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This is the first of a two-case series (403-031-1 and 403-032-1). With China''s entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO), one of the country''s largest insurance companies and state-owned enterprise - CINCO (Chinese Insurance Corporation) - is threatened by a flood of new and sophisticated foreign competitors. Challenges to implementing internal changes, however, are proving just as great as those in the external marketplace. This case highlights the sources of complexity underlying the key cultural problems and human resource constraints faced by the general manager of one of CINCO''s largest branches as he tries to prepare his company for the new competitive environment. By placing students in the role of a Chinese manager in a large, leading state-owned enterprise (SOE), they are able to analyse the internal constraints and sources of inertia in the face of obvious external pressures for change, such as entry into WTO. It provides a basis for discussing elements of culture and tradition, both in SOEs and more generally Chinese society, and changes in both. Students are then able to discuss the viability of various options for introducing change within this particular social and organisational context.