International exchange
Alcohol and business dinners
05/18/2010 ChinaInternational business
If you think that alcohol and business don’t go together, perhaps you’d better stay away from China. They don’t only go together; I’d go so far as to say, “no alcohol, no business”. While the concept of discussing business or just getting to know people during dinner and a drink may be commonplace in many countries, China takes it a step further. My first visits to China were as a member of a group of businessmen from Japan invited to see various cities in China, and be encouraged to “invest” in their cities, which each had their attractions and carefully-named “development zones”. Typically, our group would consist of half a …
Bribes in China
05/08/2010 ChinaInternational business
Whenever the subject of doing business in China is mentioned, so are bribes. There is no denying that “bribes” are still a part of daily life in many aspects of doing business in China. It is so common that it is rarely even thought of as being wrong. Paying bribes is common sense in today’s China, and trying to do things “the right way” is often just seen as going against common sense and displaying your ignorance of how things get done when you are trying to get something done. It might be better to think of the bribes more as just “the expense of doing business” or a “fee” …
Holding hands
04/04/2010 ChinaInternational exchange
Different countries, different cultures, different norms. Nothing to be surprised about. Yet, much of what people see in other countries does surprise them. One example is people holding hands in public. Close your eyes and imagine two people walking down the street holding hands. Now, is one male and the other female, or are they of the same sex? Your answer is likely to be highly dependant on where you are from. While in the UK, USA, and Japan, the only time you would see two adults holding hands would be when they are romantically involved couple, normally (but not always) male and female. However, this is not true in …
The importance of interpreters
03/20/2010 International exchangeInterpreting
Interpreting is not just simply converting the words spoken in one language into another. Interpreting is a skill above and apart from the ability to speak and understand two languages. You must fully understand not only what the person is saying, but also the reason they are saying it, the background to and purpose of the conversation or meeting, and the nuances of the words chosen to make a point. Then, you must convey all of this quickly and accurately in another language. Interpreting is more like explaining what somebody has said than just repeating it in another language. If phrases like “being in hot water” or “being on the …
People who speak your language
03/03/2010 ChinaChinese mythsInternational business
Probably the most common factor in the mistakes I’ve seen people make in China is them trusting the first person they met that happened to speak their language. This is more common with Japanese who go to China and meet somebody who speaks Japanese and then goes on to be their best friend introducing them to people who can do anything and solve all their problems. Hah! Imagine you are in a room of 100 people, all equally qualified to do a certain task, or to introduce you to other people, but only one of the 100 speaks your language. Who are you more likely to end up speaking with, …
