Rhonda Tintle, PhD

Assignment 3: Intro to Business Culture in China

Fall 2018

Many students taking classes about East Asia and China in particular plan to work in Asia at
some point in their future. Because China is major factor in the world economy and because
students are trying to learn more about the culture there, I assigned the article about business
trends. Dan Harris is a lawyer who has worked extensively with Chinese firms and the Chinese
government. His specialty is international law and he runs the China Law Blog. In an article he
wrote for Forbes, he explains several important nuances about non-Asia based companies trying
to do business in China.

Please read the article “8 Key Trends That Will Shape Doing Business in China in 2016”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/danharris/2016/01/05/8-key-trends-that-will-shape-doing-business-
in-china-in-2016/#4419695249cb

Some of the key points Harris makes about Chinese culture include how the Chinese consider a
memo and promises made by email binding. That said, Chinese expect American and others to
betray their word. There is a long history of broken promises made to the Chinese by the United
States and Great Britain especially. That has led many Chinese to view foreigners as unethical.
Another issue that underlies Mr. Harris’ advice is the history of foreigners viewing the huge
Chinese population as an untapped market. For hundreds of years Westerners have tried to
inspire consumerism there. In some cases, Westerners have tried to force China to buy products
it does not want, some examples include fur coats, opium, and home improvement products.

Chinese prefer to do business with each other and with other Asians; they have a long memory
about betrayals by Westerners. Taxes are very important in China and have been at the source of
multiple revolutions there. The Chinese legal system is thousands of years old. For example, note
that Chinese mining and railroad workers who came to the United States in the 1800s and early
1900s hired lawyers to sue each other, Americans, companies, and others to collect promised
pay, etc.

When dealing with Chinese people in all capacities, whether it is in China or elsewhere, it is
important to be aware of the concept of Face. Please read Face & Etiquette
http://www.commisceo-global.com/country-guides/china-guide.

The chapter referred to as Mao Now is assigned because as you go forward to work and live with
Chinese people it is important to understand that Mao is an important part of history. In general,
Mao is still much revered in China; he is especially well known as a champion of Women’s
Rights, empowering minorities, and for standing up to the West after World War II. Please get a
brief overview of Mao in Mao: A Very Short Introduction by Delia Davin “Legacies and
Assessments: the Posthumous Mao” http://libguides.mnstate.edu/c.php?g=204588 – the reading
starts on p. 111. It is one section long.

How are Chinese business practices and communication strategies influenced by their culture?
Explain the concept of “Face" and give an example of how to save someone’s Face and how you
might cause someone to lose Face. Explain how the hierarchical concepts of Confucianism
related to business etiquette and give an example of proper behavior that shows you understand
Chinese etiquette (for example, greetings, speeches, exchanging business cards, gifts, dining).
You can be creative in this assignment. Examine the differences on how a presentation question
and answer in the United States might be taken as face shaming in China. You may to suggest a
theoretical business situation or a situation in which you are providing a service to Chinese
people (for example, accounting, teaching, and health care) and explain how face and etiquette
would be approached successfully.

Please write a 275 essay addressing the topic. It is important not to copy and paste your answers
because these essays will be run through a plagiarism checker. Part of this assignment is learning
and practicing the formulation of college essays. You have already planned for this essay by
completing the assigned readings. Now is the time to put your understanding and analysis in a
short essay.

Outline your essay according to the questions. Knowing what you will discuss in each paragraph
will make your essay logical. As always, you can go to the writing center or tutorial center for
help and correction. You can always contact me with questions or to set up a meeting.

Because this is a short answer essay, do not create a long introduction or create a thesis
statement. Do not use quotations. Do not include a bibliography or header. Use your word limit
for analyzing the material. Do not use quotations but do paraphrase when relevant and you can
cite a page number like this (Gardner 16) or (Spence 143). You are not required to cite at all
because your essay is based on the two books. Make sure you base your essay on the assigned
readings only. Do not include things you find on the internet. Most of the people who had trouble
on the first quiz had trouble because they were looking for the answers on the web instead of in
the book.

Be sure to check under ANNOUNCEMENTS and MATERIALS> Content for the weekly
reading review/study guide. There is a help sheet there aimed at assisting you with your Short
Answer and guiding you toward the concepts in the books.

End