"Can you increase my salary?" This is a question which is almost a taboo at workplaces in India. However, in China, this is something which one hears often. And it comes from those employees who want to stick around with a company, make a career with it and contribute to its growth. Another example is at the time of recruitment. Having gone through the entire process, it is quite possible that the candidate will come back and ask for a higher salary, because "the job requires much more work than what I thought before." Chinese employees have a practical approach towards reciprocity - what they give to the company and what they get in return.
This is usually preceded by a high degree of commitment towards work, done in a manner which is not showy at all. Chinese personnel go about their work in a methodical manner. While it is common to see employees put in long hours in India, the key difference in China is that the long hours are put in with the sole intent of getting the job completed, rather than make a show of work, or staying in the office till the boss is there.
Normally, sub-ordinates do not badger superiors too much and will try and finish the tasks assigned to them clinically. However, once in a while, it is essential to listen to sub-ordinates - and not give them advice, unless asked. When they talk, one must have a willing ear (and open mind) for a whole lot of stuff, which might seem like a confused state of mind. Quite infrequently, they will ask the superior for a solution to a problem. It is essential to give a specific answer rather than present them with options. If they could decide among a given set of alternatives, they would not have approached the superior.
A significant difference between China and India, especially at middle and senior management levels, is to bring the issue to closure. With great language and analytical skills, one often sees an Indian manager spend inordinate time in scoring an "intellectual victory"; the tactic employed in China is to cut to the chase and reach a solution as quickly as possible. Intellectual victories do not count for much in this scheme of things.
Multi-tasking is an alien concept in a typical Chinese workplace, in as much as taking a horse to the water, but being unable to force it to drink (these being two separate tasks). This is something which unnerves most expatriate bosses in China, especially those from India, who are used to intelligent young men and women handling a plethora of tasks deftly and without any qualms.
Chinese employees will not undertake a task unless they are confident of doing it well and without mistakes. They will also spend a fair bit of time in understanding what is required - much more than their Indian counterparts. This philosophy is quite different from what exists in India, where we hardly say "no" to our bosses. However, Multi-tasking can be developed in a Chinese employee by giving them a situation to handle and letting them complete it to fruition. There is a strong need to build upon small successes.
14 Dec, 2007, 0520 hrs IST,Manish Mehra & Vinay Dixit, TNN
This is usually preceded by a high degree of commitment towards work, done in a manner which is not showy at all. Chinese personnel go about their work in a methodical manner. While it is common to see employees put in long hours in India, the key difference in China is that the long hours are put in with the sole intent of getting the job completed, rather than make a show of work, or staying in the office till the boss is there.
Normally, sub-ordinates do not badger superiors too much and will try and finish the tasks assigned to them clinically. However, once in a while, it is essential to listen to sub-ordinates - and not give them advice, unless asked. When they talk, one must have a willing ear (and open mind) for a whole lot of stuff, which might seem like a confused state of mind. Quite infrequently, they will ask the superior for a solution to a problem. It is essential to give a specific answer rather than present them with options. If they could decide among a given set of alternatives, they would not have approached the superior.
A significant difference between China and India, especially at middle and senior management levels, is to bring the issue to closure. With great language and analytical skills, one often sees an Indian manager spend inordinate time in scoring an "intellectual victory"; the tactic employed in China is to cut to the chase and reach a solution as quickly as possible. Intellectual victories do not count for much in this scheme of things.
Multi-tasking is an alien concept in a typical Chinese workplace, in as much as taking a horse to the water, but being unable to force it to drink (these being two separate tasks). This is something which unnerves most expatriate bosses in China, especially those from India, who are used to intelligent young men and women handling a plethora of tasks deftly and without any qualms.
Chinese employees will not undertake a task unless they are confident of doing it well and without mistakes. They will also spend a fair bit of time in understanding what is required - much more than their Indian counterparts. This philosophy is quite different from what exists in India, where we hardly say "no" to our bosses. However, Multi-tasking can be developed in a Chinese employee by giving them a situation to handle and letting them complete it to fruition. There is a strong need to build upon small successes.
14 Dec, 2007, 0520 hrs IST,Manish Mehra & Vinay Dixit, TNN