Smashed Fridges and Catfish: The Story of Haier
How Zhang Ruimin transformed a failing fridge manufacturer into one of the largest white goods companies in the world.
In 1984 Zhang Ruimin went into a failing factory making fridges and smashed them all with a sledgehammer. βWork started at 8.00amβ, Mr Zhang tells Peter Day, βbut if you went in there at 9.00am and threw a grenade nobody would die because they had all gone homeβ. This factory has now become Haier, one of the largest white goods manufacturers in the world. Zhang Ruimin tells Peter Day how he transformed the company and how he developed his own style of management. Managers at Haier, for example, have their own βcatfishβ who always shadows them in order to stir things up when they are not performing at their best.
(Picture: Zhang Ruimin, Credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)
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Contributors to this programme:
Zhang Ruimin
Chairman and Chief Executive of Haier Group.
Μύ
Lei Yongfeng
Director, Haier Air Conditioner General Corporation Ltd.
ΜύBroadcasts
- Sat 9 Nov 2013 12:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online
- Sun 10 Nov 2013 09:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online
- Wed 13 Nov 2013 00:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online
- Wed 13 Nov 2013 04:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online
- Wed 13 Nov 2013 15:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online
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