MBA diary
Belgians in Beijing
Reginald Hubbard, an MBA student at the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, learns the theory of doing business in China
Apr 13th 2010
Wednesday February 8th 2012
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@ funnyabalone
I just realise the word "guanxi" translate as "connections" and "relations". Then this feature of guanxi is universial really: you do business with the trading partners that you trust - a simple illustration of guanxi.
Did they teach him the binge-drinking etiquette required to foster "guanxi" over dinning table? No, not beer, extremely hard liquor. Smoking is probably off the table these days.
"guanxi" is counter productive in the business world where everything requires to be moving fast, only works for established business relationship, but, it is what works in China, Sigh.
This is an excellent topic, but the author doesn't give us any meat. We know about relationships, government to capitalistic migration; but what about ethics comparisons, margin comparisons, contractual validity, and the ability to trust and be trusted in business dealings?
Details of the experience given was appreciative, but could you throw some light on as to how did you go about solving your case study? The information given in the article was of use, but its something which many are aware of. If you could even tell us how did you go about solving the case study, if not in detail
It was interesting to read about the cultural differences that play a role in Chinese business. Coming across the term “guanxi” I was a bit surprised at how big of a role personal connection played. The term always evoked negative associations in my mind, as I felt that whenever personal connections played a role nepotism would dominate the transaction, rather than merit.
The article, as a whole, also illustrates how powerful of a force the Chinese business world is; an American studying in Belgium studying in China displays where students must go to discover true innovation in the field. It will be interesting to see the next article the author produces, as a trip to Shanghai might elucidate further aspects of Chinese culture, perhaps even bringing revelations that contradict what the author has learned so far.
dragonfly dotting the water.