Encountering the Chinese: A Guide for Americans

by Gilles Asselin, Ruth Mastron

Coca-Cola ran headlong into French culture when a hardcore, bottom-line management style met with boycotts in cafes and supermarkets. Even Mickey Mouse met angry protesters hurling tomatoes and eggs when joining Michael Eisner to launch Euro Disney's arrival on the Paris stock market. What makes the French so...well, French? This work provides readers with the critical tools to effectively develop creative and appropriate responses to any situation, based on a deep understanding of unique cultural dynamics. There is also a quick and useful guide to social behaviour and etiquette, as well as professional guidelines for managers.

208 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Jose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly as corny as the title sounds,
but insightful in some parts.

Most insightful points that I remember off the top of my head are:
Giving tip is seen as superiority complex, don't do it.
Copying your buddies homework and test is seen as helping your comrade, good job. 👍
If you give a performance of some sort, expect to be ignored. This is a compliment. 🤷🏻
If you give a lecture and people walk out on you or fall asleep, you're not supposed to notice this as Chinese lectures usually keep their head down reading their notes. Just do your thing.
Don't try to be a naïve hero and try to revolutionize their culture. They've survived this long without you, they'll be fine.

There are a bunch of other things about common life, but each generation is adopting a new culture and old things may become obsolete to some extent.