When does Yes mean No in China?
- Published in Shanghai Star Business Journal 6 August, 2009
When asking foreign managers about general challenges in daily operations in China, 75-80% describes poor accountability and task ownership as one of the main problems. 32% perceive accountability to be the biggest problem. This of course hampers any organization, so let’s take a closer look at this issue.
The definitions we use for Accountability include:
• Sense of task ownership
• To be responsible and have to explain ones actions
• To keep the manager updated on progress
• To say no when it is too difficult or impossible to perform a task
A seemingly simple thing as the use of “Yes” and “No” is so vastly differently used in Chinese vs. Western culture that almost nothing can be taken for granted. Even the most veteran Chinese employees in Western companies struggle to understand and use the Western meaning of a “Yes”. Saying “No” to the boss is very challenging and will be avoided at almost any cost. This is not because of lack in self confidence or incompetence, but rather to avoid confrontation and possible loss of guangxi.
In short, a “Yes” in China may mean:
• Maybe
• I hear what you say (but do not understand)
• I will try my best
• I want to do it but it is out of my responsibility to do it
Western societies, including corporate cultures, are built on people being assertive and accountable in a direct manner. Western employees, asking “why, what, and when” questions to their boss, shows their personal involvement for the right outcome. This is because; in the West task ownership and responsibilities often varies in different situations, whereas in China responsibilities are generally statically defined. Since there is no need to clarify responsibilities for different situations, asking “why” is neither perceived as respectful nor efficient in China. Following orders and supporting the boss becomes the employee’s first priority. Western managers must be mindful of the challenges when asking a Chinese employee to break this ingrained behavior and adapting to the Western communication style and culture.
In addition, Western managers often fail to realize that implicit hierarchical structures exist in virtually all Chinese relationships. Nevertheless, these relationships dictate who is actually in charge in most situations. A Chinese person holding implicit power in a situation will use this power in a truly assertive manner to enforce or prevent decisions. A Western manager unknowingly giving temporary responsibilities interfering with this implicit structure might result in key employees losing face. This, in turn, may negatively affect the loyalty of the Chinese employees to the organization and that particular Western manager. All these factors will influence the real meaning of a “Yes” in China.
- Peter J Karlsson
August 6th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Very insightful article on a simple topic that is responsible for a massive amount of lost productivity and stress in cross cultural business relationships! As a retired executive from the US in Chongqing, China, it has been a painful and sometimes humorous journey to navigate even the shallow waters of the business environment in China. The good news is that it can be done efficiently with patience and cultivating the 6th sense of cultural intuition by utilizing successful Chinese business people as situational mentors. I think sometimes western style managers actions will dictate a poor outcome by believing logic and reason will override deeply ingrained cultural conditioning. We need to realize many of our behaviors are just as illogical to the Chinese, it’s just we aren’t aware of it due to the politeness and I believe tolerance of the Chinese society in not outwardly judging us!