Dealing with China: intercultural challenges
Presentation
Nowadays, intercultural competence is a required yet still underestimated skill of anyone working internationally: a lack of cultural sensitivity can lead to lost business, failure and wasted time and money.
China not only has the biggest population in the world (1.4 billion inhabitants), its culture is also one of the world’s oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The Middle Kingdom has unique etiquette and ceremonies and understanding its culture and ethics is paramount for any company aiming at doing business in the Country. Setting up a meeting is a challenge and the various business structures and management styles requires approach adaptation. Negotiating with Chinese counterparts is a lot like running a marathon: you do not see where the finish line is and need endurance and perseverance to go through the process. Finally, Chinese consumers have distinctive purchasing behaviors and are highly active internet and social media users, but China has a unique and extremely competitive digital landscape (Baidu is the Chinese version of Google, same goes with WeChat and WhatsApp, Alibaba and Amazon, Tencent and Facebook, etc.): understanding the trends and integrating them wisely into one’s own strategy is key factor in e-marketing in China.
Target
Understand the culture and ethics in order to be ready to do business in China.
Target participants
CEOs, Export/Sales/Marketing Managers.
Course contents
Block 1: “Intercultural Management”
- General introduction «Intercultural management»
- Group work «Characteristics»
- Group work «Hofstede check»
- Cultural issues in internationalization
- Group work «International management»
Block 2: “Understanding Chinese business culture and practices”
- Business structures and management styles
- Cultural challenges
- The 36 Stratagems
- Chinese meeting/dining etiquette
- The negotiation process
- Entering China through e-commerce and social media
Speakers
Daniel Bont, Senior Consultant China / Hong Kong / Taiwan, Switzerland Global Enterprise, Zurich HQ.
Leo Peng, Trade Officer, Swiss Business Hub China, Shanghai Office.
