“GUANXI” ( 关系 ), AND MORE…

SHOLTO’S ( 会 小明 ) CHINESE EXPERIENCE

Outline

Introduction – My ExperienceCultureUniversityInternshipConclusion –

What I learned

NEW FRIENDS

NEW EXPERIENCES

NEW LANGUAGE

NEW FOOD

1 INTERNSHIP AND 1 TEAM BUILDING CHINESE STYLE

New Culture

Definition

Culture is a shared system of meanings Norms, values, traditions… It is learned Can have many layers =

National, Regional, Generation…

Cultural Observations

Chinese Complexity Multiple philosophies, systems and religions over

thousands of years – Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism… The last 100 years

End of 2,000+ years of dynasties Civil war during Japanese invasion Birth of a new communist nation (50+ years old) Great Leap frog Cultural revolution Black and white cats, whichever catches the mice

- Capitalistic Communism Now “Harmonious Development”

Cultural Observations

Guanxi 关系 Social Networking

Know your business partner’s/ school mate’s personal life

Collectivism Importance of relationships

Something for Something I can help you!

Building favors/contacts Talking to classmates Giving gifts

Cultural Observations

Face 2 Faces in China

Public (including the family), and private Confucius roots

expectations and moral order Codes of behaviour are very different

Social appearance is very important – be careful Power Distance High

Don’t criticize your boss. Don’t ask difficult questions and risk losing face

“Impolite foreigners” Same job level meetings, men and women

Cultural Observations

Monochronic Culture Time is something that can be spent in China On-time means 5/10 minutes early

Hard-Working/Non-Questioning -why? You would never call an average Chinese person lazy,

due in part to the education system – diligence Arriving late, working hard, or leaving early shows a

lack of respect, losing face

Cultural Observations

Generation Differences Older generation – revolutions, hardship (famine…)

high uncertainty avoidance with the older generations = savings high collectivist culture = respecting centralized government Higher power distance relationships

Younger Generation - economic growth, modernization… Lower uncertainty avoidance = spending a lot more than parents Less/different collectivism= smaller nuclear family groups, more

individual choices, but still collectivist Lower power distance = “little emperors” Less masculinity than older generation

Other observations

Growing disparity between cities and the countryside Class differences expanding as millions of upper and

middle-class become rich while poverty remains a reality for millions more and may even be worsening for some

Differences between traditional values and emerging “Western” values

Strong sense of nationalism Many similarities to industrialization in the West over

a hundred years ago and to the development of Japan and South Korea as economic heavyweights (low-cost imitation, innovation, leadership…)

University

Zhong Shan Daxue 中山大学

Courses Chinese Language - basic necessities Chinese Business - issues affecting China Negotiations - accomodation for partnerships Operations Management - streamlining, planning, and

control Strategic Management -Sustainable Competitive Advantage

University

Zhong Shan Daxue 中山大学

Observations Talking to classmates during courses

(guangxi) Not talking to the teacher (textbooks…) Listening – few gestures and indirect Working hard, but sometimes not smart Much less group conflict and arguing

Internship

TEXT 100 PUBLIC RELATIONS

Public Relations and consultancy for technology firms such as IBM, Siemens, Nokia, Intel, Cisco, Phillips, Texas Instruments, and many more

Text 100 is truly global and has 30 offices worldwide covering EMEA, APAC and the Americas.

In essence they are internationalized by necessity, in that their clients are global

Internship

SHANGHAI – my responsibilities Generating corporate communications materials for

Chinese companies during the Olympic Games Training my Chinese colleagues on the differences

between Western and Chinese media reporting styles and how to approach them

Compiling a database of foreign media Marketing of Text 100 Intercultural adaption

Internship

PARIS – my responsibilities Office organisation Copying Contact details Translating and summarising French coverage into

English for monthly reports

Internship

Shanghaio Very Seriouso Layout, relatively closedo Email and MSN, meeting rooms and gestureso Don’t contradict the bosso Socializing outside work rare, or organizedo Staying at work until after 10:00pm or even midnight

not uncommono Arrive early, leave lateo Returning promptly from luncho Working hard for sometimes few results (lack of

initial questioning)

Internship

Pariso Seemingly less seriouso Open layouto Communicating face-to-face, even if everybody else

could here and the conversation was not seriouso Contradict the boss in front of everyone, all issueso Much more informal socializingo Arriving late, or often not at all, and leaving early or

on-time commonplace o Less urgency to get back to worko Working less hard

.

Internship

Evaluation

o National culture plays a huge role in the working environment

o The company is run in a relatively polycentric manner… Global offices are managed by and comprise of locals

o It becomes evident that different expectations exist

.

Conclusion - What I learned

Cultural Sensitivity,

Greater Awareness of my Strengths and Weaknesses

Patience, Preparation and Review

The importance of Networking and Relationships

QUESTIONS

谢谢XieXie

THANK YOU

Bibliography

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Bibliography

Luke Lin; David So-De Shyu; Chau-Jung Kuo, Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge; Sep 2007; 12, 1; ABI/INFORM Global, pg. 173

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