To succeed internationally, companies often have to rely on expatriate professionals. Expatriates, or “expats,” embody the corporate culture of the company, representing a bridge between the headquarters in the United States and the foreign subsidiary. Sadly, up to 75 percent of U.S. expat assignments fail, according to “Carry a Chicken in Your Lap or Whatever It Takes to Globalize Your Business,” by William Ayres and Bruce Alan Johnson.
Unfortunately, expatriates too often are selected for their technical skills and seldom for their ability to adapt to the host country. U.S. managers focus on the bottom line, see time as a commodity, and gauge efficiency by productivity. Those concepts are typical of the U.S. work culture, but not of many others. The Chinese look at “quanxi" (connections) as more important than money in the bank. Spending time nurturing relationships is thus an essential part of doing business in China.