بوليام [ر.]. [دودسن]

"حمقاء. أنت حمقاء!" اتّهمني صديقتي صينيّة. لم [فلت] أنا تلقّى أنا استحقّت أنّ نوع السوء. أنا كنت قد فاوضت صفقة في لغة صينيّة ويفكّر كان أنا قد حصلت صفقة [برتّي غود]. على ثابر صديقتي في يدعوني "حمقاء," بما أنّ أنا استطاع يتلقّى استلمت البضائع لعاشرة السعر في بيجين. أنا كنت قرب يعلق فوق الهاتف على صديقتي في حالة سخط. ينتظر الصديقة, يربك, يصاح, "دقيقة! انتظرت دقيقة! أنا أفكّر قد جعل أنا غلطة! في صينيّ يقول نحن "شاه" أن يغلق صديقات. هو يعني حمقاء, حمقاء. أنا أفكّر استعمل أنا الكلمة خاطئة إنجليزيّ." أنا فورا بردت إلى أسفل ما إن أنا فهمت الثقافيّة وعائقة لغويّة أنّ كان قد سدّ اتّصالنا - وصداقة.

واحدة من الأسباب منتجع صينيّة إلى حالة سكون في شركات غربيّة الخوف من يعطي مخالفات. [غفّ] من لغة أو ثقافة [لوسّ وف فس] ضخمة لالالمتحدث صينيّة و- يشعر الصينيّ - للمستمعة غربيّة. بما أنّ نحن تناقشنا في آخر جزء من الخيزرانيّ سقف [سري], وجه أحيانا أكثر مهمّة من مال إلى صينيّ. صينيّ يريد ذهبت إلى أطوال عظيمة أن يحمي الوجه من أخرى وأن يحفظ [مي ور مي] خاصّة [أس موش س بوسّيبل].

The Chinese owner of an accountancy in America knew one of her Chinese employees wanted to work for an American company with American managers. The owner advised the employee that she should “master at least the most basic business vocabulary: words like file, folder, and staples” before she works for American managers. “Americans will think you’re stupid,” the owner continued, “if you can’t say these basic things. Or, if you must be given direction or instruction more than a couple times because of language, then Americans will also think you’re stupid.” (I knew she didn’t mean the shah kind of stupid).

“The secret then,” the accountancy owner counseled the Chinese employee, “is to learn your job the best you can, do the best job you can, speak the least you can; then leave the company with the knowledge.”

Western managers base a substantial portion of performance reviews, salaries and bonuses on the degree to which they perceive an employee is visibly, vocally struggling to overcome the challenges of the business. Chinese employees compensation suffers as a result of simply not knowing how to present themselves to employers. The Chinese bank employee explained, “If a Western manager asks a Western employee to do something new, the Westerner will likely answer, ‘No problem,’ and begin work on the issue immediately. A Chinese employee will likely say, ‘I’ll try the best; but I will need some practice,’” which is considered an admirable response of modesty in Chinese society. This sounds like an inadequate response of disinterest to a Western manager, who expects %110 employee investment at all times.

The Western manager’s view of the Chinese employee is further dimmed by the lack of conversation or banter the Chinese makes with the manager. Friendly banter about sports or the family or the household renovation are important to Western managers, who gauge the degree to which an employee fits into the group in this way. “But if I see the President is busy, how do I bother him? And if he’s not, what do I say? I don’t know his culture. Of course, in China [in a Chinese company] I talked all the time,” the Chinese bank worker explained.

Essentially, Western managers will never be able to empathize with the barriers Chinese employees perceive in Western companies until the managers try to learn about and operate in Chinese modes of perception and communication. When Western managers take even fifteen minutes a day to engage their Chinese staff on some aspect of Chinese culture or language, they will find a garrulous and appreciative staff that will do whatever is required to make the business – and the manager – successful.

William Dodson is Managing Director of Silk Road Advisors, a China Strategic Site Selection consultancy based in Shanghai, Suzhou and Chicago. He can be reached at: contact [at] silkrc [dot] com