rchase its seasoning mixes from the head office, both using hard currency. Wang also appointed a day-to-day general manager in Beijing, who would be appointed by KFC and have control over operations. Although it seemed like all major challenges were over, they weren't. The approval of the partnership did not give any operating authority for KFC in the city. They needed a "Licence to Execute a Business Activity." Approval of this required the signatures of the District government, the Commerce Department, the Taxation Department, the Health Department, and the Food Supply and Logistics Department. None of these agencies had any coordination, so approval from each separately was required and this could take months or years. Tony Wang stated: " We are pioneers in China, but so are the Chinese. However, whether they want to learn or not is another story. Many Westerners make the same big mistake in China: they assume that they can just pay to have the required work done or at least expedited. This just doesn't work in China. The Chinese are not motivated by a desire to do things right simply for the sake of doing things right. They don't want your help in speeding up the process. They just want to avoid problems. And unless we can convince them otherwise, we are their biggest problem." A license was necessary before a lease could be signed, but Wang was worried that a desirable location might not be found. All buildings and possible space in Beijing is occupied. As well, Chinese regulations stated that new tenants would have to guarantee the employment of any workers left jobless when a new tenant took over. This worried Wang because he would be stuck with a number of unskilled Chinese that he would have to employ. Wang wanted the first store that was to be opened to be big and flashy because it would determine the future success of KFC in China. This was strategically a good idea but it ran counter to the culture in China where there w...
