Travel Summary

Asia By Way of California

Introduction

I have traveled throughout Southern California in lieu of making the organized trek to South East Asia the last couple of weeks and was still able to meet with business leaders from multiple business backgrounds and industries. I have visited cultural sites influenced by South Asian and Southeast Asian societies. I have seen artwork, tasted food and talked to people of different religious faiths and ultimately have been exposed to a different way of life and a new kind of thinking even though this region of the world is historically among the oldest active civilizations known. From China to Singapore to Thailand I have experienced a thriving environment hungry for growth and understanding.

In examining these cultures I have come across I have been able to look to the Globe Study for direction and a starting point for a broader exploration. Geert Hofstede worked to create a theory that analyzed different dimensions of cultures and applied a rating system that he explained was a baseline for grouping cultures together into categories of behaviors. These dimensions could be described as a general tool for predicting how a culture will react under specific conditions. While listening to lectures and meeting with business owners I kept these cultural dimensions in the back of my mind as a guideline for focusing my ideas and paying attention to similarities and differences to his theory and reality. I was happy to be able to experience these cultures from a business perspective and to be critical of them using the Globe Study as a tool to view these experiences with.

Recommendations

California is a diverse arena for cultures as well as businesses. In particular the state has a long history of Asian culture beginning with Chinese people coming here to build the transcontinental railroad, followed by Japanese Americans being sent to a prison camp in the middle of the desert during World War II to the Korea Town neighborhood burning to the ground during the Los Angeles Riots in the early nineteen nineties. Businesses like sushi restaurants have emerged as a favorite food among Californians naming the California Roll as tribute, and the bay area is fast becoming known as a start-up hub for software engineers working with Southeast Asian partners. The impact of Asian influences is very prevalent here.

Prior to making arrangements for my visits to cultural sites and businesses I did my own research using the convenience of the internet primarily, into what to expect so that I may go in with an open mind and at least a mild understanding of who I might be meeting. I would recommend that any traveler planning a trip to places like Chinatown or Manzanar War Relocation Center or before a business person meeting with a company doing business with Asian counterparts ought to do a brief study of where they are going and who they are doing business with first.

According to Hofstede, Asian culture is based in history, pride and reservation and in general is very conservative so I would also recommend that before entering into business with Asian partners or traveling to an Asian country that one ought to engage themselves with a sense of respect and thoughtfulness. Essentially one should take care to approach the culture slowly and on the terms of the culture they are working with and not necessarily their own.

Analysis

Travelling in California and searching for businesses and locations associated with Asian countries is not a particularly difficult task. There are plenty of places to go and plenty of businesses to interact with. The Globe Study is a very general way to look at the world and embark on that journey. I used the Globe Study simply as a tool on the front end of my visits and meetings as a preface to how to begin my investigations.

This tool can be taken very literally and if done so, one can see some components that fall parallel with what this study said, so initially I agree with the results as published. On a few occasions I would say there are discrepancies and I believe this was derived from the fact that the study is written around Asian cultures themselves versus simply looking at a different culture living within another culture. The time frame as to when this study was published is also quite old and should be redone using current data.

As a culture moves into a different country, an assimilation factor must be expected as parts of the original culture dissipates. This process can happen over a long period of time or it can happen very quickly depending on the specific categorized trait being observed. For instance, according to Mueller, Spiess, Hattrup, and Lin-Hi (2012), the United States and Asian countries are identified as being at nearly the same level of affective commitment to their jobs when comparing against corporate social responsibility when looking at Power Distance however the gap on the Globe Study shows Asian countries much closer together from where they ‘should be’. Americans are shown with a much larger gap between where they are and where they ‘should be’.

Perceptions as noted in the Globe Study, said Hofstede and Bond (1988), are a trait that cultures will mix as they come into contact with one another. The organizations that I encountered essentially had to adapt to the culture they were doing business with whether it was working to penetrate a new market or if it was dealing with existing regulated markets the American understanding was to become part of that culture in order to work there.

Hofstede and Bond (1988) noted that historical reference to religious teachings of Confucianism as being a catalyst for Asian cultures to score high on the Power Distance table making the culture more likely to have respect for authority however what I saw taking place in the region overall is that collaboration is growing between nations from Singapore to Malaysia to China and Thailand. Essentially a cohesive system is beginning to veer away from societal norms of centuries passed. In order to keep the pace of development these countries will have to work together more and more and cultural identifiers will begin to blend and overlap.

The level of Institutional Collectivism demonstrated by Asian countries operating overseas shows a small spread between the ‘as-is’ and where they actually ‘should be’ but only under specific circumstances. Several of the businesses I visited come from an American way of thinking. I recognized that perceptions appeared to split and became more advanced in understanding and more savvy in how expectations between each culture were compared. For example commercial contract terms were easier to work with and more accommodating at a non-state enterprise level business transaction however when compared to interacting directly with the Chinese Federal Government, more emphasis was placed on regulation and protocols making for a potentially difficult and inflexible business environment. According to Javidan, Dorfman, De Luque and House (2006), major differences exist based on the emphasis of leadership within the culture. Furthering the notion, Hofstede and Bond (1988) explained that leadership in the collectivist nature of the Chinese culture would work to try to bring fellowship into its society but it appeared from my investigations that non-state entities continue to seek making their own rules when doing business with other nations. The Globe Study simply does not reach into this level of granularity or specifics so again I emphasize that it should really only be used as an introductory tool for understanding a culture and actual personal participation and experience are needed in order to fully know a culture.

Globe Study

Among the speakers, businesses and cultural sites that I visited on my travels around Southern California, China was the largest sample set experienced as compared to the Southeast Asian countries this course was designed around so I will be referencing China more than the latter in the following analysis.

Power Distance                      

China is represented on the Globe Study category of Power Distance as being above the baseline for ranking high on the ‘as-is’ scale and drops down just below the medium point over a rather expansive gap between the two points for where they ‘should be’. The Power Distance divide shows that Chinese culture believes they are close to their managers or people in power when in actuality they are separated quite dramatically.

In my observations working from an American perspective the Chinese culture does indeed regard their government as being part of the family and very close like a protector or father figure. The TED Talk where Martin Jacques spoke pointed this out rather poignantly. The Chinese regard the state as being all knowing and they actually take this to a spiritual level the way other cultures associate with a religious affiliation. The Chinese society that I witnessed was simply at a glance when visiting China Town in Los Angeles but one thing I did notice were the words printed on the memorial signage for Dr. Sun Yet-Sen that recognized him as being the Father of the Republic of China and regarded him as “one of the greatest figures in China’s long history”, and further that he defined the main principles the country follows to this day. The function of the state has indeed reached this cultural description as identified by the Globe Study.

In-Group Collectivism

In-Group Collectivism is defined by how a culture assigns importance to obligation of ones role in society. South East Asian nations are shown on the Globe Study table as being on the high side meaning that they tend to believe that they are concerned with individual needs but in actuality they regard the group as being the most important facet to their lives.

In listening to the interviews by Cherish Lowe of Astro Awani’s Gadget Nation, business leaders operating in Singapore expressed that they do not simply jump right onto a new idea without properly evaluating it first. This culture clearly exhibits a tendency to move slowly being concerned with the overall outcome of the idea and how it will impact the group before moving forward. This sense of In-Group Collectivism highlights the fact that Singaporeans are looking out for other Singaporeans while being contrasted against the high pace of their recent economic growth and expansion.

Gender Egalitarianism

China is shown on the Globe Study table for Gender Egalitarianism as being right between the low and medium position for the ‘as-is’ point and only moves slightly closer to the medium position on the ‘should be’ point. The spread between these two points is fairly close to how I observed the culture during my investigation.

When visiting China Town I did not see very many women out spending any time in leisure rather I saw men gambling and sitting around smoking and enjoying themselves while every shop was being occupied by women selling food and souvenirs to tourists like my me. In watching the TED Talk speaker Eric X. Li, he explained how the population was being controlled by state legislated abortion to all second children born to a family. Essentially the human right for women to bare children remains problematic in this region of the world and indicates that Gender Egalitarianism is fairly accurate as shown on the Globe Study table.

Uncertainty Avoidance           

Within the Uncertainty Avoidance category China is highlighted as being very tightly packed together with a minimal gap on the high side of the table just under the high point for both ‘as-is’ and ‘should be’. The data used for the Globe Study pertaining to minimizing risk and formal societal rules as shown on the table is clearly no longer valid because the information learned in the TED Talk speaker sessions indicated the opposite of what the table said in that there is very little difference between acceptable levels of risk Chinese people have a tendency to take on and is actually very low.

The TED Talk by Eric X. Li explained a stark contrast in this thinking pointing out that in the last ten years Chinese culture has dramatically shifted into a high risk era where different age groups throughout China were surveyed and found that there are levels never before seen among all ages that the future appeared to be very positive with a high outlook on personal success as well as the collective success of the country. The State being the highest authority in the land and the governing body known as the Central Committee has shown evidence of shifting away from formal structures driven by individuals and further has transformed into an organization that seeks input from individuals with a goal of higher collective functionality.

Future Orientation

China is listed on the Globe Study table as being situated right in the middle among cultures for ‘as-is’ points and slightly higher on the scale for where they ‘should be’ with regard to their future orientation. What this means is that the culture thinks they are slow to react to changes coming in the future and where they ‘should be’ is a bit more forward thinking.

Again the data provided in the Globe Study is simply outdated based on the news analyses done at the very beginning of this course. In nearly all four current news analyses there were discussions and actions taken by almost all of the nations reviewed that their economies were growing and the outlook for the future was good. The Chinese GDP has surpassed the United States and is not likely to deviate and surveys conducted in China in the last year indicate that the Chinese people as a whole are proud and positive about what the future holds for them.

Performance Orientation

The performance orientation category is very similar in the findings of the previous category in that China scores a little higher on the scale for where they ‘should be’ compared to where the ‘as-is’ point lands. In fact the points are nearly parallel to where the United States sits on the table.

The reality of what I observed in my investigation is that China ‘should be’ sitting much higher on the table in that they are beginning to value specific things like connectedness between the group. China is a massive country by population and their system for understanding each other and building satisfaction into the way their government performs is quite refreshing after many years of thinking their way of life was more restricted. The regulations that Abbott Medical Optics faces in order to sell their products there is an indicator that higher quality and regulatory controls is now being implemented in China contrasting the long stigmatization that low quality products are made in China so now the opposite is found to be emerging.

Assertiveness

Finally the last parameter I will evaluate is the assertiveness category. China sits just below the middle area of the table for the ‘as-is’ point and surpasses all other nations by almost half a point on the high side of the table for where they ‘should be’. What this means is that Chinese culture does not see themselves as being highly assertive however the scale matches up to them needing to be the most assertive of all.

China has certainly come a long way from a developing nation stand point. They have an old culture and history to ground themselves and they have made great strides to perfect their form of government and economy. They are innovative and forward thinking and demand great respect by what they have accomplished in the last two decades. One of the observations that stood out to me was when I met with Mega Power Systems and Sarah Siddiqui explained to me that the customer service aspect of dealing with their Chinese supplier partners was the easiest thing they had to face. When there is a bad lot of material that is shipped and when they perform their own quality checks and find the lot to be of insufficient quality the lot is replaced with no major questions asked. This tells me that China is hungry to be taken seriously and wants to grow a reputation for quality and service and confidence around the world.

Conclusion

I have made my way from businesses to museums to local neighborhoods and have been able to experience Asia from a distance. The Globe Study was a small aspect of how I approached the assignments in this course. I used other tools to help me with these tasks, such as YouTube videos and current event news sites which I felt were far more powerful than the Globe Study due to that fact that these tools could be seen as being current to the point of being in real time, therefore up to date and accurate.

Doing business in the United States posed many challenges when working with Chinese companies and their government in particular. The economy in the Asian region of the world is booming at an impressive rate however the culture seems to be driven to monitor and maintain the health throughout the process. Southeast Asian nations look like they have been waiting to enter the world market with great due diligence and the rest of the world is giving them the respect they have earned.

I look forward to actually being able to do business with the nations that I surveyed in one way or another. I already interact with companies that work with Chinese counterparts and opportunities continue to arise. The Globe Study could use a second generation review as there is a lot more data available currently that could easily be sourced and added to a new report. With the pace at which the world is moving the study will likely only be valid for a short time period thereafter however. I would ultimately recommend traveling in order experience these cultures first hand in order to gain the most they have to offer.

References

Mueller, Karsten; Spiess, Sven-Oliver; Hattrup, Kate; Lin-Hi, Nick. The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Employees’ Affective Commitment: A Cross-Cultural Investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2012, Vol. 97 Issue 6, p1186-1200. 15p

Javidan, Masour; Dorfman, Peter W.; De Luque, Mary Sully; House, Robert J. Leadership Styles in Multicultural Groups: Americans and East Asians Working Together. Academy of Management Perspectives. 2006, Vol. 20 Issue 1, p67-90. 24p

Hofstede, Geert; Bond, Michael Harris. The Confucius Connection: From Cultural Roots to Economic Growth. Organizational Dynamics. 1988, Vol. 16 Issue 4, p5-21. 17p.