Hi John, thank you for your requests regarding my opinion on some of the topics you've mentioned. I will try to be brief but to the point.
However, I am actually referring more to Chinese staff and 拍马屁. Such foreigners may try, but are ultimately not so skilled as the Chinese when it comes to this. Maybe Dragonized, you could do a far better job of trying to explain this as your Chinese level and understanding of the culture is probably far higher than mine.
If you can email me when you have a chance, I would like to send you a book called Real Time Relationships, it is a rather interesting read and gives a good in depth explanation between the dynamics of the human mind playing the master/slave role. But the inspiration I drew from that book was that the basic idea of pai ma pi could be explained in short manner as someone who willingly role plays the role of the slave but is really trying to also control the person whom they're sucking up to (therefore also taking up responsibilities of a "master" while not being in the role of the actual master) so that they can actually achieve an ends while using their "masters" as a means.
I personally think that the concept of 拍马屁 is a far more complicated thing than the traditional Western office snitch, back-stabber or whatever. It can be a form of behaviour that takes place amongst all employees (unfortunately, I think that everybody has to do it in China to an extent because bills have to be paid), but certain ones do it better than others. I also know of some more modern Chinese managers that can see through this and therefore appreciate a bit more honesty as opposed to the usual false praise from you during a private conversation.
In such a status driven society as China, in fact it probably is the Vice that drives all other vices including all false virtues which permeate the society. This kind of behavior is actively even systematically encouraged starting when the child is very young. One can say that telling a child to "ting hua" without giving reasonable explanations cuts a person's mind off from actually developing solutions to the questions they have on why things are the way they are. These types of barriers end up making the individual vulnerable to taking the easy way out by giving those that are perceived to have power/influence/status what they want to hear so that the individual can get what they want. In fact the majority of the population even in the present day readily adopts to this paradigm. I back this up with my interactions with local Chinese and I listen to how they talk when they seemingly criticize. Alas, the criticism or independent thinking is false or feigned as they are merely complaining about something in society they want to do nothing about and actively enable. This voluntary manipulation on their part could not bode worse for those who actually want things for the better because sifting through such a large diaspora of dishonesty is truly a daunting experience.
By observing the local employees from a safe distance, one can quickly learn who is really sucking up to their boss for the sake of job security and potential promotions. You can also find out who didn't really get their job based upon any form of merit and is probably the cousin or other relative of somebody who is powerful (and therefore practically untouchable). Sometimes, when you are in management positions, you can even find that you have to be a little creative to get such disruptive and useless people to leave their token jobs.
Yes, what you state is too true. China is still very much what is called a "Zong Zu She Hui" or "Clan Oriented Society". For example if you were my brother-in-law our "Clan" would be made up of the "Dragonizer's" and "O'Shei"s" and no matter what wrongs anybody from these Two Names commit we will do what we can to cover them up. We will also hold an unapologetic double standard to outsiders from them by expecting fairness, predictability, and efficiency at our quickest whims and wishes. Now, because of popular media the word "clan" may be misunderstood under the guise of what really constitutes Gangs, which dynamically are a totally different group altogether. Clans can certainly behave like Gangs if they were to recruit more names who take an active slice of the pie within their business and if they may engage in criminal activity. The Name oriented Clanmanship way of thinking though is universally prevalent in all of China. I personally know of a boy now grown into a man whose mother badmouthed the father's side of the family whenever she could and her family members tried to get him to change his surname to the mother's side of the family. This kind of in-family fighting may be accepted as very normal in China. "Family" in fact may be considered to be real only on biological terms and not on Voluntary Acquirement of Intimate Relationships towards another non-related individual (i.e. the Husband-Wife grouping).
No matter whether you are on the side of good or evil, I think that all foreigners need to be aware of this concept in China.
Yes, good point. I think many Chinese choosing to be ignorant may still expect foreigners to accept and even take on this type of mindset. For expats, doing so may give you quicker smiles and better chances of being invited to dinner parties but in the end you're still an outsider and always will be no matter what. For good people, realize that you are an island of sorts and you always need to keep your senses perked up so you can retain dignity for yourself. Still a tug of war that will continue for a while probably.
Yes, they are indeed the worst kind sir... I think we all know of a few potential foreign snitches that even post on here. However, the good guys like yourself still exist.
However, I am actually referring more to Chinese staff and 拍马屁. Such foreigners may try, but are ultimately not so skilled as the Chinese when it comes to this. Maybe Dragonized, you could do a far better job of trying to explain this as your Chinese level and understanding of the culture is probably far higher than mine.
I personally think that the concept of 拍马屁 is a far more complicated thing than the traditional Western office snitch, back-stabber or whatever. It can be a form of behaviour that takes place amongst all employees (unfortunately, I think that everybody has to do it in China to an extent because bills have to be paid), but certain ones do it better than others. I also know of some more modern Chinese managers that can see through this and therefore appreciate a bit more honesty as opposed to the usual false praise from you during a private conversation.
By observing the local employees from a safe distance, one can quickly learn who is really sucking up to their boss for the sake of job security and potential promotions. You can also find out who didn't really get their job based upon any form of merit and is probably the cousin or other relative of somebody who is powerful (and therefore practically untouchable). Sometimes, when you are in management positions, you can even find that you have to be a little creative to get such disruptive and useless people to leave their token jobs.
No matter whether you are on the side of good or evil, I think that all foreigners need to be aware of this concept in China.
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I agree here. Being a tall poppy is not well liked.
Yes, it's unfortunate that there are still many expats who like to rub their boss's arse. Makes life harder for the rest of us.
Excellent post. Chinese bosses tend to like obedient types in general or ‘doormats’ as I like to call them. Every foreign teacher needs to understand the concept of ‘rubbing the arse of the horse owned by the boss’. Not that they should actually do that, but it helps to know what is going on.
Whether there is competition or not would not be the biggest factor for improved working conditions for teachers in the long run. Competition has always existed and better rules/laws are written while also carried out into existence despite the competition bringing in the seemingly enticing option of cheaper labor. With the current situation in China, we see that this may have reached a bit of a crossroads in at least some areas. For example, if I am a greedy Chinese boss looking to cut costs, surely I will have by now run across situations where the people I hire leave me due to being unhappy with their working conditions. Migrant workers do this all the time in China. Now if the same boss ventures into the ESL world he/she will be playing with odds that are just as fragile if not more so. What should be realized here is that if the first or 2nd batch of expat teachers leave on mostly unpleasant terms, that will not deter the bosses from immediately changing their ways. If 3 out of the first 5 teachers I (I will role play a greedy Chinese boss) hire leave before their contract is up, the 4th finishes the contract but will spread negativity, and only 1 finishes and leaves on good terms it will only leave me more in want for that "magical" batch of foreign teachers that all stay and give me the chance to make and even "make back" the money I should've made in the beginning even more. If these odds happen again to me a 3rd straight time I would probably have to re-think my ways of treating the teachers. But if the 2nd batch of foreign teachers yields 2 obedient types, 2 independent types who leave early, and 1 neutral or negative type who finishes the contract I will start getting my hopes up that I can get away with exploiting foreigners after all. If for some unfortunate reason I as the Chinese Boss were to ever get 2 out of 5 who willingly extend their contracts and completely bends over to my whims (even 1 would do for smaller training centers) I will merely keep on turning the employment turnover wheel of foreign teachers until I "weed out" the obedient ones to stay with my company. Meanwhile to ensure my shady business doesn't get shut down from inside or outside forces I bribe the local government officials, I have the agencies in my back pocket, I pay my employees to be snitches towards everyone but me. What can only stop me from thinking I can get away with the continued abuse of everyone including the foreign teachers is if my company's reputation becomes so soiled that I need to spend huge chunks of money stopping the ill will, flack, and general perception of my anti-value to the whole economic system. I might actually change my demeanor towards expats for a short while, but as the old saying goes A Leopard doesn't change His Spots so I am always on this merry go around of pretending to be nice and being myself. This is a cycle that is repeated over and over again.
What ends up happening is that so many of these "businesses" exist that they put a drain on the whole integrity of the country's image, leading to a loss of confidence by the more bright minded folks both foreign and domestic who would like to contribute less than they otherwise would. Fortunately, the corruption and strife may have already caught up to many companies and schools as many of them have difficulty getting real teachers.