Lecture 6: Components & Representation

It has been a great relieve to know that next week's lecture will be moved online!! Thanks to Mr Deng's kind understanding.

Today's lecture is really entertaining, especially on the viewing of video. In a lighter way, the video showed us some of the jokes or embarrassments that one would face in another culture due to ignorance of the respective cultural norms. However, it also showed us some of the more serious problems that one would face from these misunderstanding. Imagine you being splat on, in the streets of India!

Activity 2 is a very good example on why we should try and understand the distinctiveness of each culture. By this simple case study, an Asian onlooker might assign negative values to the Australian student as he is not helping the old lady. However, thinking in depth, the Australian did have the intention to help (he was standing there to observe for several minutes). Thus, lack of knowledge of one's culture will easily led to more conflicts and misunderstanding for future encounters.

I am not sure if you guys have watched the Gran Torino by Clint Eastwood. At some point of the movie, it shows the Korean family giving gifts and food to Mr Kowalski as he had protected the neighbour's children from some street bullies. It shows how Mr Kowalski, being an American, is not receptive to the gratitude as offered by his neighbour and reluctant to accept their gifts at first. Again, this is a portrayal of how different culture accepts gratitudes or gifts.

Studying about various cultures and learning to deal with different cultural norms are not only important for us to prevent these embarrassing situations. They are important because each individual should definitely learn to respect other's culture and norms. Through this way, we can then ensure that conflicts are minimized while saving face value for each other's culture.

I have also tried to apply Hofstede's dimensions on China, as a case study.

Power Distance Index (PDI), China’s PDI stands at a high ranking of 80, suggesting that there is little power equality between both genders in the country. There is also a wide gap between the rich and the poor in China, as the rich have both the ability and wealth to stay in power. It is thus common that the person of the highest authority will always be the one who enters a meeting first, following a hierarchical structure.

Another index would be that of Individualism (IDV). China’s extremely low IDV of 20 suggests a highly collective society, where teamwork is encouraged and the people are conforming and mutually dependent. One reason that can be attributed to this could be China’s past communist rule.

China’s Masculinity index of 66 indicates a culture where it is often competitive and assertive. Achievement is highly expected both from themselves, as well as in the workplace. This would explain China’s increasing level of economic development in an increasingly competitive society.

An Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) ranking of 40 indicates a slightly balanced society where the Chinese are somewhat adaptable and open to change. They are more willing to take on risks to work towards their goal. It is thus advantageous for foreign investors to break into the Chinese market, as they would be warmly received by the Chinese negotiators.

Finally, in the last dimension of Long Term Orientation (LTO), China has an incredibly high ranking of 118, which is also significant for all Asian cultures. This indicates that they have long term goals and are comfortable with overcoming obstacles with time. This explains why the Chinese prefer to take their time in confirming decisions. Thus, meetings with the Chinese usually continue over a span of time before a final agreement is reached.

As for Edward T. Hall’s theories on the monochronic vs. polychronic time orientation. Polychronic time is regarded as less tangible and time is seldom considered “wasted.” China thus falls into this category, whereby the people are able to multi-task and are prone to interruptions and changing plans. They do not view time as a constraint in which a particular task must be completed.

As time is cyclical and deadlines are not of a great importance, they always invest a substantial amount of time in fostering relationships of trust and understanding, where the issues discussed are quite apart from the business context, which explains the art of Guanxi.

Phew, end of blog posting :)