Party members at Mary Kay celebrate taking sixth place in an orienteering competition in Shanghai. China Daily

Red signs

In 2010, the Party branch at Mary Kay worked with the human resources department to keep records of the number of Party members and asked each of them to place a red sign on their desk to indicate their membership of the Party, in the hope that they would become role models in the company.

"The sign also shows the Party members' willingness to be supervised," An said.

Individual members understand their role in the company and are looking to make rapid progress in their careers. At present, 72 percent of the Party members at Mary Kay work at the executive level as directors, managers and supervisors.

More important, the Party building activities have helped the company to attain sound fiscal results.

"Our Party branch regularly invites professors from colleges and universities to explain the reports of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The entire management team attends these lectures to help gain in-depth understanding of China and the latest policies," An said.

"A good understanding will help the management team to make the right decisions and therefore raise the company's profits," he added.

Promotion

In 2003, the Japanese air-conditioning manufacturer Daikin established a Party branch at its office in the West Nanjing Road subdistrict.

So far, 77 Party members have joined the branch, with one-third of them working in executive roles.

Zheng Jingjing, secretary of the Party branch at Daikin, said Party building activities have become a good way of promoting the company's name.

On "Learn from Lei Feng Day" on March 5－a day set aside to honor the spirit of helping others－the company's Party members went to a neighboring community and taught the residents how to use their air conditioners more efficiently.

"In addition to bonding our employees via such activities, the company's name will be better known in the community," Zheng said.

Mao Xinya, an associate professor at the China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong, gives lectures to the Party members in multinational companies in the West Nanjing Road subdistrict.

She said Party members pay close attention to the country's latest strategies, which is important to the development of each individual and China in general.

For Mao, one of the most important things is to let younger Party members feel proud about China's rapid development and to understand their responsibilities. To that end, she has to seek some common ground between the companies' development plans and government policies.

"The younger Party members will shoulder the development of the country. I have been greatly inspired by their passion for studying the latest policies and participating in Party building," she said.

Jiang, deputy secretary of the Party working committee of the West Nanjing Road subdistrict, conceded that there are still some difficulties in organizing Party building activities in multinational companies, including the relatively low numbers of Party members and inadequate support from their employers.

"Party members in multinational companies should become the internal driving force. They should play their roles in the companies and become the leading force in the promotion of Party building activities," he said.

He Qi in Shanghai contributed to this story.