New Reply

Post a Reply

Thread: Guiding Piece: Chinese Cultures vs. American Cultures

Title: (100 characters at most)

Content: ( 3,000 characters at most, please )

You can add emoticons below to your post by clicking them.

[quote=MARRIE,305104]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.

[/quote]

characters left

Name:

Get a new code