Introduction
In the contemporary era, there is a need to adopt a mechanism in which one can serve better in the business setting in different cultures. Today’s global business society is composed the various cultures in which people face the various business environments. The manner of doing business in each of the nation affects the manner of doing business (Aslani, Brett, Ramirez-Marin, Tinsley, & Weingart, 2011). Culture is important in business, and it has an impact on the strategic direction of the business; it can also have different effects on the management of the internal structure of the organization as a whole. Essentially, culture tends to influence decisions about the very direction of a business or organization, because the people of the organization are really the driving force of the system (Ahammad, Tarba, Liu, & Glaister 2016). When examining the internal structure of an organization, it is always important to consider participant culture: the purpose of this discussion is to examine the cultural differences between individuals from the United States and those from China in an effort to understand the conflict and struggles associated with a mix of these two cultural paradigms in a business context.
Cultural differences and tensions are common in an intercultural environment, but there are many positives associated with a diverse business context that encourages integration in the face of these struggles (Aslani et al., 2011). Individualism. collectivism, universalism and particularism are all issues that must be considered in the business context when integrating peoples of different backgrounds into the same business environment. Motivational orientation, which entails the act of the society designing mechanisms that enable them to cope with the hardships encountered in their daily lives, should also be considered quite significantly when designing a cultural paradigm that suits individuals from different cultural backgrounds (Aslani et al., 2011). Finally, the organization must also consider the masculinity or femininity of internal structures, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance of participants’ native cultures for full integration potential.
There are further cultural dimensions that are sometimes associated with cultural differences as well— the participants’ attitudes can be described as oriented towards the short term or long term outcome. Additionally, there are two further dimensions sequential versus synchronic and inner versus outer time (Aslani et al., 2011). Cultural diversity tends to have significant effects on the negotiation processes that make up the various sectors of the economy (Minkov & Hofstede, 2012).
The United States and China have been forced into a much closer working relationship in past decades, but it is important to note that this working relationship has been fraught with difficulties as a result of the differences between these two nations. The following section discusses the United States and China, bringing out the cultures that operate within the two countries and giving an account of how the cultural diversity affects negotiation processes, between the two nations (Minkov & Hofstede, 2012). Cultural dimensions govern how the people from these two backgrounds interact, but organizational culture can change the environment in which these cultures interact to make them more comfortable for all participants (Bochner, 2013).
The United States of America
Cultural Characteristics
The United States is composed of many races, for example, the nation has Asians, Africans, Europeans, Mexican Americans, as well as many religions, like Christianity, Islam, and some other religions (Bornstein, 2014). This diversity has a very distinct impact on the United States’ business culture. Business culture in the United States encompasses the entire customs as well as the traditions that are commonly applicable within its borders (Viruell, Miranda, & Abdulrahim, 2012). Firstly, the business culture associated with the Americans entails a sense of time urgency.
When people agree to meet at a certain point and certain length of time, both parties must honor the agreement and avail themselves at the correct time (Adekola, & Sergi 2016). Additionally, people do not negotiate for a long period. Therefore, business negotiations between people who identify as American tend to be direct to the point and last for a short time. The people of the United States are familiar with many cultures and hence can fit in many societies. Additionally, regarding business negotiations, it becomes easy for them to negotiate with people from the parts of the word compared to other regions that contain a small number of immigrants (Malik & Yazar 2016).
Americans have a distinct advantage in many geo-cultural exchanges because their primary spoken language is usually English, which also tends to be the international business language (Viruell et al., 2012). However, there are many languages used in the United States, and many Americans speak another language as a mother tongue; as a result, it becomes easy for the people to negotiate, because most countries the English dialect is the language used to conduct various activities especially those pertaining to international businesses (Malik & Yazar 2016). Language plays an essential role in the development of business relationships over time.
Business negotiations that take place in the society have the best avenue to spread along a wide population coverage (Malik & Yazar 2016). The businesses operated by Christians around the world are many. As a result, such international ventures adopt a common culture, which tends to spread faster because the businesses belong to a group of people affiliated with a common religion (Beamish & Lupton 2016). Americans tend to be very individualistic in their development of cultural distance, which means that they do not necessarily see the collective whole in the same way that other cultures might, and this is largely because of the vastly diverse population that Americans are used to dealing with.
There is very little in the way of true hegemonic culture in the United States; although there are majority cultures, America differs from China in a number of very specific ways, most notably in the individualism of business culture (Beamish & Lupton 2016). Individualism is evident in the entire nation, whereby people are more concerned about their personal issues like education for their personal development, giving less concern to the communal issues. However, such restrictions to individualism limit the number of people or the length of time people conduct business negotiations because most people will prefer handling their matters without the interference from others (Beamish & Lupton, 2016).
However, there are other inner characteristics of the American cultures that must be discussed at length as well (Viruell et al., 2012). Egalitarianism is quite common in the United States where the notion of equality in public forums as well as before law relates to the features of openness and friendship (Viruell et al., 2012). The business negotiations get a better avenue for their presentation, especially when there are policies that affect business cultures within or across the nation’s boundaries (Beamish & Lupton 2016). Business negotiations become easy due to modification of certain regulations that affect certain businesses.
Finally, the American business culture is a unique one and people get to make new friends daily. As a result, it becomes easy to conduct business negotiations because people get used to the culture pertaining to making friends daily (Caputo & Ayoko 2016). It becomes easy to communicate about one’s commercial activity to others and get to learn more from the diverse ideas and recommendations regarding doing business in a certain area, or on a different context.
China
China is a nation of diverse cultures. In particular, the languages tend to differ as well as the various religions found in the land, tend to introduce the different doctrinal aspects of the community among people (Hsia, 2016). The norms of Confucianism are common in China, where people bears various responsibilities based on ethics and interpersonal relationships. As a result, the business negotiations can easily take place based on the scope of operations. Cross-cultural diversities tend to increase the possibilities of carrying out business negotiations within the nations (Caputo & Ayoko, 2016). Additionally, Confucianism stresses duty, sincerity, loyalty, honor and filial piety. The inclusion of filial piety, in particular, is unique to Chinese culture and has a very important overall impact on the development of business practices. China is composed of a collective society requiring a group affiliation in the various aspects of their lives (Hsia, 2016). The groups might be the family, school or the work group. It is imperative to maintain a sense of harmony in the nation, observing, and emulating decorum at all times. Such form of decorum is vital in business negotiations, hence making the culture recommended in the various business platforms.
Filial piety is part of the cultural understanding of collectivism; people in China often feel a very strict sense of duty to their parents and the adult influences in their lives. This leads to a strong culture of nepotism in China, and often leads to non-Chinese feeling frustrated with the business system in the region, as it can be very difficult to break into the system if one is not already part of the in group (Hsia 2016).
Cross-cultural differences in China tend to cause some restrictions to the negotiations pertaining to certain businesses. For example, it becomes difficult for one to suggest a point of expansion of the business involving the use of cutlery, because of the sharp objects like knives, and scissors because people tend to associate them with death (Beamish & Lupton, 2016). Therefore, the businesses relating to the sale of such objects tend to take a unique route of negotiations. It is common in China for people to need to form a personal rapport before doing business, which can be immensely uncomfortable for individuals who are outside the cultural in-group of Chinese, but it can also be extremely rewarding and interesting. Entertainment and group outings can make a good avenue for discussing certain business plans with foreigners, because both the foreigners and the Chinese are able to relax in a less business-oriented environment (Caputo & Ayoko, 2016).
Therefore, business culture in China promotes business negotiations, because the people attach significant importance on the entertainment, where various cultures converge and people get to intermingle, discussing the issue pertaining to the general climate for the operation of businesses in most parts of the world (Caputo & Ayoko, 2016). It also encourages the international business people to assess the state of the culture and get to know how to handle their ventures in the diverse cultural context.
Comparison
Similarities
The cultures that are common in the two countries highlighted above have various things in common. For instance, it is common to treat guests with respect in both cultures, and there is a code of ethics always practiced in the presence of a guest, which helps guests in both of these cultures feel more welcome (Aslani et al., 2011). Cultural dimensions are extremely important in every cultural exchange, because cultural dimensions inform people’s behavior even when they are not consciously thinking about the potential outcome for their behavior (DeVita, 2015). A good businessperson will understand the cultural dimensions associated with the people that he or she is dealing with, and will take those cultural dimensions into account when communicating and interacting.
Both American and Chinese cultures often have no significant effects on how business occurs because they commonly apply when people are at their homes (Aslani et al., 2011). Therefore, they tend to have less effect on the business negotiations. Culture mainly affects the manners of negotiations. Therefore, culture has become one of the major contributing factors in varying societal values and identities (Daniels, 2011). Finally, both cultures observe the importance of religion. People have an affiliation to a supreme being worshiped and recognized based on the provisions of a certain doctrine (Aslani et al., 2011). In their constitutions, it is defined the freedom of worship for the citizens as well as the representation of the atheist community in both nations
Differences
There are often small cultural differences that can make a significant difference for business relationships: for instance, the way one shakes another’s hand can have a positive or negative impact on the group’s immediate perception of an outsider (Viruell et al., 2012). In the United States, there is less rigidity in cultural norms; for instance, a handshake can be given to business partners or associates in any number of different ways. However, the Chinese have much stricter rules regarding etiquette and cultural interaction. These strict rules can be confusing for outsiders, and can actually compound the difficulties that are associated with business negotiations.
The various generations have grown to emulate the diverse business culture and culture has shaped their growth for most years. It is also common that most parts of the country emulate the same cultural characteristics because the population of each tribe is famous to occupy almost all parts of the nation (Wei, Su, Carrera, Lin, & Yi, 2013). The introduction of etiquette in public forums like restaurants tends to reduce the negative effects of cross-cultural differences on the business negotiations (Caputo & Ayoko 2016). As a result, it would not be easy to identify people based on how they have in public areas because there exists a common code of ethics restricted to a specific area of business. Therefore, business cultures have significant effects on negotiations (Beamish & Lupton, 2016).
Both China and the United States have many cultural beliefs and practices that differ and appear similar at selected occasions (Aslani et al., 2011). The differences in the cultures tend to have a significant effect on the business negotiations because they have conspicuous contributions when it comes to talking business. Furthermore, this significantly affects the negotiations because they tend to direct people to limit their views on certain commercial frames. As a result, every community within a country has significant contribution in the shaping of society, in the context of business negotiations (Cohen, 2010). Although China and the United States are culturally very different, there is no reason that these two countries cannot functionally interact in the business world (Richard & McFadden, 2016).
Chinese culture and American culture were born from different roots, so it makes sense that these two cultures are divergent. The only way for business negotiations to be appropriately conducted between individuals of both cultures is through mutual understanding and forgiveness. Individuals from both cultures need to be able to forgive each other any transgressions, as well as develop solutions for forward movement regardless of any cultural differences within the organization.
Reference
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