Rain Long believes the speed at which Chinese companies have to operate is creating a revolution in management practices.

The chief human resources officer and general counsel of JD.com, one of China's leading e-commerce companies, says a modern Chinese company has to respond to a hugely competitive environment.

"Because the business environment is fast-moving, the management style has to be more decisive," she says.

The 40-year-old joined JD.com (also known as Jingdong Mall) two years ago and had previously worked for Western multinational companies.

"If you work in a multinational company you need to reach a consensus and convince so many people before you take action. From our point of view, taking action is very important. Sometimes taking the wrong step is better than taking no step at all.

"In China you almost immediately get feedback from the market so you can actually quickly correct any errors and be in a better position than another company which had failed to act in the first place."

Long was speaking in her office in the company's headquarters in North Star Century Center in eastern Beijing.

The company was set up in 1998 by Liu Qiangdong and is now one of China's largest online retailers. It has more than 60,000 employees.

Long, who sits on the executive board, believes Chinese management ideas are likely to be more influential in the future and this is largely driven by the market environment.

"The China market is quite hot, particularly for e-commerce. There are tremendous opportunities here. I think a lot of Chinese companies in this sector have the potential to compete successfully against international companies," she says.

Long, who has a degree in economic law from the China Southwest Political and Law University in Chongqing, previously worked as legal affairs director for Swiss mobile phone software company Myriad Group and as chief compliance officer for Nasdaq-listed UT Starcom.

A qualified attorney, she also completed a two-year, part-time EMBA at CEIBS (China Europe International Business School).

"I found this a useful experience. I went into it with a practical management perspective but I also wanted to learn some theories also."

Long says that although there are a lot of ideas about management within Chinese companies, there is no sense of knowing all the answers.

Last year the company recruited six people for its international management trainee program and of those, two came from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and one each from the University of California, Berkeley, MIT, INSEAD and London Business School.

Most are around 30 with three to five years' experience working for a multinationals and it is intended they will be fast-tracked through the company.

She says this is evidence that Chinese companies are willing to engage with the latest business theories and ideas.

"I think this is very important for our strategy of globalization. We want our people to have the skills to understand different markets and other cultures.

"Many of the people we recruit internationally like this are Chinese but who have studied abroad. They have to be quick learners, however, and be flexible to fit in with our corporate environment and also that of the market."

Long says many of the senior managers at JD.com have experience working for foreign multinationals.

"I think we can all appreciate the difference in culture that now exists between Chinese companies and foreign companies. I think it is very much a faster-moving management style."

She also believes many Chinese companies are moving away from the vertical management structures where the "big boss" makes all the decisions that have dominated the corporate culture in the past.

"I think Chinese companies are increasingly less hierarchical. The discussions we have on the board are very transparent. If there is a conflict or argument we debate with each other and then decide what the right position is to be."

Long believes there is a distinct Chinese approach to management development and this will become more apparent as more Chinese companies become international.

"A lot of Chinese companies now are on the verge of going international and I think when they do, there will be a lot more evidence of what the Chinese management style actually is and how it will deliver impact and influence."

Rain Long, chief human resources officer and general counsel at JD.com. Feng Yongbin / China Daily

(China Daily European Weekly 12/05/2014 page7)