BAC 312 Intercultural Communication Anne Dwyer

China 1.4 Billion people Language: official language is Mandarin but many different dialects spoken throughout the country Han Chinese 93% 56 minority ethnic groups Other immigrants including Mongol, Zhuang, Manchu and Uighur) 7%

External factors: Culture Culture Dimension Scores   PD = Power Distance; ID = Individualism; MA = Masculinity; UA = Uncertainty Avoidance; LT = Long Term Orientation   PD ID MA UA LT USA 40 L 91 H 62 H 46 L 29 L Japan 54 M 46 M 95 H 92 H 80 H Hong Kong 68 H 25 L 57 H 96 H China 20 L 50 M 60 M 118 H

Culture Gap Between U.S.A. (PCN) and China & Thailand (HCN) Individualism Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Assertiveness Long-Term Orientation United States 91 40 46 62 29 China 25 70 85 39 118 Thailand 20 64 34 56   (FGI World)

Key Concepts Guanxi Mianxi Lijie Keqi Inner and Outer Circles Collectivist v Individual Interests

Guanxi 關系? Reciprocity, kudos “the set of personal connections which an individual may draw upon to secure resources or advantage when doing business or in the course of social life” Davies, 1995 Networking of relationships among various parties that cooperate together and support one another “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”

Some Ideas On Guanxi? Personal Reciprocal obligations Continuing over time if nurtured Declining if neglected Insider/outsiders New friends/old friends Networks of connections ‘Investing’ in guanxi Consideration for others ‘People’ orientation

WESTERN PERCEPTIONS OF GUANXI? Guanxi = Corruption and Complication Building guanxi is expensive and time-consuming Without guanxi nothing can be done Difficult to identify who is the decision-maker Negotiations take too long

3 levels of relationships Individuals are linked by: the ‘expressive’ tie - family - distribution by need ‘instrumental’ tie - strangers - earning a living - ‘mixed’ tie - with non-family people you expect to interact with into the future

What Are the Social Costs and Benefits of Guanxi? inefficiency if people deal with a limited pool of others corruption may have social consequences BENEFITS allows transactions to take place in the absence of trust and effective institutions

What Are The Private Costs and Benefits of Guanxi? dinners, gifts (appropriate to the situation) not usually money, help with kids’ education BENEFITS access to resources and permissions favoured position for getting contracts

Mianzi面- face Personal pride = basis of an individual’s reputation and social status Never insult, embarrass, shame, yell at, or otherwise demean a person. Neither try to prove someone wrong nor shout at him in public.

Lijie: surface harmony Polite and courteous Face and the role of intermediaries ‘Maybe’ Neutral v affective

Keqi: ke=guest, qi=behaviour considerate, polite, and well mannered, … represents humbleness and modesty impolite to be arrogant and brag about oneself or one's inner circle seldom express what they think directly and they prefer a roundabout way seldom show their emotions and feelings in public. They rarely greet people with a handshake

Inner and Outer Circles “self in relation to other” wu lun五倫 tend to put others into categories more sharply than Westerners Strangers: outsiders, unrelated people, they are nobody, and the Confucian morality is not applicable for them. “We are temporarily related by instrumental relation.” more family-oriented and regard helping the family as an ethical imperative - giving business to a relative = good not bad

Collective v Individual Confucius: humanism, a social order in this world.世俗和諧秩序 The individual and the community are closely related. An individual is not an isolated self ren: the highest ideal in Confucianism, through self-cultivation, a personal attainment. ren, 仁 = 二人 (two persons) ren can only be found in human relation, within a community

(Focused) Family以家庭為本位 Family is the communal system. T. Parsons (sociologist), “China is a familistic community.” In the Confucian family, father/son is the most important.

The Self of a Chinese Chinese seldom consider themselves as individuals, but e.g., the father of his son, the son of his father, the brother of his siblings, the husband of his wife… In every family, there is a head. i.e, the grandfather/ father of that family. The rest of the family respect and listen to his words. In a Chinese family, the order/ structure is clear.

(Focused) Family Because of the clear hierarchy, individuality is always suppressed An individual’s obligation & duty: loyalty to the family, sacrifice for the family. 个人義務,責任: 捍衛家庭,為家人作犧牲. An individual’s privilege: lives within the family structure, relies on & supported by one’s family. 个人權利: 受家庭保護, 被家人支持

(Focused) Family Filial 孝, treating your parents well, provides a predominant identity for traditional Chinese. It is a fundamental ideal. Filial has a superior status in culture Traditional Chinese are not individualistic, but within the family-based moral system.

Questions What does this mean for us? (How) will this change in the future? How will we know?