Confucianism in business : a study of Chinese management in Sweden

Abstract: There have been many researches in the field of management, but none of them touches the area of Chinese management of Swedish staff, as far as we know. This is a rather new phenomenon ever since China decided for outward expansion. Cultural myopias and the lack of cultural competency are contributions to the failures of many cross cultural co-operations. The purpose of this dissertation was to detect the management issues in terms of relationships, and shed light on the perceptual differences between the cultures within the chosen companies. To measure the values the employees had, from cultural aspects, we conducted a survey developed by Professor Geert Hofstede. The survey was used as a complement to our qualitative data, and the results demonstrated that the Chinese within these companies seem to adopt a rather “Swedish like” mentality. The qualitative results, however, prove that there are cultural differences causing operational frictions at these firms. The perceptual differences initiate cultural distance between the cultures, preventing comprehension. We believe the reason is failure to apply measures to educate and integrate the members within the firms.