Difference Between Confucianism And Chinese Business

Confucianism and chinese business culture

Tongji university, Academic Lectures

ZHANG Yan, Professor of Shanghai International Studies University

Lucile Cauchy

1459183

Introduction

China is a now a completely modern society, but the way in which this modernity manifest is without contest shaped by the legacy of its traditional past. When doing business in China, Managers have to consider several factors to ensure their success. First rule is understanding Chinese Culture. You have to get to know why people behave in a certain manner and how their culture affects their decisions and actions, in the everyday life and in a business context. When first coming to China, as a westerner you may experience culture shock, but as you learn

China has a collectivist culture. Individualist cultures, such as those of the United States and Western Europe, emphasize personal achievement regardless of the expense of group goals, resulting in a strong sense of competition. Collectivist cultures, such as those of China, Korea, and Japan, emphasize family and work group goals above individual needs or desires. But Chinese collectivism not only includes the relationship between the individuals and the family, but also between the individuals and the country, the nation, the society and other individuals. This difference can a bit explained by the communist state of the country, with the communist party that promotes patriotic spirit and collectivism but mostly by Confucianism that strongly values group orientation. A Chinese’s social position or connection to others might be more important than himself, for instance when talking about someone the family name is placed before a person 's given name, whereas in most western country it’s the opposite. Chinese also are more interdependent and have huge relationship

In most western countries, people queue in line but when taking the subway for instance, Chinese people gather in front of the door and sometimes even try to enter in the metro before people who want to exit manage to leave the wagon. In western society it can be considered as rude but once again you have to understand the reason behind this. People 's Republic of China is the largest country in the world today, there are millions of people in every big cities and the metro is often crowded, Chinese want to get quickly in the metro to get a chance to sit which is pretty normal when you have a long trip or you are simply tired. An another good example is the place of the child in the family. In most western cultures, the child has an equal position among its family with its parents, siblings, etc... In China, especially with the youngest generation, the child has a central position in the family and this is explained by the One Child Policy. China 's one child policy limits couples to one child. It was established by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 to limit population growth. Although it was meant to be a temporary measure, it lasts for a quarter-century after its establishment. Since this year however, the existing law was changed to a two-child policy, allowing Chinese couples to have two children, in order to help address the aging issue in China. Another difference is the activity of older