25 July 2008
Managers must learn Chinese business rules
Corruption's a "normal part of doing business," says BRIC country expert.
The practices managers use in America to be successful may very likely bring them failure in China, The Salt Lake Tribune reported this week.
As the tally of international mergers and business partnerships continues to rise, business people need to adapt their communication techniques. Causing unintentional offense, or misunderstandings due to cultural ignorance could mar business relationships with colleagues and partners of other nationalities.
Workers would rather resign than express a grievance. They also don't like to speak up in meetings.
Differences in Chinese workplaces
Along with the other BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia and India) China's emergence as a strong world business leader could also dramatically change the prevailing view of how internal communication is done.
Erik Duerring, director of consulting services in Asia for global talent management consultancy, Development Dimensions International, has co-authored Leadership Success in China: An Expatriate's Guide, (DDI Press, $30). He explained to the Tribune that some other differences American managers face in the Chinese workplace include:
- Asking for help is seen as a sign of incompetence or weakness. The challenge for managers is figuring out if someone is having problems and then finding a way to get the worker to talk about it. Employees view the manager/employer as a ''father,'' so sensitivity is needed.
- Teamwork isn't natural. While US companies urge employees to work closely together and come up with ideas and solutions, the concept isn't embraced in China. They prefer strict orders from the manager on what to do.
- Corruption is a normal part of doing business. ''Ethical'' may have a different meaning to the Chinese than it does to Westerners. For example, large expensive gifts to a Chinese company are not seen as bribery.
- Loyalty is very important. Even if a worker is performing badly, a Chinese manager doesn't like to get rid of him or her, especially if the person has been a loyal follower. Further, cultural constraints can inhibit the manager's ability to give performance feedback.
- Workers would rather resign than express a grievance. They also don't like to speak up in meetings.
- Workers don't like to share. In the past, resources have been scarce in China and workers grew up hoarding what they had. They think if they share information or knowledge with another worker, it will limit their chances for personal success.
Indirect communication style
''If American managers want feedback from workers, then they're going to have to ask them about details. The Chinese workers are not going to volunteer much information on their own,'' says Duerring, in the Tribune article.
Do you suffer from polychronic syndrome?
As one of the biggest influencing factors on the world of work will be continued globalization, the need for people to be able to work flexibly across different cultures and languages will increase.
At the SHRM conference in Chicago last month, Heather Keller of Successfully Communicating (see Figure 1, below) explored how managers need to improve their understanding of different cultures they'll encounter in their working lives.
Figure 1. Keller takes suggestions from delegates at SHRM
To emphasize the differences in monochronic/polychronic cultures (see sidebox), Keller used the example of job advertisements. Many advertisements for roles in traditionally polychronic cultures say "Must be able to uni-task" (as opposed to multi-task).
To the average UK and North American working culture, where the ability to multitask is often imperative, this could seem a ludicrous request of a potential employee.
India's communication opportunities
"The statistics already suggest that India is ahead of other parts of the world in making mergers work. India is likely to take its rightful place at the forefront of global business in the next few years," David Ferrabee, one of the Hub's editorial board members told us on this site last year.
Bullish Indian business people will tell you that India will eventually even succeed ahead of its so-called 'BRIC' buddies.
Ferrabee's favorite statistic back then, was "the literacy rate in India is 67%". With English as an official language, India is well-positioned to "own" the 21st Century, he said. "Bullish Indian business people will tell you that India will eventually even succeed ahead of its so-called "BRIC" buddies – Brazil, Russia and China," Ferrabee continued.
Whatever your thoughts are on the burgeoning power and growth of the BRIC countries, it makes business sense to start preparing your communications to address a more diverse employee group and incorporate the need for more flexible, global communication strategies.
Have your say
What preparations has your company made to equip managers to communicate with different cultures and nationalities? Have you experienced communication difficulties as described by Duerring, above?
Then share your story with other comms practitioners on the Internal Comms Hub members' group on the Communicators' Network.
Alternatively, do you have a question about communicating across different cultures and within global corporations? Bish Mukherjee of Misha PR Network will soon take over our Hub editorial board guest expert slot. He'll be taking member queries on global and corporate communication issues.
Pose your question to Bish, now.
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