Having and Making The Transformation of Danish Culture and Chinese Culture in Sino-Danish Business Settings in China Xiaomin Li © 2006

Background MA Thesis project Informants: 11 Danish Managers in China 9 Chinese Managers in China Companies involved: Danfoss, Maersk, Novo Nordisk, NNE, Bestseller, Coloplast, Howden Engineering, Vestas, FLSmidth and Gabriel

Culture as an Onion Hofstede’s onion model Cultural change can be fast for the outer layers of the onion—the cultural practices, but is slow for the onion’s core—the cultural values

Culture as an Onion My suggested onion model Cultural values serve as the invisible determinants of the layered cultural practices, and the change of cultural practices will, in turn, influence the invisible cultural values

Danish Culture and Chinese Culture as Two Seperate Onions Cultures in Denmark and China respectively Danish Cultural Onion Chinese Cultural Onion

Danish Culture and Chinese Culture as Two Seperate Onions (Dimension one) Small Power Distance (DK) Large Power Distance (CH) Decentralization is popular Centralization is popular Subordinates expect to be consulted Subordinates expect to be told what to do The ideal boss is a resourceful The ideal boss is a benevolent democrat autocrat, or “good father” Subordinate-superior relations are Subordinate-superior relations are pragmatic emotional Privileges and status symbols are Privileges and status symbols are frowned upon normal and popular

Danish Culture and Chinese Culture as Two Seperate Onions (Dimension two) Individualist Societies (DK) Collectivist Societies (CH) Occupational mobility is high in general Occupational mobility is lower in general but higher in international business settings in China. Employees are “economic men”, pursuing Employees are members of in-group, pursuing employer’s interest if coinciding with self-interest in-group’s interest Hiring and promotion decisions based on Hiring and promotion decisions take an employee’s skills and rules only in-group into account Employer-employee relationship is a contract Employer-employee relationship is basically moral, between parties in a labour market like a family link Management training teaches the honest sharing Direct appraisal of subordinates spoils harmony of feelings Task prevails over relationship Relationship prevails over task Ethical, honest, responsible, and willing Ethical, honest, responsible, and to share information in general willing to share information within one’s in-groups Better at group working Worse at group working Working drive from oneself Working drive from one’s in-groups Role-playing at work Personalization at work Division between working life and leisure Mix working life and leisure

Danish Culture and Chinese Culture as Two Seperate Onions (Dimension three) Feminine Societies (DK) Masculine Societies (CH) Management as ménage: intuition Management as ménage: and consensus decisive and aggressive Rewards are based on equality Rewards are based on equity People work in order to live People live in order to work More leisure time is preferred over More money is preferred over more over more money leisure time Careers are optional for both genders Careers are compulsory for men, optional for women There is a higher share of working There is a lower share of working women in professional jobs women in professional jobs

Danish Culture and Chinese Culture as Two Seperate Onions (Dimension four) Weak Uncertainty Avoidance (DK) Strong Uncertainty Avoidance (CH) There should be no more rules than There is an emotional need for rules, strictly necessary even if they will not work Hard-working only when needed There is an emotional need to be busy and an inner urge to work hard Time is a framework for orientation Time is money Belief in generalists and common sense Belief in experts and authorities Focus on decision process Focus on decision content Better at invention, worse at implementation Worse at invention, better at implementation Motivation by achievement and esteem Motivation by security and esteem or belonging or belonging Initiative and general responsibility Passive, lack of general responsibility

2. Danish Culture and Chinese Culture as Two Seperate Onions (Dimension five) Short-term Orientation (DK) Long-term Orientation (CH) Main work values include freedom, Main work values include learning, rights, achievement, and thinking for adaptability, and accountability oneself Leisure time is important Leisure time is less important Personal loyalties vary with Investment in lifelong personal business need networks, Guanxi Moderate concern with “face” A strong sense of shame with “face” Emphasis on short to middle-term Emphasis on long-term interest in family settings interest in family settings and long-term but short-term interest in business settings interest in business settings Punctual, good at holding deadlines Unpunctual, worse at holding deadlines

Danish Culture and Chinese Culture as Two Overlapped Onions Danish Culture and Chinese Culture in Sino-Danish Business Settings in China Danish Cultural Onion Chinese Cultural Onion

Obvious Cultural Convergence Between the Danes and the Chinese Role of subordinates (from Chinese to Danish) Notions of an ideal boss (from Chinese to Danish) Communication between boss and subordinates (from both sides) Occupational mobility (from Chinese to Danish) Group work (from Chinese to Danish) Invention (from Chinese to Danish) Strategic planning (from Chinese to Danish)

Slow Cultural Convergence between the Danes and the Chinese Networking (from Danish to Chinese) Relationship between work and life (from Danish to Chinese) Concept of face (from both sides) Daily work planning (from Chinese to Danish)

Remaining Cultural Differences Notions and practices on corruption Information sharing Hard-working Taking initiative and general responsibility Decision-making speed

Causes of Cultural Changes Combination of causes on vertical and horizontal line Causes across border:Interactions between Danish and Chinese Culture Causes across time: generational change in China

Causes of Cultural Change on the Horizontal Line The interactions between the Danes and the overall Chinese cultural background The interactions between the Chinese and their Danish organizational environments The face-to-face interactions between the individual Danes and the individual Chinese inside and outside their workplaces

Causes of Cultural Change on the Vertical Line Most Sino-Danish companies in China involved in this research employ younger generation Chinese as the majority of their Chinese employees Few countries in recent history have experienced the number and magnitude of societal changes that have occurred in China’s recent history since the Qing Dynasty The cultural differences between the younger generation Chinese and the older generation Chinese are distinctive The culture of younger generation Chinese is more similar to their counterparts in the West

Determinants of Cultural Change in Sino-Danish Business Settings in China Attitude Linguistic capability Communication skills Organizational position Length of exposure to the other culture Extra social ties with the other culture such as marriage, friends, etc. Cross-cultural experience in other countries

Patterns of Cultural Changes and Remaining Cultural Differences in Sino-Danish Business Settings in China According to the onion model, discussed cultural interaction between the Danes and the Chinese mostly takes place in the "ritual" layer Rituals Changed Rituals Unchanged Rituals More layers created by different cross-cultural competences of the individual Danes and the individual Chinese Productive unchanged cultural differences Anti-productive unchanged cultural differences Negotiable Unnegotiable

Conclusion Cultural convergence between the Danes and the Chinese creates a common cultural platform for more effective cross-cultural cooperation Remaining cultural differences have two basic types: productive and anti-productive, and therefore should be treated respectively Productive cultural differences: The positive qualities such as the frankness, high moral standards, smaller power distance, and structured working style of the Danes, and the hard working, flexibility, strong learning and adapting ability of the Chinese Anti-productive cultural differences: The cultural differences which in different ways and degrees work against productivity, such as corruption, conflicts on work-life relationship, reluctance to share information and so on

Danish-Chinese Cross Culture Map Danish culture in general Chinese culture in general Danish culture in Sino-Danish business settings in China Chinese culture in Sino-Danish business settings in China Common cultural platform via convergence