“The family is the focus of Confucian ethics, which holds that a basic moral principle, xiushen (self-improvement), can be pursued only within the confines of the family,” starts the article. As experts on Chinese culture, we teach clients that Confucian society is based on several factors, including filial piety, in which husband to wife is a core relationship, and group harmony starts at the nucleus of a family.

Survival and avoiding starvation depended on the cohesion of a family unit and the roles subsumed within that unit ensured stability. The evolution of cultural values and concepts in China, e.g. face, guanxi, education and rank, has revolved around the family unit. Thus, the claim that family life is even more important to Asians than to Westerners is substantiated through a lesson in culture.

The following statistics show us how things have changed:

The first change is that people are getting married later, often much later. In the richest parts—Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong—the mean age of wedlock is now 29-30 for women, 31-33 for men.

The second change is that, among certain groups, people are not merely marrying later. They are not getting married at all. In 2010 a third of Japanese women entering their 30s were single. Perhaps half or more of those will never marry…Only 30 years ago, just 2% of women were single in most Asian countries.

Avoiding both illegitimacy and cohabitation, Asian women appear to be living a more celibate life than their Western sisters (admittedly, they could also be under-reporting rates of cohabitation and pre-marital sex). The conclusion is that East Asia’s growing cohorts of unmarried women reflect less the breakdown of marriage than the fact that they are avoiding it.

According to The Economist, women contribute far more than men to maintaining their households. “Surveys in Japan have suggested that women who work full-time then go home and spend another 30 hours a week doing the housework. Their husbands contribute an unprincely three hours of effort. In America and Europe the disparity is less extreme, and has narrowed considerably since the 1960s.” This is just one facet of many that may help us understand what is keeping women from pursuing traditional roles.

Conservative reactions are also interesting to examine. South Koreans call women who have a university education “golden misses”. “Why should I have to settle down to a life of preparing tofu soup, like my mother?” asks one. The idea of being single beyond one’s marriage expiration date has a variety of pejorative labels in Asia. In Japan, it’s “parasite singles”. “The reluctance to marry seems to have unleashed spiteful hostility, an attitude that makes the decision not to wed a tough one,” says the article. In China, “sheng-nu (left-over women) and guang gun (bare branches, or men who will not add to the family tree)” are the labels society has created. Have you heard of any others for Asia?

This paints a story of modernization that mimics what we’ve seen in the West, albeit in a much shorter period of time. In any case, it’s a vivid example of culture shift. What else is contributing to the fast pace at which younger generations adopt new perspectives on what’s acceptable, tolerable and desirable in the realm of marriage and partnerships?

Sean

RW3 CultureWizard

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGaVFRzTTP4

South Koreans have one of the longest work weeks anywhere (see our previous post on prosperity and culture here). Tesco chose an innovative strategy that seems to resonate with the local populace.

However, the consumer’s inability to examine the quality of produce, for example, might dissuade one from adopting this way of grocery shopping. What does it say about culture in South Korea? Is there a value system, a driving force of culture, that is saying, “it is better to save time shopping by doing so on this subway platform than taking away from my free time to relax, be with family, etc.”?

Would this work in, say, a European city? Grocery chains in the US are no stranger to home delivery, but this convenience may not be valuable in European locales. What about a Chinese city? How does work-life balance change a culture’s focus on convenience? Thinking further about emerging markets, how does the process of industrialization change culture in general?

Sean

RW3 CultureWizard

Kareena Kapoor

The concept of “face”, a central tenet of many Asian cultures, is illustrated in an a story from the Indo-Asian News Service concerning the relationship between a film director eager to work with an actress. When the reporter asks Madhur Bhandarkar, the director, why Kareena Kapoor, the actress, has not yet confirmed she’ll work with Madhur on a new film, he responds by giving face to Kareena, the most culturally appropriate response to a question framed to solicit information on a sensitive matter. Kareena’s payment to collaborate with Madhur was the sensitive detail concerned, and Madhur responded with the following:

It’s not because she was quoting a very high price. It was because our budget of the film was very less. The dates were also clashing.”

Instead of expressing the feeling that Kareena was asking for too much money, Madhur focused on his own budget, thus giving face to Kareena by acknowledging she deserved more than he could afford. Furthermore, Madhur alludes to the history of their strong relationship and mentions they need to take the right amount of time before anyone can make a decision.

We know each other for years. We both admire each other’s work. In Page3 we wanted to work together but there were some economic problems because of which we couldn’t. I met her and we have spoken on it, but we need to sit for couple of times. Once it’s decided we will make the announcement.”

The concept of time in most of India, and in other Asian countries, is far more fluid than in the West. Decision making is slower and relationship-building takes precedence over schedules and deadlines. How do film studios in Hollywood differ? What would a director in Hollywood do in this situation? It may appear that film culture in Los Angeles is not as far from Mumbai as we think.

Click here to jump to the article on the Hindustan Time’s website.

Sean

RW3 CultureWizard

Before looking at that article, I’ll start by noting the various cultural dimensions CultureWizard teaches, e.g. relationship and communication. These dimensions encompass styles of thought, and the approach one takes to human interaction. In China, for example, we generalize that most people are relationship-oriented, which means that relationships are the underlying lens through which Chinese see all aspects of life, both business and personal. The general idea is that this is the opposite of a country like Switzerland, where people often look at a clock to organize their days. To understand others, simple lessons on very basic and commonly encountered cultural attributes is a necessity for global business succss. However, in reality, everyone is unique and should be treated according to their personal culture. Nevertheless, everyone is influenced by a national culture through religion, mythology, history, mass media, etc.

David Brooks’ conversation with Gail Collins is very general, but there is some truth to what Brooks observes on culture, even though it’s still far from being common knowledge.

“Different cultures and groups have different styles of thinking, or to be more precise, the average behavior is different from one group to another. So is it possible that Westerners, on average, have thinking styles that make them ill-suited for the problems of the future while Asians have styles that make them better suited?”

“Asians place emphasis on context while Westerners place more emphasis on individuals. This seems like a gross generalization but it is robustly supported by hundreds and hundreds of studies.”

“Basically, I’m saying that two groups I’m a member of — Westernized men — may have been well adapted to the agricultural and industrial societies, but our thinking styles are not well adapted to the networked age of social information flows. I’m not just saying the West is doomed. I think Western men, like me, are doomed unless we change and adapt quickly!”

The individualistic approach that is deeply ingrained in Western individuals’ minds is not the norm in Asia, although culture is gradually changing, so learning and recognizing situations where different approaches are popular interesting. Western men may not be doomed, but cultural awareness is a solution to the adaptability that global business demands today.

Click here to read the conversation. How would you react to these ideas?

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