olf
is big business in China.
Since the first course opened
there in 1984 more than 200
have cropped up across the
country. Another thousand are under
construction,
and that number is expected to
double by 2006. So you’d think that a
fellow
like Dan Webb, vice-president of
operations
for Toronto-based The Core Golf
Centres Inc., would be all over the
opportunity.
After all, his company specializes in
golf instruction and training, and the
Chinese
market is ripe for PGA-style golf pros.
“There is a high incidence of golf in
that
target market,” he agrees, but The Core
isn’t rushing in. Rather, it’s taking
its time
and developing strong relationships on
the ground in China. “We have a very
targeted
goal,” explains Webb.
That targeted goal is the result of a
devastating
false start four years earlier.
The Core’s original parent company was
a manufacturing firm that sourced and
assembled
parts for golf simulators in China.
They had been in China for three years
and were setting up golf schools as a
distribution
vehicle for the product.
But things didn’t go as planned. “We
thought we had an agreement, after a
yearlong
negotiation process,” explains Webb.
“But the Chinese changed the terms at
the
last hour. Our head person got fed up,
the
company bailed out and shut down the
entire
teaching division when the negotiations
got tough.” Webb and a handful of
entrepreneurial-
minded colleagues, sensing a
lost opportunity, left the parent
company
and resurrected the division as The
Core.
But the question remains: How could so
many wires be crossed after a year of
dis-
cussions? Simply put, we really don’t
speak
the same language. The most important
secret to doing business in China is the
willingness to modify Western
behaviours.
Learn that and the keys to the Middle
Kingdom could be yours.
“It is pure Western arrogance to go to
China and expect to do business as we do
in the West,” says international
marketing
consultant Mia Doucet. “While a oneyear
negotiation seems unusually long to
a North American, it is not so rare in
China when dealing with strangers. Nor
is
it unusual for Chinese to make changes
after the contract has been signed.”
According to Doucet, Webb’s story
highlights
one of the main differences in business
culture.
“We need to learn how to communicate
with Asians. And we can’t do that
without
understanding some of the dramatic
differences
in our cultures,” explains Doucet.
“Our behaviour needs to change. When
we choose to adapt out of respect for
cultural
differences, we start the process of
building the deep human connection that
Asians demand. That emphasis on
relationship
will build trust and assure loyalty
to your organization long into the
future.”
Doucet, author of China in Motion,
a
guide to doing business in Asia,
counsels
companies to recognize that the Chinese
have a deep need for recognition. “We
all
want to be acknowledged, but the Chinese
crave it. Anything and everything
you can do to reinforce status and
respect
will repay you in spades.”
According to Doucet, companies have
to understand that the Chinese need for
respect and acknowledgement governs all
communication, not just negotiations. It
takes careful training and preparation
to
avoid costly cross-cultural gaffes. The
folks
who interact with Asian customers,
suppliers
and local staff by phone, fax and e-mail
need to be just as aware of
cross-cultural
sensitivities as the business traveller
who
brings home the contract.
“The Chinese are highly adaptable,
anxious
to do business and willing to overlook
minor indiscretions,” says Doucet. “But
some Western behaviours can cause loss
of
face. That can have serious consequences
because a favourite way of preventing
face
loss is passive
resistance. No one will challenge
you directly, because that would be
rude. They will grow quiet, submissive
and
outwardly non-resistant when you place
them in an impossible position. This is
the
underlying cause of costly delays and
production
errors.”
Once we know the Western behaviours
that elicit passive resistance, we can
make
the small changes that have a major
impact
on productivity. In Doucet’s experience,
there are three major stumbling blocks:
decision
making, problem solving and information
management.
Westerners have the tendency to come to
the conversation only partially
prepared.
They feel confident in their ability to
wing
it. If they don’t have all the necessary
information,
they will provide it later.
The flip side of this tendency is to
expect
Asians to be fine with giving and
receiving
partial answers. However, Chinese
are offended by partial answers. Lack of
preparedness can cause loss of face and
loss of trust. Since an Asian won’t get
back
to you until all the facts are known,
break
your requests for information into
smaller
segments.
Prepare for every interaction. Do not
present an idea or theory that has not
been
fully researched, proven or studied
beforehand.
Do not risk looking unprepared by
deluging your Asian contact with partial
answers and frequent updates.
If you are unable to provide a complete
response: Acknowledge the request,
apologize
for the inconvenience and then provide
a complete and accurate response
when the facts are in.
Document in writing and in detail.
Make sure your facts are 100% accurate
in
every detail. You will lose credibility
if
there are errors and they will be used
against you later.
Present your ideas in stages. Prepare
each document as a stand-alone file,
with
background, rationale, analysis and
logic
built into the text. Write clearly,
using
plain English text. Use visuals at every
opportunity,
including sketches, charts and
diagrams to appeal to the visual bias of
many Asians.
Keep everyone in the communication
loop by copying them on all written and
e-mail follow-up correspondence.
“It helps to understand that most of
your Asian colleagues are not fluent in
spoken
English,” says Doucet. “This causes
shame. One of the biggest mistakes you
can make is to think that they really
understand
what you say. This false assumption
can prove costly. Most Asians understand
far less than we think they do. They
smile
and nod and we interpret that to mean
the
communication is understood.
“Fortunately, small changes in behaviour
can have a major impact on results. As
an
example, the way to communicate clearly
is to talk in short sentences. Listen
more
than you speak. Pause between sentences.
Find four or five easy ways to say the
same
thing. Never ask a question that can be
answered
with a simple yes. Avoid all slang.
And skip the humour altogether.”
BIZ