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Q: Can employees here give their honest opinion to boss?
In my company many of the local staff seems obsequious and demure, eager to please. Yet I get the feeling none of them is really being honest at all.
In this atmosphere, it can be difficult to work sometimes, because even though someone's telling you 'yes', they might mean the opposite.
Is it because people are afraid of being honest with their superiors? Is it very difficult for employees to be honest (perhaps even a little blunt if the situation calls for it)? Is it a loss of face for the 'Chinese boss' is employees tell him/her things 'like it is'? Tell him or her what they really think?
Mostly, no. There's a real top-down mentality here which I find really, really hard to deal with.
I have NEVER worked in a place where you can give an honest opinion to a Boss, neither here nor in Puerto Rico.
I did it once, and got fired as a result of being honest. So, I learned my lesson.
HappyExPat:
Back at your home. After one year working to open a new factory there, learning the process, negotiating a building and incentives, supervising modifications, installing substation, hiring and training employees, I came up to my annual review, where I was told I had done a "normal performance" and offered a $ 40 PER MONTH RAISE. Then I was asked how I felyt with such magnificent increase, and I replied that the only thought in my mind was that the comany needed the money more than me. So I got fired. But my lucky stars were lined up correctly, I was offered another job within one week at twice my previous salary. And with them I rose after demostrating my abilities to the position of VP of Manufacturing of the home company, in charge of 4 plants (one in Mexico, one in Dominican Republic, one in Buffalo and one in Guayama).
GuilinRaf:
Guayama! That is right next to Bayamon! Unless you mean Guyana....
HappyExPat:
Guayama is about midway on SE coast of PR between Humacao and Ponce. Maybe 60 Kms away from Bayamon.
I usually give my opinions right before I walk out the door for the last time, but here in China they aim to please, to grow in to the company
My favorite one is
I told you so
which is usually followed by total silence
with the exemption of me mumbling about Brains and the lack of explosives
Born diplomat I am
A Chinese boss is seen as "god" knows all expert at everything there is to know in the industry. Giving them ideas or advice will be seen as nothing of great importance. Some even think that by having MBAs they have conquered everything. Even if you give an idea you might even see your idea be taken on my the boss as there own work and taking all the acclaim.
The reason lies to their previous working environment ,and education background could be a factor . .i observe that girls who work in the Arabic company like wear mini skirt , because they think their Arabic boss like that . and the girls who work in European company would dress themselves more decent and formal. girls in the Chinese company wear conservational and old-fashioned clothes more.
A high-school educated girl told me that she can be employed by any Arabic boss only if she makes up and dresses herself sexy enough .
i suppose different working environment affect people's way of dressing , also their way of thinking , their way of working and the way they deal with the bosses .
As a rule of thumb, you shouldn't criticize someone in public unless you've brought the criticism up in a one-on-one setting first. So if you haven't talked to your boss about it alone in the office first, best to smile and nod.
I have to agree with tapwater.....I work for a Canadian company but have dealt with business dudes (owners or managers) here for long enough to know how it works.
If you criticize them in front of people they lose face and they will act accordingly....even if they are not your boss they will erupt.
Do it in private first....and if all else fails....then make them lose face.
No, if they want to keep their jobs & have equal promotion opportunities.
As it is some cultural 'thing' it is never a good idea to make someone 'lose face' here in China. In the West we have our rule: never burn your bridges. It is ok, though, to express some criticism when being alone with the other person, one-on-one, but even then one should tread carefully. All Chinese people are overly sensitive about criticism and thus 'losing face'.
