Zhang Xiue, the head of the Party Branch at Motorola (China) Electronics Ltd. was born in 1966. In 1985 she joined the Communist Party of China while a college student at Hefei University of Technology in east China¡¯s Anhui Province. In 1994 she went to work at Motorola (China) Electronics Ltd. Here is Zhang¡¯s account of her life as a Party Member in Motorola.

"A new chapter of my life opened when I came to Motorola. The company had just set up a Party Branch and I was elected secretary. Some people questioned the point of being a Party Secretary in a foreign-owned enterprise. However I weighed up the post in my heart and reflected that a Party Member no matter where, or at what level, has different responsibilities to those of a non Party member. I realized that I should carry over the high ideals of a Party member into my daily work. It would be my privilege to help the many Party members and other employees at the company¡¯s grass roots to contribute to the interests of the company, the fulfillment of Party policies and China's modernization.

"In 1996 I was appointed to head the company¡¯s quality control department. As both a Party member and a middle-level Chinese administrator I set myself the goal to always watch out for product quality and customer interests.

"For example, in 2000 a problem was detected in a final quality test. This could have been easily put right however I was more interested in the cause than the symptom and insisted on an investigation. The engineers and technicians probed into the anomaly until at last they found the root cause of the problem. Thus we were able to assure the quality of future production runs of this product and earn the satisfaction of our customers.

"Product quality is the lifeblood of an enterprise like Motorola. Last year, when reviewing some customer feedback I suddenly realized that we might have a potential defect in one of our products.

"A check on the data showed that the problem would likely occur only very occasionally. However when I reported the matter to our engineers they discontinued the use of the material which was giving rise to the defect. Once again both our own brand name and the interests of our customers were safeguarded.

"There is so much more to work in a quality function than just inspecting the finished products. I once went to Singapore along with an engineer to resolve a persistent quality problem in a keyboard. We felt we needed to discuss the problem directly with the supplier.

"In Singapore we visited the supplier¡¯s workshops. We not only pointed out the problem to the staff there but also showed them how to solve it. We were not satisfied until we were able to spot-check a new batch after the improvements had been made. They were all up to standard. Our trip had protected the quality of our products and there was a drastic reduction in the number of keyboards returned as unsatisfactory by our customers.

"The workers on the production line in Singapore told us, 'You are the first customers that we have ever met face to face on the production line.' A member of staff with the supplier said, 'You have our admiration.' And what was really unforgettable for us is that he actually sent us gifts and Christmas greetings at the end of that year.

"As a middle manager I'm always looking for improvements, which would be in the interests of the company. For instance I was involved in introducing a new way of working based on the experience of some of the German and American manufacturers. Following a preliminary feasibility study and then a trial run in collaboration with other departments, we set up a dedicated area for final quality checking. Each production line terminates here and is monitored by a quality inspector responsible for that line. Our aim was to optimize the use of the equipment currently available so reducing waste and generating cost savings. The initiative returned savings of 20 percent in human resources and US$320,000 in equipment. It won Motorola¡¯s TFE (Team For Excellence) award, which is the top honor in its class.

"Over the past six years, I¡¯ve also been busy with many Party activities. I have been active in strengthening ideological education for Party members. My input has also included the necessary routine work of collecting Party membership dues, recruiting new Party members and upgrading probationary members to full membership.

"Meantime the Branch has recruited four new Party members who have now been granted full membership. Five more activists are going through the membership procedures and applications, and further 20 activists are under consideration.

"So far we have had 25 Party members who have gained recognition as ¡°Outstanding Party Member in Enterprises in the Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area¡±. Two further Party members have been honored as ¡°Outstanding Party Member of the Area.¡±

"Party members have played a key role at the R&D Department and on the production lines here in the American-owned Motorola (China) Electronics Ltd. In addition, in the Personal Communications Department, 13 out of the 127 Party members in the department have held managerial posts."

(Source: china.org.cn, September 13, 2002)