Cross-Cultural Challenges When Doing Business in China
COPYRIGHT 2004 Singapore Institute of Management
Cross-cultural challenges when doing business in China.(Research Note)
Abstract
With the globalisation of world business, China has become an appealing 有吸引力的market for foreign investors. The problem of cross-cultural management arises as the cooperation between China and its culturally different Western partners continues to increase at an unprecedented无前例的 rate. This paper presents an understanding on the general cultural differences between America and China by applying the cultural dimensions of Hofstede and Bond. It also discusses the impact of these cultural differences on their management practice from five aspects: cooperative strategies, conflict management, decision-making, work-group characteristics, and motivation systems.
Key words: national culture; individualism/collectivism; cross-cultural management.
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The 21st century is an era of the globalization of world economy. Cross-national business is facing great challenges in cultural differences. In one survey entitled What is the biggest barrier in doing business in the world market, cultural differences ranked first in all eight items including "law, price competition, information, language, delivery, foreign currency, time differences, and cultural differences. Hofstadter (1993) believes that the spread of businesses onto the global stage brings the issue of national and regional differences to the fore 要面临的. "There is something in all countries called 'management', but its meaning differs to a larger or smaller extent from one country to another" (Hofstede, 1993).
It can also be observed that most of the failures faced by cross-national companies are caused by neglect of cultural differences. The globalisation of the world economy, on one hand, has created tremendous 巨大的 可怕的opportunities for global collaboration among different countries; on the other hand, however, it has also created a unique set of problems and issues relating
Cross-cultural challenges when doing business in China.(Research Note)
Abstract
With the globalisation of world business, China has become an appealing 有吸引力的market for foreign investors. The problem of cross-cultural management arises as the cooperation between China and its culturally different Western partners continues to increase at an unprecedented无前例的 rate. This paper presents an understanding on the general cultural differences between America and China by applying the cultural dimensions of Hofstede and Bond. It also discusses the impact of these cultural differences on their management practice from five aspects: cooperative strategies, conflict management, decision-making, work-group characteristics, and motivation systems.
Key words: national culture; individualism/collectivism; cross-cultural management.
**********
The 21st century is an era of the globalization of world economy. Cross-national business is facing great challenges in cultural differences. In one survey entitled What is the biggest barrier in doing business in the world market, cultural differences ranked first in all eight items including "law, price competition, information, language, delivery, foreign currency, time differences, and cultural differences. Hofstadter (1993) believes that the spread of businesses onto the global stage brings the issue of national and regional differences to the fore 要面临的. "There is something in all countries called 'management', but its meaning differs to a larger or smaller extent from one country to another" (Hofstede, 1993).
It can also be observed that most of the failures faced by cross-national companies are caused by neglect of cultural differences. The globalisation of the world economy, on one hand, has created tremendous 巨大的 可怕的opportunities for global collaboration among different countries; on the other hand, however, it has also created a unique set of problems and issues relating
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