Before doing business in China, there’s a few things needed to know about this to-be home away from home for the company. A completely different world from that of the United States, this second largest supplier is as simple as our own in business etiquette, and a few simple things can go a long way. Social-cultural, economy, legal-political, and managerial differences are just a few categories of information to be taken into consideration when pursuing a business agenda in China.
Social-Cultural
The first rule of business in China stems from the social and cultural aspects of China, such as accepting them as a whole. This is the essence of business in China, because acceptance and understanding generates the groundwork for the whole relationship.
Working with China is the first step to success as they are open to the business, and will accept the business without a problem. The starting point for personal communication is a factor of large importance, as people should always be addressed by their job title, educational background, or qualifications. This shows respect in the workplace, and should be shown as sincere through a smile or handshake. When it comes to conversation, it is appropriate to ask about the person’s life, but not to become too involved in their privacy (Greetings in China).
When conducting business, a handshake is expected to be accompanied by a business card. Have plenty, because they are extremely popular, but try to make them appropriate for the location with one side being in English and the other side being in Chinese. To go along with this, be aware that business affairs are lengthy in China, largely resulting from the fact that relationships enforce contracts due to the lack of a government to do the...
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Discuss one significant obstacle each firm would face if they were to market their products in China. (Please note these obstacles may be different in each case.)
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This is more important for a woman, as they are considered equal to men by the written law, but not necessarily by the spirit of the law. The first fact to be aware of is that if you are a woman in a leadership position going to China for a business trip, it is important that you are well prepared for the differences in culture. Passport to China provides a convenient example to demonstrate what the expectation is when sending a woman in a leadership position to China. It says, “An introduction letter that clearly indicates the female leader’s position, accomplishments, and credentials should be sent to China in advance” (p. 39). This implies that if a woman were to be present at a business meeting unexpectedly the Chinese participants may be surprised or even annoyed. Chinese businessmen normally assume that for a Westernized Women to be in power, she must be very competent at her job. When negotiating and speaking, the women in power should always be the first one to answer the questions, and not have the other attendees speak out of turn. A good tip to have when speaking with a Chinese man is that he will typically avoid eye contact with a woman. This a natural thing, that men commonly do when dealing with women in business. In the US it is considered acceptable to speak about women’s position of power outside of the workplace, but in China, it is
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...st to the entrance where the back is facing the entrance. During the meal, it is advised to start eating after the host proposes a toast as a starter; dishes should be picked out when the dish is in front of you; dishes should not be picked up so much at one time and chew the food slowly. Although learning Chinese etiquette can be tough because one requires being cautious about table manners and eating habits when dining with the Chinese, but it is however a secrets to build a successful business relationship in China. This is due to the history in China whereby Chinese are usually slow in accepting any outsiders into their comfort zone and less likely to trust others easily. Thus, first impression are usually very important for the Chinese because it builds trust between people and it will be develop through the knowledge of Chinese dining etiquette.
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Internationalization Phase, during this phase Chinese companies focused on ‘building brand, localization of products and services for new markets, and differentiation of products to support higher margins’ they did what was ‘good enough’ for the market (Teagarden & Cai, 2009:78). An important issue during this phase was to research and develop the products, and to keep the key talent of the company, such as managers and engineers.
In the Chinese culture they value many things and have many rights. “Benevolence, the core value of Confucianism, extends from the
China is now playing an important role in international business, more and more western companies have stated to running their businesses in China. However, due to the different culture issues, how to prepare and help their employees overseas should be seriously taken into account. An expatriate is a person who lives and works in a foreign country. It is no doubt that expatriates play an important role in how international businesses operate. There are ways for organizations to manage expatriates in the workforce, which is known as the cycle of expatriation (Brewster, Sparrow, Vernon & Houldsworth, 2011). Managers can follow this cycle in order to prepare employees to successfully work and live overseas. Selection, training and preparation, adjustment and repatriation are the four stages of the expatriation adjustment lifecycle. For the rest of this essay, this cycle and its effect on expatriates will be discussed with a focus on people relocating to work in china.
China's development is praised by the whole world. Its developments are not only in the economic aspect, but as well in its foreign affairs. Compared with other developed countries, China is a relatively young country. It began constructing itself in 1949. After 30 years of growth, company ownership had experienced unprecedented changes. Entirely, non-state-owned companies can now be more involved in sectors that used to be monopolized by state-owned companies.
All in all, the Chinese culture is vastly different than the culture we have in the west. Although that may be the case, we still have to learn and maintain a connection with the Chinese culture since we are so heavily involved in their economic system. Not only are we involved in theirs, they are greatly involved in ours. There are thousands of factories in China that make products to export to the United States. This means that we need to maintain a good connection with the Chinese culture in order to keep our “guanxi” positive with
It is true to say that globalisation is a two-way street. As international business and trade continue to grow, models of organisations and approaches to management are beginning to merge; nevertheless it remains imperative for firms to understand and govern across the myriad of cultural differences which still exist. These differences seem most apparent in China, where managerial values are deeply rooted in archaic and powerful culture. Some authors argue that even with a certain degree of convergence between Chinese and Western cultures, such convergence does have its restrictions.