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.
