Friday, March 9, 2007
Staff photo by Doug Jones
Suzanne Fox lectures Wednesday about China at the University of Southern Maine. An image of the late Chairman Mao is behind her.
It quickly became obvious that language and geography weren't the only new challenges facing Fairchild Semiconductor as it expanded its Asia business about six years ago.
Engineers in South Portland who were teleconferencing with their counterparts in Suzhou, China, for instance, were often frustrated with the lack of dialogue. There often was silence on the other end of the line, or nothing but constant agreement without discussion.
Meanwhile, Fairchild's Chinese employees were taken aback by the Americans' down-to-business attitude, a brusqueness that smacked of arrogance or rudeness.
They understood each other's languages. They shared technical know-how. But subtler differences were lost on each group.
"We realized there was a need for some intercultural training or awareness, in terms of doing business in China," said Pat Johnson, Fairchild's director of staffing and development.
That was where Suzanne Fox came in. Fox and her family had moved to Maine in 1999 from the West Coast. She had 20 years of experience working with and in China, a bachelor's degree in Chinese area studies from Bowdoin College and a master's in Chinese politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. But she didn't have any idea of how to use that expertise in Maine.
That changed when she heard about Fairchild's expansion into Asia and contacted the chip company. She offered her services as a consultant for doing business in China. Fairchild accepted, and Fox Intercultural Consulting Services was born.
Today, Fox continues to consult with Fairchild on matters ranging from Chinese history to banquet etiquette, communications styles and the importance of building relationships. Other clients include Mainely Girls, the University of Southern Maine, the MB Hat Co. and McDonald Duvall Design Inc. She offers insight into other parts of Asia, as well, including Japan and South Korea.
The business is based out of her Falmouth home. She has an in-country partner, Paul Zhang, a Beijing native and close friend whom she first met in 1985 as a study-abroad college student in China.
In addition to bridging the cultural gap, Fox uses Zhang's presence in China to help American companies get established there, finding distribution partners, suppliers and meeting business needs.
Fox fills a unique niche in Maine by focusing on the cultural aspects of doing business in China, said Janine Bisaillon-Cary, president of the Maine International Trade Center. Fox's nearest competition would likely be in the Boston area, Bisaillon-Cary said.
Understanding Asia - China, in particular - is becoming increasingly important as that region ascends in the global economy. According to Maine trade statistics released today, China moved from being the state's fourth-largest trading partner in 2005 to its third in 2006.
In fact, while Canada tops the list, Maine's other four top-five trading partners are in Asia: Malaysia, China, Japan and South Korea. The Asia connection is mostly due to the semiconductors shipped out of Fairchild and National Semiconductor, but other goods go to the region, as well, such as seafood, wood pulp and more.
"You can't even think of doing business in China until you have an idea of who you're dealing with," said Fox. "China's overwhelming to a lot of people. I'm trying to make it less scary, less far away."
Fox's initial work with Fairchild highlights some cultural differences to be understood when doing business. Johnson said Fox interviewed individual engineers and managers who were dealing with workers in China, to understand the immediate stumbling blocks. She then set up sessions to explain differences.
One major concept to get across at Fairchild was that of "face." It's a sort of bedrock cultural concept that underlies many Chinese customs or behaviors, and it touches on China's group-based society, as opposed to the individual-centered society of the West. Basically, an individual shouldn't do something to cause someone else to lose face. Losing face reflects not just on individuals, but on their families and ancestors, Fox explained.
That's an involved idea. But it has very practical applications.
For example: In an American business meeting, healthy discussion is generally encouraged dissent is OK. You can tell someone you don't like their idea and why. In a Chinese meeting, you would never disagree with someone if you didn't like their idea that would cause them to lose face. Rather, you'd agree publicly, and then work in private to explain your thoughts.
So, when Fairchild's Chinese engineers were quiet or agreeing, they were applying Chinese principles and allowing their American peers to save face.
"It was truly not that they were being deceptive or anything like that," said Johnson. "They were agreeing that they heard what you said."
Being aware allows Fairchild's American employees to gently prod and probe, stimulating conversation around cultural mores, said Johnson.
Another difference is that Americans tend to be very quick at jumping into business; the custom of small talk and relationship-building has largely fallen away. But in China, Fox said, there's no business without trust, and no trust without a relationship. Building that relationship takes time.
She tells clients that working in China means going outside their comfort zone, maybe singing karaoke with business partners . Learning about their family is important, and small talk isn't so small, she said.
Johnson said even her e-mails to employees in Asia begin with questions about family members or thoughts about the weather.
While working on those larger cultural issues, Fox also teaches the "nitty-gritty etiquette stuff": n Don't finish all the food on your plate. It causes your host to lose face, as they haven't fed you enough, and they will load your plate back up.
If you bring a gift to a host, they won't open it there in public. Rather, they'll do it privately, to allow you to save face if your present doesn't stack up to others they've received.
Avoid using the number "4." The pronunciation sounds like the word for "die." And "14" sounds like "I want to die."
While Americans are comfortable with personal space of about an arm's length, Chinese are comfortable with space of inches. In a country with more than 1 billion people, Fox notes, arm's length "is a luxury."
Don't stick your chopsticks upright in your rice. That's associated with dying, and with ancestors.
Fox's lessons, large and small, have benefited Fairchild, said Johnson. Fox has even visited Fairchild plants in South Korea and China, giving lessons on understanding American business. That's a part of the business Fox would like to expand.
China is changing so rapidly today, said Fox, she compares it to the Wild West. When she first studied there in 1985, everyone was still wearing blue-and-green Mao suits. She taught English there for a year, and worked with a study-abroad business for years, spending 10 months in New York City and two months in Shanghai, running their China program.
She returns often to keep abreast of changes, reads about current events and attends China talks in the United States.
"You blink and I'm old, really," she said.
Staff Writer Matt Wickenheiser can be contacted at 791-6316 or at:
mwickenheiser@pressherald.com
