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How is this different from networking in the US? don't most American companies hire e.g. account managers or business development folks with long lists of indus

How is this different from networking in the US? don't most American companies hire e.g. account managers or business development folks with long lists of industry (and in specific industries, government) contacts? Is it just the case that the implied "guanxi" relationship has to be deeper than the circumstances in which an American would say "I know a guy who"?

794CD01 8y ago
If you assign a foreign-sounding word to it, it sounds more official.
westiseast 8y ago
It's perhaps best to think of guanxi as an umbrella term for a number of different things you'd definitely see in any Western society too - crucially, that would include both 'good' and 'bad things. So it encompasses business networking, social favors, family favors, but also nepotism, political corruption, perjury, bribery etc. So if the guy at the print shop gave me a good price after my firm helped him out the week earlier with his broken air conditioning, then that's guanxi. If I managed to illegally obtain environmental certificate for my horrendously polluting plastics factory because my brother works at the environment department, that's also guanxi.
Retric 8y ago
It's more a question of degree. "I know a guy" might get you a job or back stage passes for a concert in the US. "I know a guy" can get you off of vehicular homicide in China. Granted, the US still has an occasional taste of the second, but it's far less common.
- zajd 8y ago
  Not for the rich http://www.businessinsider.com/wal-mart-billionaire-alice-walton-gets-dwi-arrest-expunged-2013-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/wal-mart-billionaire-alice-wa...
- dsfyu404ed 8y ago
  Being a relative of a cop in the jurisdiction in which you ran someone over will prevent you from ever being charged with it the US (they'll probably give you some slap on the wrist charge though). Being good friends with the right folks at city hall will make sure your company wins the contract to do the landscaping at the city park. Knowing the right people will generally get any permit you need expedited or at the very least it won't be delayed. If special treatment is corruption then corruption is very much alive and well in the US. The difference is that the image of corruption is corruption is much less tolerable. If the details of the story of you running over someone makes the news or someone points out the conflict of interest of the person awarding the contract the corruption won't happen in that case. "I'm sorry I can't do that" is a much less common phrase than "I'll put in a good word for you". Corruption in US (federal, state and local) is a lot like the restaurant that only cleans up its act for the health inspector. Government is the restaurant and publicity is the inspector. When there's a spotlight on the problem everyone plays by the rules. When nobody's looking it's business as usual. Acts of obvious corruption (trading favors, bribes, etc) is rarer in the US than some other countries but leveraging relationships for special treatment is just as common as anywhere else, we just keep it under the table. This isn't an attack on government but government is certainly not the consistent and impartial organization that some people seem to think it is (though I think that's a good goal to have). Edit: I find it odd/interesting that whenever I say something that isn't positive about government it gets up-voted a couple times then down-voted a couple times. I really should write a script to track it because I have a hunch that the timing follows a particular pattern.
  - westiseast 8y ago
    In my experience, it honestly isn't even close. Think about it this way: In the US, you have an army of groups who will actively/passively work against a corrupt person: free media, lawyers, civilians with strong rights, judges, police, opposition politicians, civil liberties groups, government oversight committees, industry regulators, consumer groups, and generally speaking, a law-abiding and non-corrupt population. In China, you have none of those. However bad you think corruption in the US is (and I believe you when you say it's bad), it's degrees worse in China.
AnimalMuppet 8y ago
There's "I know a guy who" as a way of getting a job, and then (the original topic) there's "I know a guy who" as a way of not getting arrested. The second is much less common in the US. And even when it's to get hired, the "guy" had better be able to do the work...

794CD01 8y ago

If you assign a foreign-sounding word to it, it sounds more official.

westiseast 8y ago

It's perhaps best to think of guanxi as an umbrella term for a number of different things you'd definitely see in any Western society too - crucially, that would include both 'good' and 'bad things. So it encompasses business networking, social favors, family favors, but also nepotism, political corruption, perjury, bribery etc. So if the guy at the print shop gave me a good price after my firm helped him out the week earlier with his broken air conditioning, then that's guanxi. If I managed to illegally obtain environmental certificate for my horrendously polluting plastics factory because my brother works at the environment department, that's also guanxi.

Retric 8y ago

It's more a question of degree. "I know a guy" might get you a job or back stage passes for a concert in the US. "I know a guy" can get you off of vehicular homicide in China. Granted, the US still has an occasional taste of the second, but it's far less common.

zajd 8y ago
Not for the rich http://www.businessinsider.com/wal-mart-billionaire-alice-walton-gets-dwi-arrest-expunged-2013-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/wal-mart-billionaire-alice-wa...
dsfyu404ed 8y ago
Being a relative of a cop in the jurisdiction in which you ran someone over will prevent you from ever being charged with it the US (they'll probably give you some slap on the wrist charge though). Being good friends with the right folks at city hall will make sure your company wins the contract to do the landscaping at the city park. Knowing the right people will generally get any permit you need expedited or at the very least it won't be delayed. If special treatment is corruption then corruption is very much alive and well in the US. The difference is that the image of corruption is corruption is much less tolerable. If the details of the story of you running over someone makes the news or someone points out the conflict of interest of the person awarding the contract the corruption won't happen in that case. "I'm sorry I can't do that" is a much less common phrase than "I'll put in a good word for you". Corruption in US (federal, state and local) is a lot like the restaurant that only cleans up its act for the health inspector. Government is the restaurant and publicity is the inspector. When there's a spotlight on the problem everyone plays by the rules. When nobody's looking it's business as usual. Acts of obvious corruption (trading favors, bribes, etc) is rarer in the US than some other countries but leveraging relationships for special treatment is just as common as anywhere else, we just keep it under the table. This isn't an attack on government but government is certainly not the consistent and impartial organization that some people seem to think it is (though I think that's a good goal to have). Edit: I find it odd/interesting that whenever I say something that isn't positive about government it gets up-voted a couple times then down-voted a couple times. I really should write a script to track it because I have a hunch that the timing follows a particular pattern.
- westiseast 8y ago
  In my experience, it honestly isn't even close. Think about it this way: In the US, you have an army of groups who will actively/passively work against a corrupt person: free media, lawyers, civilians with strong rights, judges, police, opposition politicians, civil liberties groups, government oversight committees, industry regulators, consumer groups, and generally speaking, a law-abiding and non-corrupt population. In China, you have none of those. However bad you think corruption in the US is (and I believe you when you say it's bad), it's degrees worse in China.

AnimalMuppet 8y ago

There's "I know a guy who" as a way of getting a job, and then (the original topic) there's "I know a guy who" as a way of not getting arrested. The second is much less common in the US. And even when it's to get hired, the "guy" had better be able to do the work...