ウィリアムR.著。 Dodson

「愚か。 である愚か!」 私の中国の友人は私を訴えた。 私は私がそのような濫用に値したことを感じなかった。 私は中国語の言語のトランザクションを交渉し、考えられてかなりよい取り引きを得た。 私の友人は私を「愚か電話することで私が北京の価格第10のための商品を受け取ったかもしれないので」、主張した。 私はexasperationの私の友人の電話の上で掛かることの近くにあった。 叫ぶ友人は、混同されて「分を待っている! 分を待ちなさい! 私は私が間違えたことを考える! 中国語で私達は親友に「shah」を言う。 それは愚か、愚か意味する。 私は私が間違った英国の単語を」。使用したことを考える 私はすぐに私が私達のコミュニケーション-および友情を妨げた文化的な、言語障壁を理解したら冷却した。

西部の会社の沈黙への理由中国リゾートの1つは違反の提供の恐れである。 言語または文化のgaffeは中国のスピーカーと-中国人は感じる-西部の傾聴者のための表面の途方もない損失である。 私達がタケ天井シリーズの別の部分で論議したので、表面は中国人にとってお金より時々重要である。 中国語は 他の表面を保護し、彼/彼女の専有物をできるだけ維持することをすばらしい長さに行きなさい。

アメリカの会計学の中国の所有者は知っていた彼女の中国の従業員の1つがアメリカのマネージャーを持つアメリカの会社に勤めたいと思ったことを。 所有者は彼女が「少なくとも基本的なビジネス用語を習得するべきであること従業員に助言した: 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