CULTURAL AWARENESS

Cultural Differences in Business

Prospect for Success Paper # 3

Submitted to
Dr. Daryl L. Kerr
Department of Management
Belk College of Business
UNC Charlotte

Submitted by
Caleb Herndon
BUSN 1101-090
December 9, 2015

Cultural Awareness PFS Paper # 3

Values have a great impact on a persons life and the way they live on a day to day basis.
They shape how a person acts and how the treat other. Growing up in two houses with five
parents and five little brothers, I have been through many experiences that have taught me a lot
and shaped who I am as a person. Having multiple parent figures growing up exposed me to a
multitude of experiences and opinions that have taught me a lot. Each one of my family members
have helped to shape who I am and how I act. Of the many values in my family, the three most
important to me are respect, dedication, and honesty. These values have been the basis of our
family for years.
Respect, in my opinion, is the most important value in absolutely any situation. Treat
others as you wish to be treated. With such a large family there was a lot of respect to be given.
However, if you respected someone else, they treated you with the same amount of respect. With
all the different cultures, races, and religions a person can encounter all over the world, it is
important to treat everyone with respect. By doing this, no boundaries are crossed and you are
sure to be respected in returned.
With hard work and dedication, you can do anything you set your mind too. Growing up,
sports were a big part of my life. Both of my parents were collegiate athletes, so hard work was a
value they were sure to embed into my brothers and I. Neither of them would have gotten to the
level that they did, had they not been dedicated to their sport. This value not only applies to
sports, but to school as well. Working hard and dedicating my time to my goal allowed me to
achieve many successes and accomplishments throughout my life.
Another value that has been vey important to me growing up is honesty. Being dishonest
can cause you to lose the respect of others ruining many relationships and connections.
Relationships are built on the foundation of trust. Honesty is an incredibly trait in the workforce.

Coworkers will trust each other, employees will view management with less suspicion and
customers will return and spread the word about the company's integrity. Honesty is a value that
each and every person should practice and take seriously.
After watching the Cultural Differences in Business video presented by Valerie Hoeks,
I had a new found respect the the values of the Chinese and their culture. It showed that in China,
the poor who had nothing still found a way to be happy. They center their values around
Confucius who focuses on the correction of social relationships and strong family loyalty and
honesty. An important Chinese term is Guanxi. Guanxi means connections or relationships.
Essentially, this is how the Chinese get things done.
The first Chinese value was the practice of reciprocal favor. This means that for every
favor, a favor is expected to be offered in return. If a favor is not returned, this is deemed to be
unforgivable. The more you receive from others, the more you owe. By virtue of the rule of
reciprocity, we are obligated to repay favors, gifts, invitations in the future.
The reason why the Chinese society flows so smoothly is because of their focus on
harmony and togetherness. It encompasses the fundamental principles of nature, society and
humanity. When talking about harmony, Confucius said that people should behave according to
the principles of Being close to and learning from people of virtue and compassion, caring for
people while associating with them. Harmony is at the core of the Chinese culture.
Another important value to the Chinese culture is the idea of face. Face is a metaphor for
a persons reputation amongst their peers. Therefore saving face, and giving face are intuitive to
the Chinese, and losing face is to be avoided at all costs. A persons face within their social group
determines their position in said group. Face can be determined by attractiveness, how many

friends on has, skills, connections, or even money. Being humiliated in public can cause for a
great loss of face.
While the Chinese culture may seem very different from our own, we share many
similarities with our Chinese counterparts. While Americans prefer to tell it like it is the
Chinese prefer to sit back and let things play out. This is due to their value of harmony. As most
of the world does, we share values such as honesty and respect. Due to this, China has become
one of our greatest advantages in the business world. As partners with the Chinese, it is important
that we understand and respect their culture and values.
Researching and writing about the Chinese culture and their values has given me a new
found respect for the Chinese. At a young age, I never really thought much about how different
cultures and values can affect a business relationship so greatly. However, we have done a great
job settling these differences and respecting each others views. Due to this, China and The
United States are great business partners who intend to work together for a very long time.