Better to take the long way and bring them in the office individually behind closed doors. Then you can say what you have to. He says the hotel's general manager, a Chinese-Canadian, taught him the value of gaining respect among the staff by downplaying status and giving credit to the team, and not just oneself, for an achievement. Westerners have a tendency to brag, and to be competitive, whereas the Chinese lose respect for that. Mr Koehler believes China is easier to deal with than Japan's puzzle of rules and honorifics, and Taiwan's matrix of ceremonies and religion.
Shanghai is quite simple to deal with.
They are well-educated, competent workers. Lee Mack, an American who works with Chinese while editing Shanghai Talk magazine, says relationships build best when socialising after work. He says US and Chinese officials would be better off going bowling, cycling in a park, or singing karaoke instead of greeting each other with briefcases snapping open. Diplomacy breeds more diplomacy. Having fun leads to more fun.