While talking to the Chinese agent, the American learned that the Chinese counterparts’ goals were different. He realized that the Chinese company wanted to use the meetings to help build personal ties among them. They were upset that the American was focused solely on business rather than personal matters and was asking aggressive questions. He also found out that the top Chinese executive had no interest in sharing decision making with anyone; instead, he wanted to use private lunches and dinners with the head of the American delegation to make serious decisions and reach agreements.
To ensure effective communication between a high and low-context culture, there is a need to first understand the cultural differences. The Chinese culture emphasizes on group performance and rewards while the Americans highlight individual achievements and rewards. They also express pride, loyalty and cohesiveness in their organizations and families. The Chinese highly judge building personal ties and relationships because the Chinese culture is influenced by Confucian ideas which emphasize the importance of relationships and community.
To ensure effective communication, the American has to be careful about how his behavior and manners are perceived by the Chinese. Consciously or unconsciously other people will be using their belief and value system to judge the American, and hence it is crucial for him to ferret out their values and be able to see his own culture through the eyes of his counterparts. He should be polite, considerate, and sensitive to times when he should discuss deals and times when he should strengthen friendships. As the saying goes, ’When in Rome, do as the Romans do.’ He would have to go about building personal ties and relationships with a wide network of individuals and groups. Lastly, he would have to ensure his natural American assertiveness does not turn his Chinese counterparts off and does not hinder his efforts at building strong relationships.
So Phelps, after clinching eight gold medals in Beijing, you should know what to look out for when discussing a sponsorship contract with the Chinese, don’t you?
Figure: If we can all make an effort to understand each other and establish a common purpose, intercultural communication would be easier for everyone.
5 comments:
Hey Jimmy, this post provides me insights into the difference between a Chinese and an American. Indeed, my gut feeling is that most Asians will prefer to build rapport over meals and will only deal with people they can trust than with someone who is more capable. The Americans will probable base their decision on the merits of the persons more than the relationship. Knowing what makes a person with a different cultural background tick is important during business communication process.
Hi Jimmy,
In your case, misunderstanding between the American and the Chinese occurs because they attached very different meanings to time.
To minimise such misunderstanding, the American manager, being in the foreign land, could be more cultural sensitive and have developed more cultural self-awareness. He would have better deal with the intercultural business communication if he had find out more about the local business culture norms.
Communciation is a two-way process. On the other hand, the Chinese, being the host, could be more empathetic and try putting themselves in the American's shoes. The Chinese could have inform the American of their usual business practices.
In the business world it is especially important to be aware of the cultural differences that exist between yourself and your client. It could be the factor that determines whether or not you clinch the deal. I suppose in order to prepare for it the American should have read up on the Chinese way of doing business so as not to offend them by being too straightforward. I think Asian cultures place a lot of emphasis on 'saving face'; hence, a lot of things are expected to be read between the lines. I myself have been surprised by the frankness of my friends who come from Canada and America, but I have since learnt that it is merely their way of expressing themselves; whereas we Asians choose to be indirect about things at times.
To Sebastian,
You are correct when you said that most Asians will prefer to build rapport over meals and with people they trust. We can actually use this knowledge to our advantage when we are trying to clinch deals with Chinese companies. However, I’ve learnt from my Engineering Professional lectures that we would have to be careful not to let these meals be seen as bribes. It would be dreadful if it is!
Jimmy
ES2007S Group 2
To Barry,
The fact is that both cultures attach very different meanings to time shows that people are not generally aware of the tremendous impact that national culture has on their vision and interpretation of the world. Therefore, if we are equipped with the knowledge of the new culture and its influences, it would be helpful to intercultural communication, especially when clinching a deal.
The impact of globalization is big. As I read from “Cultural influences on leadership and organizations: Project globe" by House, R. J. et al, foreign sales by multinational corporations have exceeded $7 trillion and are growing 20 percent to 30 percent faster than their sales of exports. And globalization means that people should expect more intercultural communication, instead of mixing and interacting with people of the same way of live or thinking.
Jimmy
ES2007S Group 2
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