Confucian Cultural Differences

In her Chinese culture presentation, Valerie Hoeks discusses her belief that business people in the West can learn from the Chinese and become better people for it.

The speaker asserts if you listen to what the Chinese have to say, you'll discover how much Confucian philosophy still impacts their lives. Emphasizing values like personal and societal morality, justice, sincerity, strong family loyalty, ancestor worship and respect for elderly, relationships are extremely important. Although Chinese people may be hesitant to deal with people they've never met, they consider building relationships to be essential to success.

The Chinese culture presentation discusses three principles of 'guanxi.' The first is reciprocal favor which means the more you ask, the more you owe. There is a need for balance in the form of harmony, which stresses a preference of smooth running societies and groups. The third thing is realizing making a mistake in public is one of the most humiliating things in life; the face you show is very important. Knowing these concepts, being a good listener and looking at a situation from different angles will benefit business achievements.