Cycling in China – an embodiment of culture

You can learn a lot about Chinese culture by jumping on your bike and navigating your way around the quagmire of traffic in any Chinese city. It can be scary and frustrating as a laowai (foreigner), but so is living

The culture of collectivism – living in Beijing

There is nothing like a bit of cultural emmersion to drive home exactly how diverse cultures can be. Recently I have been living with a Chinese family in Beijing. I want to share a few experiences that have reiterated just how important

Does big business have the patience?

A friend recently shared with me the TEDx speech by Melinda French Gates: What non-profits can learn from Coca-Cola (watch below). But does big business have the patience to practice what they preach when it comes to corporate social responsibility?

China and CSR in the West – Things are different there

Often when we think about CSR and China an image of big Western multinationals and sweatshops come to mind. But as the Chinese economy develops and foreign direct investment (FDI) out of China increases we start to see the flipside

Things are different here – CSR in China

Foreign companies implementing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in China often face an uphill battle. A quote from an individual working in the textiles industry in China highlights: “One of the biggest problems with ethical manufacturing guidelines in China is that

The spirit catches you and you fall down

“If you can’t see that your own culture has its own set of interests, emotions, and biases, how can you expect to deal successfully with someone else’s culture?” (Kleinman in Fadiman 1997, p.261).