Do not wave your client goodbye at the door. Always walk them to the elevator and walk back after the elevator door closes. For business partners you have been known for a long time, walk them to their car in the parking lot and leave only after their car makes the first turn.
Tag: Relation
Giving Rosary to One’s Partner
Most Filipinos are Christian and more than half of them are Roman Catholics. They are very familiar and do use rosaries. A rosary is something that they use to guide them with prayers or how to pray, usually in a bracelet-like o necklace-like form, and has a number of beads and a cross in the middle. The beads were put together by a string or a thick thread-like material. People say that couples should not give each other or a person should not give his or her partner a rosary because if it breaks and beads scatter, the good relationship might as well break.
Pamamanhikan
Pamamanhikan – Before marriage, the guy’s parents seek the approval of the girl’s parents for marriage with their daughter.
Ask advice to others
Chinese do not want to lose face. Openly criticizing others is therefore not common. If you want honest advice from a Chinese, build a strong relationship first. Only when you know the person well, he or she will feel comfortable giving you realistic advice.
Importance of Guanxi
When doing business, Chinese attach great importance to “Guanxi”, which is the private relationship with the partners. So please keep in touch with your Chinese friends by making phone calls with them to have a talk. This shows that they are important in your mind. Building a harmonious relationship will help you a lot when you want to do business with them.
Guanxi is the key to opportunities
Chinese people don’t like to do business with strangers, instead, they believe in “relations after business”. Therefore, to sign your first contract with your Chinese counterparts might require months of work, negotiation and guanxi building. The Chinese term guanxi, similar to networking, is the key to minimizing the obstacles and opening doors when doing business in China. An intermediary is very crucial when you need the introduction to an organization or individual. Guanxi can be created by hosting banquets, exchanging favors and sending gifts. A wide guanxi is always the key to opportunities.
Karaoke and mahjongg
Chinese people love two things: Karaoke and mahjongg. But if you think they are just entertainments, you would be wrong. Both of them happen to be very important business activities as well. Offers can be discussed in a karaoke box or at a mahjongg table. Playing Mahjongg requires both luck and tactics, and make sure to ask about the rules they play by – every place has its own rule. And you don’t have to be good at singing to go to a karaoke, just enjoy the atmosphere and sing confidently. These are perfect ways to establish Guanxi with different people. So just relax and have fun.
Go to a bathhouse
If your business counterparts invite you to take a bath with them, they actually mean it. In northern China, going to a bathhouse is not only a lifestyle but also a popular social activity. It is normal for same sex people to take a bath together in a public bathtub, where scrubbing service is provided. Bathhouses are usually equipped with Sauna rooms, Majongg tables, canteen, TV area and beds. It is a place for entertainment, relaxation and guanxi development.
No hat in green color
Don’t think that it is a good idea to wear GREEN hat or give it as gift, if you are in China or doing business with Chinese. Green hat stands for immoral relationship, especially unfaithfulness of wife. If the wife is unfaithful to her husband, her husband ‘is worn’ ‘green hat’. Therefore, you should never give hat in Green as a gift to your Chinese counterpart.
Give a talisman
Giving a talisman to hang beside a main door is considered very lucky to the Chinese. In China there are many places where you can buy this talisman. Try to ask some locals on where to find them.
Family Reunions
Family reunions (Filipino families are very close knit up to 2nd or 3rd degree), there are always a lot of family reunions
Never call or e-mail someone
The Chinese prefer face-to-face meetings rather than written or telephonic communication. When you are in China always try to have face-to-face communication. Contact by mail, phone or Skype is not taken that serious.