The Search for the One Who Knows Everyone
Business in China – the Way of the Chopstick
If the best way to understand a culture is to understand its food, then dining with chopsticks is certainly instructive when doing business in China
The immortal chopstick. Used as a symbol of the Orient, evidence of chic cosmopolitanism, or even as convenient hair accessories, chopsticks can be cool or cliché, depending upon your perspective. However, they are much more then mere eating utensils, because chopsticks are integral to an entire style of cuisine and system of dining. The concepts behind East Asian culinary philosophy reflect those within the culture itself, and by learning these principles in chopstick usage, the shrewd observer can become skilled in cross-cultural dealings with China. Read the rest of this entry »
The “Ethical” West in Amoral China
Forcing the Chinese to live up to Western expectations, when the West can’t decide what it wants
Thanks to China Esquire and Silicon Hutong for showing we’re not the only ones who’ve been thinking this. While many have no hesitation in criticizing Chinese business ethics, few are willing to admit that the West is not much better. Whatever pretensions to moral superiority Westerners may have had in the past are becoming more and more ridiculous in light of today’s corporate and social cultures.
Quoting Fareed Zakaria, our bloggers highlight the trend in recent corporate history:
“Most of what happened over the past decade across the world was legal. Bankers did what they were allowed to do under the law. Politicians did what they thought the system asked of them. Bureaucrats were not exchanging cash for favors. But very few people acted responsibly, honorably or nobly (the very word sounds odd today).”
I agree. The fact that America and Europe have long-ceased to operate out of morality and personal conscience is Read the rest of this entry »
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