Lifestyles
American A Culture of self-expression Chinese A Culture of Self restrain
Clear expression of Joy and sorrow Ambiguous of joy and sorrow
Unequivocal expression of “Yes/No”. Equivocal expression of “Yes/No”.
Strong Personality Weak Personality
Priority of self-interest Priority of harmony with others
Source: Norihiko Shimizu's paper “Today’s Taboos may be gone tomorrow", Peking Business, February 1995, p.51.
Cultural Differences between Chinese and American Business
American Business Chinese Business
Game concept: Business is a game in pursuit of profits under the rules of laws and contracts Mutual trust-oriented business: business is based on trusting relationship among people rather than the rules of game
Efficiency-oriented and approximate accuracy simplicity, clarity, and quickness Highly precision-oriented and perfectionism-high dependency on human awareness
Easy layoffs, dismissals of employees, and selling of businesses Job security
Low mutual dependence between employers and employees High mutual dependence between employers and employees
Heavy dependence on machinery and technology, vs. Light dependence on human resources Heavy dependence on human resources
This comparision answered many of my questions on effeciency v.s. diversity, why the way of doing business is so different cross the two continents.