Cross-cultural Workplace Frustration

[MarsBlackman]

Can any of you with work experience in China shed any light on this situation?

Just to give you a bit of background, I work as a manufacturing engineer for a multi-national company on a technology transfer project with a large Chinese state-owned heavy manufacturing company. Basically, they bought our technology so I help their engineers manufacture our product (think motors, generators, etc, not iPhone cases). I think its important to note that my Chinese is not at a technical level and I must use a translator when discussing work-related topics.

There are three big problems at work:

1) It seems that my Chinese co-workers work in silos. If something does not relate to their task at hand, then any knowledge they have of somebody else's responsibility is kept to themselves.

2) Also, they ask us every question imaginable about our processes, some are arbitrary. Despite asking for so much information, it is rarely fully implemented into their methods and despite our recommendations (what they're paying us for) they will perform an operation how they want to, not how it is proven to work continuously at my company.

3) For the very few things that my company does not perform and there is no technology to give them, their engineers tend to ask us for all the answers before even attempting to solve the problem.

There is so much they can learn from my company but it seems they don't want to be helped. I feel problems arise more from their company culture, possibly being state-owned, rather than it being Chinese vs American culture. However, its difficult for me not to slip into the destructive mindset that they simply don't want us there because we're foreign and that once this contract is over, they can go back to business as usual. Maybe they just want to prove they can do it on their own. I don't know.

Its just so hard for me to understand how on one hand they ask us every question imaginable, yet fail to use the answers to improve things. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked a question, then been immediately told my answer is wrong.

[gato]

Could it be that the person asking the question doesn't have the power to implement the answers?

It is hard to comment in the abstract, without knowing the specific questions, titles of people and title of people involved.

Working in silo (not caring about things outside one's work scope) should be easy to understand.

[skylee]

I agree with gato on working in silo. Many people do that (including many of my co-workers). The less one claims to know, the less risk/work there is. It is not uncommon.

[drencrom]

If it makes you feel any better, I have seen this situation many times in my years in China. You're not the first.

The problem arises from setting your goals too high. You are failing to meet them, and this is where the frustration comes from. I suggest setting your goals to zero. Expect absolutely nothing from the local staff, and you will be delighted when it happens. If you're working for a multinational, you are being more than adequately compensated for your time here.

You won't change China. You can butt your head against the wall but you won't get anywhere. The only people who can change China are the Chinese.

[count_zero]

Sounds like a classic example of Chinese working culture.

And I agree with upstairs, you won't change China. Getting hand-dryers in the loos should be considered a lifetime achievement.

[abcdefg]

Getting hand-dryers in the loos should be considered a lifetime achievement.

And the task of getting them serviced and maintained so that they actually work will be left to the next generation.

[li3wei1]

And why do you care? They've paid for the technology, whether they use it effectively or not doesn't affect your company's bottom line. Presumably you're being paid for your time, so it they ask the same question a hundred times, or a hundred questions you can't answer, it's all the same to you. Why let something get to you when it probably isn't getting to them?

[roddy]

Because it's generally nicer to do the best job you can, and it's frustrating if you're in a situation where you want to, but can't.

For the OP - don't entertain any ideas of changing this. it's institutional. Even if you'd been brought in as an expert on changing corporate culture it'd be an uphill struggle.

[steveh]

Seen and heard about this all the time here. Knew an expat who has a company here in manufacturing. He developed a technology and had it patented that would increase output to more than 10,000 items a day. He later sold this technology to a chinese company and trained them how to use it. Of course the Chinese who bought it thought they knew best and decided not to listen to his advice, having the technology would be sufficient enough.... In the end, the Chinese company was only outputting maybe a few hundred items a day.

As others mentioned, its an up hill battle. It's hard to accept, especially when you know this technology or product and methodology IS very useful. A lot of times we want to strive for excellence and don't like to settle for less. However, often at times here its more about just keeping a job by doing minimal work and just skating by.

But I also agree that the company being State Run may be part of the problem. These companies get money from the govt whether successful or not, so if they don't make money, they just sweep it under the rug or invest even more money to make it look profitable. With private companies, I've noticed in certain fields, employees really do strive for a better product in order to achieve a specific goal.

[roddy]

Generally the people themselves are actually acting in a perfectly rational way, it's just the incentives and punishments are all wrong. If proposing buying a new piece of equipment from overseas means you annoy your boss, who has a cosy little relationship with your current supplier, you won't do so. If you reckon your new more efficient way of working will put half the people you share a dormitory with (oh, you thought your colleagues just worked together?) out of a job, you may opt for the easier life. If there's a fifty-fifty chance you've made an incredible breakthrough and finding out will mean either a measly bonus, or the sack....

[frankwall]

That sounds immensely frustrating. But as said above, try and do the best you can and don't hope to change the cultural divide, its probably impossible.