A business student asked me recently, "Michael, as a Westerner and a teacher in a business college, what do you think of our Chinese concept of 'guanxi'?" This is a question that I've avoided for some time. I like staying positive about China and especially in a blog/forum like this one. Anyone with no original thought or even the slightest level of intelligence can have an opinion. The less intelligence usually is indicated by those who are almost always negative about things. It takes zero intelligence to find problems. It takes more creative thought to find what's good and try to make it even better.
But, since this student asked and I told him how I see 'guanxi', my whole class then asked me to share my views here on the blog. 'Guanxi', as I understand it, is at best what we call nepotism. That is favoring relatives and friends in business and jobs. Friends include classmates, schoolmates and even not too distance acquaintances. From what I've observed first hand, it pays little to no attention to the qualifications, talents, education or abilities of the individual who is shown favor.
I've seen people here who have gotten their job through guanxi who do nothing all day long. It is far more common than I would ever expect. They are chatting on QQ, watching movies or shopping online. They are not being productive for their business or employer.
In the West, we value talent, education, experience, ability and creativity. If a relative or someone we have 'relations' with possesses the expertise and ability to do a job, I'm sure they are considered for hiring. But, if they get such a job and aren't the most qualified to do the job, there is little to no hesitation for them to be fired.
Americans value results. Perhaps that is why America is seen as a rich country. We value profits and results. Relations mean very little. Qualifications mean almost everything.
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