Interview with Dr. Stephan : Germany VS China Culture Difference

Dr. Stephan Ruppert, with chemistry education background, started his career at the global cosmetic company Beiersdorf (Nivea, Eucerin, 8x4, Labello etc) in 1998 in Hamburg, Germany?and got the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in 2012 to open the company’s first regional R&D Center in Wuhan in China. The challenge to build an R&D center from scratch in this completely different cultural environment changed his life completely. After returning to Germany he developed training programs for Intercultural Communication for the employees in Germany as well as for those in China?who have communications with Germans.

Since 2019 he has been supporting?German companies to improve their communication with Chinese partners and vice versa with tailored Intercultural communication trainings under the label LinkingCultures.?Recently he is determined?to follow his passion and quit his?current job to fully focus on training & consultancy.

Cross Culture Communication Challenge

Lena: You had been working in China for a long time, what is?the biggest challenge?do you think?in the intercultural communication between Germans?& Chinese?

Stephan: Well... it’s?hard to generalize and it is crucial to see the individual but according to my personal experience I see three obvious areas ?where Chinese & Germans act & think quite differently: 1) Task- vs Relationship-orientation 2) Direct vs indirect communication 3) Power Distance & Hierarchies

Lena: Wow, it seems you have rich experience about the two cultures. Well, could you?explain a bit more or?give us some?examples about them?

Task VS Relationship Orientation

Stephan: Well, Germans are famous for task-orientation, and I am not an exception. I remember?when I started the R&D center in Wuhan and?some suppliers wanted to visit our labs I expected them to use their time with me efficiently and directly present their products after a very brief small talk, I was very surprised that most of the suppliers would fly from Shanghai or Guangzhou and spend the first meeting just for socializing – some of them did not even bring their laptop. It took me some time to realize their?purpose of the first meeting was to build a relationship with?the decision maker. And my main job was to establish and protect these personal relationships. In Germany,?we build trust with suppliers via facts & figures while in China building personal relationship is first and then trust comes following.

Direct VS Indirect Communication

Lena: I know Germans usually communicate very directly, while in China, people often speak indirectly and you have to read between lines, facial expression and body language, then you could understand what they mean. Have you ever experienced any misunderstanding when you worked in China?

Stephan:?Yes. When I worked in China,?most of my colleagues were Chinese. This was actually the first thing I discussed with my new team in China. I told them that I am not good at reading between the lines and I would?not send any hidden messages, so I asked them to address issues directly or?otherwise I would not get their message. I tried my best to address critical topics and conflicts in a polite and indirect way but I was not prepared for the level of indirectness I experienced in China. When I told a colleague that I fundamentally disagreed?with a proposal from our factory in Shanghai he told me not to?show this disagreement on table?and promised that he would take care?of it. At last, he helped me solve?this conflict and I never discussed the issue face to face with the?person?who made the proposal.

Lena: How did you feel about the way your colleague helped you?

Stephan: Of course I was happy. After all,?the conflict was solved,?but it deeply infringed my personal values of openness & honesty. For me, it is important to understand that cultural norms are always connected to fundamental values and emotional needs. Well, if people are forced to act against their cultural norms they will be stressed, so am I.

Power Distance & Hierarchies ?

Lena: You just mentioned power distance.?How do you see power distance in China & Germany?

Stephan: Actually, power distance & hierarchies as well as other cultural?differences I mentioned here are some?cultural dimensions put forward by social psychologist Geert Hofstede.?China is a typical nation with high power distance. The less powerful individuals or companies except and accept that power is distributed unequally. In China, I see junior staff usually are afraid to say “no”?to their boss or senior manager. In Germany, power is of course not equally distributed, but the ideal is to meet people with more power – like a boss – on eye-level.

As German, there were occasions where I also appreciated that my employees would just follow my instructions without questioning every step or arguing about every decision. On the other hand, my management style relies on my employees openly disagreeing when I make a mistake or?fighting with the experts in my team for the best solution. In?many situations I was really lost because nobody dared to openly disagree with me and to correct me when I was wrong – which was the case quite often in a foreign culture where I simply did not know the rules, so when one?of my team members openly challenged my views in team meetings,?I was very happy. For me, it showed that we reached a great level of trust. It was really exciting for a team manager to see this happens.

Lena: Do you remember any privilege you had?as a boss in China while you did not have in Germany??

Stephan: Yes, there was some and they really shocked me. In Germany, if a couple of staff were on business trip together, everyone travelled in the same class and stayed in the same hotel. There is no difference whether you are a boss or just an intern. However, it was very different in China.?Once three of us needed to have a business trip together. When we arrived?at the airport, we?took 3 different taxis to different hotels. It made me confused. The other time was when I had to choose some?furniture for our offices,?it was clear for me that everyone should pick the desks, chairs & tables from the same program but I was told that it was expected that I would equip my office with more representative furniture from the “boss-program”.?I was specially treated...

Lena: I guess you felt a bit uncomfortable with these privileges – how did you handle these situations?

Stephan:?Again this has to do with personal values and emotional needs. I was not at ease with all these privileges and felt that my employees should be treated more equal to me. On the other hand I understood that it made them feel uncomfortable if their boss had his office equipped with the standard budget furniture. So I tried to find compromises and change this privileges very slowly over time.?

Passion in Intercultural Communication

Lena:?What made you decide to quit your job as a senior manager and fully focus on Intercultural Communication?

Stephan: This decision was the result of a longer process. When I returned from China, I saw the need to improve the Intercultural Competence in the company and decided to conduct the training?together with a friend who worked for Beiersdorf in Mexico. From day one I enjoyed the training and the more I read about Intercultural communication the more I was fascinated, and I felt I could really help people with practical advice which makes them more efficient and reduces stress. It is extremely rewarding to get positive feedback from the participants and to realize how their views on other cultures changed.?Actually, I understood a lot of difficult situations in China when I saw them through the lens of intercultural communication in my own training. Finally I decided to follow my passion and give up the security of a job in a big corporation – it is a dream for me to focus on things which really matter for me.

Lena: Now China is gaining more and more influence?both?economically and politically?in global. Last week, during a casual talk, a German friend said in recent years German government attaches increasing importance to China cooperation and business men are aiming at China market. How do think about this trend?

Stephan:?Personally, I think the key is mutual understanding.?Providing a balanced view on China is one of my missions. The reporting about China in Germany typically focus on a very few topics. In my eyes it is crucial to start any kind of relationship with China from a well-informed base. In order to understand China it is crucial to have some basic knowledge about the recent history, the education system, digitization, economy, philosophical roots etc. and this is what I?am trying?to get across in my China training. The same is of course true for Chinese who want do business with Germans.

Remarks: If your company needs support to communicate more efficiently and avoid misunderstandings with partners from China/Germany feel free to contact Stephan?[email protected]?or WeChat: Dr Stephan: (wxid_8ipgnuaa9uwv12)

More about Stephan:

www.LinkingCultures.de?