Conclusion

This taster course has introduced you to the concepts of culture and intercultural competence. You have discussed how people often take their own cultural values to be the norm, and how stereotypes of a particular culture can be formed that may hamper communication and cause misunderstanding.

You have had the opportunity to reflect on your own experiences and others’ in relation to Chinese cultures and traditions, such as the importance of family. It is hoped that these discussions and reflections will help you develop a degree of cultural intelligence and intercultural sensitivity that can be applied to other situations beyond Chinese-speaking cultures.

You have also heard a testimony from someone who worked in China reflecting on how speaking a little Chinese helped establish common ground in their dealings with Chinese people.

If you wish to explore how hierarchy in Chinese culture affects business interactions; learn more about the concepts of guanxi, mianzi and harmony as well as traditional festivals and gift-giving, register to do the full short course LG002 Chinese business culture essentials [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] . If you want to learn the Chinese language systematically, have a look at the Chinese language courses provided by The Open University’s Open Centre for Languages and Cultures.

This OpenLearn taster course is an adapted extract from the Open University short course LG002 Chinese business culture essentials.