Comments on: Truth and Trust: More than meets the eye http://www.jasonpatent.com/2009/10/12/truth-and-trust-more-than-meets-the-eye/ Success in China Wed, 21 Jul 2010 05:18:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Jason Patent http://www.jasonpatent.com/2009/10/12/truth-and-trust-more-than-meets-the-eye/comment-page-1/#comment-218 Jason Patent Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:56:42 +0000 http://www.jasonpatent.com/?p=980#comment-218 I don't know of any "dimensions of culture" frameworks that use "directness" as a dimension. The closest thing to this is what Edward Hall refers to as "high-context" versus "low-context" cultures. I'll try linking here to an earlier post of mine on the subject. If the html doesn't work right, just copy and paste the embedded link: attempting to link <a href="http://www.jasonpatent.com/2009/07/09/high-context-low-context/" rel="nofollow">here</a>. Some research — I believe by Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, but I'm not sure — attempted to quantify this, and the results put Japan at the high-context (indirect) extreme, with China coming in second. I have also heard Chinese express a stereotype of Japanese as indirect communicators. And I've heard Chinese stereotype Americans as direct communicators, and express that they admire this aspect of American culture, and wish that Chinese were more direct than they are. I think we should also be as precise as we can about what we mean by "direct." There are some ways in which the Chinese can be "brutally honest," where Americans would be more indirect and less "truth-telling." I had terrible acne my second year in China, and many people I got to know asked me about it. This was a case of the desire to show care and concern outweighing tendencies toward indirectness. I do think that in broader social relationships, outside of the frame of concern for others' health and appearance, there is a tendency in China to see information as a scarce resource and to guard it closely. In short: I think there is something to the notion of Chinese being more direct than Japanese in most cases, and even more direct than Americans in some cases, but on a macro scale the Chinese are quite a bit less direct than Americans. I don’t know of any “dimensions of culture” frameworks that use “directness” as a dimension. The closest thing to this is what Edward Hall refers to as “high-context” versus “low-context” cultures. I’ll try linking here to an earlier post of mine on the subject. If the html doesn’t work right, just copy and paste the embedded link: attempting to link here.

Some research — I believe by Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, but I’m not sure — attempted to quantify this, and the results put Japan at the high-context (indirect) extreme, with China coming in second. I have also heard Chinese express a stereotype of Japanese as indirect communicators. And I’ve heard Chinese stereotype Americans as direct communicators, and express that they admire this aspect of American culture, and wish that Chinese were more direct than they are.

I think we should also be as precise as we can about what we mean by “direct.” There are some ways in which the Chinese can be “brutally honest,” where Americans would be more indirect and less “truth-telling.” I had terrible acne my second year in China, and many people I got to know asked me about it. This was a case of the desire to show care and concern outweighing tendencies toward indirectness.

I do think that in broader social relationships, outside of the frame of concern for others’ health and appearance, there is a tendency in China to see information as a scarce resource and to guard it closely.

In short: I think there is something to the notion of Chinese being more direct than Japanese in most cases, and even more direct than Americans in some cases, but on a macro scale the Chinese are quite a bit less direct than Americans.

]]> By: ZH http://www.jasonpatent.com/2009/10/12/truth-and-trust-more-than-meets-the-eye/comment-page-1/#comment-216 ZH Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:57:55 +0000 http://www.jasonpatent.com/?p=980#comment-216 I've sometimes heard it said that the Chinese like dealing with Americans because they find them very straight-forward and easy to figure out, in contrast to the Japanese. Indeed, I've heard Chinese people group Chinese and Americans together, in opposition to the Japanese, as sharing a cultural trait of forthrightness. Granted, there is historical animosity between China and Japan that might be coloring this, but do you think there is anything to the idea? The Chinese may not be direct and open compared to Americans, but I wonder where they fit on the global continuum. I’ve sometimes heard it said that the Chinese like dealing with Americans because they find them very straight-forward and easy to figure out, in contrast to the Japanese. Indeed, I’ve heard Chinese people group Chinese and Americans together, in opposition to the Japanese, as sharing a cultural trait of forthrightness. Granted, there is historical animosity between China and Japan that might be coloring this, but do you think there is anything to the idea? The Chinese may not be direct and open compared to Americans, but I wonder where they fit on the global continuum.

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