and German coworkers, -- while Germans emphasize the detailed plan of the operations and the logic of the procedure, Chinese people advocate more flexible strategies and are better at multi-task management. 

In the Q&A session, the MBA students discussed their confusions in career planning, decision making with Zhao, who encouraged the young talents to welcome the challenge, stick to their dreams. Zhao said, as long as one worked really hard and achieved success, no "glass ceiling" would block his or her way. For the career choice, Zhao Jing frankly told the students that she did not have a previously designed career path. Instead, at several crucial crossroads of life, she made the right choices. It turned out that one must be careful when making a decision, and time would tell us the final answer. At last, Zhao Jing criticized the frequent job-hopping, as it would not increase the true value of the individual. She recommended that the young managers should stay in the same industry for longer years to get thorough knowledge of the company, the products and the industry. 

Living BMW is the 7th event of the Career Development Lecture Series. The series provided both the MBA students and the companies with a platform for interaction, understanding and cooperation. 

Living BMW——A Way towards Career Success

Apr 18-2013   



By Sun Yi & Bin Hai 

May 6, 2011, National School of Development and Beijing International MBA Programs (BiMBA) at Peking University welcomed the guest speaker Ms. Zhao Jing, Head of Human Resources of BMW China, carrying out a high-end face to face interaction with the BiMBA students. The Career Development Department (CDD) of BiMBA coordinated this talk and provided BiMBA students with an opportunity to get a well-rounded understanding of the automobile industry, the uniqueness of BMW, and in particular, the successful career path for young managers. Ms. Crystal Fang, Senior Manager of CDD, hosted the event. 

Zhao Jing gave her speech in three parts, the history and culture of BMW, the operations and development of BMW China and the career path planning for young talents. In the international management, BMW focuses on the consistency and standardization of her global strategy, and the delivery of the culturally attractive products. BMW, a typical German company, adheres to the strict style in management, and attaches great importance to human resources development. In BMW, every employee is considered as an associate. 

More than once, Zhao mentioned the opportunities and challenges that BMW encountered in China market which has been rapidly growing through the years. The company has experienced unprecedented expansion and growth in China, and to keep this trend, it needs to balance such factors as profit, customer satisfaction and brand acceptance. 

Next, Zhao introduced the BMW recruiting procedure. From her view, HR pays more attention to the overall quality and character of the candidates rather than the technical skills. She humorously interpreted BMW as Bold, Mature, and Wise. Although the integrity, motivation, adaptability to new challenges, team spirit and communication skills, and innovative ability are important to a young manager’s success in the company, the match of one’s personal value to company’s culture does count. BMW, a German business with a long history, enjoys a mild, harmonious culture of "pleasure", which is quite different from the competitive culture of some U.S. companies. As a Chinese executive who working with a German company for a decade, Zhao finds the sharp contrasts between her Chinese and German coworkers, -- while Germans emphasize the detailed plan of the operations and the logic of the procedure, Chinese people advocate more flexible strategies and are better at multi-task management. 

In the Q&A session, the MBA students discussed their confusions in career planning, decision making with Zhao, who encouraged the young talents to welcome the challenge, stick to their dreams. Zhao said, as long as one worked really hard and achieved success, no "glass ceiling" would block his or her way. For the career choice, Zhao Jing frankly told the students that she did not have a previously designed career path. Instead, at several crucial crossroads of life, she made the right choices. It turned out that one must be careful when making a decision, and time would tell us the final answer. At last, Zhao Jing criticized the frequent job-hopping, as it would not increase the true value of the individual. She recommended that the young managers should stay in the same industry for longer years to get thorough knowledge of the company, the products and the industry. 

Living BMW is the 7th event of the Career Development Lecture Series. The series provided both the MBA students and the companies with a platform for interaction, understanding and cooperation.