1. The Chinese board game of GO is entirely different from the Western game of Chess. No doubt, both games involve a high deal of strategic thinking to make each move in response to the progress of the opponent; however, unlike Chess that aims at a single point or attacking the king to win, one wins a Go game on getting a competitive edge over the other. In other words, extinction of the opponent is not the aim of the ancient Chinese game. This reflects the Chinese business value of winning a comfortable position in the market crowded with diverse players. Therefore, the first important lesson taught by the Chinese Go game to the Westerners, who believe in killing the enemy to establish market leadership, is that killing the enemy deprives the customers of choices. It is up to the customer who is the ultimate king to choose from a set of offerings. Chess focuses on a single encounter in a small field where both the players easily understand the other’s strategy and hence concentrate on protecting themselves by trouncing the other. On the other hand, GO features diverse possibilities on a wide field rather than relying on a single decisive move (Johnson, 2011). Thus, the second important lesson the Chinese teach through the GO game is the need to have alternative strategies driven by a need to change in response to the moves of the opponents.
China, even though known for many grey areas yet untouched by development, is able to reach great heights in terms of technological advancement, thanks to the strategic partnership with her foreign business partners (Kynge, 2007). This is in tune with the GO game strategy of not completely giving in to the opponent’s moves. The ancient Chinese game is also closely linked to the geopolitical strategy of China to conquer the global market. For instance, patiently exploring the wide field or the entire global market through its strategies of low price, fearless experimentation and ability to recruit and retain talents from around the world draw inspiration from the game in which 361 black and white stones eventually fill a 19 X 19 GO board. In brief, the game typifies China’s indirect approach of reaching and influencing, if not conquering, the entire global market.
2. A Trolley Problem operationalized in a laboratory showed that the Chinese participants were reluctant to sacrifice one individual to save five (Gold, Colman and Pulford, 2015). Plain intuition drives many to throw the control switch so as to divert the trolley on the track where an innocent child plays so as to save the five children playing on the trolley’s original track. Since many would prefer this choice, this alternative is in no way justified. Neither is the choice of pushing the fat man to stop the trolley acceptable to the Chinese thinking inspired by Socialism and Confucianism. No doubt, the business philosophy of the Chinese is closely linked to the culture unique to the country. China still values its traditional culture even at the cost of innovation that explains why the Chinese businessmen too prefer the trolley to move on its original track (Davis, 2013).
Most of the Chinese business contacts are established through referrals since the Chinese still value relationships. Westerners who wish to establish business partnership with Chinese firms may therefore successfully use the recommendation of a current business partner of the Chinese company. However, the Chinese who eye on the global market through relying on the internet encourage direct contact through emails. Most importantly, all Chinese business relationships end up in as social relationships in the long-run. This is quite contrary to the Western business culture that does not mix personal values with business. Therefore, Westerners who plan business strategies for the Chinese market need to really get interested about the personal life, view points and aspirations of their business partners and the customers. This often requires precious hours to be spent discussing issues apart from the actual business.
References
Davis, G. (2013). The Eastern Way: How Chinese Philosophy Can Power Innovation in Business Today. InnovationManagement. se. Retrieved from http://www. innovationmanagement.se/2012/06/18/the-eastern-way-how-chinese-philosophy-can-power-innovation-in-business-today/
Gold, N., Colman, A., and Pulford, B. (2015). Cultural differences in responses to real-life and hypothetical trolley problems. Judgment and Decision Making, 9 (1):65-76.
Johnson, K. (2011). What kind of game is China playing? The Wall street Journal. Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles /SB100014240527023042593 0457 6374 013537436924
Kynge, J. (2007). China Shakes the World: A Titan’s Rise and Troubled Future and the Challenge for America. New York: Mariner books.
