Download - EU-China Managers Exchange and Training Programme

A
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proach).
If everything is possible in China, it is essential to be properly
prepared for the “Chinese adventure”, in order to maximize its
chances of success.
It is naive to assume that “the professional world is governed
by Anglo-Saxon management, and the Chinese will end up adapting”,
as one of my European customers suggested to me during our
first meeting. The development of his operations in China would
later prove him wrong. It is thus important to put in place a true system
of intercultural management in order to optimize the chances
of success in this ancient country.
Far be it from me to seek to discourage or dissuade western
companies from entering China. On the contrary, I believe deeply
in the development of China and, for this reason, I wish to make
European companies aware of the need to approach this country
armed with appropriate tools and thinking processes. As the
Chinese saying goes: “victorious troops begin by conquering and
seek later to engage in combat, whereas defeated troops start by
engaging in combat, and then seek victory”
What kind of questions are you asked when training and
consulting leaders, both Chinese and Western? What are
their biggest concerns and what are the most frequent mistakes
they make?
Most of the problems that my clients face in China are
directly or indirectly related to a cross cultural management
issue. The most frequently met are about:
• The difficulty for western decision-makers to access (and
decipher) market information. “If all the Chinese drank a bottle of
wine per year...’ A lot of people who come to China plan this way,”
an importer from the Shanghai region told me with a smile, before
adding that “a large number of failures are due to the overestimation
of the size of the market, but also an underestimation of the
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competition from local businesses in their own market.”
• The difficulty of setting up and managing relations with a
local partner.
• The difficulty of optimizing operational structures, exacerbated
by administrative complexities.
• The difficulty of organizing and managing local teams.
How can communicator best be sensitized to cross-cultural
issues?
Have you ever heard about the “three yes of communication
in China”? Well, for Westerners, the 'yes' is an agreement,
unequivocal adherence to what has been said, while in China, there
are three forms of "yes" - "yes, I understand”, “yes, it is possible”,
and “yes, I will do”… Everything comes to understand what your
interlocutor wanted to say....
What role, positive or negative, can stereotypes play in
understanding foreign colleagues?
I like to start my seminars with stereotypes definition. How
do we perceive ‘the other” and how do we think we are
perceived by “the other”. Now, the whole idea is to be able to
break the stereotypes and to adjust the way we interact with
the others according to the way we are perceived by the others.
For example, European managers are often considered by their
Chinese colleagues to be vague in the instructions they give to
their employees. So, as a European manager you will probably
need to pay careful attention to this point and communicate
using tools which enable strong and very clear messages to be
conveyed.
A must-read for business professionals you would like to
recommend?
The Art of War by Sun Tzu is one of the oldest (it has been written
in the 6th century BC) and best ever written books on strategy and
is still a must read for anyone interested in doing business in China.
About the Author
Benoit D.G. Ams is an alumnus of the EU-China Junior
Manager Training Programme 4B intake held in 2001-
2002. As an independent expert in international marketing
helping SMEs in their export strategy he conducted numerous
business development projects in Europe and Asia and
was honoured with the title “Specialist in Foreign Trade”
by the Wallon Export Agency. During his assignment in the
Belgian Foreign Trade Board (OBCE) he was awarded with
the title “Laureate of the Prize of the Ministry of Foreign
Trade”. Mr. Ams is also the founder of New Step International
Limited in Hong-Kong where he has over eight years
of consulting, training and leadership experience in China
and in Hong Kong. His book titled “Doing Business in
China - a Practical Approach” (Management Books 2000,
2009) has just been published.
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