Doing Business in China | Communicaid Blog | Cross Cultural Training and International Communication Skills 2

Mar 01

Benefits of Doing Business in China

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector No Comments »

©istockphoto.com/Hsing-Wen Hsu

China’s role as a global economic leader is by now consolidated, having radically changed its economy from a predominantly agricultural one that was generally closed to international trade, to a market oriented one with dynamic banking and private sectors, China is now top of the list of countries for whoever wants to expand and invest internationally.

In 2008, foreign direct investment in China rose to 108 billion US dollars making the country’s economy the largest in the world second only to the US. With a labour market both large in size and high in quality, and a government so committed to international development that it has recently singled out key sectors for tailored government support, doing business in China should be high on the agenda of any company across the world.

While China’s first push was based on the export of highly competitively priced goods, its growth in recent years has turned it into a major importer of western products. Coupled with the size of its population and the rise of the Chinese middle class, this offers any international company doing business in China access to one of the world’s most important markets for an immense variety of services and goods.

At first glance doing business in China might appear difficult due to cultural differences. However, these should not be seen as obstacles as they can often be turned into a competitive advantage. For example, Chinese society is generally considered a very traditional one, where interactions are governed by status, and fostering good relationships with the right people is key to success. At the same time, the Chinese are, like many westerners, goal driven, striving to be successful in everything they do.

By approaching negotiations or other dealings with a similar objective of achieving the best for both parties, a shared sense of commitment is reached which will result in success in the short and long-term, as well as in the likely establishment of a long-lasting business relationship. Once your business has established strong ties with Chinese counterparts, their commitment and drive to expand internationally will open new avenues that go well beyond China’s borders.

Chinese people have a very high work ethic and look to succeed by developing a wide array of professional skills. As a result, those doing business in China will nearly always be dealing with highly committed and competent individuals who are keen to excel not just for their personal gain, but also for the larger aims of their company. This, combined with the high level of organisation and discipline within Chinese companies, makes doing business in China not only profitable, but also highly rewarding.

chinese envelope coins i1 300x199 Benefits of Doing Business in China

As mentioned above, by doing business in China international companies gain access to a large pool of highly educated and talented employees. According to the BBC, China’s higher education system is now the largest in the world, both in terms of overall enrolment and in the number of P hDs awarded. This home grown labour market ensures that anyone doing business in China will be dealing with the best and brightest in a wide array of disciplines, many of a very technical nature. China’s commitment to education makes it a very attractive place for organisations doing business in overseas markets.

Harnessing these benefits when doing business in China is only possible if international organisations have the skills and know-how necessary to navigate the many geographic, linguistic, religious and cultural differences present in Chinese culture. International organisations employing people in China or working with Chinese nationals on a regular basis should run a series of cross-cultural training programmes such as Doing Business in China to ensure they develop the level of intercultural competence they need to successfully deal with the many cultural differences in Chinese business.

Tagged with: Benefits of Doing Business in China • Chinese business culture • Cross Cultural Training • Cultural training China • Doing Business in China

Feb 12

Cross-Cultural Communication Styles: High and Low Context

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector 1 Comment »

The concepts of high context and low context refer to how people communicate in different cultures. Differences can be derived from the extent to which meaning is transmitted through actual words used or implied by the context.

High context implies that a lot of unspoken information is implicitly transferred during communication. People in a high context culture such as Saudi Arabia tend to place a larger importance on long-term relationships and loyalty and have fewer rules and structure implemented.

Low context implies that a lot of information is exchanged explicitly through the message itself and rarely is anything implicit or hidden. People in low context cultures such as the UK tend to have short-term relationships, follow rules and standards closely and are generally very task-oriented.

Understanding whether your international colleagues are high context or low context will help you to adapt your communication style and build stronger relationships with them. These concepts are covered during cross-cultural training programmes such as Communicating across Cultures and Managing International Teams. Cultural awareness training which focuses on one or more specific cultures like Doing Business in India or Living and Working in China will also address these concepts.

When doing business in a high context culture such as Mexico, Japan or the Middle East, you might encounter the following:

Misunderstanding when exchanging information
Impression of a lack of information
Large amount of information is provided in a non-verbal manner, e.g. gestures, pauses, facial expressions
Emphasis on long term relationships and loyalty
‘Unwritten’ rules that are taken for granted but can easily be missed by strangers
Shorter contracts since less information is required

When doing business in a low context culture such as Germany, Switzerland or the US, on the other hand, you might find the following:

All meaning is explicitly provided in the message itself
Extensive background information and explanations are provided verbally to avoid misunderstandings
People tend to have short-term relationships
People follow rules and standards closely
Contracts tend to be longer and very detailed

High and low context cultures usually correspond with polychronic and monochronic cultures respectively. The table below shows some general preferences of people from high context and low context cultures.

High Context	Low Context
Indirect and implicit messages	Direct, simple and clear messages
Polycrhonic	Monochronic
High use of non-verbal communication	Low use of non-verbal communication
Low reliance on written communication	High reliance on written communication
Use intuition and feelings to make decisions	Rely on facts and evidence for decisions
Long-term relationships	Short-term relationships
Relationships are more important than schedules	Schedules are more important than relationships
Strong distinction between in-group and out-group	Flexible and open

Participating in a cross-cultural training programme such as Doing Business with India and Doing Business in the UK, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of the high or low context preferences in the country or countries where you are working and the impact these preferences have on doing business with them.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010