Cultural Differences between Canada and China

Countries and culture in today’s day and age are greatly different and unique in comparison to each
other. China and Canada are no exceptions. In fact, cultural differences between the Canada and
China are so obvious that you might be surprised or even shocked at first glance.

And the same differences imply when it comes to trade and corporate cultural side of the story.
Globalization has introduced to the professional world an array of opportunities for connectivity and
international relations. As a result, business professionals are increasingly likely to encounter
cultural differences in the workplace. Without a proper understanding of the differences in
corporate culture, business professionals risk hindering trade success.

Now let’s discuss three of the major differences in trade and business culture in Canada and China:
high versus low power distance, individualism versus collectivism, and long-term versus short-term
orientation.

Canada and China have vastly different concepts of power distance.  Power distance is defined as the
extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organisations within a country expect
and accept that power is distributed unequally. It has to do with the fact that a society’s inequality is
endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders. [ CITATION Hof \l 1033 ]

According to Hofstede and Hofstede’s “Power Index Survey”, involving seventy-four countries, China
ranks twelfth in terms of power distance and Canada ranks sixtieth (43). This means that, in China,
power distance is a cultural norm and in Canada, it is of much less significance.

As a result, Canadians doing business in China need to reconsider their relationship with superiors.
For example, “non-Chinese people need to be careful when dealing with senior managers in China,
so as to avoid situations where in they can lose their face” The Chinese concept of “face” (aka 面子
or miànzi) refers to a cultural understanding of respect, honor and social standing. Actions or words
that are disrespectful may cause somebody to “lose face” while gifts, awards and other respect-
giving actions may “give face”. [ CITATION MIK \l 1033 ]

Accordingly, it is important to address Chinese business partners by their title and with respect
according to their rank in the corporate ladder. Rash or edgy comments that may be acceptable in a
Canadian workplace most likely be detrimental to business relationships in China. Additionally, it is
important to be patient in China when it comes to business negotiations. This is because of the top
down business approach of business in China.
Another major difference would be superior and subordinate relationship. In Canada, supervisors
expect the subordinates to be proactive whereas in Chinese setup, subordinates like to be
instructed.

Whether a culture is individualistic or collective plays a big role in how the corporate culture
operates. Individualism stresses individual goals and the rights of the individual person. Collectivism
focuses on group goals, what is best for the collective group, and personal relationships.

An individualist is motivated by personal rewards and benefits. Individualist persons set personal
goals and objectives based on self. Individualistic workers are very comfortable working with
autonomy and not part of a team.

The collectivist is motivated by group goals. Long-term relationships are very important. Collectivistic
persons easily sacrifice individual benefit or praise to recognize and honour the team’s success. In
fact, being singled out and honoured as an individual from the rest of the team may be embarrassing
to the collectivistic person. [ CITATION Fut \l 1033 ]

In fact, Hofstede and Hofstede’s “Individualism Index Survey” ranks China sixty-first out of the
seventy-four countries surveyed. Canada ranks fourth (78-79). This means that Chinese businesses
and employees’ value collective behaviour whereas Canadian businesses and employees’ value
individualistic behaviour. Business professionals need to be aware of this difference if they want to
be successful negotiating between the two countries.

In an individualistic society, like Canada, promotions are based on skills, performance and
knowledge. In China, an employee who possesses these attributes may be held back if they do not
belong to the corporate ingroup. Canadians doing business in China should aim to build long-term
relationships with Chinese co-workers. These relationships should be rooted in trust, confidence
and, friendship. Building these types of relationships is imperative to successful business in China
because they signify commitment to ingroups. Embracing a collectivist mindset is imperative to
successful business in China.

The idea of long-term versus short-term orientation governs much of the way businesses and
individuals conduct themselves. As stated by Hofstede and Hofstede, “long-term orientation stands
for the fostering of virtues oriented toward future rewards . . . Its opposite pole, short-term
orientation, stands for the fostering of virtues related to the past and present” (210). According to
Hofstede and Hofstede’s “Long-Term Orientation Index”, China ranks first among the thirty-nine
countries surveyed. Canada ranks thirty-fourth (211). What this means is that China is an
overwhelmingly long-term oriented country whereas Canada is short-term oriented. This difference
has a significant impact on the way people and corporations approach business in both countries.
By considering high versus low power-distance, individualism versus collectivism and, long-term
versus short-term orientation, one should be able to easily understand, navigate, and succeed in
either culture.

Approach towards time (Canada vs China)

In Canada or the western world, it is a deep-rooted perspective that time is like an object in motion.
Increasingly in the modern world, time is generally measured against profit and achievement.
Reflecting this ingrained attitude, we have time-related sayings in the English language such as ‘the
early bird catches the worm’. In a profit-oriented society, time is a precious, even scarce,
commodity. It flows fast, like a mountain river in the spring, and if you want to benefit from its
passing, you have to move fast with it.

The Chinese, like most Asians, “walk around the pool” in order to make well- considered decisions,
but they also have a keen sense of the value of time. This can be noticed especially in their attitude
toward taking up another people’s time, for which they frequently apologize. At the end of a
meeting in China, it is customary to thank the participants for contributing their valuable time.
Punctuality on arrival is also considered important—more so than in many other Asian

countries. Indeed, when meetings are scheduled between two people, it is not unusual for a Chinese
to arrive 15 to 30 minutes early “in order to finish the business before the time appointed for its
discussion,” so not stealing any of the other person’s time! It is also considered polite in China to
announce, 10 or 15 minutes after a meeting has begun, that one will soon have to be going. Again,
the worthy aim involved is to economize on their use of your time. The Chinese will not go, of
course, until the transaction has been completed, but the point has been made.

This is indeed a double standard. The Chinese penchant for humility demands that the other
person’s time be seen as precious; on the other hand, the Chinese expect a liberal amount of time to
be allocated for repeated consideration of the details of a transaction and to the careful nurturing of
personal relationships surrounding the deal. The Chinese don’t rush their decisions or take longer
time to make the smallest of decisions. One of the reasons for that as discussed earlier is the Top
Down approach which makes the Chinese business accountable to the upper management on every
minute decisions.

References

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-different-cultures-understand-time-2014-5

https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/the-usa/

https://www.china-mike.com/chinese-culture/cult-of-face/

https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/develop-cultural-intelligence/0/steps/49772