Par Dalidat

Avant la privatisation en Chine, les affaires ont seulement existé sous forme d'entreprise d'Etat (SOE). Ceux-ci (et soyez toujours) ont été courus par des personnes avec les milieux forts et les rapports politiques, habituellement reliés par des cravates de famille avec quelqu'un dans le gouvernement. Cette sorte de structure d'organisation fermée n'a donné aucune occasion pour que ses employés ne soient impliqués dans aucun processus décisionnel. Souvent la conduite basée sur l'éthique et les principes forts de compagnie était un facteur important dans la prise de décision et la motivation de personnel, bien que l'ampleur de l'aide financière de gouvernement disponible ait signifié que SOEs fréquemment n'a pas eu besoin de beaucoup dans la manière de la connaissance d'affaires ou l'arrangement du marché. Le succès a été basé plutôt sur le bon bâtiment de rapport, qui a efficacement signifié obtenir à gouvernement l'aide financière.

Avec la perche du joint-venture en participation vers la fin de 80s et de 90s tôt, les investisseurs étrangers ont commencé à envoyer leurs propres directeurs pour agir l'un sur l'autre avec la culture d'affaires de SOE. Ils ont été donnés de grands paquets comme incitations pour compenser des conditions vivantes locales dures. En 13 années où j'avais habitées en Chine, j'ont entendu des histoires, trop nombreuses pour mentionner, des directeurs étrangers assistant à des centaines de banquets et obtenant bus avec des fonctionnaires de gouvernement, alors que les traducteurs assuraient les voies de transmission. La majeure partie du temps ils n'auraient aucune idée de ce qu'allait sur, autre que celui on s'est attendu à ce que qu'ils boivent de vastes quantités d'alcool, laquelle de façon ou d'autre ou autre a établi le lien entre les deux cultures. Les critères principaux pour que les étrangers soient réussis dans cette arène d'affaires étaient la connaissance de ce qui suit :
- Comment à l'article truqué de `' buvant
- Comment identifier qui est un décideur
- Comment impressionner les contre-parties chinoises en parlant quelques expressions de Chinois
- Comment à… use chopsticks and understand meal etiquette

How to ‘fake’ drinking (and not get drunk)
The easiest way is secretly to pour water into your cup, since you will be challenged to drink baijiu (white spirit). This lethal spirit has a strong taste and is 50%-70% alcohol. While nobody is watching fill your cup with water and make sure it is always full. Initiate constant refills of everybody’s drinks and you will soon gain the title of ‘Lao Han’ (honourable Chinese). An alternative is quickly to dispose of the contents of your cup over your shoulder as you bring it close to your mouth. Make sure there is nobody watching and that there is nobody standing behind you! Baiju is always drunk down in one go unless it is mentioned otherwise. It is a good idea to fake being slightly drunk too, in order to avoid arousing any suspicions.

How to recognise who is a decision maker
All banquets are served on round tables and there is no obvious distinguishing mark, to indicate where the main guest is seated. However there are a few give-aways. Look out for these clues:
- The guest of honour is most likely to be facing the door (so they can see when the new dishes are brought in).
- Fish is the sign of prosperity and a banquet is likely to include a fish dish. The head of the fish will be placed facing the person of highest status.
- The counterpart will be seated directly opposite.
- The people seated at the right and left hand of the person of highest status are the two next most important decision makers.

How to impress Chinese counterparts by speaking a few Chinese phrases
The Chinese language consists of phrases that are called ‘chengyu’, the nearest interpretation of which, would be ‘proverbs’. They usually have four characters and have a whole story behind them to support the meaning that you want to express. There are dictionaries with a selection of the most frequently used chengyu, an essential part of your library. Make sure you use a chengyu at the appropriate time and you will grab everybody’s attention and gain substantial respect.

How to use chopsticks and understand meal etiquette
This involves practice beforehand. Using chopsticks is the first step of eating etiquette and conveys the message to the Chinese that you are willing to learn and accept their way of living. There are two kinds of chopsticks: disposable (wooden) and those used at banquets (made of plastic, jade or polished wood). The latter are quite difficult to use to eat the peanuts and small bits, so common in Chinese cuisine, so make sure you practise with these.

When dishes are brought to the table, wait for your counterpart to start eating or at least invite you to help yourself. Fish is always taken by the highest ranking person seated at the table. They usually get the fish cheeks too, the best part of the fish.

When drinking toasts, your cup should be held at a lower level than your counterpart’s. That way you show respect. If they attempt to say cheers with their glasses held lower than yours, don’t fall for it, it is just a test.

Waitresses will keep refilling your glass while you are talking. While conversation continues, tap your index and middle finger twice on the table, which simply means ‘Thank you’. This custom is explained by the legend of an emperor, who decided to mingle with his people in disguise. He swapped clothes with his servant and watched as officials focussed all their attention on his servant, believing him to be the emperor. When the servant, dressed as emperor, was offered tea the true emperor in servant’s clothes had to serve him. To preserve the disguise, without compromising the respect due to his emperor, the servant, dressed as emperor, tapped two fingers on the table to denote bowing with respect to the real emperor.

And remember, enjoy the meal, be prepared to eat intestines, turtles, snakes and drink snake blood and bile without showing any disgust. These delicacies are believed to improve your manhood. If you are a woman, you are more likely to be forgiven the odd lapse and at least won’t be under so much pressure to drink heavily. In this case, you should make sure that you are accompanied by a Chinese person of higher position in your company, who is prepared to take over the drinking part of the evening, which is so crucial in establishing good business relationships.

Copyright 2006 Dalida Turkovic (Source)

About the Author
Dalida Turkovic - Master Coach and Master NLP Practitioner has lived and worked in China since 1990. Please visit her business coaching website Small Steps Coaching and her blog at Life Coaching First Steps.