Why Guanxi Play in Major Role in China
Why Guanxi and Mianzi Play an Important Role in Chinese Business Culture
Diana Yuan Zhang
University of Houston-Victoria
Abstract
The paper discussed why guanxi and mianzi are the main factors that directly affect the business and politic side of China, and this is molded culturally for the past five thousand years. And how is this cultural influence becoming stronger than ever before. By contrasting and analyzing guanxi and mianzi, this research paper is intended to point out the differences between values of China and U.S.A, and also the culture of China to have a better understanding why guanxi and mianzi is such a big deal. And end the research paper by how to build and maintain guanxi.
Why Guanxi and Mianzi Play an Important Role in Chinese Business Culture
The relationship between people is the most complicated thing in the world, the relationship between the Chinese are more subtle. Chinese people believes that “在家靠父母，出外靠朋友” saying that at home one relies on one's parents and outside on one's friends. One thing that is really famous and special in China is how “relationship” works different from other countries and for foreigners to understand China’s culture and custom better; this is a necessary topic to cover. In order to facilitate the study of Chinese type of “relationship”, foreigners even create the world “guanxi”. Wikipedia describes guanxi as “the basic dynamic in personalized networks of influence, and is a central idea in Chinese society. In Western media, the pinyin romanization of this Chinese word is becoming more widely used instead of the two common translations—"connections" and "relationships"—as neither of those terms sufficiently reflects the wide cultural implications that guanxi describes.” In the west, people commonly handle their business first and if the business is successful, a relationship will be built. However, in China people believe that prospective business partners should build a relationship first and if it is
Diana Yuan Zhang
University of Houston-Victoria
Abstract
The paper discussed why guanxi and mianzi are the main factors that directly affect the business and politic side of China, and this is molded culturally for the past five thousand years. And how is this cultural influence becoming stronger than ever before. By contrasting and analyzing guanxi and mianzi, this research paper is intended to point out the differences between values of China and U.S.A, and also the culture of China to have a better understanding why guanxi and mianzi is such a big deal. And end the research paper by how to build and maintain guanxi.
Why Guanxi and Mianzi Play an Important Role in Chinese Business Culture
The relationship between people is the most complicated thing in the world, the relationship between the Chinese are more subtle. Chinese people believes that “在家靠父母，出外靠朋友” saying that at home one relies on one's parents and outside on one's friends. One thing that is really famous and special in China is how “relationship” works different from other countries and for foreigners to understand China’s culture and custom better; this is a necessary topic to cover. In order to facilitate the study of Chinese type of “relationship”, foreigners even create the world “guanxi”. Wikipedia describes guanxi as “the basic dynamic in personalized networks of influence, and is a central idea in Chinese society. In Western media, the pinyin romanization of this Chinese word is becoming more widely used instead of the two common translations—"connections" and "relationships"—as neither of those terms sufficiently reflects the wide cultural implications that guanxi describes.” In the west, people commonly handle their business first and if the business is successful, a relationship will be built. However, in China people believe that prospective business partners should build a relationship first and if it is