Comparative Analysis of British and Chinese Culture management

Comparative Analysis of British and Chinese Culture management A Comparative Analysis of British and Chinese Culture and Identification of Management Strategies for Chinese Cultural Environments Introduction The United Kingdom and China at first glance seem very different cultures, they have very contrasting histories. Chinese culture has been influenced by thousands of years of similar social structures and is heavily influenced by Confucianism, putting emphasis on family and relationships. UK culture on the other hand has been influenced by more liberal economical developments such as market deregulations resulting in more short term profit seeking and individualism. As organisations become multinational, they encounter the effects that culture has over business and are faced with problems such as how best they can operate in these cultures. Comparative analysis of British and Chinese culture When examining British culture under the lens of Hofstedes dimensions the UK shows cultural traits that are similar to its north American counterpart the USA, Yet very dissimilar to Chinese culture. The UK scored 35 in the Power Distance Index, which is well below the world average of 55 (iTim International, 2009). This shows us that power is distributed more equally than the majority of other countries. Groschla and Doherty (2005) accredit the low power distance score to Britains democratic organisational and societal structures. An example of low power distance existing in British culture is visible from Keren More and Shay Tzafrirs (2009) study investigation employees trust in their superiors. They highlighted the procedural justice routes available for UK employees for holding their supervisors and superiors accountable for there actions, a trait which is not evident in high power distance cultures where authority and trust from superiors is unchallenged. This is very different from Chinas extremely high Power Distance score of 80. This score indicates, unlike in the UK, power is distributed much less unequally. Reasons for this high score could be the effect of Chinas paternalistic culture (Bhasin, 2007) or perhaps due to inaccessible private networks or Quanzi (Liu and Porter, 2010). This large difference in Power Index score may prove a culture shock to British managers when they are first introduced to authoritarian management environments with hierarchical structures. British managers will encounter problems that they might not have encountered back in their home culture such as little feedback from subordinates (Hurn, 2011). Hofstedes IBM survey exposes UK culture as being predisposed to a high level of individualism scoring 89, a very above the average score of 43 (iTim International, 2009). In individualist societies more emphasis on the pursuit of individual interests with more emphasis on independent actions. Andrew Barron (2010) cites Randlesomes (1995) research in confirming British individualism through UK citizens ethos of individual freedom and democracy. China on the other hand scored one of the lowest scores at 20, on par with a number of other east Asian countries such as South Korea, 18, and Bangladesh, 20. Balbir Bhasin (2007) states that there is no place for individualism in China, due to China being a collectivist society that has roots going back through the countries history dominated with family hierarchical structures. Nations that have been heavily influenced by British culture historically all have a disposition for high levels of individualism, this may have been due to a diaspora of British culture over the centuries. Evidence for this is in Hofstedes survey results: USA scored 91, Australia scored 90, Canada scored 80 and New Zealand scored 79 which are all above average and comprise the majority of highly individualised countries. When operating in a collectivist society, British managers would have to integrate well with in-groups to gain rapport with Chinese colleagues, which is paramount (Dong and Liu, 2010). Other barriers, complications and differences a manager might encounter due to this collectivist culture is group participation. Culture has been seen to be reinforced through education (Hurn, 2011), the methods and differences in education has resulted in differences being displayed by students at university level. Hurn (2011) continues by explaining that British education reinforces monochromatic behaviours such as punctuality and regulations. He contrasts this with Chinese students who experience more home education systems which neglects developing theyre critical skills and group interactions. This lack of criticising other peoples ideas could lead to problems in developing group projects and improving ideas as there is an unwillingness for employees to pitch in their views. UK has a slightly higher than average masculinity score of 66 compared to the worlds average of 50 scoring (iTim International, 2009). This indicates that British culture is very competitive in nature and its people generally more assertive that other countries. This aspect of British culture is very similar to Chinese culture which is also predisposed to competitiveness and achievements, their masculinity scores were identical. From an initial management perspective, a UK manager may not feel that they would need to alter their management strategy concerning competition or achievement elements, however the identical use of deadlines in a Chinese cultural environment may come across complications. These complications could stem from British culture being monochronic contrasting Chinese polychronic view on time (Bhasin, 2007). A British manager in China may wish to address this issue by becoming more flexible to allow for changes and to maintain strong relationships with colleagues to assure people are committed to achieving the deadlines. Another similar trait of British and Chinese culture is the way they approach uncertainty, both scoring below the world average in Hofstedes IBM survey (iTim International, 2009). This perhaps, meaning these cultures are both adept at accepting risk in business. Andrew Barron (2010) cites Perlitz and Seger (2004) highlighting proof of British culture being capable of handling uncertainty by examining the legislative aspect of the nation, finding fewer written laws when compared to other countries. [Such as France for example] Rodrigues and Kaplans (1998) research suggests that there is a trend that countries with low uncertainty avoidance scores consist of low formalised organisations. They continue by explaining that these organisations would have more lenient rules, laws and regulations. This would have implications of management practices operated in the UK and China, managerial decisions are more reliant on the mangers discretion rather than following procedure or protocol. [I disagree, there are still a lot of rules governing how managers and employees act à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ Human resources initiatives, health and safety practices etc] Criticising this analysis, the use of Hofstedes work which includes many assumptions may not provide a an accurate due to changes cultures, Bhasin (2007) notices a change in individualism in the new generation of Chinese people. Hofstedes concepts have stopped being further researched and are simply accepted as fact on further cultural studies (Dorfman and Howell, 1988; cited by Swierczek, 1994). Further more, there is a risk of stereotyping nations when addressing culture. However, Fons Trompenaars (Lloyd and Trompenaars, 1994) believes that stereotyping is not bad, as long as negative connotations are avoided and the user of the stereotypes has the knowledge to use them correctly. Management Strategies in Chinese Cultural Environment When dealing in Chinese cultural environment, a manager must understand the concept of guanxi. Liu and Porter (2010) explain that personal networks exist in Chinese cultures, individuals in these networks have guanxi or relationships. Developing guanxi with colleagues is crucial for managers to gain contacts and to improve their working relationship. Due to personal relationships are needed to succeed in China, developing these personal ties are needed for nationals and expatriates to do business (Bhasin, 2007). This brings the question of how managers could develop guanxi with their Chinese counterparts; Yanxia Zhu et al (2007) demonstrates that effective negotiations always start with preliminary meetings before the actual negotiation begins. Therefore, by having preliminary meetings and networking a manager could overcome barriers such as information exchange and accelerating decision making procedures (Dong and Liu 2010). Following on from guanxi is the managerial need to address the concept of quanzi. Whilst guanxi relates to two peoples relationship, quanzi relates to personal networks of many of these relationships. These personal networks can form irregular organisational and hierarchical structures that differ from western organisation structures (Liu and Porter, 2010). Liu and Porter continue by advising the introduction of incentives by organisations to stop this practice such as elevating cooperative staff and by introducing industry best practices. Their study concludes that an organisation must change the culture of its employees, however trying to change peoples predispositions due to culture could seem an unattainable goal. Liu and Porters (2010) statements could be seen as contradictory to Natale et als (1994) view that successful cross cultural management involves realistic objectives, which changing employees culture may well be. Natale et als (1994) state that the issue of communication is fundamental in managing a different culture. This brings into debate which communication strategy is best used in workplaces with Chinese cultural environments. Using a Tell communication style would be appropriate in this instance, when taking in consideration several characteristics of Chinese culture. Their high power index score indicates that there is little dialogue or feedback from subordinates when taking business decisions. Conclusion British and Chinese culture displays very different key traits, however under further scrutiny there can be many similarities prevalent: These two cultures share competitive and risk taking attitudes to business that managers from each culture can appreciate when working in the others environment. Major differences in management techniques exists, partly due to the paternalistic Chinese culture of hierarchy that puts excess respect on age and status and the more equally distributed power distance in the UK. The cross cultural strategies, such as overcoming guanxi and quanzi problems are specifically aimed at combating these in-groups and cliques. However there are many small changes managers can make in their strategies, such as changing their style of communication and the way the personally behave in their counterpart culture.

‘A Taste of Honey’- Improvements

During the rehearsal period before our short performances of ‘A Taste of Honey’, each actor improved all aspects of their performance, from the interpretation to their proxemics on stage. This was due to our intense rehearsal period where we developed our own acting skills as well as our way of interpreting characters. One of the issues I faced whilst playing Geoff was how best to convey his love and caring toward Jo. Because this is a core and essential part of his character, I felt that I had to work on this part of Geoff more than other parts. To achieve this, I worked closely with Poppy (who played the character of Jo) to perfect the scene which opens the piece we were performing, because this is the biggest chance we had to express Geoff’s feeling toward Jo whilst Helen is not in the scene. I included more gestures to show my feelings, such as stroking Jo’s shoulder and helping her up as she is pregnant- these worked together to show that my character cares immensely for Jo. In turn, several techniques helped me to perfect my interpretation. A strategy that I found extremely helpful was called ‘Reflection in Role’; during this process I was asked questions about my character directly after the scene had finished so that I would still be in role and have the feelings of the character fresh in my head. This technique helped to establish a relationship between our characters and develop our understanding of the Human Context. The next strategy which we used is called ‘Hot Seat’ which involved sitting in a chair in front on the class- in character- and being asked questions by the audience about feelings, relationships or statuses within the scene. This helped us to develop a deeper understanding of our character. Furthermore, one of the most common issues within our class was that our dialogue and the delivery of it didn’t sound believable in the ‘Kitchen-Sink’ context. The style of the piece was naturalistic which meant that our actions and the way we said our dialogue had to reflect this. An example of this is, during the fight scene, our lines had to overlap because this would be what would happen in a real fight- we had to make it seem like our lines were unscripted. Repetition of the scene helped us to familiarise ourselves with individual cues, certain moves between characters and being careful not to block each other- this was especially apparent in the scene where Helen is parading across the floor space and steps in front of Jo and Geoff quite often. To perfect the timing of this scene we practised it lots of times, as the repetition helped us to remember and time the section perfectly. Other techniques that we used included going through the scene without stopping- even if we did make mistakes- because this would highlight which areas we needed to improve. Because of the realism theme, everything had to feel as if it was happening for the first time. This was unusual for me, because I am used to each of my lines being heavily rehearsed and sound it. However, in ‘A Taste of Honey’ I had to act as if it was the first time that I had said it- and react accordingly. I found this particularly hard with the line: â€Å"Don’t tell her I came for you,† because I had rehearsed it so much that it had started to sound as if it wasn’t important to the scene- which it was. I improved this by changing the tone of my voice each time I said it, so that it would sound more genuine. In turn, these techniques also helped our next dilemma in rehearsing which were our positions on stage. Before we practised in front of an audience, our scene was using far too much space on stage; we improved this by restricting the amount of room we could use as a performing area. Our group also decided to experiment with different proxemics, so that we could show relationships and the interest and focus of the characters just by the positioning on stage. We also found that we often blocked each other on stage- especially during the fight scene- which would distract from the main action. This was easily corrected, however, and we were able to not upstage each other by our recorded concluding performance. Also, a common problem that some groups faced was that they forgot about their audience and played their character too much in profile so a lot of facial expressions were missed. This was fixed by remembering that the audience are the most important part of the theatre- if they were not there, there would be no theatre! The final obstacle that we faced as a group in our rehearsal period was how to vary the dynamics during the performance. As, during the scene, we are supposed to convey a variety of emotions to the audience we had to include different dynamics. To achieve this, our group experimented with different paces- especially during the argument section. We experimented with different pauses in places where they felt necessary to let the emotions of the scene process with the audience and to dramatize the moment. In each scene that required it, lines would be read at a fast pace, very quickly as to heighten the audience’s emotions and keep them on ‘the edge-of-their-seat’. In contrast, some of the scene was improved so that it was much slower than the rest of the piece. This would add tension to the scene (especially when Helen and Jo are discussing their futures) and would juxtapose the fight section. This would also create a stronger effect as it shows that Helen does truly care about her daughter but doesn’t know how to show or prove it. Before our rehearsal period our characters were very one-dimensional and ‘flat’, but after practising, interpreting, and getting used to our characters we were able to make them a lot more two-dimensional and more interesting to watch during a performance

Link Crew Leader Essay

As a student, I try to achieve as many goals as possible. I have try to the best the student I could possibly be. I will admit this year wasn’t the best for me. My grades weren’t the greatest. But I don’t grades should be the only thing that determines a high school student. I think who the person is on the inside what makes a high school student. I am a very kind person. I hate injustice done on anyone. I always stand up for what I believe in. I feel everyone should be given a fair chance in anything they do. I love being able to help anyone. I love knowing something I do can change someone’s life. I use to do the Latin Club. I use to do the Earth Club. I use to do Build On. This year I have been more forced on the SATs and college. I want be a lawyer. Being able to someone is what love. The only thing I do outside of school is volunteer at the Norwalk Shelter. One challenge I faced in high school had to do with peer pressure. I was offered the chance to try weed. I knew that so many people at school did it, and I thought this was my chance to be popular. I didn’t do it. I realized those people didn’t want to be my friend. I realized that I didn’t need to be popular. I am happy with my life just the way it is. I know who my friends are and it isn’t those people. I realized I wanted to do it to become something I am not. I learned that day I should never lose my integrity. Someone once said, â€Å"Thoughts become words, words become actions, actions become character, character is everything. † I didn’t want to become that person I would have if I said yes. I wish I knew as a freshman to get involved more. When you are involved, it will help you in the long run, especially for college. Plus it is a great way to meet new people. In the lunch, I sit right across from the girl’s restroom in the cafeteria. I sit with a cool and supportive group of friends. I love them like family. There you have it, I little bit about myself. I really want to do Link Crew because you get to help people. I remember being a freshman and not having this help. I want to make a difference. To know that you can go to a person with anything is very important. I hope to be that person for a group of freshmen. Thanks for the opportunity.

Renaissance A Time Of Renewing - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1251 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/06/14 Category Art Essay Level High school Tags: Renaissance Essay Did you like this example? The Renaissance was a period of time where great innovations on art, architecture, math, and science were brought to Europe. It was a period of unparalleled growth. The Renaissance was a time of the rebirth for Europe. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Renaissance: A Time Of Renewing" essay for you Create order This was one of the largest periods of growth in history. It was not only in the terms of educations but also in architecture and the life style. (Pointer) People then lived longer and had better diets, they would have no plagues, which would lead them to have a positive outlook on everything. As there are major contents of the Renaissance one of the major people like Leonardo Da Vinci. Leonardo Da Vinci is a guy that knows a way to view the human body in a 360 form. He comes up with ideas for the machine guns, submarines, helicopters, and also painted a painting famous for all of time, the Mona Lisa. Also, Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine chapel, which is one of the great works of the Renaissance that we still have in todays society. It led many people in society to a greater understanding of the world around them than any of the other times in western history. People no longer must worry about everything around them. The people of this erars lives were better because this is the greatness of no plague, no famine, no anything. They tend to have a more positive outlook. Also, they did not fear their faith as much as the people before them would have. They cannot see what they are doing with the faith. They are starting to realize that they do not have to stay in one place. They do not have to live and died at the same place, they can move around. This is one of the longest periods without plague or famine it is a period of great positivity and period of people that not only eat better but live longer. Since they live longer, they can do a lot of neat things then bef ore they could not. Plagten had thrown that off. Even though everything was right when they moved around it could create other issues. (Peters) There were many amazing members of this society that gave great contributions to the Renaissance era. People like Charlemange, Thomas More, Dante Algerie, Niccolo Machiavelli, Thomas Aquinas, and Augustine. Charlemange is the greatest ruler in western history. His name literally translated means charles the great karla magne. He is the ruler of the carligen empire and the first emperor of the holy roman empire in 400 years. The guy that could speak four languages but could not read for his life. Yet he was responsible for creating other things on the renaissance. He is the guy to fine of education. Counts were created by Charlemagne, to control the lands that he conquered. They called the lands that he conquered counties because they were ruled over by counts. Which had brought a new word into western history. Thomas More named the defender of the faith under henry the eighth. He will write another seminal work of western civilization utopian. He will then eventually be put to death well executed over his disagreement with henry and his divorce from captain of aragon he does not agr ee with henrys reason for the divorce. But being the captain of aragon and being the defender of the faith, he has to be the guy that stands of for what he believes in and gets him executed. Dante Algerie is most famous for writing the inferno. The inferno was about his journey, hell, purgatory into heaven. He wrote the inferno was a great middle ages work and his journey. Was one of the great seminars of western civilizations. Niccolo Machiavelli, Machiavelli is a guy influenced by a guy Cesare Borgia. He writes another seminal work of western literature called the prince. Which he organizes the way that princes should behave to those that are there subjects. He says that its better to be feared than loved because the fear lasted longer and there is still fear in the subjects and they will bend to your will easier than if you love them. Thomas Aquinas is the most important scholastic thinker of his time. He is the guy who becomes along in the wake of the discovery the new books from aristotle. He disagreed with most of t he christian thinkers of his time, that he could discover the truth about how you could discover the truth of ideas. Also said that you could use scientific study and observations to discover the truth of the ideas. It was not just based on faith alone it was also on observation as well. He was the first person to push idea. Also wrote a book called the summation of teaology which he puts for that view of summa theologiae. So many people have brought great change and innovation to this era. Saint Augustine was an early Christian humness. He is most famous for coming up with the idea of original sin. A lot of churches hang on to that original sin business. Also famous for a book called the city of god, which was Charlemagne favorite book. The City of God, the book written by Augustine says that there are two cities in the world, the city of god and the city of man. (Ariew) The city of god is perfect, seemless, blameless, gloress, and heaven. The city of man is less, sinful, derogatory, degrading, it is just terrible, and awful people do terrible things each other. It is a bad place to be but eventually from the march of time he says is linear. The city of man and the city of god eventually in this linear march the city of god will overtake the city of man. Because of man being sinful and religional sin. E ventually the city of god will take over the city of man and redeem the city of man and bring those low people into the city of god. New religion was even introduced during this time. Islam is one of the three last great created acts of the Roman empire. Which was Christianity, Barboram kingdoms, and Islam were a part of the Roman Empire. The first one and the last one was Christianity and Islam will come to occupy the world potential for the next several thousand years ago. It will become outside of Christianity the fastest growing religion of the time. It took the roman empire to create both of them. The nice patormoite of roman peace lasted over two hundred years. They will come to clash over issues of ideology that will lead to the crusades and other things like that. (Bowd) The Koran is the holy book of Islam. It is very similar to the bible, in fact there are a lot of stories that are the same. Except for, the man difference is that Koran is also full of the visions of Mohammed that is what separates everything but that is the holy book of Islam. That is one setting that tells a good Muslim what they should do and how they should act. Overall the Renaissance was a time of renewing and learning and growing for the European society. Many people took advantage of this time and embraced the atmosphere while increasing their knowledge of the world. Many people also worked together and grew as a whole. This era was a very significant part of the history of western civilization.