The column section written by AP Group members.

COLUMNIST

APC Product Support &
Consumer Service Team

Rho, Kyung-mo

Episode 1. Part 2.
Is GWP part of corporate culture or strategy?

Is GWP (Great Work Place) part of corporate culture or strategy?

"Actually, it is nice if a company gives employees more holidays, better salaries, and better benefit programs. If you feel envious that we are simply working more comfortably, that is truly just a fractional thought. The reason we want to work at this company for a long time to come, and have no thoughts of leaving, is partly because the company provides a great work environment, but it is mainly because the company truly loves its employees and makes them its number one."
– Pang Dong Lai (胖东来) Department Store Cosmetics MD –

2. Pang Dong Lai (胖东来)

'Love at Pang Dong Lai! (爱在胖东来)' - the phrase inscribed above the entrance to the company building

Xiaomi (小米), the company that was the subject of the last column, is probably a company with which at least a few readers are familiar. However, Pang Dong Lai (胖东来) is no doubt rather unfamiliar to the overwhelming majority of our colleagues. So, let's take a look at the company Pang Dong Lai.

Pang Dong Lai is a retail distribution company founded in China's Henan Province (河南省) in March 1995 by CEO Yu Dong Lai (于东来), who named his company in his name. Pang Dong Lai operates 7 department stores and supermarket channels in Henan Province. In China, companies are categorized into province-based companies, and city-based companies depending on the business scale and scope. This is because, when it comes to China, even without a national level sales base, business is scalable by focusing on select provinces or cities. This reflects just how big China's market size is.

Pang Dong Lai is headquartered in Xuchang (许昌) in Henan Province, a city with a population of over 5 million, or one-fifth of Shanghai's 25 million. Xinxiang (新乡), another city where Pang Dong Lai operates, is a small city of 6 million people and only 8% of Shanghai's GDP.

Though Pang Dong Lai is categorized as a typical city-unit company, in Henan Province it is famous for competing with China's leading department stores. It may look like a run-of-the-mill company, with the only quirks being its relatively small size and that it has a karaoke machine, table tennis, library, yoga room, and massage chairs in the employee lounge. Some might see it as a 'company with some good employee benefits.' However, the keywords Chinese people associate Pang Dong Lai with are as follows.

Bizarre company – Forced holidays, forced to leave the office

Company where employees do not leave

Company where employees voluntarily say they are happy

Pang Dong Lai's employees say the question they are most often asked is: "Can the company still make a profit by working like that?" What is the cause of this? It is the company's unique corporate culture. Employees are forced to go home at 6pm, and work-related phone calls are restricted after 6pm. An internal policy fines employees 5,000 RMB for not leaving at 6pm, and any calls made after 6pm result in a fine of 100 RMB. Employees are encouraged to have a meal with parents once a week and to go on a family trip once a month, and the corporate culture guide includes a guide on 'Attitude towards Living Life.'

Sales employee working while sitting down (left); Customers resting sitting down (right)

Tuesday closure notice at the entrance of the store

Dear all Esteemed Elders, Parents, and Friends, The longer our employees work and the more they are asked to work, the more tired they get, which eventually can make them ill. From working too much, they lose the opportunity to spend precious time with their families. We want our employees to be happy! We want to become a company can employees like, not because we pay them to, but because they would even if they didn't work here! We believe that letting our employees enjoy their life and take a rest when needed will help create a work environment that is much more efficient, and this will lead to improved products. Most importantly, it means we can provide a service and experience for customers that they actually enjoy. Shopping doesn't have to be stressful: we make it easy and fun. For this reason and more, we have designated Tuesday as our mandatory day off. We will continue to live a more joyful and happy life.

Pang Dong Lai CEO Yu Dong Lai

To understand the company's unique culture, you must not overlook the founding story of the company. The founder only went to school for 7 years and did not receive formal education afterwards. He has sold peanuts, watermelon and fruits, and has experience working as a section leader at a factory run by a state owned company. Seeing colleagues extremely stressed because of the work, his dream was to make a welfare-oriented company and, with this goal in mind, he started his business in the 1990s as a place defined by a 'horizontal culture among employees,' and 'a culture of working hard.' He turned his business dreams into financial results. Pang Dong Lai has become a company everyone wants to work at, a joyful company, and a company at which employees actually look forward to Monday.

Finishing this column
As the economy develops and expectations about the quality of life increase, people select companies for their unique culture and seek out an environment in which employees are respected. I have seen popular comedians today in Korea who perform various skits about the lives of salary-men and women for working long hours, attending company dinners, and getting stress from seniors. In this way, it's sad but fair to say that stress actually represents the corporate culture of many Korean companies. Today, I believe GWP is no longer a culture that defines particular companies, but rather a factor that must be integrated into long-term corporate strategy.