Hershey: Back to Basics 113
discipline and a systematic professional approach to his work,
which Johnson believed were the characteristics that would
serve the company well in China’s mercurial business envi-
ronment. Johnson’s next challenge was to convince Porter not
only to move his family halfway around the world to a devel-
oping country (Porter had never been outside of North
America), but also to depart the coveted and successful do-
mestic business operation to assume a test-marketing exer-
cise within Hershey’s battered International division. The
assignment was pitched as a three-year mandate to study the
market through a test launch of Hershey products in Shang-
hai, create a sustainable business model, and subsequently
roll out to additiona ...