52 CultureShock! Chinalives (from choices of clothes
and appliances to choices of
a spouse and job) to a degree
most Americans would find
uncomfortable.
These intense ties to family
affect most Chinese in many,
many ways, and are important
for businesspeople to be aware
of. For instance, your Chinese employees will unlikely value
work deadlines over significant family issues, so it is well
to deal generously with employees who are caring for sick
parents or otherwise dealing with strong family obligations.
Similarly, Western concepts of nepotism simply had no
traditional counterpart in China; helping family members
was simply more important than some sterile concept of
‘business ethics’. While that is beginning to shift, it is still
an important conversation to have with Chinese employees
on an ongoing basis, particularly those with hiring and
procurement responsibilities.In-group and Out-group
In part as an extension of these strong family ties, Chinese
people tend to view the world in terms of those to whom
they do and don’t have connections and commitments. The
philosopher Joseph Needham called this China’s ‘courtyard
view of the world’. The Chinese, Needham observed, take
meticulous care of their homes and of the inner courtyards
viewed as interior to their homes, but think nothing of
dumping garbage in the alley immediately outside.
A similar mentality affects human relations. Those ‘inside
the courtyard’—family, close friends, classmates, close
colleagues—tend to be very close and to have stronger
claims on each other than their counterparts in the US. This
shows up in everything from readiness of personal loans
and assistance in job-finding, to introduction of potential
spouses, to the famous ‘connections’ ( guanxi) that still
characterise much of Chinese business. While not generally
as strong as family ties, the other ‘courtyards’ withinAn American friend of ours
living with a Chinese man was
amazed when the Chinese man
wanted to turn over much of their
joint savings to a needy cousin
starting a business. The Chinese
man, in turn, was amazed
that his Western partner could
possibly hesitate to share savings
with family.