The General Differences Between Chinese and American Culture

Running Head : THE GENERAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHINESE AND AMERICAN CULTURE

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Culture refers to the patterns of behavior of people . It can also be said to be

people 's way of life . Culture gives meaning as well as importance to activities that are carried out by a large group of people . It includes people 's language , mode of dressing , religion , beliefs and arts People 's values , altitudes and customs are determined by culture . Major elements that define culture include language and communication

religion , personal achievements , social behavior and socialization among cultures . Societies transfer their traditions and values through institutions like the family and older generations pass the knowledge to the younger generations . Culture affects people 's notion of time , social relationships , roles and concepts of the universe . Culture varies across regions or geographical locations . Chinese foods are also very different from the American food . Chinese are known for consuming reptiles like snakes and lizards something not practiced by the Americans

There is a wide variance between the American culture and the Chinese culture . China is an Asian country while USA is a western country . The political , social and economic aspects are very different and this could be the reason behind their different cultures . The Americans are exposed to the capitalist economic system and democracy is consequently highly valued . On the contrary , China has a communist and a mercantilist form of government . Capitalism is widely associated with each person being individualistic to pursue their personal interests or gains . A communist system ensures or rather promotes unity among the members involved as it involves the central planning and hence equality for all . Group cohesiveness is therefore a major characteristic among the Chinese (Geremie R , 1999 . Collectivity is enhanced and people pursue communal or universal interests are more valued than personal interests . While the American will be more oriented on the `I ' the Chinese are for the `we ' orientation . Capitalism also promotes individualism as people strive to acquire as much gains as possible from the available resources . Individual achievement among the Americans is highly valued and people are more interested in autonomy and personal growth but the Chinese feel that they have a social responsibility and group solidarity is respected

In business the Chinese perception is different from the American way and this is evident in negotiations . For the Americans , negotiations are seen as strategic games while for the Chinese negotiations are tactics through which strategic relationships are made . Social relationships play a very important role in business in China than in USA . The Chinese people do not like doing business with strangers and will use go betweens in most cases or what is commonly known as negotiators (Lam M 2000 . Different negotiations `games ' are treated with exclusivity in the sense that they are different by the Americans . However this is not the case for the Chinese who link past and current relationships to modify future relationships . For the American , business relations are not very meaningful as the importance...