Doing Buisness In China

success of intercultural negotiations”.

Trends of the past decade have increased pressure on organizations to conquer foreign markets. The spread of democratic governments, the transformation of many closed markets to free market capitalism, and the advent of technology that permits instant global reach necessitate U.S. managers who are adept at communicating and managing across different cultures. As noted by Wharton business professor Thomas Donaldson (1996, 48) “Even the best-informed, best-intentioned executives must rethink their assumptions about business practice in foreign settings”.

Perhaps one of the most daunting tasks for an American manager is working and living in China, where culture radically differs from U.S. culture. Thus, American managers who do business in China often encounter culture clash. However, the culture-clash dynamic is twofold. On the one hand, the American manager must learn to understanding the values, customs, ethics, and behaviors of another culture. On the other hand, the American manager must rethink the attitudes, values, ethics, and behaviors that have been ingrained in him by his own culture. This process is often arduous because of the disparity between American and Chinese culture. As Primont (2000, 70) notes “There are differences in thinking between Spaniards and Americans, between French an

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d in concepts like reciprocity, right living, and proper conduct. To the American manager, they may be viewed as distasteful or even criminal because of his or her own cultural bias which views such conduct in business as “improper”. However, nothing could be further from the Chinese viewpoint on such practices: A social custom such as gift giving expresses deeper socially embraced behavioral ideals and norms of mutuality and “right relationships” between people. Practices of gift giving in China include visual behavioral patterns which are enshrined in rites (It) of proper conduct. Such rites themselves are rooted in normative and prescriptive canons of righteousness (yi) and benevolence (ren), which expresses why such actions are culturally meaningful or logical. (Steidlmeier, 1999, 122) The complexity of such customs and practices involved in business is rooted in cultural customs and beliefs which are difficult for a foreigner to understand. This is why many experts in the field of international business not only recommend that potential international managers learn the language of their country of destination but also live there for a period of time in order to absorb the local culture, customs, and value systems.
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Approximate Word count = 2271
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)