What is the Value of Employing Chinese Talents? By Verner Worm, Professor, Director, Copenhagen Business Confucius Institute, Copenhagen Business School

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The main values for Danish companies of employing Chinese talents are, according to my view, as follows:

Danish companies should employ Chinese talents in order to get a new ‘angle’ on how to solve challenges in a more dialectic way, which might give these companies a whole new perspective on their strategy and thereby create a competitive advantage for them.

Through hiring Chinese talents you energise you company. Young Chinese people working in Danish companies are extremely energetic and hardworking and cannot understand why things should move so slowly. Knowing means action in China. Because of this, the young Chinese can be very creative in finding ways to get around obstacles. Unfortunately, some Danish companies do not discover this, because they tend to perceive their own way of doing things as the only right way. Under such circumstances their Chinese employees will follow the Danes regardless of their own ideas. Young Chinese people do not pose a lot of questions when they are told that something should be done in a particular way, due to the fact that they grew up in a more hierarchical society than the Danish one. This creates a vicious circle, where the Chinese are perceived as passive and in need of training.

Without doubt, the Chinese have to be trained in Danish corporate culture, but the main point here is that Danish companies could learn from the Chinese holistic way of thinking if only they allowed it to be utilised in their daily work. Where we, as Danes, tend to think within the paradigm of “either/or” instead of “both/and,” the Chinese are much more prone to think in terms of “both/and,” meaning that they combine issues in a dialectical way and thereby tend to be more open-minded than Danes. The Chinese are willing to learn and at the same time they are able to capitalise on contradictions where we want to get rid of them. Multiple product adaptation is just one example of this.

This is something that is beneficial not only for Danish companies’ activities in China, but also for these companies’ global strategy. Chinese cognition is quite different from Danish cognition, but, unfortunately, this is not well-recognised in Denmark. There is still a long way to go before we learn to work with our Chinese colleagues in an optimal way.

As mentioned above, another purpose of hiring Chinese talents is to make them familiar with Danish corporate culture. Many young Chinese like the more egalitarian Danish way of doing business, and some will even jump to a Danish company from an American company because they find the Danish “soft” management more attractive.

Danish companies have to be aware of the fact that Chinese employees want to be challenged and trained. If they feel that they are only considered cheap labour, they will leave and find a better company. I met a young lady in a Danish company last year, who had left a job interview, because she felt that the employer thought she was only interested in a high wage and in getting out of China.

The young Chinese generation is nationalistic, but not anti-western. They have the capacity to embrace both elements at the same time. In addition to that, they are demanding. If they feel there is a class ceiling in their company, they will leave. The purpose of an ambitious young Chinese talent is to become a member of the global organisation, but so far only a few Danish companies have reached that level. I have personally met many Chinese who, after a period in the Danish headquarters, have become some of the main promoters of Danish corporate culture in China, due to their ability to multitask, and sometimes even more so than Danish expatriates. But at the same time they have been able to defend the local Danish subsidiary.

Finally, Danish companies can learn more about the Chinese market by hiring Chinese talents. Our knowledge of this market is still limited. Through employing educated Chinese people Danish firms can get access to necessary networks. In China knowing the right people is still decisive. Young Chinese employees will, in addition to using their talent through their family and friends, be able to tap into the relevant networks. If you know the right cadre who are also a businessman, your company will have a comparative advantage. The role of the governmental system in China cannot be underestimated, but it is the Chinese people who make the difference by their holistic cognition. 

Copenhagen Business Confucius Institute was established in collaboration with Renmin University of China and Copenhagen Business School , with the sponsorship and authorisation of Hanban, the Office of Chinese Language Council International , under the Ministry of Education, China.

The mission of CI is to offer academic Chinese courses, Chinese business courses, public lectures, seminars and conferences on Chinese studies, Chinese culture and Chinese language. CI at CBS also aims to help develop effective Sino-Danish business and arrange language trips to anyone who have general interest in China.