Advantages Of Small Talk

Practicing small talk is very common in every culture, but the content can differ greatly. In the United States and most western countries small talk revolves about the weather, latest films or music and other superficial topics not related to one’s personal life. In China on the other hand relationships are very important, even business relationships. While in the U.S. the guiding principle “business is business” applies, in China business relationships are taken on a very personal level (Neuliep, 2017). Small talk is applied in order to establish trust and social bonds with business partners. Hence it is not uncommon that small talk goes beyond the simple “how are you doing”, weather and sightseeing small talk. Chinese business men want to

He had the feeling that they were not very attentive to the meeting. He further considered it as very impolite to make so much noise and to use mobile phones during a business meeting. Different than in the United States, where business meetings are very quiet, everyone turns their phones on silent mode and listens carefully and attentively to the speaker, business meetings in China can be very loud. You can hear paper rustling and people talking on their phones, there will be a lot of background noise. One feels like no one is really paying attention to the meeting. This is because “making noise” during a business meeting in China is a sign of being awake. If people do not make any noise Chinese would have the feeling that everyone is asleep (Berkemeier, 2005). Further, nodding and mumbling “yes” in Chinese culture does not mean that the people agree with what has been said, but rather that they have acoustically heard what has been

A high scoring on long term orientation means that a pragmatic orientation is adopted. People put much focus on the situation, context and time in which something happens. Traditions are easily adapted to changes in the environment. Short term oriented countries have a strong perception about what is right or wrong and they rely more on facts rather than the circumstances of the specific situation. Also, they measure their business performance for example on a short-term basis (Minkov & Hofstede, 2012). Uncertainty avoidance refers to how different cultures deal with the unknown future and if they fear the unknown situation. According to Hofstede a low score on uncertainty avoidance indicates that these countries are considerably open and tolerant to new ideas and opinions. That they are comfortable with change and that they can adapt to new situations. Both countries score quite low on uncertainty avoidance which means that they do not have any issues regarding the unknown future (https://www.hofstede-insights.com). Contrary, both countries score high on masculinity which means that a society is driven by competition, achievement and success. In a feminine society quality of life and caring for others play the main role. This is not the main aspect of the Chinese and American societies. This can be seen in the Chinese culture, many Chinese are willing to sacrifice family and leisure