MKT 4523-001 Dr. Derik Steyn February 6, 2019
Cultural Analysis: Laptops in China By: Grady Milligan, Junwei He, Sydney Smith, and Xuerui Mei
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
3
Introduction
4
History
5
Technological Innovation
6
Geographical Setting Location Climate Topography
7 7 8 9
Social Institutions Family The Nuclear Family The Elderly The Rise of Individualism One Child Policy Religion School The Media Government Corporations
10 10 10 11 11 12 13 16 19 20 22
Elements of Culture Cultural Values Individualism/Collectivism Index Power Distance Index Uncertainty Avoidance Index Cultural Values and Consumer Behavior Rituals Symbols Language Aesthetics Beliefs Thought Processes Cultural Sensitivity and Tolerance
24 24 24 25 25 26 27 27 27 28 29 30 30
Executive Summary China has been the world biggest personal computer market since 2012 and the Chinese PC market is still growing today. (China Becomes Biggest PC Market in 2012) The new product of Esooner is aiming to Chinese laptop market which is mainly shared by Apple and some other Chinese laptop companies but most of the core technologies still deeply depend on the U.S. To access the Chinese market, the very first step to the company is analyzing Chinese culture to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding. Understanding the way Chinese working with others will help our company’s business to be more easily as Chinese culture is totally different from the U.S. People in China may have a different opinion with American. When the company promoting for the new product, people should be careful to some sensitive topic which even small but can also cause a huge public relations crisis influenced the whole company business in China. Government is another factor that our company should be aware. Due to the Chinese special political form, the Chinese government has extremely influence and authority in the market. As Chinese law system is just set up for less than 70 years, some of the laws are not complete perfection and political difference between the U.S. and China may also cause misunderstanding in a special area such as laws and privacies. When the company works with the Chinese government, they should try to corporate with the government, negotiate with the government and should absolutely not against the government directly.
Introduction With the rapid development of science and technology in recent years, global trade has
become more frequent and widespread. Since China's reforming and opening, China's economy has developed rapidly and became the world's second-largest economy in 2012. In 2001, China officially announced its participation in WTO, which means that China has opened the door to free trade to the world. China has a large population, so the population base of consumers is large.
Because now is the age of information, people's dependence on the Internet is gradually increasing. The demand for a suitable laptop for the new generation of young Chinese are enormous. In our observations, there is no laptop brand in China is especially suitable for Chinese people, either too expensive or too narrow. China has a large space for development in the laptop area, and we can use this vacancy to develop our products. Therefore, Grady Milligan, Junwei He, Sydney Smith, and Xuerui Mei saw this business opportunity, and we founded a company called “Esooner.� We aim to develop a computer suitable for Chinese to use in their daily life with a fair price. Junwei and Xuerui are Chinese. Therefore, they will conduct certain investigations according to their advantages, to collect Chinese people's requirements for a laptop and set the price that people can afford. Grady and Sydney will provide technical assistance, such as laptop development and laptop manufacturing, etc. We believe that the laptops that we developed will open up the Chinese market and achieve certain success. In the
rest of the article, we will analyze China from the geographical location and culture.
Esooner --
“Logo of Esooner”
History Chinese history refers to the history of China from the birth of Chinese civilization to the present. China has a very long history. It has been about 5000 years since the period of Ji Xuanyuan who is also called Huangdi. At that time, China is a primitive society. The first slave society of China appeared in the Xia Dynasty, which is 4100 years ago. The first time China become a centralization country was the Qin Dynasty occurred 2240 years ago, also announced that China had entered the feudal society. After many political changes and the changes in the dynasty, China used to be the most powerful country in the world. In 221 BC, Emperor Qin Shihuang established the first unified authoritarian centralization empire in the history of China, the Qin Dynasty. The Western Han Dynasty further consolidated and developed the situation of the unification, and The Silk Road appeared. After that, China was in a situation of split and separatism during the time of three kingdoms and the northern and southern dynasties. During the time of Sui and Tang Dynasties, China reemerged as a united country and continuously strengthened communication with the outside of the world. During the Song and Ming Dynasties, China’s cultural economy developed rapidly. Then, the Qing Dynasty appeared, a feudal dynasty established by a minority of China. After fail at Opium War, China began to become a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. In 1911, the revolution
began. In the year 1912, the Republic of China founded. 1949, the founding of the People’s Republic of China, China has entered modern society. After China began to implement the reforming and opening policy, China’s economy developed rapidly. In 2011, China became the second largest economic entity in the world (Fercility).
Technological Innovation A large factor in China’s economic prowess is its’ ability to bring new technology into play at a blistering speed. This Chinese innovation can be seen through internet business models, telecommunications, software, artificial intelligence, financial technology, consumer products, and green technology (Prud’homme and Zedtwitz). Chinese companies that push the limits of technology like Huawei and Alibaba are becoming known worldwide for their innovation. Developing new technology at the rate and quality many Chinese companies do makes them a real threat to other R&D departments across the globe. This is largely because brilliant Chinese minds are wanting to stay within China rather than tech companies elsewhere, and China has much stronger intellectual property protections in place now. According to a 2017 survey, only 18% of Chinese university students want to work for a foreign company, as opposed to 38% in 2013 and 70% in 2008 (Prud’homme and Zedtwitz). Chinese companies have also drastically reduced the time to market for these innovative products they develop, allowing for high
responsiveness to changes in market trends.
Geographical Setting Location China is located in the eastern part of Asia and one the west coast of the Pacific Ocean. The territory of China is vast; China is the third largest country after Russia and Canada with a total area of about 9.6 million square kilometers and a coastline of 18000 kilometers (China Geography). China is bordered by 14 countries – North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Burma, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia. The capital of China is Beijing.
Climate
The cross-latitude of China is wide. The distance between the sea is various form the different places in China. The majority type of the mountain range is diverse. Therefore, the combination of temperature and precipitation is diverse, forming a variety of climates. According to Climate-China, The eastern part has a monsoon climate. The northwest belongs to the temperate continental climate, and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is an alpine climate. From the perspective of temperature zone, there are tropical, subtropical, warm temperate, intermediate temperate, cold temperate and Qinghai-Tibet plateau.
Topography The topography of China is high in the west and low in the east. Mountains, plateaus, and hills account for about 67% of the land area, and basins and plains account for about 33% of the
land area. The mountains are mostly east-west and northeast-southwest (China Topography). The western part of China has the largest Plateau in the world which is Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is also known as the “roof of the world.” Besides, the mount Everest is 8844.43 meters above sea level, which is the highest peak in the world. This is the first ladder of China’s topography. Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang the loess plateau, the Sichuan Basin and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau is what people called the second ladder of China’s topography. The rest of the mountains is the third ladder of China’s topography (China Topography).
Social Institutions Family The Nuclear Family
According to the Chinese censuses of 1982, 1990, and 2010, nearly 70% of families were nuclear in nature. This means that a family consists only of the parents and their children as a singular unit (Xu and Xia, 32). In addition, smaller families (4 people or less) accounted for 80% of the population (Xu and Xia, 32). The rise of urbanization and industrialization have caused Chinese families to become more nuclear (Xu and Xia, 32). This means that the Chinese family style is on its way to becoming more like the Western families, where there is a greater focus on individualism (rather than collectivism). However, the government will push hard against this, as Western ideals are heavily frowned upon in China (Xu and Xia, 31). Chinese nuclear families vary from typical nuclear families in that in China, nuclear families are still anchored in the extended family (Xu and Xia, 36). This means that Chinese nuclear families still have regular interactions with their extended families, as well as financial exchanges (Xu and Xia, 36).
The Elderly
China does not have a social security or pension system for senior citizens like some countries do. The elderly are unable to rely on the government for financial support once they are retired. Rather, the elderly live with their children and rely on them for financial assistance (Xu
and Xia, 36). The elderly do not live in nursing homes most often (Xu and Xia, 36). This is because they would not be able to afford it at least not for a long period of time. Nowadays, children are living close to their parents, but they are not sharing the same home (Xu and Xia, 36). This way, the children can still care for their parents, but they also have their own private space (Xu and Xia, 36).
The Rise of Individualism
In China, individual interests are becoming more recognized by the day (Xu and Xia, 32). In addition, the rise of the Nuclear family further promotes individualism. Furthermore, divorce rates in China have increased significantly since 1980, with the most rapid increase being between the years of 2004 and 2012 (Xu and Xia, 37). This shows that divorce is becoming more and more common in China, which means families will be more fragmented. Moreover, as the Chinese economy continues to grow, women are turning to education and careers more than starting a family. If women choose to start a family, it is typically further down the line; the same goes for marriage.
One Child Policy
In 1979, the Chinese government implemented the One Child Policy. This permitted each family to only bear one child. These rules were more relaxed in rural areas, as there was not as much of a population problem. However, this policy was strictly implemented heavily urbanized areas because the population was already very dense. The average birth rate continued to decline since the implementation of the policy, which caused the policy to be abolished in October of 2015.
The following infographic highlights some of the details of the One Child Policy.
Religion As of 2015, there are several major religions that dominate China. These include Buddhism, Islam, Daoism/folk religion, and Christianity (both Protestant and Catholic). The following chart depicts these religions across the various counties of China. Islam is most predominant in the Northern counties, Buddhism dominates the Southern counties, Catholicism is interspersed throughout the middle and Northern counties, Protestantism lies along the coast, and Daoism is sprinkled throughout the Southeastern counties.
While Islam is not the most dominant religion in China, it is quickly on the rise, and there are several observable characteristics of those who practice Islam in China (Edwards, 81). These characteristics include liberal beliefs, modern beliefs towards the Koran, intellectual awakening, and a stronger connection to nature (Edwards, 81). The liberal beliefs coincide with modernism and a preference for Euro-style clothing and streetwear (Edwards, 81). The fresh take on the Koran includes studying its contents in Chinese rather than Arabic and spending a greater amount of time studying its contents individually rather than during a service (Edwards, 81). The intellectual awakening aspect refers to using Chinese through general education (Edwards, 81). Finally, the greater relationship with nature refers to focusing more on natural surroundings and
life forms. Islam in China was once based around Confucianism, but has since taken on a new life. Buddhism did not become a national institution in China until 1912, although it had been practiced for years before that (Edwards, 80). Buddhism has had a difficult time asserting its dominance in China, as the members that have attempted to make it more official have failed miserably. For example, the Chinese Buddhist Society was founded in 1929 but fell apart shortly thereafter because it was not strong enough (Edwards, 80). Despite past efforts, a new wave of Buddhism in China is on the rise; it is one that blends with Confucianism (Edwards, 80). This type of Buddhism was founded by Hsiung Shih-l (Edwards, 80). He views Confucianism and Buddhism as a beautiful harmony, and he has blended the two to create a new wave of Chinese thought (Edwards, 80). Catholicism in China makes up a small percentage of the population. Part of this is due to the government’s intolerance for its practices. While the People’s Republic is supposed to have the freedom to express the religion of their choosing, the Chinese government has taken various measures to persecute the Catholics (Edwards, 79). For one, they have closed numerous Catholic churches throughout the state (Edwards, 79). In addition, the Chinese government has confiscated properties, banned missionaries, and executed missionaries (Edwards, 79). The Chinese government aims to end ties with Western ideals and convert all Christian thought to Marxism (Edwards, 79). It is unclear whether or not the government will be able to enforce this since China is supposed to have freedom of religion, but time will tell. Most well-educated people in China frown upon many beliefs that are part of Christianity. Typically, intellectuals steer clear from superstition, an anthropomorphic god, heaven, hell, and miracles (Edwards, 79). This is why the practice of Christianity is not the most
dominant religion in China. Another relevant religion in China is Daoism. Daoism entered China many moons ago. It was first documented in 1917 (Edwards, 80). Many people in China still follow the ancient ideals and beliefs of Daoism. However, this religion is on a quick decline. Daoism is bound to disappear because it has no priest or leader, and there has been no effort to institute some sort of program (Edwards, 80). Daoism remains relevant through art and is likely to continue to have some influence over the Chinese until it completely vanishes (Edwards, 80).
School Prior to the 21st century, the gender inequality of education was so large that nearly no women attended school, but most men did (Ming-Hsuan, 241). In recent years, however, this has changed. The disparity between men and women being educated has decreased to the point where the gap is nearly closed (Ming-Hsuan, 241). In fact, the number of women enrolled in college outnumbered the number of men as of 2005 (Ming-Hsuan, 241). The decreased disparity is due largely in part to economic development. Prior to the decreasing gender inequality gap, the economic status of China was fairly average. Because of this, parents did not have the money to invest in more than one child’s future (Ming-Hsuan, 242). Instead, parents would only invest in the child who showed the most promise, which was typically a boy due to China’s traditionally patriarchal nature (Ming-Hsuan, 242). The child that was selected by the parents for schooling was expected to be financially supportive of the family and earn a great income. Since the Chinese economy has boomed over the past few decades, reliance on the men in the family has drastically decreased. Since families are more financially stable and have more money to spend, there is no need for parents to decide which child to invest in; it is becoming
increasingly rarer (Ming-Hsuan, 242). In addition, parents do not have to rely on their children in their old age as much, either (Ming-Hsuan, 242). This provides more children with the opportunity to gain a proper education. Another reason as to why education is growing and the gender inequality is decreasing is due to government policies. The National People’s Congress has implemented the Compulsory Education law and has also partnered with an international organization to implement the Promoting Nine-Year Compulsory Education in Poor Areas Focusing on Girls project (which was funded by both the United Nations and Chinese government) (Ming-Hsuan, 244). These laws promote the education of women in all areas of China, not just those that are economically thriving. This means that even women in rural areas are able to obtain an education. However, the gender inequality is much greater in rural areas than urban areas (Ming-Hsuan, 244). The urban-rural dichotomy in China segmented opportunities and benefits to certain regions based on how urban or rural they were (Ming-Hsuan, 244). One of the opportunities offered to the rural parts of China was a relaxed One-Child policy, meaning that the rural Chinese families typically had more than one child (Ming-Hsuan, 245). Because of this, rural families were more likely to partake in son preference and only place their male child in school. While this disparity is decreasing, it is still an issue. From a global perspective, the Chinese education system is working wonders. As depicted in the charts below, China outscores most countries with regard to both reading and mathematics. This is a drastic increase from China’s education system 30 years ago. In addition, the y-axes of these graphs represents female scores, whereas the x-axis depicts male scores. The graphs indicate that women score about the same as men with regard to mathematics. Women score higher than men with regard to reading. This just goes to show that since more women
started getting an education, it has been successful.
The Media Mass media in China is heavily regulated by the government. The Communist party controls what the Chinese society sees and does not see on the Internet, television, and printed media. The role of media in China is the mouthpiece of the government (Gunjan, 3). This means that the Chinese society has no control over what they can access through the media. The Chinese must abide by the rules and regulations implemented by the government. However, absolute control is hard to maintain. With globalization and technological innovations such as the mobile telephone, Internet, and television, it becomes increasingly more difficult to place restrictions on mass media (Gunjan, 6). China is driven by nationalism, which the National People’s Congress tries to promote through media sources (Gunjan, 6). As globalization continues to increase, imported media includes “seductive” Western ideals that draw the Chinese away from their nationalistic and traditional beliefs (Gunjan, 7). The Chinese government relies on their regulations to filter the type of imported content, but there are many people in China that have managed to overcome the firewalls that the government has implemented (Gunjan, 8). Because of this, there is an increasing gap between the Chinese society and the government (Gunjan, 9). The community is striving for more freedom via the Internet. The people of China find value in the freedom of expression and do not want the government controlling their every move. However, the government wants to maintain its controls and strictly regulate the content that the community is allowed to view. As you can see, there is quite a disparity between what the NPC wants for China, and what the people want for China. This tension will only continue to rise as more time passes and a resolution is created. The role of mass media is a governmental tool meant to promote China’s beliefs and traditions and rid the community of alternative ideals. This creates a tightly-knit
culture that dies not stray from its traditions. This is beginning to change as globalization and technology continue to advance.
Government China’s government is a complex structure that is commonly known as Chinese Communist Party. The current president of China is Xi Jinping. The President may also be referred to as the General Secretary. There are several levels to the Chinese government. These levels include the President/General Secretary, the Standing Committee, the Politburo, the Central Committee, and the National Party Congress. The Standing Committee consists of 7-9 members, the Politburo consists of 25 members (give or take), the Central Committee includes 350 members (give or take), and the National People’s Congress is made up of over 2,000 people. The following graphic shows the hierarchical nature of these governmental committees.
In addition to this vertical, hierarchical system, the Chinese government also communicates horizontally. There are several different departments that make up the Central Committee. These departments communicate to one another horizontally, meaning they create plans and reach consensuses at the same level, instead of sending information up the hierarchy. The graphic below depicts the departments within the Central Committee and provides a visual reference to understand how each department communicates with one another. The combination of vertical and horizontal communication allows for the Chinese government to function at a higher efficiency.
Current government policies include the promotion for rapid regional economic and social growth through the CCP’s implementation of the open-door policy (Ye, 119). China is implementing these policies in an effort to reduce regional inequalities and promote a greater sense of national unity (Ye, 119). Moreover, the Chinese government wants the less developed regions to seize this opportunity to flourish (Ye, 119).
Corporations Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are fundamental to China’s economic success. In China, the number of MNCs increased from 470,000 to over 500,000 between the years of 2004 and 2006 (Blanchard, 68). In addition, MNCs employ over 24 million people in China alone (Blanchard, 68). MNCs play an enormous role in the Chinese economy because of their large revenues, supply chain management control and dominance, addictive and vastly popular brands, and the embracing of international relationships (Blanchard, 68). One of the MNCs that plays a significant role in the Chinese economy is Microsoft. While MNCs are typically thought of as being powerful giants, this was not the case for Microsoft in China. Yes, Microsoft was and still is a tech giant, but it allowed China to have some of the power in the situation. For example, Microsoft embarked on several joint ventures with various Chinese firms (Blanchard, 69). In addition, Microsoft also took part in several largescale purchasing deals with Chinese vendors (Blanchard, 69). China also required that Microsoft provide the Chinese employees with proper training, education, and research (Blanchard, 69). This relationship worked out well for both parties. Since Microsoft was willing to abide by the demands of the Chinese, the Chinese were willing to do the same for Microsoft. The Chinese were able to successfully reduce the piracy of Microsoft products (Blanchard, 69). We often see software and technology companies being copied and “ripped off.” An example would be the Apple Airpods. Once the Airpods were released and became popular, many third-party vendors copied the style and sold Bluetooth headphones for a fraction of the cost. This problem was heavily reduced in China for Microsoft products.
Elements of Culture Cultural Values Through a study of over 90,000 people in 66 countries, social psychologist Geert Hofstede concluded that there were four primary dimensions among which cultures differed from one another. The four dimensions that suggest what values a culture extols are individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity/femininity. The dimensions have later gone on to include long-term orientation and indulgence. These values that a culture at large holds to be important can manifest as significant differences as you go from one culture to the next. Businesses should seek to understand the cultural values of their target market, because those values ultimately affect consumer behavior as well.
Individualism/Collectivism Index When Hofstede did his much-praised research into cultural values, he identified China and Chinese-majority societies as collectivist societies, with a strong focus on group orientation (Hofstede, 1984). However, there is some debate as to whether such a branching statement can be made about Chinese culture at large. For example, many Chinese are in favor of collectivist ideals in their personal lives, but do not carry the same sentiment into the workplace and the company they work for if they pursue an individual career (Wong, 5). The collectivist notions that are so widely supported can be backed up by several elements that are cornerstones to Chinese culture. These elements include “respect for age and hierarchical position, group orientation, concept of face and importance of relationships� (Wong, 5). Families hold a great
deal of significance in Chinese society. Actions by one member of a family unit reflect on the unit as a whole. It is common to have family members come maintain a family business together rather than all pursuing individual careers. These obligations to family members, especially older ones, help create a “one-for-all” atmosphere in Chinese culture that suggests a strong group orientation.
Power Distance Index Power distance is defined as “the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and organisations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally” (Hofstede). China has a power distance ranking of 80, meaning that society at large sees inequalities between people as an acceptable part of the culture. Authority hierarchies are defined quite clearly, and people tend to stay in their lane. The aforementioned reverence to those of a higher position or greater age means that Chinese people tend to accept the lopsided relationship between superior and subordinate, and do so with the utmost respect.
Uncertainty Avoidance Index Another way that cultural values differ is through the level of comfort members of that culture have when dealing with ambiguity. While some cultures tend to prefer everything to be laid out in the open and explicitly clear; others, like China, are fairly comfortable with ambiguity. China has a low score of 30 on Hofstede’s uncertainty avoidance, and is largely content with much being unclear. This leads to the people being quite adaptable and self-sufficient since they are so used to operating without all of the details. Rather than avoiding ambiguity at all costs, Chinese culture often embraces it. For example, the Chinese language has many ambiguities that can hide a certain connotation that may not be universal.
Cultural Values and Consumer Behavior A nation’s widespread cultural values can be strong predictors for consumer behavior. The collectivist nature of China suggests a high level of word-of-mouth communication surrounding purchasing decisions through the powerful networking channels maintained in such a culture. Another common Chinese behavior influenced by values is gift giving among family members, friends, or business associates. Some values that may bolster the gift giving culture of China include face saving, reciprocity, and strong interpersonal commitments related to the notion of collectivism (Yau et. al.). The low uncertainty avoidance of Chinese culture suggests a high propensity to try new things and be adventurous in the marketplace without pursuing every drop of information on a product before deciding to purchase it.
Rituals Many aspects of Chinese culture include a duality of traditional, historical Chinese tendencies mixed together with modern, often western-influenced tendencies. This notion is visually apparent through the mixing of skyscrapers and more traditional Chinese architecture in
cities, and holds true for rituals prevalent in Chinese society as well, A personal greeting can delve somewhat deeply into the personal information rather quickly in China, although this is becoming less common due to the more western idea of personal privacy being important (Feng and Du, 6). It is common for several generations to share a household in China. This can partly be attributed to the custom of early marriage. Strong family ties and constant exposure to grandparents nurtures the filial piety in the home. Grandchildren are expected to engage in a ritualistic manner of taking care of and respecting the grandparents (Feng and Du. 19).
Symbols Language Chinese is hieroglyphics. At the earliest time, the Chinese ancestors used painting to express what they wanted to express. As time went on, different patterns gradually became a single character, which formed the current Chinese characters. The official language of China is Mandarin. There are 56 ethnic groups in China. Although the official language of China is Mandarin, people speak different dialects in different parts of China. But when different people from all over China get together, everyone will still use Mandarin to communicate, thus avoiding the misunderstandings caused by dialects.
Aesthetics Aesthetics in China is intactly reflected in its building and painting. Unlike western artists, Ancient Chinese artists mostly focused on artistic conception rather than realistic appearance. They put their understanding of beauty in their painting and building. The paint below is “Wangchuantu�, a famous painting painted by Wang Wei who is one of the most outstanding poets in China history. In this painting, we can understand what he wanted to explain even though it was not like the scenery in reality at all.
Beliefs The percentage population of religious believers in China now is not as large as Western countries. Even though there are 100 million religious believers officially in China, it is so minor that compared to China’s 1.4 billion total population (Robert). The two main reasons why China has so few religious believers is that, firstly, believers cannot be members of the ruling party(CPC), secondly, after WWII, communism is prevalent in China and what the communism
claim is atheism. Furthermore, the government in that period instill a concept to the public that Chairman Mao is the greatest person and he will lead us to flourish. This activity restricted the development of religion in China for a long time.
Thought Processes There are many thought process Chinese culture engrains into its’ people. There is a level of politeness that is very commonplace in China. For example, if you are offered something like a gift or a seat on the bus, it is considered good manners to refuse it. Rather than imposing on others, most Chinese prefer to insist that the offer is not necessary, which is usually followed up by an insistence on the gift-givers part that it is no bother at all. Politeness such as this is especially important when interacting with elders or hierarchical superiors. Thought processes such as this are foundational to everyday interactions in Chinese culture.
Cultural Sensitivity and Tolerance China's cultural Sensitivity is particularly high. Chinese people are keen to learn other people's advanced technology and modify it according to their experiences and environment, making this technology a more suitable technology for Chinese people. China’s Cultural Tolerance is high as well, most Chinese think that as long as you love Chinese culture and understand Chinese culture, then you are Chinese.
Cultural Change
Cultural change in contemporary China generally happened after China comprehensive economic reform (CER), which began in 1978. CER made China open, starting trade with world. After participating in WTO, China makes much more communication with other countries in the world (Tomas) and Chinese people have access to know the culture of other countries.
Cultural Borrowing During 40 years period of CER, many cultures from other countries have been absorbed by Chinese people. Having a cake after a meal, choosing wedding dress instead of Cheongsam, a traditional Chinese wedding dress, at their wedding, all of these are cultural borrowings that influence today’s Chinese people. There are also many loan words such as sofa, coffee, pizza, hamburger which was used commonly in daily life. Generally speaking, China is a country that does not mix many adventive cultures but becomes more and more opening. This cultural environment is beneficial to our company to enter the Chinese market.
Similarities There is few similarity between the U.S. and China because the culture of these two countries is totally different. However, I found a similarity in the young people especially Millennial that the consumption concept of Chinese Millennial is converging to American people. Unlike their parents, Millennial people prefer over-consuming rather than saving money in their bank account. They are willing to pay a lot of money for a good just because they think it’s very cool. From my prospect as a Chinese Millennial, the difference in the overconsuming between Chinese and American is that Chinese people tend to be more irrational. Many people
choose to buy something they are far from affordable. This is also a chance to our product as long as it can catch Chinese customers’ eyes.
Resistance to Change The degree of resistance to change in China is ambitious. Chinese people are usually easy to accept new elements as the Chinese government will restrict some new elements enter to China. Bitcoin is a good example. Sichuan Province used to be the world biggest bitcoin quarry as its extremely low price of electricity at night but Chinese government shuts down the bitcoin market and bans all crypto-related commercial activities. (Akolkar) Therefore, our company should be careful not to offend any risky or political information in aspects which include but not limited in the promotion, product introduction, and conference speech.
Planned/Unplanned Cultural Change As our product, laptop, is a kind of high-technology product which will not be affected easily by traditional culture change. There is no need to predict or anticipate upcoming traditional cultural change. Our company should focus on consumption culture of Chinese customer, understand what products are they need and the purchase preference of them. References
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