William R. Dodson

«Тупоумно. Вы тупоумны!» мой китайский друг обвиняет меня. Я не чувствовал я заслужило тот вид злоупотребления. Я обсудил трудыы в китайском языке и после того как я подуман я получил довольно хорошо дело. Мой друг упорствовал в вызывать меня «тупоумно,» в виду того что я смог получить товары для десятого цена в Beijing. Я был около висеть вверх по телефону на моем друге в exasperation. Крикнутый друг, после того как я смущен, «ждет минуту! Ждите минуту! Я думаю я совершало ошибка! В китайце мы говорим «shah» для того чтобы закрыть друзей. Оно намеревается сдуру, тупоумно. Я думаю я использовало неправильное английское слово.» Я немедленно охладил вниз как только я понял культурный и лингвистический барьер преградил наше сообщение - и приятельство.

Один из курорта причин китайского к безмолвию в западных компаниях будет страхом давать обиду. Gaffe языка или культуры будет большущая потеря стороны для китайского диктора и - киец чувствует - для западного оператора на приеме. По мере того как мы обсудили в другой части Bamboo серии потолка, сторона иногда важне чем деньг к китайцу. Киец будет пойдите к большим длинам защитить сторону других и сохранить his or her как можно больше.

Китайское предприниматель accountancy в америке знало один из ее китайских работников хотело работать для американской компании с американскими менеджерами. 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