| Guiding Piece: Chinese Cultures vs. American Cultures | |
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| Jul 19, 2008 09:55 |   |
 | It is probably a guiding masterpiece for those who want to get into Chinese in daily life, specifically in business environments seeking smooth and prosperous business transactions with PRC whose economy is on the stage of taking off… Quotes from this article: << The key to doing good business was said by Sun Zi in the Art of War: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” This is one of the most famously useful quotes in the Art of War. One must fully understand the cultural background of your “enemy” or business associates and competitors in order to be financially successful. The Chinese will fully understand the market and business partners before going into a long term relationship. >> |
| Jul 19, 2008 09:57 | #1 |
| whole article from http://blog.foolsmountain.com/ Abstracts: .... Part II a) Universalism vs. Particularism There are 5 basic values within Culture. They are… The first of the five values is universalism vs. particularism. Universalistic orientated societies have set rules for morals, behavior, ethics and truth in specific situations. Countries which are Universalist tend to be influenced by Christianity. The legal system is also important because it is the main way to enforce the rules and contracts between businesses. America and Europeans tend to be Universalist. Therefore contracts are used to document and communicate the terms of an agreement. The contract defines the relationship between the two parties. Asian countries tend to bee Particularist. Particularism is based on the logic of the heart and human relationships. There are basic rules morals, behavior, and ethics but the specific circumstances of a situation deem the response. The legal system, and thus contractual agreements, is only an empty shell which contain the human relationships within. The legal contract indicates a starting point for a long term “contract” with is intangible expressed through trust, dependability, loyalty and commitment. The success of the business transaction depends on the depth and strength of the relationship. This creates a problem because Americans rely on contractual agreements as a basis for a mutual understanding with regards to business transactions. An American will typically want to quickly begin contract negotiations, contract, hammer out the details in short period and finish the project. Later the individuals involved can relax, enjoy drinks together and get to know each other. In China the wining and dining begins before the idea of signing a contract is even mentioned. First comes guan xi and then comes the contract which will be written in a way to provide loopholes and opportunities to adapt or manipulate the original meaning. In China there is no such thing as agreements written and adhered to the ‘spirit’ of the original meaning. The original meanings will be twisted to conform to current needs and wants. |
| Jul 19, 2008 09:58 | #2 |
| Personal Anecdotes The first experience I had with signing a contract was with the first private school I worked at in China. I found out very quickly that when mainland Chinese sign contracts they will always verbally promise and expound upon the wonderful future benefits which will inevitability be received. The future will hold no such benefits if you do not conform to their random demands, drastic changes, strange requests and chaotic organization. Every contract I signed always ended up in the same way: the boss ignored every single point which implied an obligation while demanding everything and more from me. This is typical of almost every contractual agreement between a mainland Chinese person and another party. When a Westerner faces this situation they will become frustrated, upset and angry. They will verbally and physically express their dissatisfaction. This only feeds the fire and more and more will be required, further pushing the foreigner to a breaking point. The harder the foreigner fights the dirtier and more unethical the Chinese boss will become. I personally saw dozens of foreigners come and go because they couldn’t adapt to the unreasonable demands and chaotic nature of Chinese business transactions. The contract will always start out in the honeymoon stage where there will be many promises of future benefit, glory and success. Mainland Chinese business people always use this as a hook to catch the business. Whatever you say you want they will promise to get it for you. They will claim to want only certain things but this will only be partially true. They always hide their true intent and goal (to make more money at your expense). The Westerner will be good natured, honest and straightforward but in China this is one of the greatest mistakes one can make. One can never openly express their true goals and desires. This will become a weakness as it will be at the beginning used to attract the business and sustain it successful but gradually it will be changed to a tool to manipulate the other party. |
| Jul 19, 2008 10:00 | #3 |
| An excellent example can be illustrated through the story of one of my co-workers. She was a German engineer and instructor at the Chang Chun FAW automobile factory (the biggest in China). She worked part time at one of the schools I worked at. She was a typical German business person: professional, well dressed, impeccably organized, always on time and perfectly efficient. In a Westerners perspective she was an ideal employee. However there was a minor problem. She also worked at the FAW automobile factory, which meant she had another schedule to keep. In China that is a major ‘clash of interests’. Foreigners employed in China are jealously guarded by their boss, who has taken the trouble to employee the foreigner. Of course, the boss will not assist in fulfilling their obligations to provide proper visas/immigration paperwork, salary, good working conditions, housing and other such promises. In essence the boss does nothing while requiring everything. Working at a different organization is a big no-no because the boss would prefer to have a foreigner work a few hours for them, pay them a little and restrict their freedom. The foreigner will struggle with practically no pay and not being able to work another job, earn more money, provide higher quality work, enjoy a high quality of life, happiness and improve themselves. Even though the German teacher had been verbally promised that having another job wouldn’t be a problem the contract said otherwise. Because the boss did not have a full monopoly over the teacher he spitefully began to create problems. They constantly changed her schedule which contradicted with her original job. This was used as an excuse to blame her for not being able to teach the required classes. The German teacher refused to accept a lower pay rate or late salary and the battle really begin. Like all similar struggles I saw it was highlighted with a few intense confrontations which did not involve the mysterious boss who only gave commands but never actually showed his face. It only involved a lower level nicer individual who took the brunt of the foreigner’s anger and wasn’t authorized to accept any compromises. Everything had to be relayed back to the big boss and this constantly stalled everything. One day the German teacher did not show up and I knew that she also had fallen prey to the unethical behavior which is so common in China. |
| Jul 19, 2008 10:01 | #4 |
| I on the other hand enjoyed great success. I patiently accepted every setback but firmly stood my ground. If the message bearer of the boss told me that I wouldn’t be paid on time I would smile and quietly say that I would be unable to come to work after a certain number of days. Phone calls would be made and salary would be promised. Normally a foreigner would go away happy but I knew that this was only a front. When I would come back on the designated day of course the salary would not be prepared. As expected, they would demand that I teach the classes without pay anyway. I would simply smile and say that I would be back 10 minutes before the class started. If I was paid on time then I would teach. If not, I would return home and await payment. There were always groans of complaint, constant berating for not being a responsible teacher, and plenty of excuses. I simply waited and would get paid where as other foreigner would have exploded and pulled out a contract and pointed out of their grievances. In China you can never openly express anger. This is the easier way to offend someone who will hate you as long as you live, your children and their children. Even though the contract is always ignored, obligations are unmet; quality is poor one must not openly express anger. Of course, anger and insults will be expressed to the foreigner but one must simply ignore this. 5 minutes later everything will be ok and life will be good again. Every organization I worked with in China displayed the same typical behavior: late pay, poor quality, unfulfilled promises, inconvenient or outrageous demands, the ignoring of the contract, and eventually intentional problems created to find fault in me. This is to be expected. The foreigner in China will predictably try to be patient and understanding, but this will come to an end when the problems don’t stop. Eventually they will break off the relationship or business transaction because they feel the situation isn’t fair. They of course are correct but they will not be able to continue to do business. |
| Jul 19, 2008 10:03 | #5 |
| As previously explained a contract is only a superficially symbolic document which has no real legal or business value. Contracts in China are expressed through intangible relationships. The stronger and healthier the relationship, the more success there will be. I think that the idea of “social contract” can be used to explain how Americans approach this situation. The “social contract” is an idea which generally states that people give up certain rights in order to obtain social order. We represent these rights through a firm legal framework, social rules, and contracts. In China they have a “relationship contract” where the relationships, not law, are the guiding principles in society and business transactions. Particularistic societies such as China focus more on relationships and believe that every situation is different and therefore behavior must be adapted accordingly. The company must be prepared to patiently deal with unexpected situations that will surely arise. The company must be flexible and bend the rules in order to satisfy business partners. b) Individualism vs. Collectivism Individualistic cultures focus on individual people first and the group second. From individuals a collective group can be formed. Social relationships are much more relaxed and flexible. Independence and self reliability are important. This of course leads to many individuals becoming self orientated, which can lead to positive things like innovation and the realization of personal ambitions but also negative things like selfishness and inability to cooperate. In short, ‘I’ is the most important word. |
| Jul 19, 2008 10:03 | #6 |
| On the other hand, collective cultures focus on the group first and the individual second. From the group, individuals can be separated. Interdependence and group loyalty are important. The positive aspects are that people within a collective culture can have strong group cohesion and sense of togetherness. The negative aspects are that many people will be overly dependant, un-independent, uncreative and ignore personal problems for the good of the group. For this group ‘we’ is the most important word. A company from an individualistic culture wishing to do business in a collective culture must be ready to focus on group harmony and meeting collective needs. The group needs must be paid more attention to (even though it might be detrimental to certain individuals). On the outside this might seem to be a very noble and note worthy cause yet in China it is only a façade. Asian cultures are collective but China is really the ultimate individualist society where greed, corruption, and treachery are rampant. This is very hard to accept and the Chinese deal with this by ignoring it, blaming others or becoming angry at the slightest analysis of China. On the outside China seems to be very group orientated. Family and friends are close, business relationships are intimate, everybody eats together while sharing the same dishes, rides the bus together and is proud of their collective history. This is what textbooks, culture guides and so called “Old China Hands” will faithfully attest to. However, it couldn’t be furthest from the truth. Chinese businesses transactions are jealously watched over by different individuals who all want to curry favor and steal the success. So if one wants to be successful in China they must establish meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships with the individuals in power, not the company itself. Chinese companies are led by clans with powerful leaders and their own followers. If something detriment happens suddenly a boss will leave and many will follow. Chinese group dynamics are clan based to its best if the foreigners align themselves with all of the clans involved but work closely with the most powerful. |
| Jul 19, 2008 10:04 | #7 |
| Once a trustworthy and healthy relationship is formed with the biggest players then everything will fall to place. The only reason why there are problems with quality, lateness, mix ups, etc is because the foreigner is working with a small fry who pretends to be big. An intimate alignment with the big boss means that whatever you request, he commands and it will be done. Americans support a much different style of group behavior. Individuals are encouraged to be innovated, personalize their work and take responsibility for the company. This is opposite in China where these actions would seriously jeopardize a Chinese person situation. In China standing out and being different is discouraged and can lead to loss of face, employment and quality of life. Chinese are very individualistic but their personality and modes of expression have been censored and limited. For their own safety they are very reserved and socially bland. It wasn’t 50 years ago when… c) Neutral vs. Emotional Neutral cultures, like China, are much more careful about how emotions are expressed. Oftentimes emotions are masked and direct emotionally confrontation is avoided. In emotional cultures, like America, emotions are expressed more naturally and directly. In America emotions within an organization are quite direct and straightforward. Talking behind people’s backs and beating around the bush are discouraged. This clarifies information and cuts down on miscommunication. In China and the China business world everybody beats around the bush and purposely miscommunicates and limits information in order to protect themselves and gain the advantage. |
| Jul 19, 2008 10:09 | #8 |
| When dealing with a neutral culture it is important to understand that everything is usually not what it seems. Every situation and the relationships within the situation must be carefully post-analyzed before a final decision can be made. My negotiation experience in China proves this point: emotions are often deceptive and only superficial. They are used to manipulate the situation. It takes many years to fully and more deeply understand individuals/groups and how they really feel. While Chinese might seem more conservative and quiet they are just as emotional and expressive. American’s tend to encourage the direct expression of feelings while China is the opposite. Sometimes emotions are a tool which is purposely used to cause a reaction. This can be very difficult to understand if it happens during the negotiation process. For example, a normally quiet Chinese coworker suddenly shouting and getting upset over a small matter and then 5 minutes later calmly drinking tea would be very confusing to an America. Often times the emotions are used to manipulate, confuse and guard true inner feelings. This is all in the Chinese communication game. No matter what is said one must not become too involved and over reactive (even if the situation is outrageous and unfair). The Chinese always use emotions as prodding stick to test the waters and get reactions. Many foreigners react by verbally exploding and challenging the unfair treatment. Personal anecdote ....... WILL TAKE ANOTHER ONE HR TO FINISH ...ENJOY FROM GENDER, BASIC VALUES DIFF. , PERSPECTIVE... http://blog.foolsmountain.com/ ....... |
| Jul 20, 2008 01:02 | #9 |
| You said "The legal system, and thus contractual agreements, is only an empty shell which contain the human relationships within." How right you arean empty shell indeed: in China contraacts don't seem worth the paper they are written on. They are written by the stronger party to screw the weeker party and if it still doessn't work out in their favour they just ignore them. Screw the weakest. The government is on record as saying it wants to see a more western style comemrcial legal sytem... the sooner the better....and how about giving some teeth to the 2008 Labour Law to protect the workers who are being absoolutely shafted by unscrupulous 'get rich quick' industrialits? |
| Jul 21, 2008 17:26 | #10 |
| Paul, the author doesn't mention which province he teaches. it most probably happen towns not big cities (Beijing, Shanghai). You know central gov. sometimes is not able to reach their power in some areas where lots of corruptions are happening. i think that's why foreigners are prone to shanghai or ChangJiang River Delta where 'int'l play games' are well regulated and corrupt customs relatively less seen there. several years ago, i saw lots of foreigners own theirown business when i back to shanghai, inculding education business... |
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