by Diplomatic Council member Karlheinz Zuerl, CEO GTEC

Many Western managers stand in their own way when it comes to management tasks in China and often don't even realize it. The management style common in Europe or the USA is met with incomprehension by the Chinese and often causes fear and resistance. This starts when a manager who has flown in thinks he has to show who is in charge and where things are going right from the start. Sometimes a single meeting is enough to trigger an internal rebellion in an entire company.

I have had particularly bad experiences with "fly-in-fly-out managers". These are Western managers who regularly come to China for one or two weeks over a period of years to bring the local workforce into line with the company's course. They leave each time with the firm conviction that they have made everything clear and don't even realize that they are usually simply being hoodwinked by the employees with supposedly friendly approval of everything and everyone.

"Yes" in China does not mean "yes"

An example of cultural misunderstandings: When a Chinese person says "yes", it usually only means that they have understood an instruction, not that they intend to carry it out. If a Western manager hears a "yes" in response to specifications regarding deadlines, quality and costs and thinks that this means that a target agreement has been accepted, then he is making a huge mistake.

Another example of cultural differences in day-to-day operations that are often overlooked by Western managers: Chinese people are primarily focused on costs and speed. Every task should be completed as cost-effectively and as quickly as possible. Although this is pragmatic, it is often at odds with the Western understanding of clearly defined operational processes and high quality requirements. Why stick to supposedly superfluous processes or go through an additional quality assurance loop when you can reach your goal faster and at less cost without these processes?

The flexibility of the Chinese workforce is often underestimated. One example: If there's a lot to do at work, you simply call home and say you'll be home later. This is accepted by everyone. However, overtime is well paid according to government regulations: 50 percent overtime is paid on weekdays, 100 percent on weekends and 300 percent on public holidays. This sometimes leads to entire workforces taking time off during regular working hours in order to earn a lot of money from the resulting overtime. Western managers who are not aware of these correlations will always complain about excessively high wage costs and never understand why the calculated, much lower wage costs are constantly far exceeded.

There is hardly any team spirit for the company

In addition, there is a widespread lack of understanding in China for the team spirit in the company that is so often invoked in the West. The Chinese think first and foremost of themselves and secondly of their families. Apart from remuneration, the company is generally not considered to be very important, regardless of how many corporate team-building measures the company carries out. This prioritization also means that Chinese branches of Western companies quickly run into economic difficulties if they are not continuously monitored locally.

Some Western managers think that if they have attended a one-day seminar on business in China, they know how things work. But this is a huge mistake that has already cost the West many billions. Business in China only works with experienced local managers who live permanently in China and are at home in both worlds.

* GTEC (https://gtec.asia) helps Western industrial companies to overcome challenges in Asia. The focus is on business development, the establishment and expansion of subsidiaries and production facilities, as well as restructuring and turnaround measures to bring mainly automotive suppliers and mechanical engineering companies back into the profit zone during critical phases. Under the leadership of CEO Karlheinz Zuerl, a team of consultants, experts and interim managers is active, which can be deployed on site at the customer's premises if required. The boss himself is available for tasks as interim general manager and for executive consulting. GTEC's list of references includes corporations such as BMW, Bosch, General Motors and Siemens, large medium-sized companies such as Hella, Schaeffler, Valeo and ZF, as well as smaller medium-sized companies that are less well known but are all the more successful in Asia thanks to GTEC.