Cross-cultural Business Management in China and the Lusophone Countries

Recommended Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Teaching Methods

Lectures will use the expository and interactive method to present the main concepts, combined with videos to highlight the cultural characteristics of China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries. In addition, a discussion will be held of cases that address the most relevant topics of the syllabus.

Learning Outcomes

Raise awareness about the importance of the dimensions of culture and cultural distance in the development of international relations and business. After completing this curricular unit, the student should be able to understand the characteristics of Chinese culture, their business protocol and how to develop a negotiation process, and analyze the cultural distance between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries. The student should also be able to perceive the differences and similarities of the entrepreneurial characteristics of the corporate culture in China and Portuguese-speaking countries and to predict the ethical challenges in conducting business between these countries.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. Culture concepts and cultural distance.
2. The main characteristics of Chinese culture: Guanxi and Face.

3. The importance of the Chinese diaspora in doing business with China.

4. The cultural distance between China, Europe and the Portuguese-speaking Countries: Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and East Timor.
5. Business protocol in China: the negotiation process.
6. Ethical challenges in conducting business between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries.

Head Lecturer(s)

Jorge Manuel Tavares da Silva

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Participation in classes (10%) + group work (50%) + final exam (40%): 100.0%

Bibliography

AMBLER, Tim, Chris Styles e Wang Xiucun, 1999, The Effect of Channel Relationships and Guanxi on the Performance of Inter-province Export Ventures in the People’s Republic of China, Research in Marketing, 16, pp.75-87.

GRAHAM, John L. e N. Mark Lam, 2003, The Chinese Negotiation, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 81 (10), pp.82-91.

HOFSTED, G, 2004, www.geert-hofstede.com

HOFSTED, G., 1991, Cultures, Organizations: Software of the Mind, London, McGraw-Hill.

ILHÉU, M.F. P. (2008)”Chinese Cultural Characteristics and Effective Business in China”. The China IT Handbook, Chapter 11, pp.189-212, Springer.

LUO, Yadong, 1997, Guanxi and Performance of Foreign-invested Enterprises in China: An Empirical Inquiry, Management International Review, 37 (1), pp.51-70.

REDDING, S. Gordon, 1990, The Spirit of Chinese Capitalism, Ed. Clegg Stewart R., New York: Walter de Gruyter.

YAU, Oliver, H.M., 1994, Consumer Behavior in China, Customer Satisfaction and Cultural Values, Routledge.