Between the corporate head office and the Chinese subsidiary, sometimes things don’t happen the way that one has imagined. Recently, an European executive told me a bitter experience …
They sent a draft project to their Chinese team, hoping to get some opinions on the feasibility of the project in China. No news from China during two weeks, they then thought that the Chinese just needed time to think over. A few days later, they finally received an email from their Chinese colleagues, who wrote with pride that they just finished putting into place the plan “defined” by the head office …
Explanation: Chinese staff have reacted this way due to the belief that HQ sets the direction and satellite office just implements it. Two different approaches: Western Why vs Chinese What.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/luxuefei_china-linkedin-leadership-activity-6772445584117772288-eVhN