Basic problem



ThreeIdentities

Eurasia Consult has decades of experience with these phenomena. We therefore can point out the common basis of most of the problems Western managers have in dealing with their Chinese counterparts.

The key word is: relationships as driving force behind business processes.

The word
guanxi is well known by many people interested in China, as it appears very frequently in the media. It literally means ‘relationship’, but its implications are considerably more extensive than that.

In Chinese culture, personal relationships are not just a tool to accomplish things. Chinese base their opinions about anything on their relationship with particular people. This means that the same Chinese individual can have different opinions about the same topic, depending on with whom (s)he is in contact at the moment.

Westerners then often draw the wrong conclusion that their counterparts are always changing their mind, or even that they are unreliable.