Author: Colette Richter
Images from “East meets West” by Yang Liu
@Yang Liu Design, www.yangliudesign.com
Hermann Schmidt Verlag Mainz, 2012, 9. Auflage
ISBN 978-3874397339
Being responsible for several overseas markets including China, I often receive questions from staff members or friends why guests from China are like this or business people behave like that…
How come people are prejudicing without knowing anything about a culture? Saying this, making certain assumptions or in other words stereotyping people, it makes sense to ask what are the reasons why some of our guests or business partner act or react differently? People stereotype because the human mind likes order and attempts to see patterns in disorderly situations. It is much more comfortable to follow a routine and a set of instructions that allow certain outcomes than it is to challenge our own mind.
There is a possibility to test your hidden bias. Try the Project Implicit test developed by psychologists from Harvard, the University of Virginia and the University of Washington. This test has been conducted worldwide. You might be surprised to find out how you perceive and stereotype foreign cultures.
A very charming way of understanding differences between east and west are the visuals used in the iconic series of Yang Liu, a Chinese born German-raised artist. The author published a book which is entitled ‘Ost trifft West’–‘East meets West’ using simple pictograms depicting key cultural differences between East and West.
It takes a long breath to build up good business relations in China. Building trust comes first, then business. It is all about ‘Guanxi’. It’s all about relationships. To be prepared for a meeting with Chinese guests or doing business with them, I recommend reading the booklet Swiss hospitality for Chinese Guests issued by the Swiss Hotel Association. It includes a chapter about business ethics with some very good inputs if you plan to do business with China.
In the beginning, when I started doing business with Chinese, I wondered why aren’t they as explicit and direct as we are? ‘Maybe’ often means ‘no’. But a Chinese will never be direct. The reasons for differences in communication styles are varied and multifaceted, but often come down to the all important concept of face. No one wants to lose face or cause others to lose face, and a vague approach is the best way to ensure that no face is lost.
The Chinese stereotype in the same way as we do. Do you know that they see Europe as a set of boutique cities, not necessarily as different countries?
Here we come to the big question Geert Hofstede asks on his intro website: Will there be one world in 50 years from now? What do you think? I look forward to find out…
I enjoyed reading your blog. After several year of experience in working together with Japanese, I have learned to understand their behaviour and know now better than before how to deal with their reactions. I recommend everybody to inform themselves about the key cultural differences before making business with foreigners. How do people greet another? Even more important, what are the attitudes toward body contact? Are there any food taboos? Imagine how embarrassing it could be if you do not follow certain rules.