Return to Home Page 1997 Cross-CULTURAL Influences on Worker TRAINING: The example of the CHINESE by Paul Herbig Abstract of: Cross-CULTURAL Influences on Worker TRAINING: The example of the CHINESE INTRODUCTION In recent years, the spotlight of the world and economic and business attention has increasingly fallen upon Asia and the Pacific Rim. Particular attention has been focused in East Asia, particularly Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Taiwan, and Malaysia. These are countries with large Chinese populations influenced by the Confucian heritage. It is argued that the current post-Confucian values and ethnics in these societies have impacted their economic development. Confucianism is emphasized in ‘Li’ which means ritualism, as well as respect, and ‘Quanxi’ which means relationship. This paper is describes how to most effectively train Chinese workers and portrays the cultural rationale of why this is so. Importance of Training Properly implemented, a good training policy can help attract and retain skilled workers as well as improve company productivity and morale. However, cultural differences have been adding complication to the training design process. First, cultural values and norms affect the teaching and learning process because people in different cultures learn in different ways and prefer particular teaching and learning approaches than others. Secondly, resistance to training and development will occur if the contents or activities of the training are not compatible with the inherent culture, and this will cause ineffective training. In having these complications, it is clear that a cross-cultural trainer’s role should be relative to potential cultural differences. Hofstede has noted that the core question is one of whether the trainer should learn how to train in a “foreign” culture, or whether the trainees should be expected to learn in new ways. At the extreme, the first option is essentially an adaptive or indigenous solution, whereby the trainer becomes more aware of the relevant culture, until he/she is able to operate in a culturally compatible manner (Kirkbride, 1992). The most realistic position lies somewhere between these two extremes. Trainers need to be able to analyze both their own culture and that of the trainees to be able to design a training project objectively. This requires trainers to be aware, sensitive, flexible and willing to question their own models, concepts, and materials. People from different cultures speak different languages and behave differently. The Chinese are no different, having their own values, beliefs, ideas, and views of their own world. If a trainer does not understand the trainees’ characteristics, culture, history, and socio-economic backgrounds, he/she will not be able to create effective training programs. Therefore, it is important to first extract some key themes which portray central aspects of Chinese value orientations and psychological processes, to see how these values can affect training, and what are the rational behind them. These are harmony, conformity, authority, collectivism, “face”, and shame. Many tactics used by the West are less effective with the Chinese and within Chinese customs. Some mutually effective tactics exist as well as tactics that are more effective within each particular culture. The Role of the Teacher in China In the Chinese context, the teacher’s role is to teach, set rules, and work out detailed and complex examples. Basically, the students rely heavily on the teachers or trainers and always seek them out for instructions. Students expect their teacher to take the initiative, to lead and provide clear directions for them to follow. Trainers are expected to give rigid, highly-structured lectures. The trainees usually perform very well by having a high-structured training session because the Chinese are used to a system where they always study hard and learn by memorizing. Instructors teach by lecture, and trainees learn by passing examinations through the recall of detailed information. The Chinese culture places high value on orderliness and conformity; therefore, traditional instructors rely heavily on formal lecturing with prepackaged slides and materials. Thus, lectures, tutorials, and seminars are far more popular than are other more student-centered styles. Although the method may not be the most productive training method and is a passive way of transmitting and acquiring knowledge, it has the advantage of being a time-saving mode of teaching, primarily aiming at transmitting information and knowledge to a large group of people. The most important thing is that it fits well with the Chinese students’ preference for rigidity. Participants feel more relaxed by observing and listening to the instructors. Cultural Influences on Training Chinese AUTHORITY Compared with their Western counterparts, Chinese students seldom ask questions, especially questions that challenge their instructors or contradict the instructors’ viewpoint. The main reason for this is the high power-distance that exists between “teacher” and “students”. Trainees are reluctant to ask questions because they think it is rude to do so during a lecture. In a high power-distance society like the Chinese culture, the trainer’s authority status and credibility are particularly important. Chinese learners are brought up to respect the wisdom, knowledge and expertise of their seniors. These teachers are regarded as the “providers” of knowledge and so must provide rigid, structure, and precise information. The trainees usually are not willing to challenge authority figures. Therefore, it may be too difficult to force the trainees to participate in activities like appraisal system, participation in class, , and it may lead to ineffective learning. The major reason for this preference is the high power distance of the Chinese culture. “FACE” A trainer has to be very careful with how he/she address the mistakes that the Chinese trainees create; otherwise, a destructive learning process will be generated. “Face” is a very important concept in understanding the Chinese culture; nothing can be more embarrassing than losing one’s face (Brown and Levinson’s 1978, 1982). Trainers need to understand situations that occur frequently among Chinese that it is due to “face”. Some of these situations include when a Chinese does not have a question, the trainer may not assume that the message is well understood or there is no question to be asked. The second situation is that nodding and smiling from an Chinese is no guarantee that the trainer is being understood. Another situation could be if a Chinese laughs at an inappropriate spot during the lecture it may mean that he or she does not understand what the trainer is saying and is embarrassed. Someone who remains silent, nods, smiles, or laughs may or may not understand what is being said and is losing “face.” The is the reason why one should avoid direct and open confrontation because one’s face is of extreme importance. In a hierarchical society like the Chinese, high context exists, that is, how one talks, not what one talks about, is very critical. INDIVIDUAL DISCUSSION Chinese trainees generally do not respond favorably to classroom discussion, especially in a large classroom setting. The Confucian value of modest behavior influences Chinese students to avoid speaking up in a large class. Trainees are typically unwilling to participate in open discussion due to the risk of losing face. Volunteering to participate in open discussion is rare. Open discussion tends to only attract a few outspoken individuals, while trainer expects all to participate. Open discussion in front of a large number of peers requires the Chinese trainee to infringe the ethic of self- effacement (Han-Sui Chow, 1995). Therefore, trainers should be prepared for the unwillingness of the Chinese trainees to openly and actively participate in a discussion or question and answer session. The trainers should not embarrass the students by pointing them out one-by-one to participate; it might hurt the individual self-esteem, and discourage attendance. Instead, trainers should try to motivate participation gradually only after the trainees are comfortable with the other participants, not right away. Discussion could be valuable if the participants have sufficient prior experience and knowledge to make a realistic contribution. However, attempts at lively open discussion or training exercises that may require active learner involvement are difficult to implement and may even be met with stiff or uncomfortable resistance if proper implementation is not performed. Additionally, the fear of failure and reaction to disconfirmation and negative feedback can create an adverse learning environment. Individual trainees normally will only speak up in class when called upon personally by the instructors to do so. This may due to the fact that the trainees are too shy to speak up in front of the whole class. The trainees’ lack of previous work experience and fear of losing face in front of their peers through showing lack of understanding of the material may result in a reluctance to ask questions. Even if it is a critical question, the danger is not that their peers might still make them feel ridiculous in class but they will stand out by asking it. Chinese students also tend to emphasize harmony in the learning environment. They do not want to attack or challenge another group’s point of view. However, small group discussion may still work well for Chinese because the technique minimizes individual contributions. LOSING “FACE” -- APPRAISAL SYSTEM The concept of “face” makes ineffective another Western management technique that many trainers like to incorporate in their training — the open appraisal system. These highly interactive and emotional techniques are typically not successful instruments of learning for Chinese; giving and receiving feedback often result in withdrawal and resentment on the part of the participants. Facing such overt decision making can also create a tension and be destructive to the learning process. The problem of losing face may lead to an inability to receive and internalize the feedback and reinforcement. Another reason for not having the appraisal system is to maintain the existing harmonious relationship with the trainees. The appraisal system is supposed to improve the previous performance and motivate the trainees; however, if the trainers hold back constructive criticism, in order to maintain the harmonious relationship and face, then the appraisal system would not be effective. HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIP For the Chinese, confrontations are to be avoided. They prefer indirect approaches. One example of this is agreement; They seem to agree with you in order to avoid offending you. The rationale to it is that Confucianism stresses the value of harmony, urging individuals to adapt to the collective, to control their emotions, to avoid conflict, and to maintain inner harmony. A “yes” by an Asian in a meeting could mean one of the three things: 1) I understand what you said but I don’t necessarily agree. 2) I don’t understand what you said but I don’t want to offend you, or embarrass myself, by saying I don’t understand you. 3) I agree. (Su, Lily-I-Wen, 1993). Chinese hesitate to complain or say “no” because they feel it is disruptive of social harmony, which means avoiding confrontation to maintain social harmony and saying “no” is also considered to be very impolite. Chinese simply do not use the word, “no” in most circumstances. By keeping this fact in mind, trainers should repeatedly rephrase the question in many ways to find out what they actually think or feel instead of relying on affirmative responses. GROUP The Chinese are highly concerned with how they are viewed by others; they do not want to lose “face” in front of their peers. One of the central themes in Confucianism is conformity and obedience. This is reinforced by the “rules of propriety” which structure interpersonal relationships into hierarchical dualities and by the understanding that the individual does not exist as a separate entity but is interconnected with his/her family and clan. Thus, the individual is expected to conform to prescribed social structures and relationships and to appropriate forms of social behavior. According to the Hofstede theory, in a community with low individualism scores, like the Chinese, group decisions are considered better than individual decisions. UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE The Chinese prefer to adopt a passive role in the learning situation. Students are less likely to tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty. They expect a precise answer from their trainers; a definite right answer always exists. It is not appropriate to place Chinese trainees in ambiguous positions because they were brought up in a high uncertainty-avoidance society. The Western style of education, with its emphasis on less rigidity and more flexibility, may be culturally inappropriate in an Asian context. Trainees prefer clear and specific instructions with explicit lectures. Thus, trainers are suggested to prepare their training materials in a well-organized and unambiguous format. Additionally, more formal methods of education and training may be strongly stressed, which might create a great challenge to most Western trainers. This is because students put a great emphasis on examination results and normally do very well in answering straight forward examination questions which require memorization. FORMALITY Chinese trainees are more likely to address the trainers by using formal titles, like Doctor or Professor. As trainers are respected by Chinese trainees for their knowledge, they are expected to maintain a certain degree of distance and aloofness from participants. Trainers are also expected to maintain their credibility and position by use of their formal titles. TRAINING MATERIALS Beside the styles of delivery, adapting the training materials is also an important factor to have an effective training. The content of the training course should localized, preferably using local cases and teaching materials. An individual’s learning performance is maximized when the particular needs of the individual learner are used in guiding the design and management of the learning process. Therefore, it will be appropriate to follow what some local agencies do: to dub foreign videos with Chinese and translate written materials in to Chinese. Some even try to reproduce the video along similar themes using Asian characters and background (Han-Sui Chow, 1995). If cultural factors are ignored in the training activities due to a lack of knowledge of cultural variables, misunderstanding may result during the training process because of the inappropriate training materials. For example, if black table clothes are used at the training session, it means the trainers have been ignorant about the cultural factor: Black color represents mourning for the Chinese. In addition, religious issues may arise. For example, in the Islamic religion, if the trainer unintentionally includes cartoons of pigs and dogs in his/her training processes, a misunderstanding between the trainer and the trainees may arise because those animals are projected to be unclean to Muslims. Trainers need to learn about some of the cultural backgrounds of the audiences before the training commences. NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION The Western custom of shaking hands is now probably the customary form of greeting, but often a nod or slight bow is sufficient. Do not be upset though if the Chinese do not smile when being introduced; this is rooted more in Chinese attitude of keeping feelings inside rather than displaying them openly. The Chinese are not a touch-oriented society and is especially true for visitors or acquaintances in a the training session. Trainers should be careful when greeting the trainees, hugging and kissing upon greeting one another is uncommon. Silence can be a virtue in China, so the trainer should not be dismayed if there are periods of silence in his/her training session as it is a sign of politeness and of contemplation. During conversations, it is rude to interrupt, although it is perfectly fine for Westerners to throw questions back and forth to each other in the meetings. Senior people have been highly respected by the Chinese community due to the Confucianism; therefore, when training is held for the older or more senior trainees, avoid being physically demonstrative. When pointing something is necessary, do so with the open hand and not just one or two fingers is more welcomed. Trainers should not be offended when seeing Chinese of the same sex walking hand-in-hand; it is simply a gesture of friendship. SOFT SKILLS Western management education tends to focus on the technical skills or “hard” side of technologies as opposed to the human skills of management, “soft” side. Courses that emphasize technical skills, such as accounting, statistics, computer programming, operation, and production are generally better received than are courses like Organizational Behavior. This is because the Chinese basically have the mentality that “soft” skills subjects are not real, having too much feeling and not enough hard facts to take them more seriously and are thought to be generally less useful. The Chinese prefer to focus primarily on more easily quantifiable subjects such as economics and finance. The “soft” technologies have had substantial difficulties in being introduced to Chinese society. One example of soft skills training is the common use of cases studies in some disciplines such as business policy and strategy. A case study can be stimulating and provides an opportunity to apply learners’ knowledge to business situations. However, trainers should bridge the gap with more emphasis in the local context; therefore, the trainees for the soft skills should be asked to conduct real case or field studies in local enterprises. MOST COMFORTABLE Chinese Training TECHNIQUE: STRUCTURED CLASSROOM LECTURE WITH A GOOD TRAINER The classroom structured lecture is the most commonly used training method found because the students rely on instructions. They would rather receive detailed information instead of a simple outline or skeleton, where they have to fill in the details while they are listening at the training session for two simple reasons. First, the trainers should consider their language barrier; it is hard for a non-native speaker, like a Chinese, to listen, understand, and write information down at the same time. The second reason is that the Chinese are accustomed to rely heavily on the structure and detail format, where they are given exactly what they should know and memorize. Generally speaking, Chinese are hard workers; they will study hard, and do very well by memorizing the factors as long as they have been given exact information to learn. Therefore, a structured training session as the one most Chinese are accustomed to is highly recommended for any trainer wanting to take the easiest path. A formal lecture with prepackaged slides and materials is essential and will be more effective. Additionally, pre-orientation is good to have in order to let them know in advance what will be covered in the session, what they are going to accomplish after the session, or/and what their main goals are. Although, from the American view point, this may considered be too passive, it would be most effective and fit well in training the Chinese, especially a large group of Chinese. Additionally, it would save the trainer much time and keep the session on schedule. If the Chinese trainees have difficulty in understanding and writing down the information that have been said, it could take much time for the trainer to keep repeating the information. While the trainees are frustrated for not able to understand and write things down, the trainers are tired of repeating themselves. In the structured lecture type of training, the trainees are not comfortable challenging their trainers with questions which results in little or no interaction in a training session and it would be rude to ask questions. Trainers should have the skills to ask good open-ended questions and lead them to a discussion. This is especially critical for trainees who have never been exposed to a Western learning environment. The trainers definitely should not ask a question like, “Do you have any question?” Instead, a question like, “Do you agree with ...? Why do you think so?”, etc. By asking the questions and receiving the feedback, then the trainers would able to determine whether or not the trainees understand the material presented. However, addressing a specific trainee to a question is not appropriate because of the losing ”face” issue. In addition, the Chinese have the mentality that if they embarrass themselves; it is regularly embarrassing to the whole clan or family. Furthermore, the Chinese tend to speak up only when they are nearly 100 percent sure they have the right or correct answer; otherwise they risk being wrong and ashamed. Therefore, although Chinese who keep silent, nod, smile, or laugh, may understand; reversely, it might mean, “I don’t understand!” In short, having a trainer who is good in questioning is as important as having a structured information for both parties, trainers and trainees. Even though there may not have been many questions during the training session, the trainer might want to stay in the classroom a little longer after the training session in case there are any persons who would like to ask questions. Chinese like to do things and make decisions in a group. Therefore, they might have some questions after they have been talking over the things, and they might come forward with questions in groups. WESTERN TECHNIQUES THAT MIGHT NOT BE COMFORTABLE FOR CHINESE: ROLE-PLAYING, CASE STUDY Due to “face”, role-playing is definitely not a preferred technique to use in training Chinese. Role-playing is a prime example of an experiential method, where two or more people are acting out the circumstances as they are in a real life. It requires the ability to play act, to take risks, to expose oneself to the group, characteristics not preferred by the Chinese. In addition, since they are used to structured lecture, it is hard for them to get the ideas or the facts that need to be gained from the role-playing; it is too indirect for them. They might be confused and it would only be a waste of the time if they don’t know how to transfer it back to the workplace. It is an added level of difficulty introducing this method to an inexperienced international audience like Chinese. If role-playing is to be used with a Chinese group, it is critical that it be well designed and a good trainer should be able to do a good job in debriefing or explaining what messages are being taught in the session. Also, the trainers must phrase things cautiously to make sure that the workers understand what they have seen. Additionally, well designed also means that the trainers are consciously aware of avoiding touching or prolonged form of body contact in the training session since hugging and touching is uncommon in Chinese culture, especially to an acquaintance. A case study has traditionally been a poor training method for Chinese. A case study is an account of a realistic situation, including sufficient details to make it possible for the participants to analyze the problem involved and to determine possible solutions. Since the Chinese participants view the trainers as the expert, they may get frustrated when they are not given the “right” answer. They are reluctant to express their ideas, although they might have identified the “right” problems and solutions. They don’t want to lose”face” and only answer when they are extremely sure it is correct. Secondly, Chinese are used to only one correct answer, instead of multiple answers as the West. That is why they are more comfortable with quantifiable or technical skills or subjects, which has only one way of solving it. The third reason why a case study would not be suitable for the Chinese is because they fall in a category of high uncertainty avoidance group. They always get very frustrated when there is no one best answer and many solutions as the case studies always have. If the case study method is to be used, a few questions which can guide them in their thinking process would be very helpful. The questions can lead them to narrow down the issues that need to be discussed and thought about. Again a good trainer who can lead the debriefing discussion will very helpful too. NON WESTERN TACTIC, BUT EFFECTIVE CHINESE METHOD: APPRENTICESHIP Apprenticeship is a tactic that is used widely among the Chinese society, where a learner commits to be trained in a certain skill or technique from an expert. It normally lasted for a long period of time, ten years or more, or even the whole life. The trainees would learn from the basics until they are experts. It works very well in Chinese society because Chinese are brought up in a Confucianism society where they respect the senior or elder, and they believe in long lasting relationship. POTENTIAL CHINESE TRAINING TACTIC: SIMULATION GAMES A simulation is an operating imitation of a real process. It helps to motivate critical thinking and analyze possible moves and probable consequences of those moves, as well as intuitive thinking in making spontaneous decisions. Simulation games demonstrate that life is not always affected by logical plan or intuitive solutions. The most important thing is the trainees can gain experience without paying the price of wrong decisions in a real-world setting; it is risk-free. There are three major types of training simulations: 1)human interactive simulation, which can include role playing; 2) person-to-computer simulation, and 3) whole-earth models of economic, environmental, and other conditions (Fowler, 1995) It is a fact that this has many benefits, but a trainer has to assure it is culturally effective. A trainer needs to be aware that participants may become emotionally involved in the simulation and lose their critical sense. Games can trigger intense feelings and occasionally arguments can lead to expressions of personal hostility. Therefore, it is unlikely that the Chinese will involve themselves in a simulation game as the real environment in order to make it a success. It is because Chinese tend prefer harmony and saving their “face”. Probably due to this reason, it has not been used too much in the Chinese environment. Early in 1985, computer-based management simulation games were used by the National Center for Industrial Science and Technology Management Development in Dalian, China, but it was a jointly training by China and the U.S. Additionally, the Civil Aviation Authority of China has accepted a proposal by Airbus Industries to establish a full flight simulator facility in Beijing in 1994 to train pilots to fly. Training a pilot is an advanced. As few records exist that show the use of simulation games in training in the Chinese environment; it is highly likely it is not widely used in China. The scenarios above basically were human interactive type of simulation. Actually there is person-to-computer simulations as well; results will be given after the necessary information have been inputted. By referring to the Chinese value orientations: “face”, harmonious relationship, and uncertainty avoidance, person-to-computer simulation appears appropriate in training Chinese workers. It allows Chinese trainees to get away from the embarrassing circumstances. However, it is important that a trainer always warm up the group with a brief introduction to the game and an explanation of the rules and pattern of the play. After the game is over, a processing, critiquing, or debriefing period is most essential for simulation games, because analyzing the experience allows participants to capitalize on the learning potential of the game. RECOMMENDATIONS Trainers should use classroom lecture methods to train the Chinese workers. Prepackaged, slides and materials should be given out to the trainees before the training session, so that they can have some ideas or framework ingrained in their minds. It will allow them to understand, as well as memorize the ideas in a more orderly, long lasting fashion. The prepared materials, hopefully, will lower their tensions and worries of not being able to listen, understand, and write things down at the same time. Effective learning normally initiates under relaxed circumstances. Also, a simple introduction on what the whole training session is going to cover and accomplish would be helpful. During the training, the trainers should not talk too fast or rapidly express the important points. In order to check whether the trainees have the same pace as the trainer, the trainer should point out where they are in the material or on the overhead or slide screen periodically. Interesting examples should be incorporated to describe what has been said in words; stories are much easier to understand, especially for a non-native English speaker If technical skills training was covered, a demonstration with a real machine is critical. Trainers should not feel discouraged if there is not much classroom interaction. Instead, a trainer might want to offer the trainees a certain time period when they can ask questions together after they have had discussion with other co-trainees, in smaller groups, and after the materials have been processed; the trainer should encourage them to do that by reminding them at the end of the session about taking the advantage of the time. Even though role-play and case studies may not be good ideas in training Chinese, this does not mean that the trainers cannot incorporate some of the ideas into the training. While the Chinese may feel uncomfortable doing a role-play because the worry of losing “face,” role-playing can be adapted to be an effective method. Instead of having the trainees participate in acting, the trainers might want to act with outsiders in front of the class. The role-playing should be continued with a debriefing session, where the trainees can then discuss what they have seen; what is right or wrong and how it can be improved. Or else, showing a video of role-playing could be another way to solve the problem. Trainers can either debrief during the documentaries, or debrief after the whole program. Remember, debriefing is the key. The Chinese need explanations and guidance in getting the meaning of the role-playing, as well as how to relate or transfer it to the workplace. The case studies can be implemented in the training session accordingly, but definitely not for the whole session. Trainers still need to have a formal lecture or background on the facts, then follow up with a case study where they can apply the facts that they have learned. Non-native English speakers need more time to understand the case scripts. At the same time, breaking into small groups can be advantageous as the Chinese prefer to make decisions collectively and they are not comfortable giving out their individual ideas. Also, it is recommended to give a list of guidance questions so that they can focus in the important issues. During the small group discussion process, have them list out the things that they discussed. Finally, have someone read during the debriefing sessions, instead of having them talk spontaneously. Additionally, a short summary on what has been covered in the training session would be very helpful to reinforce the memory. During the training, a couple of other issues need to be addressed as well. First, be aware of the training materials that are used: colors, videos, or pictures. For example, black is not acceptable or preferred in a lot of circumstances. Videos should be amended so they are relevant to the Chinese culture; it allows them to relate themselves better and makes it easier to understand. Furthermore, if meals are provided between the training session, some types of foods need to be addressed; the core of the Chinese diet is rice, not bread. This becomes important if it is a long period of training; cold salads might cause them stomach problem, then it would cause a training failure, and hamburgers are not preferred. Thirdly, do not combine senior and junior workers in the same training session; it will cause a lot of uneasiness among trainees. In conclusion, an effective training program is not simple, many factors need to be well thought out according to the individual group. Otherwise, the mixture of all the mistake factors would result in failure by costing the company a lot of money. REFERENCES Anonymous, “Women Managers in Asia,” Training & Development, 50/4 (April 1996): 37-39. Axtell, Roger E.; Gestures: The Do’s and Taboos of Body Language Around the World; John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1991. 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