Currently, a great number of people from the United States, Australia or the UK live and work in China. The main problem, which they encounter, is cultural and linguistic barriers. Poor knowledge of the Chinese language and culture often leads to misunderstanding or even conflicts. This training session aims to prepare expatriates for possible difficulties, which they may face, while living in this country. In particular, we need to focus on different behavior patterns, dress code, business culture, etiquette etc.
First of all, foreigner, working in China, must stay in touch with their friends and relatives. This will prevent them from feeling lonely and home-sick. Yet, at the same time they must bear in mind that they must not avoid communication with local people. One should not become withdrawn, as this will only contribute to a sense of alienation. This person has to establish as many contacts as possible. This is the key step on his/her path to success.
Apart from that, employees ought to be well-acquainted with the city, where they intend to live. They need to know about transportation, places of interests, its history, and so forth. For instance, when speaking about Beijing, an expatriate should remember that it is one of the most densely-populated cities in the world and transportation is a really challenging problem.
This is why one has to know about the functioning of Beijing Subway, ring roads, railway stations, expressways, highways etc. This knowledge will be of great value to expatriates, who may need to travel across the city or even across the country.
The third issue that has to be addressed during training sessions is cultural values and etiquette, and dress code. For instance, one has to be well-aware of the fact that Chinese people are more inclined to think by means of analogies, metaphors and story-telling (Street & Matelski, 2008, p 151).
This peculiarity often slows down the process of communication between local inhabitants and foreigners. Secondly, during these training sessions, we need to etiquette, because the Chinese pay much more attention to formalities than Americans or Australians (Bucknall, 2002, p 61).
This knowledge will enable us them reduce the effects of culture shock to a minimum. Expatriates must not be afraid of making mistakes during intercultural communication as they are practically inevitable. The biggest mistake lies in avoiding this communication. Unwillingness to communicate with the Chinese partners is one of the reasons why many expatriates feel home-sick.
Finally, the employees, who are going to live in China for a considerable amount of time, must acquire at least the smattering of the Chinese language. In this case, we must concentrate on various speech situations such as introductions, greetings, thanking people, asking for apology and so forth.
Of course, such knowledge of Chinese is only superficial; however, it will indicate that a foreigner genuinely tries to integrate himself into a new culture or society. Certainly, at the beginning a foreigner will require the services of a translator; nevertheless, he/she has to work on his Chinese language proficiency in order to achieve success in this country.
On the whole, during these training sessions, an employee has to learn about similarities and distinction existing between two cultures. This will help him/her avoid many potential problems. The most important thing is to overcome the feeling of anxiety which is so common among Australian expatriates.
Reference List
Bucknall K. 2002. Chinese Business Etiquette and Culture. NY: C&M Online Media, Inc.
Street. N. L. & Matelski M. 2008. American businesses in China: balancing culture and communication. NY: McFarland.