National Culture - Beijing/China

Info on National Culture, Behaviours and Living Expectations

“ Culture is the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from others”(Hofstede, 2001). Culture in basic terms is the foundation or the core of a country; in this instance, that shapes the beliefs, behaviours etc.

Professor Geert Hofstede theorised cultural dimensions by describing the effects a society’s culture has on the value of its people and ow they relate to their behaviour.

“ Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy.” Cultural differences are a nuisance at its best and often a disaster. People tend to believe that deep inside others everyone is the same. Most people in fact, generally are not aware of other cultures and therefore tend to minimise cultural differences, which could eventually lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations between people from different countries/ cultures.

National Culture similarly can be defined as “ the set of norms, beliefs and customs that exist within the population of a sovereign nation.” (Wood et al, 2010)

International organisation/companies develop management and other practices in accordance with the national culture they are operating in.

The Chinese have a strong national culture that affects the way organisations behave and the different principles within them. The national culture is important as it helps structure the culture of organisations. People then know what is acceptable, certain ways to behave and values. They have a number of laws to abide by and for this reason it is very important to follow the culture. A competitive advantage can also be gained as the culture is different to other nations.

Children are encouraged to work very hard and it is not about the degree they get but rather how they use what they have learnt and put it into practice that counts. As they are given employment for life in a certain organisation, rather than moving from...