Individual Critical Reflective Report 1
INDIVIDUAL CRITICAL REFLECTIVE REPORT
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Individual Critical Reflective Report 2
Table of Contents
1. Introduction: The Chinese Culture .......................................................................................... 3
Chinese Culture’s Common Stereotypes .................................................................................... 3
1.2 The stereotypes of the Chinese language and Communication styles, disagreement and
reason .......................................................................................................................................... 4
1.3 Business Negotiations stereotypes, disagreement and reasons ............................................. 4
2. Dimensions of the Chinese Culture through Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner’s (1996). ........ 5
2.1 Individualism Vs Communitarianism ................................................................................... 5
2.2 Specific Vs Diffuse ............................................................................................................... 6
2.3 Neutral Vs Emotional ............................................................................................................ 6
3. Reflections on Chinese Culture through Hall’s (1976) high and low context dimensions ......... 7
3.1 Characteristics of high and low context cultures .................................................................. 7
3.2 Chinese culture as a high context culture .............................................................................. 8
3.3. The Value of Understanding communication styles ............................................................ 8
4. The difference in business meetings etiquette between China and US ...................................... 8
4.1. Differences and Similarities ................................................................................................. 9
5. The cultural difference between China and France from the Movie “Sweet Escape” ................ 9
5.1 Workplace Environment ....................................................................................................... 9
5.2 Family relationship .............................................................................................................. 10
5.3 Cultural Values .................................................................................................................... 10
6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 10
References ..................................................................................................................................... 12
7. Appendix ................................................................................................................................... 14
Individual Critical Reflective Report 3
1. Introduction: The Chinese Culture
The world is full of diverse cultures with varied cultural practices, people’s behaviors,
customs, traditions, among other factors. China is one of these cultures; a country with rich
cultural heritage admired by many people around the globe. Given the fact that China makes the
majority of the world’s population, it faces various stereotypes due to the people’s customs,
traditions and other lifestyles. Chinese Culture Connection, (2007, p.143) assert that what makes
the Chinese culture is its food, marriage, morals, religion, styles of dressing, the music, language
and many other things which make up the way the Chinese people behave, act and interact.
Therefore, this report discusses the Chinese culture in regard to some of the most common
stereotypes from other cultures, it discusses its dimensions through the Trompenaars and
Hampden-Turner’s and its reflection through the Hall’s High and Low context dimensions,
similarities in the etiquette of between the Chinese people in meetings with Czech Republican
people. It further discusses the cultural differences between France and China through the Movie
‘Sweet Escape”, the workplace environment, family relationships and it ends with a concluding
statement.
Chinese Culture’s Common Stereotypes
There are various stereotypes relating to business that people hold regarding the Chinese
people. Heng, (2018, p.23) says it is so because of how Chinese people have distinct cultural
values when it comes to business-related matters. They have unique ways of handling business
associates; they handle time management differently among other factors. One of the
stereotypes about Chinese people especially in the corporate world is about meetings. For
instance, people from France and other western countries believe that Chinese people are
disorganized, ill-prepared from meetings, however, most of them believe that Chinese people
keep time (Heng, 2018, p.23). In most cases, western cultures may get late to meetings and when
faced with a business meeting involving the Chinese, they normally understand that they will
find them waiting in the boardrooms.
These stereotypes are not true about the Chinese people. The Chinese culture stipulates that
those foreigners who come into the country in need for business partnerships are supposed to
prepare most of the things for the meeting. For instance, the foreigners have the obligation to
prepare the meeting agendas on time and send the related meetings prerequisites to the Chinese
counterparts. It is part of the reason why Chinese are always punctual and you will find them in
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the meeting venue waiting for the others to arrive. This proves that they are organized and not ill-
prepared (Li, 2003, p.55). Therefore, those going to do business in China have to prepare well
for the meetings and ensure that they keep time to keep up with the Chinese level of punctuality.
1.2 The stereotypes of the Chinese language and Communication styles, disagreement and reason
The other stereotypes against the Chinese people are that love using their language and are
ignorant of the fact that English is the best business language in the world. They are seen to be
shallow in the understanding diversity and the need for a common language when it comes to
cross-cultural business meetings. The French people for instance believe that the Chinese are
ignorant of the fact that some people find their language complicated and hard to learn and since
meetings need clarity, most people find the Chinese inconsiderate. Li, (2003, p.7) says the
reasons for this is that during the basic greetings at the start of meetings, most Chinese expect the
foreigners to greet them in their language. Other cultures see Chinese people as people who lack
appropriate communication skills because most of them do not communicate their intentions
clearly especially in business deals. For instance, most Chinese people talk less in meetings and
they do not refuse anything verbally (Zou, et al., p579). They prefer silence especially when
disagreeing with the other person. This could be very confusing to the other cultures because one
cannot gauge the meaning of the silence.
In response to these stereotypes, it is important to note that the Chinese people are not
ignorant about language. First, Chinese is one of the world’s widely spoken language which
gives those who would love to do business in China an obligation to respect the reason why the
Chinese use their language everywhere and even in meetings. According to Chinese Culture
Connection, (2007, p144) it is spoken by about 1.2 billion people which all are Chinese
population which accounts to about 15% of the world’s population. The second reason why the
Chinese prefer their language is that the Chinese language such as Mandarin is not only spoken
in China but also in other countries such as Taiwan, Brunei, Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines,
Singapore and Thailand which makes it an important language.
1.3 Business Negotiations stereotypes, disagreement and reasons
In terms of business negotiations, the Chinese people are seen as dishonest people and cannot
be trusted when making business deals. Most of the French people as well as other western
cultures believe that the Chinese people create friendships as a way of conning or tricking one
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into contracts that will lead to problems. Therefore, to most of the European and western
cultures, it is recommended that one is cautious when dealing with the Chinese (Li, J., 2003,
p.54). They prefer to be deceptive than to be honest in regard to the negotiation processes.
This is not true about the Chinese people. According to Li, (2003, p55) says that friendship
makes the Chinese people free to communicate with the other person. In other words, it is the
initial process of signing deals. The other objection is on the stereotype that the Chinese use
deception such as tricking people into deals. This is not true because it is part of the Chinese
culture that they do not trust the western cultures due to their friendly ways of signing business
deals. Therefore, they prefer to be deceptive as a way of avoiding getting conned or tricked into
contracts. The Chinese culture also appreciates and recognizes the use of deception in exploiting
the key weakness of their competitors as one of the strategies for success.
2. Dimensions of the Chinese Culture through Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner’s (1996).
The Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner’s (1996, p.29) presents seven dimensions of
culture that allows researchers, scholars and students to explore the cultural aspects of a given
culture. Through this model, one is able to understand the various aspects of cultures leading to
better corporate relations by understanding cultural diversity. Even though in most cases things
go well in regard to business between different cultures, at the time things go wrong because of
the cultural differences. Therefore, when things are not going well in such contexts, the
Trompenaars cultural dimensions could be helpful.
2.1 Individualism Vs Communitarianism
In this dimension, Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner’s (2011, p.112) answers some of
the key questions that arise when dealing with diverse cultures in the corporate world. For
instance, it answers a question such as, do people world individually or as a group? Do
achievements in the culture get recognized on an individual basis or on a group basis, or do the
individuals want to be associated with the group or individually? In regard to the Chinese
culture, everything is done in a communitarian basis. According to Triandis, (2018, p.67) in
communitarian societies, it is believed that the quality of life of a person is better when the
person involves oneself in group work helping each other. Therefore, in China, for instance,
people organize themselves in groups and work together as a unit. In making business decisions,
the Chinese consult each other since they make collective decisions. It is because in this country,
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people value group work more than individual work. The other thing is that Chinese believe that
through group work, the group provides safety and help in the exchange for the most important
aspect of their society which is loyalty (Würtz, 2005, p.14). The praise for achievement is
rewarded in the group and individuals are never praised. When in high school, the whole class
was rewarded for good performance other than individuals.
2.2 Specific Vs Diffuse
In the Chinese culture, personal relations overlap business relations. According to
Trompenaars, and Hampden-Turner, (2011, p.112) in this type of culture, people prefer creating
personal relations before commencing any business relations. In China for instance, before
starting any business meetings, people engage in casual talks or small talks that engage the two
groups towards knowing each other before starting the meetings. When doing my internship
years back, before any corporate meetings we used to talk about our lives and other personal
topics before commencing the meetings. Li, (2003, p.68) says that this helps in building business
relations and understanding the organization before making any deals. Chinese believe that
personal relations are crucial in meeting organizational objectives. This could be hard to apply in
other societies where specific business issues are discussed. It leads to misunderstanding.
2.3 Neutral Vs Emotional
In this dimension, Holtgraves, (2017, p.624) states that people in neutral cultural societies
tend to hide their feelings on various matters to avoid confrontations. People strive hard to
control their feelings. In China, people prefer hiding their emotions and feelings especially in
business meetings when confronted with disagreements. It is part of the reason why most
Chinese people do not utter the word no. In many occasions, they prefer stating that they will
discuss the issue. It is because they believe that reasoning influences their actions more than their
feelings. Therefore, most Chinese people do not reveal their thoughts and feelings (Triandis,
2018, p.113). For those people dealing with Chinese people in other cultures, gauging their body
language may be difficult to know if a Chinese person is angry or not because they are composed
always. When growing up, I was discouraged from speaking when angry and was constantly
reminded of the importance of silence.
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3. Reflections on Chinese Culture through Hall’s (1976) high and low context dimensions
The high and low context concept was introduced in 1976 by Edward Hall and it
generally refers to the ways in which cultures communicate with each other and with others.
According to Hall (1976, p.507), low context cultures communicate explicitly because their
communication is based on words only while on the other hand, those cultures in the high
context continuum communicate primarily in an implicit manner where relationships are placed
in the centre of the communication process such that words are not more important than the
relationships between the persons communicating leading to the use of few words in the
communication process.
3.1 Characteristics of high and low context cultures
In the research, Hall (1976, p.507) explains that high context culture highly relies on
traditions hierarchies and deep personal relations in their communication. Therefore, they strive
to foster relationships that are long-term and they rely on the non-verbal signs in their
communication. They do not confront others and specifically in a direct manner through verbal
or physical confrontation. It, therefore, means that for one to understand rejection from a high
context society one has to interpret it through implicit communication. The communication in
this context also needs little explanations and the societies with such contexts tend to be more
collectivistic which means that their identity lies more on the group than the individual level
(Kim, Pan & Park, 2018, p.59). Importantly, they place more value on group harmony and
establishes strong boundaries such as identification of the groups that one belongs and lastly,
they are slow to the adoption of change due to the various group-based consultations required.
The low context cultures, on the other hand, are more shallow in regard the need to create
relationships in their communication processes. They make short-term relationships and they
need explicit communication because they lack the additional context. The communication in
this culture is confrontational and direct since people do not hide their emotions and prefer
facing issues directly and verbally (Kim, Pan & Park, 2018, p.59). The members of the culture
are also individualistic, therefore, identity in this type of culture is based on an individual level.
Also, individual needs are valued than the group values. Additionally, they need all the
message’s information for clarity. Finally, they adapt to changes quickly.
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3.2 Chinese culture as a high context culture
The Chinese culture falls on the high context cultures. It is because in Chinese culture,
people communicate indirectly and one has to have a deeper understanding of their cultural
context to understand them. Kim, Pan, and Park, (2018, p.59) say the other thing is that in China,
people fear offending each other and would prefer disagreeing or criticizing in polite ways. For
example, I watch various TV series in China and there are various occasions where TV
personalities request permission to criticize another. It means that in China, just like in most high
context societies, people value the establishment of long-term relationships than words. Also, in
China, people value collectivism where group work matters than individual work as well as
accomplishments (Li, 2003, p.57). The Chinese also portray a high context culture characteristic
in that they are non-confrontational and whenever they reject an offer or anything, they do not
voice it rather, it has to be interpreted by the other party explicitly.
3.3. The Value of Understanding communication styles
There is a significant value in understanding communication styles in the corporate world
due to the diversity in cultural context. Lecture 6 (2018, p.5) states that cultural diversity creates
a difference in the way people communicate. For example, a person has to understand how to
communicate with a person from a high context society such as a Chinese and one from a low
context society such as an American. Therefore, the understanding reduces confrontations and
misunderstanding in business transactions, it also establishes credibility between business
partners through the understanding of the weaknesses and strengths of the other partners which
allow for adjustments needed (Holtgraves, 2017, p.624)). It is also possible to influence other in
business through an effective understanding of communication styles.
4. The difference in business meetings etiquette between China and US
There is a big difference between the Chinese and American etiquette in the corporate
world especially in business meetings. Pitta, Fung and Isberg, (2009, p.241) says the difference
comes with the fact that the two countries have different cultural contexts that highly influence
the way people communicate with each other, handle relationships and personal matters, the way
they keep time among other factors. China for instance, is a high context culture where people
value relationships and not words and their communication in explicit while the USA is a low
context society where people communicate directly and do not value relationships but what the
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matter at hand. The customs and traditions are different also which makes the two countries quite
distinct from each other.
4.1. Differences and Similarities
One of the differences between the Chinese and the US business meeting etiquette is that
the Chinese people keep time. Yen and Abosag, (2016, p.5724) states that Chinese people prefer
getting to the meeting early when compared with the American people. Secondly, the Chinese do
not prepare for meetings. For instance, they expect those who want to do business meetings to
prepare the prerequisites of the meetings since they are the ones in need which are quite different
among the Americans where everyone is expected to prepare for the meeting. The other thing is
that the Chinese communicate indirectly which makes them less aggressive while the Americans
communicate directly meaning they are persuasive, aggressive and effective communicators. The
Chinese also ask personal questions at the beginning of the meeting as a way of creating personal
relations which Americans do not approve (Yen and Abosag, 2016, p.5724). The Chinese also
mix pleasure with business such as meals after meetings which to Americans it is unprofessional.
However, there are three key similarities between the etiquette in business meetings
between the Chinese and the American people. One of the similarities is that both the Chinese
and the American people appreciate punctuality. Secondly, both cultures keep time in almost all
areas of life and in most cases in business meetings. Both cultures make business decisions based
on a consensus which fosters teamwork (.Li, 2003, p68). In China, consensus fosters the need for
relationships between partners as well as avoiding disagreements.
5. The cultural difference between China and France from the Movie “Sweet Escape”
There is a big difference between the Chinese and French in culture. The difference
comes with the fact that the two countries have different cultural contexts that highly influence
the way people communicate with each other, handle relationships and personal matters, the way
they keep time among other factors. China is a high context culture while France is a low context
culture. In the film “The Sweet Escape” the aspect of culture is evident.
5.1 Workplace Environment
In China, people prefer to work in groups rather than individually and accomplishment
and praise are for the benefit of the whole group. This is a different case with France. In the “The
Sweet Escape” movie, the movie starts with Michael at work and he seems tired and sleepy.
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When he gets home, he still continues with work and where are not shown Michael working with
anyone else at the office. This shows that in France, individual work is valued than group work.
The other o difference at work is how people communicate and great each other especially their
bosses. In China, workers great their bosses with respect indicated by a bowing one’s head which
is missing in from (Graham, and Lam, 2013, p.82). In the film, Michael does not do that and
instead he only shakes his hand.
5.2 Family relationship
In China, people avoid arguments especially with family members and could do anything
even if they are not pleased with it only to please the family member. This is quite different in
France where one can argue if he or she disagrees with a given issue (Baker, H.D. and Clammer,
2017, p.136). In the film, Michael promptly disagrees with his wife’s birthday surprise gathering
at his house. When he gets home from work, he opens the door and to his surprise, there was a
bunch of people in his living room who shouts “Surprise!” and instead of accepting the surprise,
he promptly jolts outside the house in disagreement. If this happened to a Chinese person, he or
she would prefer to show a happy face despite his or her disagreement.
5.3 Cultural Values
There is a big deal of differences in cultural values. One of the differences that come out
in the film is about food and eating. In China, restaurants are places where people meet to enjoy
delicacies and discussed issues affecting them (Holtgraves, 2017, p.137). However, this is
different in France since in the movie, Michael is seen going to the restaurant taking his meals
alone without anyone’s company. Therefore, for the Chinese, the restaurant is a social place for
chatting with friends while in France, it is a place to eat. Also in China, extramarital affairs are
discouraged and people are a bit shy and conservative when it comes to the issue of sexuality.
This is different in France as we see Micheal having lusting for the young waitress and the
widow who owns the restaurant.
6. Conclusion
The Chinese culture is a very unique culture compared to most of the cultures in the
world. Due to the fact that it is a high context culture, it has a striking difference in low context
cultures such as France and the USA. There are various stereotypes about Chinese culture such
as the lack of preparedness in meetings, rigidness to change, poor communication styles among
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others. The Chinese also falls into the individualistic, neutral and diffuse dimensions of the
Trompenaars and Hampden-Turners model. It is a high context culture where relationships are
valued that words, people communicate indirectly and emotions are not directly shown which
makes them hard to understand. In regard to business etiquette, the Chinese are different because
they do not prepare for meetings, they communicate indirectly and they ask personal questions.
They have similarities with the US in that they love punctuality and consensus in the decision-
making process. Finally, the Chinese value family and they use restaurants to create bonds with
friends and family unlike in France as shown in the film. The film also shows individualism at
work in France unlike in China where group work is appreciated. In conclusion, it is clear that
high context cultures are quite distinct from low context cultures.
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References
Baker, H.D. and Clammer, J., 2017. Chinese family and kinship. Asian Journal of Social
Science, 7(1), pp.136-139.
Chinese Culture Connection, 2007. Chinese values and the search for culture-free dimensions of
culture. Journal of cross-cultural psychology, 18(2), pp.143-164.
Graham, J.L. and Lam, N.M., 2013. The Chinese negotiation. Harvard business review, 81(10),
pp.82-91.
Hall. T., 1976. High‐versus low‐context culture. Psychology & Marketing, 15(6), pp.507-521.
Heng, T.T., 2018. Different is not deficient: Contradicting stereotypes of Chinese international
students in US higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 43(1), pp.22-36.
Holtgraves, T., 2017. Styles of language use: Individual and cultural variability in conversational
indirectness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(3), p.624.
Kim, D., Pan, Y. and Park, H.S., 2018. High‐versus low‐context culture: A comparison of
Chinese, Korean, and American cultures. Psychology & Marketing, 15(6), pp.57-67.
Lecture 6., 2018. Culture, Language & Communication Style, Culture Reflected in Language
Li, J., 2003. Passport China: your pocket guide to Chinese business, customs & etiquette. World
Trade Press.
Pitta, D.A., Fung, H.G. and Isberg, S., 2009. Ethical issues across cultures: managing the
differing perspectives of China and the USA. Journal of consumer marketing, 16(3),
pp.240-256.
Triandis, H.C., 2018. Individualism and collectivism. Routledge.
Trompenaars, F. and Hampden-Turner, C., 2011. Riding the waves of culture: Understanding
diversity in global business. Nicholas Brealey International.
Würtz, E., 2005. A cross-cultural analysis of websites from high-context cultures and low-
context cultures. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(1), pp.article-13.
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue1/wuertz.html
Yen, D.A.W. and Abosag, I., 2016. Localization in China: How guanxi moderates Sino–US
business relationships. Journal of Business Research, 69(12), pp.5724-5734.
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Zou, X., Tam, K.P., Morris, M.W., Lee, S.L., Lau, I.Y.M. and Chiu, C.Y., 2009. Culture as
common sense: Perceived consensus versus personal beliefs as mechanisms of cultural
influence. Journal of personality and social psychology, 97(4), p.579.
Individual Critical Reflective Report 14
7. Appendix
1. “The Sweet Escape”
The Sweet Escape” is a movie directed by the French film director Bruno Podalydes. In
the film, he acts the protagonist a man who has always had a dream of becoming a pilot who
finally settles for a Kayak ride. It shows his life as a married man and a working man displaying
various relationships between him, his wife and the workplace. Through his job with
characteristics of a dead-end desk type of job he is able to discover his dreams of flying a plane
which becomes an obsession for him showing a midlife crisis seen in most men in their middle
age. He eventually buys a boat for himself and hides it from his wife which he even uses it to
manoeuvre in the house. It shows the issues of culture such as monogamy and polygamy through
Michael and the waitress. Therefore, the film involved a lot of aspects of culture that provided a
contrast between Chinse culture a French culture.
