Management

Management

Introduction

The world is facing drastic changes with globalization and socialization; as a result, international managers must be conversant with the changes in the world in building strong brands and in building competent workforce (Luthans & Doh, 2012). Human capital in organizations is considered to be one of the critical resources. International managers must be open minded and flexible in dealing with different work environments. Multinational organizations must engage international expertise in enhancing working relationships and business communications. Global managers must engage people skills and intelligence in understanding the exact wants needs of the target market (Luthans & Doh, 2012). This paper reflects doing businesses in China in consumer products.

Main Body

Chinese culture constitutes indirect communication, which is very confusing to people and organizations engaging direct communication like in Western nations. Chinese culture is one of the oldest in the world, and a similar culture covers the large part of the Eastern Asia with diverse traditions and customs that influence the business environment. Chinese people have fifty six distinct ethnic groups that are recognized by the state, with regional and distinct linguistic variations.

Production and distribution of consumer products in China can be a doubting task for newcomers from different parts of the world, an indication that people must understand the Chinese customs and culture in doing business. Foreigners experience communication hitch with the Chinese market, business and projects situations tend to lose objectives if communication is not excellent. Chinese people read between assumptions and lines which results to problems and confusion; these are characteristics of indirect communication.

Failure to a number of organizations is due to indirect communication among the Chinese culture. Chinese communicate in a way that they tend to compete, in outdoing one another. Chinese people value perfectionism, while foreigners despise perfectionism, which is the origin in failure of consumer products in the Chinese market. Chinese people use sayings and proverbs in supporting perfectionism and in interpreting incomplete ideas.

Chinese culture challenges the other party to make quick responses through the creative association. Indirect communication among the Chinese people is engaged in workplaces, families, in meetings and in negotiations where tones and attitudes plays critical roles in the decision making processes. Chinese people often hold strong positions in negotiations in being indirect and confident. Foreigners in most cases find the culture of the Chinese people boring, inefficient and frustrating and as systems of doing away with a sense of responsibility.

In producing and selling consumer products in the Chinese market, then the company and the employees must be ready to listen at the Chinese people and avoid changing things in the Chinese people. While questioning the Chinese people, it is wise to listen and learn things left out in the conversation. Chinese people do not give out answers immediately; it takes an effort and time. Chinese people value relations more than networking, social media and connections; an indication that Chinese people are not exact, especially on defining the future of the consumer products like in projects status, market size, schedules and probability of sales among other aspects. Chinese people value sensitivity, face keeping, respect, emotional linkage and availability of fragmented information.

Conclusion

International managers must be willing in building relationships through open communication, engage excellent cross-cultural language and communication skills, engage open-minded and flexibility to other cultures, ability to address stress originating from new situations, engage excellent personal attributes and enthusiasm in domestic and internal assignments (Luthans & Doh, 2012).

References

Luthans, F., & Doh, J. P. (2012). International management: Culture, strategy, and behavior (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.