GLOBE Dimensions Model : Cultural Differences In China

The study of culture has been in carried out for decades by many researchers under multicultural settings. VanderPal (2014) regards culture as mental software given its collective programming which brings a difference between groups of people. According to Mellahi, et al. (2013), the challenge of globalization is the bringing together of varied religions, ethics and values and as such understanding becomes difficult. Abyad (2011) also asserts that effective leadership in the global arena demands for a global mindset which is a group of skills that enable leaders to influence groups, individuals and firms with varied backgrounds of culture. There is a need for learning and adaptation to diverse cultures by leaders intending to achieve success in global businesses.

With over 194 countries in the world, every country has own beliefs, language, customs and traditions which called culture. In other words, every place has own personality that form it or make it distinguished from others. As a result, people have to understand, adapt, respect and accept the different cultures which called culture competence. It defined that Cultural competence refers to the ability to coordinate or interact with other people who have different cultures (InFOMORY.com). In other words, a person who can deal with people who have different ethnicity or background, it is considered as especial trait because it will help him/her a lot where ever you are during dealing with people. In general, Culture competence

Nowadays, exploring the differences in overall cultural value structures among different cultures has gradually grew business’s attention across the world. No matter small companies or global conglomerates, how to get involve and maintain their competitive advantages and long-term sustainable success in global business trade has been a heated topic to discuss. To fully understand the ethic differences and cultural influences, the following four aspects will help us to uncover the similarities and differences between the American and Chinese cultures.

In the 1900’s Chinas view of foreigners was very clear, they didn’t like them. China hated foreigners because of many things, evidence of these can be shown by things that had taken place at the time and cartoon drawings that had been drawn at the time also. Evidence of cartoon’s that showed that China didn’t like foreigners can be found in the “modern world China textbook”; China’s view of foreigners was that they were uncivilized and savage barbarians. They thought that foreigners were cheap, weak and people looking for trouble wherever they could. Evidence of this can be shown by this cartoon which was drawn at the time by China “China’s Fifteenth Century View of a Westerner”

Brislin, R., Worthley, R., & Macnab, B. (2006). Cultural intelligence: Understanding behaviors that serve people's goals. Group & Organization Management, 31(1), 40-55. doi:10.1177/1059601105275262

Unquestionably, organizations rely on business professionals that can manage their business across a variety of cultures. With the rise in globalization, it is imperative that business professionals have a high cultural intelligence, which is the ability to adapt to individuals of other cultures. Luckily, cultural intelligence can be developed and ameliorated with experience, training, and with a conscious effort (Cardon, 2013). As a Human Resources Manager, I have worked with people from numerous countries throughout my career, but they were all here in America. It was not until I took my most recent position that I traveled outside of the United States to one of our facilities in Mexico. Unfortunately, I knew a minuscule amount about their culture, but have been intrigued by them ever since

Cultural intelligence assessment will enable the individual to have certain information about himself. It is posited that cultural difference has a greater impact on business effectiveness than we think. That our cultural backgrounds really influence the way we think and act and the way we interpret each others contributions. Our success or failure in communication will depend on the extent at which we understand the different cultural background of the employees and create a fruitful collaboration in situations where cultural differences play a role. To achieve this, we need to act in an appropriate way in multicultural situations coupled with the ability to have an open mind which admits new information and this is curious about

The geographical area of China is more than 9 million square kilometers and as a result, it is the fourth largest country in the world. There are several ethnic groups in China, the Han Chinese is the largest group, and it is found in almost all parts of the country. Other minority groups include Tibetan, Zhuang, Korean, and Mongol. The Chinese society is high context and non-verbal. The Chinese people acquire the knowledge of what they are supposed to do and say even if they are not told through conversation. Voice and facial expressions play a critical role in determining the feelings in a person. They do not have facial expressions when in a conversation. Direct eye contact is avoided because it is viewed as a symbol of disrespect (Clair & Norris, 2011).

Each culture proposes different characteristics pertaining to the country resided in. China and Kenya are two countries that are on total opposite ends of each other. China is ranked one of the most populated countries in the world, unlike Kenya. Therefore, the population amongst the two countries greatly affects the issues regarding personal space and rules of social behavior. An American manager would need to take immense caution when approaching a person from either of these countries.

In a world as overwhelming with differences, individuals are molded by many factors, and culture is one that follows up on each person. Diverse societies instruct different values, and what may be well mannered in the U.S. could exceptionally offend in China. As people from different cultural groups, individuals can misjudge each other; therefore, the U.S. and China can learn to collaborate across cultural lines as individuals and as a society. Becoming aware of cultural differences can enable both countries to deal with each other more

Especially towards strangers, people tend to be less empathic than usual. Therefore, empathy trait plays an important role in eliminating social prejudice and categorization which can indirectly leads to the culture of ethnocentrism. (Alessio Avenanti, 2010) Furthermore, another study stated that relationship between cultural empathy and cultural intelligence is positive and strong. The study even mentioned that high in cultural intelligence will tend to tolerate the cross cultural negotiations. This can also reflect that cultural empathy plays an important role in interpersonal competence to communicate efficiently in social context. Thus, cultural empathy can be a crucial mediator trait of cultural intelligence thus cultivates less ethnocentric behavior. (Yaaghob Ahmadi,

The people in China are rich in culture just like other Asian countries. Therefore, to be involve with Chinese people in China for business, undertsanding their values and culture are very important. The first important thing to understand about Chinese is their devotion to collectivism. Chinese is trained from very early to consider himself as a dependent segment of a group, which is also called totalitarianism. It is helpful to think of the notion of family in China as a template applied to many networks of relationships that hold the society together. In the Chinese business context, the notion of family is about more than the emotional support and ties of a nuclear family. Family members, for

If I was assigned a position in Hong Kong, the first step would be to learn or improve in the native language. English and Mandarin are considered to be the two official languages in Hong Kong, therefore, I will be at a great advantage since business in Hong Kong is preferably conducted in English. Still, I feel that it would be appropriate for me to be familiar with basic phrases and words in Cantonese, which is widely spoken by residents. In business, communication is crucial and being that I am from a different culture and country, it’s obvious that misunderstandings can take place, which as a result can make my assignment dreadful. This is why I would also make it my priority to do extensive research on Hong Kong and Asia, to learn and understand the cultural differences and customs that take place in Asian businesses, which can include authority, office relationships, privacy, uniform or dress code and even the personal status of employees... For example, in Hong Kong, and many other Asian countries, greetings are made by bowing or with a handshake. Elders and those in high positions are usually greeted first and tend to not bow in return. Some may deem this disrespectful, but in many Asian countries, it’s the norm. On the other hand, bowing in America is unheard of (unless the businesses involved have an Asian background) and a firm handshake is enough. Although people tend to first shake hands with those in higher power, regardless of status or age, everyone is

In times of rapid globalisation and economic development growth, the environment of business has become more and more complicated as a huge number of firms want to globally expand their businesses. Subsequently, the managerial implications of cross-cultural management is the challenge of this development. As Abbe (2007) states, cross-cultural leadership has developed as a way to understand leaders who work in the global markets. Culture is the “software of mind” that can influence people’s patterns of thinking and behaving.

Team The Impact of Team Cultural Intelligence and Cultural Heterogeneity on Team Shared Values. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(6), 941-962.