I. Case Description
Chinese footwear company Huajian Group has been successfully operating in Ethiopia for more than 10 years. Since last year, Huajian Ethiopia has been working with the French company Sophie Marceau Ladies Clothing, producing leather bags, belts and shoes for this French brand
Everything was going smoothly until Sophie Marceau company recently heard some negative reports about Huajian Ethiopia. The company principles that Sophie Marceau brand always adheres to are "Go green, maintain peace and pursue comfort." （绿色环保，保持和平，追求舒适）To protect the company's image, Sophie Marceau Ladies Clothing's publicity department asked a French journalist who worked in Ethiopia, to take some pictures and videos of the Huajian factory, which raised further doubts about environmental impact, the labor and employment conditions at Huajian Ethiopia.
In order to find out whether Huajian's production and management really violate Sophie Marceau's corporate values, Louise Laurent, Sophie Marceau's Publicity Manager, conducts a video conference with Lu Hua, Marketing Manager of Huajian Ethiopia and Salim Mohammed, Production Manager of Huajian Ethiopia
This meeting is crucial for both sides. If Huajian Ethiopia's practices go against Sophie Marceau's corporate values, further cooperation will be impossible.
I. Analysis
II. Analysis
Section A Major Issues & Theoretical Explanation
(1) <u>Controversy I: Does Huajian Ethiopia violate the green principle of Sophie Marceau Company? </u>
· **The French view: **
According to some reports, Chinese workers in Ethiopia love eating donkeys. Donkeys are not only an important labor force, but also dear members of many local families. The French consider eating donkeys inhumane and unnecessary. She even suspects that the Sophie Marceau shoes, purses and belts produced by Huajian Ethiopia are also made from donkey hides. If this is true, it goes against the green principle of the Sophie Marceau brand.
· **The fact revealed by the Chinese: **
For Huajian Ethiopia, it is impossible to make shoes from donkey skin because the cost would be so high that they cannot afford it. In traditional Chinese medicine, donkey skin is a very valuable source of nutrients. It has a professional name, Ejiao, in other words, "donkey skin glue". It is made from the collagen extracted from donkey skin, which is an important ingredient in traditional Chinese remedies. Ejiao, which has the power to beautify the skin and make people stronger, is an expensive traditional medicine that is never used to make shoes. So, the green principle of Sophie Marceau has not been violated.
· Theoretical explanation:
The distrust was based on ethnocentrism and lack of understanding of Chinese culture. Donkeys are common domestic animals in China. Just like beef, donkey meat has always been part of Chinese cuisine, especially in Shandong Province, which cannot be considered inhumane and environmentally destructive. Besides, French people do not know that Ejiao is an upscale traditional Chinese medicine, too expensive to be used for shoe materials.
(2) <u>Controversy II: Does Huajian Ethiopia try to militarize the workforce and colonize Ethiopia?</u>
· **The French views: **
The military style of management upsets the French. Take the morning assembly for example. The Ethiopian workers are walking in unison and at a uniform pace, just like soldiers. They suspect that the Huajian Group is using the shoe-making business to control and militarize the local Ethiopians for the purpose of Chinese colonization.
Moreover, from the French perspective, this kind of mechanical training is transforming the local workers into machines without flexibility and individuality.
l **The facts revealed by the Ethiopian local and the Chinese manager: **
Ethiopians are accustomed to a casual and leisurely lifestyle. Showing up late, leaving work early, and loafing during work are commonplace and affect productivity and work efficiency. To improve production efficiency and work discipline, management introduces the Chinese style of morning assembly to boost morale and promote self-discipline and team spirit.
There is no coercion in training. Ethiopians are basically willing to obey the orders of our managers and love to work with others in a group. Military-style management promotes work efficiency.
· **Theoretical explanation: **
On the one hand, Hofstede's cultural dimension data show that Ethiopians are more likely to indulge. The Ethiopian indulgence rateis almost twice that of the Chinese:
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Figure 1
On the other hand, according to Hofstede's cultural value dimensions, China and Ethiopia have great similarities in terms of power distance and collectivism:
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Figure 2
Both have high power distance and strong collectivism with less individualism. Moreover, the higher rates of masculinity in both countries suggest that Chinese and Ethiopians are almost equally competitive and want to succeed at work. Thus, if the Chinese management style is conducive to productivity. Local Ethiopians are willing to follow the rules and cooperate in achieving results. This type of military management is in line with Ethiopia's cultural values. There is no confrontation at all.
The reasons for the French misunderstanding are twofold. First, according to Hofstede's cultural value dimensions data (see Figure 3), compared to the Chinese and Ethiopians, the French have a lower power distance, a much stronger individualism, and a higher propensity for indulgence. Therefore, it is only natural that they are shocked by this military style of gathering before work.
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Figure 3
Secondly, the controversy caused by this military style of work discipline can also be explained from the perspective of tight culture and loose culture. Tight culture has stronger norms which are strictly followed by people within this cultural group. However, in a loose culture, norm conformity is not so dominant and individuals have greater leeway to act in ways that they would prefer. As the following country rankings indicate:
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Figure 4
China is among the tightest cultures in the world while France is among the loosest cultures in the world. Though we don’t have the exact figure on the tightness or looseness of Ethiopia, according to some research, Ethiopia may be considered culturally similar to other sub-Saharan East African nations such as Tanzania and Zimbabwe, all of which are highly collectivistic and tight cultures (Marcus, J. etc. 2022, P. 429). Due to the Chinese and Ethiopians' similarity in being highly collective and tight cultures, it is natural for Huajian Ethiopia to adopt this highly disciplined style of management; however, the French people, accustomed to a loose culture with high individualism, must experience waves of cultural shocks at the sight of the highly-disciplined style of management.
(3) <u>Controversy III: Does Huajian Ethiopia’s treatment of workers violate the principle of comfort?</u>
l **The French view: **
The living conditions of Ethiopian workers are shabby and miserable, while Chinese employees live in luxurious wooden houses. There exists a wide gap between Chinese and local workers, which is unfair and against the comfort principle of Sophie Marceau Company.
l **The facts revealed by the Ethiopian local and the Chinese manager: **
The luxurious wooden houses are for managers and high-ranking officials, most of whom are Chinese at the moment, but more and more Ethiopians are moving in. They are reserved for executives, not exclusive to the Chinese.
The container dormitories are for workers and junior staff. All workers, both Ethiopian and Chinese, live here. There used to be more Chinese workers. They came to help and train the Ethiopians. When the local Ethiopians became capable, most of the Chinese workers returned to China. Now most of the leaders are Chinese. As more and more capable Ethiopians like Salim Mohammed rise to management, it will be no surprise that most of the occupants of the wooden cottages will be Ethiopians. There is no inequality between Chinese and Ethiopians.
The interior of the container homes is not as shabby as it looks from the outside. Each room is air-conditioned and has its own separate bathroom. There are larger apartments for families. The smaller ones are for singles. Also, the container houses are covered with a huge ceiling to shield the scorching sun and heavy rains. These container houses are movable and convertible, so they are very practical.
l Explanation:
In intercultural communication, it is unwise to make hasty judgments based on superficial clues. As the old saying goes, you cannot judge a book by its cover. We must go inside the book and experience it for ourselves in order to make a fair comment.
Section B ** Resolution**
Below are some actions and measures Huajian Ethiopia has adopted to mitigate cross-cultural misunderstandings and conflicts:
(1) Take full consideration of the local situation and build up a corporate culture suitable for both the Chinese and the locals in Ethiopia.
Huajian Ethiopia always keeps in mind that the local employees have religious beliefs and choose to respect them. Through repeated communication with local employee representatives, Huajian Ethiopian has taken the following measures:
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Offer local workers paid vacations or adjust their work schedules during important local religious festivals
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Set up some convenient prayer rooms in each large workshop to meet the religious needs of local workers while maintaining work efficiency.
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Establish separate canteens for Chinese and Ethiopians to reduce conflicts related to eating habits and respect the religious taboos of local people
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Host cultural festivals to promote mutual understanding.
**(2) Strengthen prework training and on-site training. **
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Before entering Ethiopia, cross-cultural experts are invited to train and teach Chinese employees to abide by local laws and respect local customs. Chinese employees are encouraged to learn the local languages, befriend the locals and actively integrate into the local society
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Free weekend courses are offered for Ethiopian workers to learn the Chinese language and culture.
**(3) Break the glass ceiling of local employees and create opportunities for them to realize upward mobility **
Compared to Chinese staff, local Ethiopian staff are more familiar with local customs, religious beliefs, and laws and regulations. Hiring local staff to manage and run these businesses not only increases local tax revenues and employment opportunities, but also eliminates the conflicting views of foreign businesses and capital investment. More importantly, it reduces expatriate spending and cross-cultural conflicts. For this reason, Huajian Ethiopia has promoted a bunch of hardworking and talented Ethiopian employees to work at the grassroots and even middle and senior management positions in the company. The promotion of Salim Mohammed is a case in point.
(4) Establish an intercultural international team
In order to create an international team of specialists who are familiar with the whole process of doing business overseas, some professionals with extensive knowledge of intercultural communication have been hired. They are able to help Huajian's various overseas branches to facilitate operations, resolve various cultural conflicts and promote cultural integration to achieve a win-win situation.
The above measures can facilitate understanding, communication and cooperation among different cultural groups. They work together to ensure the long-term sustainable development of Huajian. In terms of these practices, the last controversy has been settled.
Conclusion
Effective cross-cultural communication between the three managers eliminates all doubts and suspicions about Huajian Ethiopia. In the end, Sophie Marceau's publicity manager understands that Huajian's products pose no threat to the environment. Huajian's highly disciplined management is to guarantee productivity, is not for war and certainly not against peace. Workers' living conditions are both comfortable and convenient. All in all, Huajian's practices are in line with Sophie Marceau's corporate values. Multilateral profits, culture integration, and long-term sustainability are the likely outcomes of Huajian’s coping mechanisms. Therefore, both companies are more than willing to continue their cooperation.
References:
https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/
Marcus, J., Aksoy, E., & Tesfa Alemu, G. (2022). Perceptions of Organizational Tightness–Looseness Moderate Associations Between Perceived Unfair Discrimination and Employees’ Job Attitudes. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 53(3–4), 426–445. https://doi.org/10.1177/00220221221077376.
Michele Gelfand. “Understanding Tight Versus Loose Cultures is Critical in Interdependent World.” Retrieved on Oct. 20th. 2022 from https://outlookseries.com/A0996/Science/3989_Michele_Gelfand_University_Maryland_Understanding_Tight_Versus_Loose_Cultures_Critical_Interdependent_World_Michele_Gelfand.htm
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