Wanja Giessen

Confucianism and the Chinese Business Culture Wanja Giessen

Essay from the year 2013 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,4, Tongji University (School of Economics and Management), language: English, abstract: In the last decades, globalization - the increased interconnectedness among countries all over the world - became more and more important in the fields of politics, economics and in cultural contexts. In current times, China exhibits a unique role, being the world's manufacturing powerhouse in economic terms while maintaining a strong, traditional culture. Foreign companies seeking to exploit the advantages the Chinese economy promises must adapt to the cultural characteristics of Chinese firms. The influence of Confucianism is the key difference between Western and Eastern companies - this has to be taken into respect when trying to enter the Chinese market and when planning to begin strong relationships with Chinese companies. This essay will highlight the core elements of Confucianism, their impact on Chinese business culture and managerial implications that can be drawn from these observations. After highlighting the methodology and explaining how the author gained the respective knowledge about the topic, the roots of Confucianism are shown. The core elements of Confucianism are drawn to give the reader a detailed understanding of the implications Confucianism has on the Chinese culture and on the businesses that operate in it. The influence and the relevance of Confucianism on Chinese companies are shown. After that, positive and negative implications of Confucianism on the Chinese business culture are highlighted. Here, quantitative and qualitative findings are consulted to give a thoughtful evaluation of Confucianism in Chinese business culture.