People get frustrated when doing business in Asia because we don’t understand their version of the game thoroughly enough. I do not have the extensive experience that others in this blog chain do, but I have lived through a couple experienced where I have been “cheated” and “lied to”.

One quick example is the use of certificates of conformance with vendors in China. When I design a mold I include build specifications for that design. Upon completion of the build for a mold the vendor will send me a letter certifying that the mold is in conformance with my design and build specifications. My assumption is that every single vendor I use in China (or domestically for that matter) values the significance of this letter the same way that I do. Obviously this assumption does not play out in the real world. Our relationship is complicated by the fact that the value of the piece of paper and the legal system that enforces its value are not common between us. After understanding that a certificate of conformance meant next to nothing to my vendors I changed my approach. I started to put more effort in to face to face time and explanations of the functional reasoning behind my design specifications. I also had to learn what materials were not as readily available in China and then design around those limitations. I feel this created greater success than trying to explain why a piece of paper was so important. My co-workers who choose to only push the importance of the piece of paper eventually they got tired of being “cheated” and “lied to”.

I guess my point is that evaluating the circumstances when you and others have been cheated is important. If evaluated properly you can find the common elements that create a more common playing field to do business on. This is not easy and those who can create this common playing field will be the most successful. Blog interactions like this one provide a good environment for this evaluation and they help all of us.

As for companies stealing from the people the pay enormous prices for their products, I don’t think it’s stealing. Do you really need that leather handbag that has some stupid logo on it? No. If you want it that badly then you can pay for it. Props to the company for getting you to want to pay that much.

I was trying to decide what I would say if a Chinese woman asked me why so many women quit work when they have children. I think it would be hard to explain coming from different backgrounds. Also, I’m not sure I know why so many women quit work to be home with their children. I know it is supposed to be better to raise kids at home than to send them to day care, but why don’t more women work from home? I’ll have to put more thought into it before I get confronted with that in China…Although I would love to hear the argument on why it is strange to quit work.

Also, I wonder what experiences students on the trip had the year they returned thinking that the Chinese lie, cheat and steal.

I think the important things to realize is that cultures don’t “lie, cheat, and steal,” individuals do. A person also only breaks social decency standards when he/she perceive it as equitable. So, if you find yourself saying a country or people can only “lie, cheat, and steal” consider two things: 1) You’re wrong and 2) Don’t add another incentive to people to behave ignobly.

I ran into this in New Zealand of all places this last summer. One night we were out partying with some Kiwi fiends and essentially my girlfriend and I were verbally attacked by our friends for the U.S. involvement in Iraq. It was apparent that this was common for Kiwi’s to have a negative view of Americans. To them we were simply power hungry consumers that had to exploit the world to continue our luxurious life. However, just because we ran into a bad generalization about American’s doesn’t leave the door open for us to do so when we go to China. As stated in the article, generalizations set you up for failure. As tough as it may be, you have to try to have an open mind and throw generalizations out.

I also thought it was interesting thinking about the fact that so many companies greatly increase prices in the United States that don’t even cost a tenth of the price to make. I think every time any of us wants to make a generalization on the trip we need to dig deep and look at our own culture. There are many business people out there who are just as deceptive as the next. We get the choice of whether we want to practice our business in this manner. In the end, the best way to avoid being cheated is to be very prepared and know what to expect from the companies and executives you will be dealing with.

I believe that with China it all comes down to differences in culture. Something that may seem completely innocent and normal to a Chinese person can come off completely different to an American. This is not due to truly trying to deceive one another, but simply a misunderstanding of what is normal in a culture and what isn’t. Until you sit back and try to understand WHY someone is doing something you will never understand how to deal with them, both on your terms as well as theirs. One of the things that I found interesting in the stereotypes present of the Chinese was the seemingly contradictory “never trust anyone” but also that networking was essential. In America it is trust and relationships that builds your network; it seems hard to have one without the other.

When experiencing a person from another culture I think it is best to take everyone one at a time. Over generalizations can lead to missed contacts, business relationships, and opportunities. Although there may be reasons for stereotypes, take everyone for who they are and then make decisions about them as a person, not where they are from, or what culture they may belong to.