中西方商务礼仪(英文)

Different Business Etiquette between China and the

West

I. Introduction

Business etiquette is a kind of civilization accumulation of human being.It becomes fixed during the business communication, being handed down from generation to generation. It is also a kind of standard behavior observed by the businessmen in their communication. Different countries have different culture traditions, so their business etiquette is also different from one another. There are great cultural differences between the cultural cores of Confucian in China and the cores of Christian in the West, which leads to some differences in the business etiquette between China and West.

II. The Influence of Cultural Differences on Business Etiquette Differences Between China and the West

Generally speaking, the differences on business etiquette between China and the West are influenced by several cultural factors, such as values, view of time, view of space, view of diet, verbal habits and nonverbal. The paper mainly focuses on time and space approach.

2.1 From the approach of time

Thoreau once said,“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.”Now, we use the phrase “the beat of a different drummer”to explain any different pace of life. The attitudes toward time vary from culture to culture. And it is understandable that people of different cultures hold different views toward time. When it comes to international business, the view of time can be divided into two types, such as monochromic time and polychromic time. Countries that follow monochromic time perform only one major activity at a time, while countries obeying polychromic time perform several activities simultaneously. (Jeanette S. 113)

The United States is a monochromic culture. In monochromic culture, time is regarded as something tangible. Time is seen as linear and manageable. Therefore, people concentrate on the task at hand, taking time commitments seriously and being accustomed to short-term relationships. For example, in the West, time is a kind of

precious and limited resource. The business people attend the business meeting on time. If someone was late, he would be considered to be lack of honesty. And the U.S. business people always expect to solve their business problems within twenty to thirty minutes. In monochromic cultures, it is considered a rude to do two things at once, such as reading a journal in a meeting or answering the telephone while someone is in your office. Schedules and keeping appointments are consistent with value of people in monochromic cultures.

Chinese people are typical example of polychromic cultures. Chinese people are well adapted to doing several things at once and do not mind interruptions. In their opinion, people are more important than schedules to members of polychromic cultures. Their lifestyle is less organized than that of monochromic people. In their eyes time is just like a circle that does not have the end. So Chinese people are highly distracted and subject to interruptions. They consider time to be casual and flexible. For example, to most Chinese today, time simply flows from one day to the next. If a job is not done today, maybe it will be done the next day or the next. And the business meeting would generally last for several hours.

Compared with the Westerners, few Chinese equate time with money. When foreign businessmen arrive in China, most Chinese will make them settle down in hotels and give them an opportunity to rest up. Because Chinese do not expect them to immediately rush into business. However, generally this arrangement will be politely but firmly rejected by visitors. When Chinese are involved in international business, they will get familiar with the Western concept“time is money”. But they do not automatically relate it to the pace of business.

Besides, Chinese do not pay much attention to the appointment. Sometimes even if there is an appointment, the Chinese would not stick to it seriously. When people of different cultures interact, misunderstandings often arise as a result of different time view. For instance, in the Western countries, the business contact would be pre-arranged within three to four weeks. Business people pre-arrange the business contact at least two weeks in America. The appointment is holy to Americans. In the business communication, if someone asks to have a business contact at the last

minute, he will be considered to make trouble or insult the others. On the contrary, the Chinese people pay more attention to relationship. In their business activity, if there is an important person need to be contacted, they could cancel the primary appointment to meet him. It is unacceptable to American business people. This example shows the cultural differences in time sense between China and the West. And it becomes increasingly important as modern business communications put more and more businessmen in daily contact. If we are to avoid misunderstanding, we need to know better about our own cultural biases and those of others. (Wen Yaoqing, 127) 2.2 From the approach of space

Space, is the physical distance between people when they are interacting. It is deeply influenced by culture. When people are having a conversation, the distance between them changes dramatically from one culture to another.

Generally speaking, there are four zones when U.S. people interact: the intimate zone, the personal zone, the social zone, and the public zone. The intimate zone, less than 0.46 meters, is reserved for a close friend. And it appears briefly when the business colleagues shake hands. The personal zone, from 0.46 meters to 1.2 meters, is used for giving instructions to someone in an office. The social zone, from 1.2 to 3.6 meters, is used for impersonal and formal business meeting. The public distance, over 3.6 meters, is the most formal zone. (Lillian H. 83)

Americans tend to need more spaces than Chinese. When having a conversation with Chinese, Americans will back away for the Chinese partner is standing too close. Standing too close to someone in the United States may leave a bad impression on the others, as it implies the person is upset, overbearing, or he is making sexual advances. These negative positions should be avoided in the United States. In China, people prefer to stand close to each other and they think it is a normal and friendly way to communicate with each other.

Besides, the arrangement of desks, chairs, and conference table also feature the different styles of communication. When the United States people are conversing, they prefer the face-to-face arrangement of chairs whereas the Chinese prefer side-by-side arrangement. They like this arrangement because they could avoid direct

eye contact through it.

IV. Conclusion

With the globalization of the world economy, organizations are culturally diverse in handling all kinds of business activities, especially multinational cooperation. More and more business people have become aware of the strong impact from culture. And they should have a good understanding of the other business etiquette culture beforehand, which is beneficial for both sides of the business people. Only in this way will it be possible for them to expand their business and make it more prosperous.

References

Du, Li.(2004).Comparison of Wine Culture between China and the West.Culinary Science Journal of Yangzhou University,(l):l-4 .

Jeanette S.,Martin.Global Business Etiquette.Westport,CT:Praeger,2006.

Lillian H., Chaney. Intercultural Business Communication. Upper Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall, 2004.

Wen,Yaoqing.“Comparison analysis of multinational business culture”. 《International business research》，4（2001）：p121-30