正式商业交流（3）–美国商业跨文化交流

5. Short-Term vs. Long-Term Orientation
The time frame used: short-term (involving more inclination toward consumption, saving face by keeping up) vs. long-term (involving preserving status-based relationships, thrift, deferred gratifications).
There’s some debate over whether companies should design their personnel policies and reward systems around cultural values. Currently companies tend not to, because of the concern about stereotyping certain cultures.
A popular trend is for companies to "reengineer" themselves, which involves an attempt to change their culture, usually to a team orientation. As reported in the ACA News (September 1995), studies indicate that the following are necessary for a company to change to a "team culture:"
Common and consistent goals
Organizational commitment
Role clarity among team members
Team leadership
Mutual accountability with the team
Complementary knowledge and skills
Reinforcement of required behavioral competencies
Power (real and perceived)
Shared rewards
The importance of corporate culture is growing as the result of several recent developments. Companies are encouraging employees to be more responsible and act and think like owners. In exchange for more flexible work schedules, employees are expected to always be "on-call." With the demise of more traditional communities (e.g. neighborhoods, etc.), companies are filling employees’ need to belong to a community. At the same time companies are encouraging teamwork and the formation of teams.
Therefore, organizational leaders shouldn’t ignore corporate culture. Rather, it should be addressed in the organization’s mission, vision, and goal statements, and emphasized in company sponsored training and company communication. The statements should include the following:
To be financially successful, etc. (employees want to belong to a successful organization)
To be accepting of cultural (ethnic) diversity
To encourage employees to "have a life" outside the company (provide sufficient paid time-off benefits and encourage employees to take the time)

Part IIII Exercises and Discussions

Tell your fellow students about the corporate culture of the company that you work in. What do you think of it? What are some of the most unique characteristics of it? What have been done by your company to maintain such culture?

According to the article in Part Two and your business experience, give examples on cultural differences between Chinese business people and Western business people. Why do we consider some of our approaches common?

DECODING BODY LANGUAGE- The four basic modes of body language in business
破解肢体语言 – 西方商业肢体语言得四种基本模式

Knowing how to read body language is a useful communication skill. So is knowing how to use it. There are two basic groups of body language postures: OPEN/CLOSED and FORWARD/BACK

OPEN/CLOSED is the most obvious. People with arms folded and legs crossed and bodies turned away are signaling that they are rejecting messages. People showing open hands, fully facing you and both feet planted on the ground are accepting them.
FORWARD/BACK indicates whether people are actively or passively reacting to communication. When they are leaning forward and pointing towards you they are actively accepting or rejecting the message. When they are leaning back, looking up at the ceiling, doodling on a pad, cleaning their glasses they are either passively absorbing or ignoring it.
The posture groups combine to create four basic modes: responsive, reflective, combative and fugitive.

In responsive mode, OPEN/FORWARD the person is actively accepting. This is the time to close the sale, ask for agreement, demand a concession

In reflective mode, OPEN/BACK, people are interested and receptive but not actively accepting. Trying to close the sale or asking for agreement now may drive them away into fugitive mode. This is the time to present further facts and incentives. It may also be a good time to keep quiet and let them think.

In fugitive mode, CLOSED/BACK, people are trying to escape physically through the door or mentally into boredom. This is the time to spark interest in any way you can, even irrelevant to the message.
Finally, in combative mode, CLOSED/FORWARD, there is active resistance. This is the time to defuse anger, avoid contradiction and outright argument and to steer them into reflective mode.
How these modes are expressed in posture and gestures varies from culture to culture. See part V for some of the more common North American and European conventions of body language.