Introduction
In most of the international negotiations in business, many parties that have a different background in culture and countries do come together under one platform to discuss some issues that have mutual benefits or those that may be conflicting. Such kinds of negotiations are usually more beneficial to the parties, and they lead to some development activities among the involved parties However, where there are some etiquette differences, the negotiations may not go on well since there could be cultural conflicts among the parties that are involved. To explore how etiquette may affect the negotiations, this academic work aims at using the technique of the contrast and comparison analysis by comparing the Chinese and the western business practice in many details.
Etiquette can be defined as the effective use of communication that shows friendliness and respect to other parties that are involved. There are very many etiquette differences in the culture of the Chinese and the western countries, these differences are in the areas of greeting, reception, presentation of gifts and banquet.
Greeting differences
In maintaining a good social relationship, the greeting behaviors are very important. There are major differences in the greeting behavior between the Chinese and the western countries. In the western counties, the citizen normally says “how are you? Good morning, good evening” and so on. In the Chinese culture, these forms of greetings are viewed as shallow greetings; the Chinese usually go ahead and inquire how a person has eaten. This might be contrary to the western culture since, in the West, it is believed that greetings should be formal, and no more should be asked. More questions might even make a western to be upset. As for the Chinese, it is believed that more should be inquired of the person being greeted.
Banquet difference
In the Chinese culture, a table manner is of the essence to the lives of the people, they have a belief that taking meals is of importance in the social life of an individual. In the Chinese culture, the guests that have visited the house are given the priority of sitting on the seats. They sit before any individual in the house. The foods of the Chinese mainly include chopsticks, bowls, spoon, and dishes (China Business Guide, 26). One of the important rules in the use of the chopsticks is that it is considered unethical when one licks the chopstick whether they have food or not. The chopsticks are only used for the purpose of eating while the function of the spoon is only to scoop the food (Earnshaw, 118). In the western culture, people are used to having most of the banquet on their own; this is different from the Chinese culture. In the western culture, the quests are required to reply to the invitation before they physically attend the party or banquet. The tableware in the western culture is mainly fork, dish, and knife. The knife is only used for the purpose of cutting the food while the fork is used in the feeding; one is not allowed to change the fork and knife once in the process of eating. No sound is to be made in the process when people are dinning, at the end of the banquet it is the duty of the host to release the guests, the female guests leave first, and the male guest must help the pull the chairs.
Gifts presentation difference
Both the western cultures and the Chinese cultures value the act of gift presentation to others, however; there are some differences between the two cultures. In the Chinese culture, the pricing in the gift is very important; in fact, most Chinese people will leave the price tag on the gift so that the recipient could know how important and expensive the gift was. The Chinese people love to buy very expensive gifts since they attach more value to the monetary value of the gift. The Chinese expect the receiver to open the gift immediately once received, failure to which it may be considered rude. This is contrary to the western culture; the western people value feeling that one experiences when receiving the gift but not the physical gift. Take for instance, in the western culture; one would just buy a small gift like a wine of just a flower. Most of the western people do not pay close attention to the monetary value of the gift, but they pay attention to the packing of the gift. The gift may be cheap, but more attention is given to how it is packed and represented to the recipient.
Conclusion
With the development in the world today, there is increased rate of interaction among the different culture of the world. It is of importance when the people across the different cultures understand the cultural differences that exist among the culture so that they may be able to understand other people from different backgrounds.
References
China Business Guide. Singapore: China Knowledge Press, 2004. Print.
Earnshaw, Graham. China Business Guide 2005: The Top Source of China Business Information for 15 Years. Hong Kong: China Economic Review, 2004. Print.
