Diversity in the Chinese Workplace

Diversity in the Chinese Work Place

In terms of race, there is very little diversity in Chinese businesses. China currently has the worlds' largest population at 1.2 billion people which could be a reason of the lack of racial diversity in business. Even though there is a lack of racial diversity that does not mean that there is no diversity in Chinese businesses. Diversity is not limited to just race or ethnic background, which is what most people think diversity is. Diversity also includes different cultures, backgrounds, lifestyles, personalities and basically anything different. Since China lacks racial diversity, most of their diversity in the Chinese work place comes from the different regions in which each worker is from. Some of the major regions in China are Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. All are located in the country of China and may all speak Chinese but there is a cultural difference among them which adds to the diversity in Chinese businesses. The Chinese inhabitants of each region hold distinct cultural values, some of which reflect their historical encounters with the Western world.

When dealing with Chinese businesses it would be wrong to assume or apply any broad generalizations about the Chinese. Even though they are lacking a racial diversity, each of their personalities is different. Each workers personality will vary according to their family background, education and work experience. All these factors are part of the diversity that is unseen in a business in China.

Having employees from other regions can benefit a business in China. Much like diversity in U.S. businesses, diversity can help a business prosper and build a strong clientele. Diversity in a business is a great benefit, whether it is in China or the Western world. Diversity can help a business work with customers appropriately and by satisfying the needs of the customers. For example, a restaurant with only English speaking servers would have a difficult time waiting on a table occupied by an only Spanish speaking family. This could also hurt the restaurants business as well because news would get around that the restaurant has a difficult time serving patrons that do not speak English. On the other hand, if a restaurant has a few servers that are bilingual, those servers could serve the customers that only speak Spanish and providing them with excellent service. This could also help restaurants reputation as well because of potential Spanish speaking customers would be able to be served if they were to attend the restaurant.

In a Chinese business, the regional diversity of employees can also benefit the business as well, just like how the bilingual servers are able to serve the Spanish speaking customers. If a customer is from Hong Kong and the employee is from Hong Kong as well there is a sense of familiarity between the customer and the employee. A sense of familiarity is a good thing in Chinese business because the Chinese prefer to do business with people they trust or are familiar with. They prefer not to do business with anyone new until they have met them and have become comfortable with them.

Chinese Business Practices vs. U.S. Business Practices

Chinese business practices are much different compared to U.S. business practices. When it comes to business relationships U.S. business tend to view business relationships as less important. U.S. business would rather have a written agreement compared to an actual business relationship because the written agreement is easier to form. While in China it is important to build a strong relationship with those you have business relationships