The globalization process has changed a range of cultures significantly, promoting their fusion and encouraging the sharing of experiences and blending of philosophies. However, some culture-specific concepts that are deemed appropriate in certain states clash with the culture of others so hard that its proponents have to adapt, changing its appearance while retaining the essence intact. Specifically, the concept of guanxi as a crucial part of Chinese business needs to be elaborated upon as one of the most accurate examples of cultural elements being dissolved in the global economic environment (Ruan, 2016). Although the concept of guanxi has been seen as generally negative in the western culture due to the unnecessary connections to nepotism, the slight changes that it has undergone while China was adjusting to the global market allowed guanxi to morph into the idea of collaboration and unity as the foundational principles of Confucianism.
From the perspective of western culture, the phenomenon of guanxi can be considered as a rather controversial one, namely due to the multiple similarities that the specified concept shares with nepotism once the system is abused. However, one should admit that the concept of guanxi only approaches the phenomenon of nepotism if the parties involved in the transactions are only concerned with their personal goals and benefits instead of the greater mission of sustaining social connections (Owen&Xuezi, 2013). In other cases, guanxi is a much more nuanced and multi-layered phenomenon that offers great potential for developing important social connections.
Indeed, within Chinese society, guanxi allows forming the bonds that reinforce the cultivation of strong business relationships. More importantly, the concept of guanxi leads to the creation of mutual trust in business relationships (Ruan, 2016). Although the specified observation could be seen as irrelevant and even naïve, it, in fact, leads to the realization that the Japanese business relationships based on guanxi can improve to become healthier. With the focus on the greater goal and a set of values that support it rather than on the idea of personal gain, participants of business interactions build the economy that helps to bridge the gap between personal issues and business objectives.
However, as Japan started its foray into the global economy, it had to change multiple traditions in order to adjust to the environment of the international business setting. As a result, a range of notions that are used t guide business processes has been cast aside or changed. Guanxi has also experienced certain changes, which may have led to questioning its legitimacy and even erasing it from the environment of Chinese business entirely. Indeed, from the western perspective, guanxi shares many similarities with nepotism, which is typically frowned upon in Western society and seen as an impediment to natural economic development (Ruan, 2016). As a result, the phenomenon of guanxi has to adapt to retain its essence, while morphing to blend into the reality of the global economy.
The fact that the guanxi tradition is slowly fading away from the Chinese economic and social environment can be considered as a rather unfortunate development since guanxi is used to represent an important vehicle for improving social relationships within a community. Namely, the mere act of asking for a favor could never represent the actual concept of guanxi; instead, one had to learn the intricate detail of how the system into which one planned to intervene worked so that the delicate balance would not be disrupted with the actions that would lead to the desirable outcome (Owen&Xuezi, 2013). As a result, the extent of awareness about the connections between different socioeconomic and sociocultural factors within a community used to be extraordinarily high (Ruan, 2016). With the role of guanxi having been diminished, and the notion having been relegated to the promotion of collaboration and support, the specified expansion of knowledge is no longer possible.
Arguably, the described option for developing a clear understanding of how variables within the economy of a community were connected needs to become obsolete due to the development of the global community. Since the latter is affected by a countless number of external variables, it becomes nearly impossible for an individual to grasp the complexities of its internal systems (Owen&Xuezi, 2013). As a result, the phenomenon of guanxi as the tool for unifying the community becomes useless (Ruan, 2016). Nevertheless, the decision to abandon guanxi seems to be rather unfortunate as the attempt at casting aside the tradition that has become an essential part of the Chinese identity.
However, since the very roots of guanxi link the discussed phenomenon to the Confucian philosophy as the idea that not a single member of the community should ever feel isolated, the principles of guanxi can easily be seen as a representation of some of the common western values that are presently promoted as essential. For instance, the concepts of unity, diversity, and inclusion can be considered a version of the guanxi concept as a part of the Confucian philosophy of unity. Therefore, arguably, guanxi has not disappeared under the influence of Western values but, instead, has been morphed to align with the said principles and represent a bridge between the western and Chinese cultures.
Overall, the trend in abandoning the concept of guanxi when performing transactions in the global economy can be considered positive. One could claim those ethics, in general, and business ethics, in particular, is a very pliable concept that does not imply a single solution to business dilemmas, hence the controversial nature of guanxi. However, there is no secret that the guanxi practice is typically seen as unfair by most Western organizations and individuals, who represent the most likely business partners for China. Thus, the necessity for the guanxi concept to be transformed is obvious, and the alterations that it has been undergoing in the Chinese business are inevitable. Granted that the notion of guanxi may stay in the Chinese business context for a while so that companies and communities could introduce a new framework for collaboration, it still needs revisiting as the tool for maintaining connections within the community. With the introduction of new tools for keeping community members united, including innovative social media and other IT and ICT tools, the importance of guanxi has been slowly fading into obscurity, which is a rather natural progression.
Therefore, the phenomenon of guanxi has suffered drastic changes as the Chinese economy expanded and Chinese entrepreneurs entered the global market. However, the very nature of the concept has been left intact, with the idea of unity and collaboration still being strongly attached to Chinese business transactions. With the focus on unity, the phenomenon of guanxi remains an important part of the Chinese cultural identity.
References
Owen&Xuezi. (2013). Guanxi: Chinese culture explained. Youtube. Web.
Ruan, J. (2016). Guanxi, social capital and school choice in China: The rise of ritual capital. Springer.