Chinese Business Culture

Diplomarbeit von Andrea Schulz

Abstract:

The aim of this Masters thesis is to explain Chinese business culture. In order to understand why Chinese business culture is different from European or American business culture, for example, it is necessary to know the roots of Chinese cultural values: what is the specific Chinese context which made it possible that China bore its unique business culture? Which specific values are valid in China today? How do they influence Chinese business conduct?

This Master’s thesis explains the development and constitution of Chinese business culture.

Furthermore, with reference to the latest literature about the topic and additional field research in a private company in China, this Masters thesis reveals recent changes in Chinese business cultural values. Because business culture is influenced by variables such as globalisation or the political system, it represents a dynamic value system over the long term. Thus, this Masters thesis updates academic knowledge about this topic.

Moreover, it addresses questions that have been raised by academic authors. Whenever I found a remark in literature which raised up an interesting issue for further research, I noted the hint down and included it into my survey. Thereby, I try to add new perspectives to the topic of Chinese business culture.

In total, this Masters thesis should therefore be a useful and topical guide to Chinese business culture.

Table of Contents:

Table of Contents:

Textprobe:

Chapter 2.1, Definition of Business Culture:

In order to define the term „business culture”, it is useful to separate the two words „business” and „culture”, define each of them separately, and then come to a conclusion about the meaning of the whole term.

According to the Handbook of Business Terms, business is „any activity, enterprise, or transaction designed to provide consumers with goods or services for a profit.” In a Dictionary of Business Terms, business is defined as „any occupation in which people, at the risk of loss seek to make money by producing commodities for sale, or by buying and selling commodities, or by hiring the services of others for utilisation at a profit. Any gainful occupation for which profit is the goal and in which there is a risk of loss.” Thus, business means any organisation with the purpose of making profit, including small Chinese private enterprises, but also State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and especially the large national or multinational companies including their Joint Ventures (JVs) in China.

There is no single valid definition of culture. Many authors define it in many different ways. However, in short, one can say that culture is the subconscious, learned, not inborn way members of one particular society think, feel, act and communicate, including the tools they use to do so. Some authors speak of it as a mental programme, which determines human behaviour like a complex strand of DNA. Symbols, for example gestures, provide the context, which gives meaning to information. On the one hand, cultures are „extremely stable over time”, but on the other hand, they can also change and adapt. People’s environment, for example the political system or the economic situation influence and change their cultural values over the long term, while these cultural values also facilitate the development of certain political or legal systems.