Facet5 In China
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Doing bttsiness with the Chinese requires the personal touch according to psychologist Norman Buckley, associate of ConsultingTools and expert in questionnaire design and assessment techniques. He describes ongoing research ittto Chinese personality traits zolticlt enables us to approach denl-making in a more appropriate rnanner. Companies world-over are taking advantage of China's rapidly expanding economy. China is regarded as the second largest economy and with economic growth rates at 9.5% per year is growing so fast that it is set to be in a league of its own by the middle of this century. This country, which was once closed to foreign investmentt is now attracting scores of foreign investors. However malìy an over enthusiastic, fresh-faced foreign entreDreneur has found themselves laid low by the country's impenetrable business culture. So what is the key to working successfully in China? A recent study, commissioned by Management Centre of Asia Pte Ltd (Singapore), Redf ielcl Consulting (Australia), Management Tools (China) and Consulting Tools (UK) aimed to compare key Chinese professional ancl managerial personalities with Western pcrsonalitics. Thc goal was to find significant differences, which might be of use in organisational development and may aid with the development of foreign companies dealing with the Chinese in business and persorurel management. Relevance and scope The study of personality has proven useful for personnel management, having been well researched and validated in psychological journals. Robust evidence shows that personality can be condensed into five major factorq which are consistent over culture, language, instrument used and theoretical framework. Thus the solid scientific foundation of the Big 5, as it is now knor,r'n, provided a defensible organising framework that enabled us to proceed with our study. Hypotheses One of the most common elements of any Chinese relationship is guanxi. Guanxi consists of reciprocal ties or social bonds. It plays a part in every type of Chinese relationship, including the business arena. As guanxi occupies a position of prime importance in the life of the Chinese, we would expect Chinese people to score significantly higher on affection, one of the Big 5 factors. Affection measures how much a person is business focused versus people focused. A second typecast of Chinese people is that they are less outspoken and more introverted than their western counterparts. If this is correct, we woulcl exuect the Chinese data to show lower scôres in Energy, which is the factor that measures the need to be with people; extroversion. In addition, the Chinese style of governance is seen as highly bureaucratic and traditional. This, if accurate, would mean that the Chinese would score higher on control, as control deals with conservatism and traditionalism. The research is approached and studied quantitatively. Two sets of identical east and west sample data are collected and compared. Respondents are selected from a cross section of industries to limit response bias. Instrument: Facet5 The instrument used is Facet5 - a Big 5 personality assessment. Facet5 was originally created in English in the late 1980s and has since been translated into numerous languages. Data is captured trsing a web-based process where people access the questionnaire via an emailed invitation. Validation Sample A "Balanced" sample of 240 people completed the original Facet5 questionnaire in English, representing a variety ofjob functions, in order to avoid organisational bias. This group was then matched as closely as possible to create the Manda¡in group, including exactly equal numbers of men and women in eaclr grouP. Level of Analysis We were specifically interested in significant differences between westenì and eastern personalities. What does this imply? As expected, Mandarin speaking people generally scored higher on affection, suggesting that Mandarin speaking people are caring ancl compassionate. They are less astute and hard-nosed compared with the western sample. This corresponcls Winter 2007 BA '19
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Transcript of Facet5 In China
Doing bttsiness with the Chinese requires the personal touch according to psychologist
Norman Buckley, associate of ConsultingTools and expert in questionnaire design and
assessment techniques. He describes ongoing research ittto Chinese personality traits zolticlt
enables us to approach denl-making in a more appropriate rnanner.
Companies world-over are takingadvantage of China's rapidly expandingeconomy. China is regarded as the secondlargest economy and with economicgrowth rates at 9.5% per year is growingso fast that it is set to be in a league of itsown by the middle of this century. Thiscountry, which was once closed to foreigninvestmentt is now attracting scores offoreign investors. However malìy an overenthusiastic, fresh-faced foreignentreDreneur has found themselves laidlow by the country's impenetrablebusiness culture.
So what is the key to working successfullyin China? A recent study, commissionedby Management Centre of Asia Pte Ltd(Singapore), Redf ielcl Consulting(Australia), Management Tools (China)and Consulting Tools (UK) aimed tocompare key Chinese professional anclmanagerial personalities with Westernpcrsonalitics. Thc goal was to findsignificant differences, which might be ofuse in organisational development andmay aid with the development of foreigncompanies dealing with the Chinese inbusiness and persorurel management.
Relevance and scope
The study of personality has provenuseful for personnel management, havingbeen well researched and validated inpsychological journals. Robust evidenceshows that personality can be condensedinto five major factorq which areconsistent over culture, language,
instrument used and theoreticalframework. Thus the solid scientificfoundation of the Big 5, as it is nowknor,r'n, provided a defensible organisingframework that enabled us to proceedwith our study.
Hypotheses
One of the most common elements of anyChinese relationship is guanxi. Guanxiconsists of reciprocal ties or social bonds.It plays a part in every type of Chineserelationship, including the business arena.As guanxi occupies a position of primeimportance in the life of the Chinese, wewould expect Chinese people to scoresignificantly higher on affection, one ofthe Big 5 factors. Affection measures howmuch a person is business focused versuspeople focused.
A second typecast of Chinese people isthat they are less outspoken and moreintroverted than their westerncounterparts. If this is correct, we woulclexuect the Chinese data to show lowerscôres in Energy, which is the factor thatmeasures the need to be with people;extroversion.
In addition, the Chinese style ofgovernance is seen as highly bureaucraticand traditional. This, if accurate, wouldmean that the Chinese would score higheron control, as control deals withconservatism and traditionalism.
The research is approached and studied
quantitatively. Two sets of identical eastand west sample data are collected andcompared. Respondents are selected froma cross section of industries to limitresponse bias.
Instrument: Facet5The instrument used is Facet5 - a Big 5
personality assessment. Facet5 wasoriginally created in English in the late1980s and has since been translated intonumerous languages. Data is capturedtrsing a web-based process where peopleaccess the questionnaire via an emailedinvitation.
Validation SampleA "Balanced" sample of 240 peoplecompleted the original Facet5questionnaire in English, representing a
variety ofjob functions, in order to avoidorganisational bias. This group was thenmatched as closely as possible to createthe Manda¡in group, including exactlyequal numbers of men and women in eaclrgrouP.
Level of AnalysisWe were specifically interested insignificant differences between westenìand eastern personalities.
What does this imply?As expected, Mandarin speaking peoplegenerally scored higher on affection,suggesting that Mandarin speaking peopleare caring ancl compassionate. They areless astute and hard-nosed compared withthe western sample. This corresponcls
Winter 2007 BA '19
Norrtran llucklt'y ¡¡ratlrr.rterl in lrsychologyin Syclnr.¡,, bcfort rtrnrrirrg his orvrr UKconrp(ìrì)¡. l.lc pionct'rctl tlrc usc of.lss('ss¡ìt('tìl arrtl dcvelo¡rntcnt lrRlccsscs,rvorkirrg t'xlcnsivcl), on bio¡¡raphical andpcrsonality tlat,r analysis.
lìuikling tur lctì yc.ìrs' n,sr,¡rch irrpcmonality thcory, lrc dcvtlopcd F¡cct5, thcfimt rlaior atlvarrcc in pcrsorralityassossnìcnt in thc [U in thc past tlccadc.Facct.S is o¡rc of thc fcw ftrlly web-cnablcdapproachcs kr pcrsonality nì(,asurcntcrìt.
Nor¡nan lras traincd in strr¡cturcd intcrvicn,tcchnit¡rrcs ancl tlc'livcrcrl tììarìâg(tììotìtassoss¡ììctìt, cotrnscll ing artrl dcvclopmctrtProgra¡ììrììcs.
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Corrsulting'lixrls is a spccialist prrrvitkr arrdrlcvclopcr of i¡ì¡lovalivc ¿sstsstì.ìorìt kx)lslntl cr¡str¡rnisc<l solr¡ti<lls dcsignctl fttcrlrsultarrts, co¡clrcs a¡r<l br¡sincss
¡rnrfcssiorrals workirr¡; n,ith inrlividu¿ls,It.l¡ns .uttl ()tUâ¡ìisat¡()tìs.
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\\'('ll \vitlì thc irnportance of guanxi.r\lso as ('xpcctcd, the Chinese scorcdsigrrificarrtl¡, lor,r,cr orr Energ¡r HighIìrrt'r¡¡1, bch¡r,iour such as overt sociabilit),()b\/ior¡s otìtlìusi¿ìstìl atlc.l a tendency tocliscr¡ss thirr¡¡s broadly is less common inMartclarin sl)('iìkirì¡¡ poople. The¡, appearnìuclì nìor(' r.1'sq,¡.1,1,11 anrl r.cflective i,r,iih atctrclctrc¡, to kt'r'¡r tlrirrgs kr thelnseft'es.Strrprisirrgl¡,, tlrt,r.t, is littlc clifference inColìtrol s('ot cs lrt,¡ 11,.'r',r sa¡ììplcs.Marrclar.in slx'.ìki¡ìlÌ lx,()l)lc ¿ìrc Ììo ¡noresclf ti isci pl i rrt'(1, r'()t ì:i('r\,.ìt i\/(' or processoricnto(l tll,r¡r lltt'ir rvlstt,rrì cou¡ìtcrpat.ts.A possitrlc ('lil)1.ìrì,ttiotì is totla¡,,sirrcrcasi rr¡',1¡, ¡rì u I t i(.r ¡ I I r r r,ì I (,¡ì\/i r.()lllììerìtr.r,hich h¡rs rt.sr¡llr,tl irt rvolking ¡:rcoplcbcing lltolt.()l)('¡ ¡ììi¡(lr'(l ,¡rtl lt.sscorìs('r\/rì t i \/(''
Sinrilarl¡i iur rvill, tlrt.rt, i:; liIL, tlif li,rc¡lceiu scolcs. Chint.st' lx.()l)l(, (,,ut,rrrl rvilldeferrd their iclt'¿s,r¡rrl o¡rirrirrrrs lo llrt,same degree ¿ìs \ ¡('st('nì l)(,()l)l(,. Wlrt,rr rvcintegrate control antl rvill s(.()r,(,:i, \\,(, s(,(,that Chinese people ar(, rì()t (rs (.()¡ì(.(,nì(,(l\^,ith bureaucracy alìd patr.i.rrr.lr,rl r.ult, ,rsexPected.
Emotiorrality, otì the other harrcl, tltx,sshon, sigrrificant differerlce betn ccnsamples. Manclarin speakers nouldappear to be considerably more terrsc arrtlirr neecl of reassurance. As a result, r,r,et^¡oulcl expect them to be more self critical
20 Winter 2007 BA
and less acl\,elìtrlrous, tending to stick towhat they knon'.
Business ImplicationsThc Chirrese do btrsiness n,ith thosc the1,trust, n'hich l.equires time alrcì patiencejtr.r,o major factors in the formrrla forl¡usiness sr¡r\/i\¡al in Chitra, Establishingalld nìaitìtailìing a busilìess er.ìterpl.isercquires a lollg ternì colnmitlnerìt -buildirrg relationsl.ìips is pivotal inestablishirrg guatìxi bet\^,cen businesso\ fners and customers.
Thc sttrdy shon's the obvious lack ofenergy on the part of the Chinesecompared \\'ith their \.\¡estern counterparts.It comes as little surprise that discretiòrrancl discernnìent are important hallmarksof busirress penetration in China.
Finally, irr a business relationship, ben,arcthe over-enthusiastic scller \4,ho adopts ahard-line sales approach. The highcrì-ìotiolìality scores of the Chinescintlicates a need to be re-assured beforerìì¿ìking decisions. Therefore plo\¡enr('cords arìd testimonials from pre\¡ious('hincse clier.ìts pa¡ticularly r,r,iihin theirlÌuilrìxi circle help to allay these fears. It,rlso irrcrcases their corrfidence int,st.rlrlisìring a l¡usirress relationship.
M.r rragerial Implications(iivt,rr tht. irnplicit nature of guatìxi in all
of Chiua's relational orclet the loss of asìrrgle employec conìes ât a grcat cost totlre organisatiolì. The conllectioìlsassociated r'r'ith the enplo)¡ee also moveil,ith him. Grcate¡ effoit to nìanage talerìtancl retair.r performing staff is thciefore amatter of business survival.
This also lneatìs that or.gatlisâtiolìs need totalerrt-htrnt atìcl aclopt a strategy ofattracting talcnt. Losirrg talcnt r,r,ouldmean losir-rg clients arrd recruiting theright person u'oulcl mcan attractñrchis/her colìtacts ancì rrctu,orks. 'fliirnplications of good talent mauagementcanrìot be over-clnphasisecl.
An¡' foreigner enteritìg Chirra must aclopta "friend to thc Chincse" aÞÞroach inordcr to succccd. Eclucatioli in theCl.rinese l,\'ay of life, its culture ancì histori,arc important elements itr progressingfrom outsider to insider status.
The need to gain affcction (gan ching) isabsohrtely paramount in building trustarrd penctrating thc guanxi circles.
Effective managemerìt is a dclicatebalance between a formal, lcgalistic styleof ìnanagement n'ith an affectiot-rateculture. Empathy n,herr dealirrg i,r,ith theChinese n,ill carn reciprocal fariotrr.s (RenChing) or like sorne havc put it, increasingthe ernotiorral bank accounr.
