But analysts also say that Lenovo is no pushover. The company is considered one of China's most successful corporations. For years, for example, Lenovo's brand has outsold Dell, Hewlett-Packard and IBM computers in China.
These days, Lenovo's new corporate headquarters in Beijing's "Silicon Suburb" is teaming with young 20- and 30-somethings, casually dressed, chattering into mobile phones and looking confident.
The halls are decked with employee recognition plaques, business school theorems and New Age philosophy: "Happiness," reads one workplace poster. "Work hard and live art," reads another.
Newcomers to Lenovo are even trained in the same kind of teamwork programs that can be found at American business schools, right down to the leaps of faith -- the backward falling employee who is caught by a team of supportive co-workers.
And for those who need a jolt, each morning at 8:30 the Lenovo theme song is broadcast on loudspeakers throughout the headquarters, urging workers to guide the corporate ship through perilous waters.
"Lenovo, Lenovo, Lenovo," one line goes, "we are sailing through the waves to lands far away. Lenovo, Lenovo, Lenovo. We are building a new splendor."
Lenovo is also seeking the best outside advice it can get, hiring a client roster that includes Goldman, Sachs; McKinsey & Co, the consulting firm; Weil, Gotshal & Manges, the New York law firm; and Ogilvy, the public relations firm.
And the new language for the company is English, company officials say. Lenovo officials say they are studying American business history, and the chief executive lists The Harvard Business Review as part of his regular reading.
Critics now worry that Lenovo must find a way to preserve IBM's traditions in a PC industry of increasing competition and commodity manufacturing.
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