guan xi in indonesia

The Cultural Business of Guanxi in Indonesia

“Guanxi” literally means "relationships". At its basic, guanxi describes a personal connection between two people in which one is able to prevail upon another to perform a favor or service, or be prevailed upon. The two people need not be of equal social status. It refers to the benefits gained from social connections and usually extends from extended family, school friends, workmates and members of common clubs or organizations. In addition, there is something that behind the relationship to give a good deal of advantages such as connection to make one people can get a job easier and the gift that used for apologize. Reciprocal favors are the key factor to maintaining one’s guanxi web, failure to reciprocate is considered an unforgivable offense. The more you ask of someone the more you owe them. Guanxi can perpetuate a never ending cycle of favors. Guanxi can also be used to describe a network of contacts, which an individual can call upon when something needs to be done, and through which he or she can exert influence on behalf of another. The web of guanxi creates a big social life in the public and relationship. Nowadays we can see it in the modern way such as Facebook, twitter, line or many media social that helped people to know and support each other. It could be the efficient way that deserve for people to get connected from one to another. In guanxi people will give you feedback for what you do. It creates a bind of favors from one to another. In our life, it seems like when the visitor that Chinese came to people house he or she will give small red envelop that known as ”angpao”. At the last couple month later it changes that people who got an “angpao” came to visit this visitor and give the same thing. It can be the circle of bound in relationship because there are understanding, trust, respect, and gratitude. In the cultural of business guanxi has the powerful meaning because when someone gives something, it means he or she wants something from us as a feedback. If we can’t do as the expectation of this person, we should give back the gift that similar as apologize that we cannot fulfill the request. It could give a nice gratitude with the way we give the gift, it means we want to keep the relationship. In another case, when we made a fault and broke up the relation, gift can be the best way to express that we wanted to bring this relationship back into balance as used to be. These things lead the improvement of relationship in community or personal. The relation will keep strong if there are some supports like the gift or care of the other problems. In the business relationship of guanxi does not have to be based on money. It starts with and builds on the trustworthiness of the individual or the company. In guanxi people believe that trust and respect are the good balance in business. It could give a good effort for someone to keep maintain the relationship of business. At this time, we can see that there are some negative and positive ways of the cultural business. People will be lost their trust when one of the side make a mistake and it could be broke a relationship that already created long time ago. In order to fix the problem people used to give something or make an announcement to discuss the problem of their relationship. It could be the best way than insults the war that will make the relation get worse and destroyed by pride and angry. In Indonesia, people used to use guanxi as the relationship without they realize it. People will give something if they wanted something like a success fee after make a deal from one company to another one. It might be good to bind some relationships with employees of the company. In another hand, guan xi gives a different image in people of Indonesia because the gift always be taken and that create the perception of corruption because the employees get some gifts (money) from another company and they who do it we called corruptor because they sell the contract or project to another company that give them money. It didn’t describe the quality of guanxi. The gift of guanxi should be something usual and normal such as cigarettes, wine, angpao, and many more. If people use some trick to get something with guanxi rules. The relation will be destroyed and corruption because the basic of their relation does not be based of pure business relationship but the dirty business relationship. It happens also with our government. They make a deal based on money that given for them. The influence of guanxi in above is the wrong definition that many people used to do. In the other hand, guanxi business culture may be having some good things that improved in Indonesia. People in business will give the best part to someone that he or she knows well because there are trust and respects that showed as the way of guanxi. The other improvement of guanxi is the way of relationship will be strong after they make a communication in business like negotiation or small talks. It could be give a positive feeling of people to make a deal. The negotiation is important because it could build the trustworthy of person. When the trust increased in the relationship, there will be not a big risk of cheat and betray from one to another. People in Indonesia used to believe that if we do something good, we will get something good too as the feedback of our action. In guanxi it can be used as a basic definition that social and relation will build a bigger trustworthy between people. It might have a risk but when the trust and respects still in there, people will keep that as the treasure of their relationship and connection in guanxi web.