Post one quote journal (a quote and a brief reflection on why you chose it)
Post one response to something someone else wrote. You should do one or more of these...
--make a connection to the other story or your outside reading
--politely explain why you disagree with an interpretation
--ask a question that this passage raises about globalization
--speculate on how the character described would react to your company
This should be done by Sunday, June 1 at 10 pm
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13 comments:
This quote is said by Peter Jiang, the Chinese manager at Cowboy Chicken, as he describes Chinese reaction to his burning of leftovers instead of giving them to the poor. I chose this quote because it clearly reflects how Chinese people view American multi-corporations within the country. Although it has been indicated by many people, including the main characters of this story, that these companies are being clearly harmful to the Chinese, this passage seems to refute these claims. To the surprise of Hongwen and the other workers, people in China already knew about the "harmful" practices of American companies. Yet instead of condemning the corporations, a substantial number of Chinese people expressed support and admiration at their efficiency.
"The Beijing Evening News carried a long piece last week about our company. The author praised our policy on leftovers and believed it would reduce waste eventually. He said we Chinese should adopt the American way of running business" (from "After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town, pages 217-218).
This quote is said by Peter Jiang, the Chinese manager at Cowboy Chicken, as he describes Chinese reaction to his burning of leftovers instead of giving them to the poor. I chose this quote because it clearly reflects how Chinese people view American multi-corporations within the country. Although it has been indicated by many people, including the main characters of this story, that these companies are being clearly harmful to the Chinese, this passage seems to refute these claims. To the surprise of Hongwen and the other workers, people in China already knew about the "harmful" practices of American companies. Yet instead of condemning the corporations, a substantial number of Chinese people expressed support and admiration at their efficiency.
sorry for the first blog
"Our boss suggested nineteen yuan and ninety-five fen as the price for the buffet... Why didn't he price it twenty yuan even? we wondered. That would sound more honest and make it easier for us to handle change. Peter explained this was the american way of pricing a product. "You don't add the last straw to collapse the camel," He said." (After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town, p. 192-193)
This quote was said by Hongwen in regards to the foreign "all you can eat buffet" idea. The quote stood out to me for multiple reasons. For one thing, I often wonder the same thing- in fact, the pricing system in America bugs me. It bugs me to the point where I am actually excited when the subtotal of something I purchase is a whole number. Another thing from this passage that caught my eye was the saying of the "last straw." The camel analogy works will in this situation as it just goes to show that us Americans have the art of propaganda down to a science. "Obviously," says the clever man, "three dollars is too much for a bar of candy, take away a penny and it becomes 2 dollars and ninety-nine cents. Only two dollars, and a few cents, but pfh, what's the value of a cent?" What would you rather pay? Three dollars, or two?" And so, what is the result of this "brilliant" reverse psychology of the consumers? Well, we are going to stop manufacturing the penny. Great idea huh?
" 'The customer is always right,' he had instructed us when we were hired. But he had no idea what he was dealing with. You let a devil into your house, he'll get into your bed"(After a Cowboy came to Town, Page 185).
This quote is said by Mr.Shapiro the owner of Cowboy Chicken. When the Chinese worker, Peter, hears this he thinks to himself, "He has no idea what he is dealing with". This quote demonstrates the cultural differences between the Americans and the Chinese. A lot of the reasons Peter gets frustrated with Mr. Shapiro is because of things Mr.Shapiro explains as "the American way". Due to these actions such as saying the costumer is always right, Peter does not like Mr. Shapiro, and he does not like the Western way of dealing with things. He believes that if a costumer is rude, he should be dealt with like a man not like "Buddha". This also leads one to wonder however, does Peter not like the American way, because he doesn't like Mr.Shapiro, or simply because he doesn't understand this method of business interaction. Perhaps Peter is right, maybe this way of conducting business is not right for the Chinese culture, or perhaps he just doesn't understand the benefits of always treating your customer with respect no matter what. I think that Peter does not like the Western ways because he does not like Mr. Shapiro and this is demonstrated from page 2 of the story where this quote is found.
I think Lily has a very valid point. It must seem so absurd to other cultures that we mark things down by a penny so that it seems more affordable. She is also right with the propaganda issue, we have mastered it so much that we don't usually recognize it anymore. I think Peter would not be a huge fan of our new MGC Dell factory. A lot of the computers are priced like that and a lot of the business methods are those "American ways". For example the costumer is always right when they call saying they are having an issue with their computer no matter who's fault it is. However, what is not seen is that dell is really understaffed in their costumer service department. So there is advertising talking about how well they conduct business but there is not too much action and judging from what Lily said I think this would drive Peter crazy. He is all about being strait froward, and our company often uses euphanisms and propaganda to hide some of the truth.
"The Jews and the Chinese had similar fate, so I feel close to you. We all have dark hair" (After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town, 186-187).
When Mr. Shapiro says this it reminds me of all the times my mother has said the same thing: that the Chinese and Jews are very similar. One of her good friends at work is Chinese and they always have something in common to talk about. For example, both the observant Jews and Chinese like to purchase their chickens while they are being slaughtered. Also, the egg is very symbolic to both cultures. It represents the circle of life. And lastly, the color red means good luck to both the Jews and Chinese. It is a very special color during the Chinese new year and when my mother got married she had to wear something red under her dress for good luck. And also, as Mr. Shapiro says, "We all have dark hair". This may not be true for everyone but it is a big generalization. The one question I have is how did all these similarities come to be? I don't ever recall learning that the Jews and Chinese evolved together. Maybe it is just the way that they have been brought up generation after generation.
In response to what Karina said, I honestly did not interpret the selected passage in the way she did. Now that I know the context of what Mr. Shapiro was saying, it seems valid. However, at the time, I read over his quote thinking, "Wow, what a fake, manipulative jerk." Being in the western mindset of things, I feel like Mr. Shapiro would have no problem at all with our DELL factory. In fact, I think he would embrace the idea, solely on the basis of a profitable international company. The main difference I see in the comparison of Cowboy Chicken and DELL, is the way in which they affect the locals. By being a restaurant chain, Cowboy Chicken's product is directly marketed towards the local consumers, where as DELL is indirect to it's locals specifically and uses the workforce to manufacture the product that is then advertised and sold elsewhere.
Like Lily, I have often been disturbed by the business policy of not giving a policy its full value. However, I do not see anything wrong with it. It's a smart business trick, and if the customers are manipulated by it, it is in the end their own fault, for not looking at the prices carefully enough. I would do the same if I was a business manager. And no one really needs pennies, their loss probably won't be missed. This technique does, however, raise an interesting point: to what extent should businesses be allowed to try to manipulate their customers?
I agree with Stephi in the fact that Peter doesn't like the Western ways because he does not like Mr. Shapiro. He may not agree with the fact that there are hungry people in the restaurant who can eat the leftovers but Mr. Shapiro makes Peter burn them. the only reason Peter goes along with it is because he gets paid more than everyone else. I disagree with the fact that Peter does not understand the American way of business interactions. He lived in America for a while so he must know a decent amount. if western culture especially business is spreading so rapidly to places like China I wonder what the world will be like in the next 20 or 30 years. Will we all be similar because everyone is always spreading their ideas and culture? And it will just increase as time passes. I think that Peter wouldn't have much to say about our company. I think that he would just go along with it and eventually become use to it. Maybe in the beginning he wouldn't like all the westernization but i think it will grow on him.
“Peter wasn't enthusiastic about it, but we all said it was a brilliant idea and would definitely make us famous. Of course we knew it wouldn't work. We supported it because we wanted to eat Cowboy Chicken.”
This was from the short story, “After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town.” It is said by the main character (whose name I can't remember). This quote is referring to Mr. Shapiro's idea for a buffet. There is a lot to take out of this quote because it shows how people in a different setting can be ignorant to the culture and ways of the people there. Mr. Shapiro figured a buffet would work because buffets work in the U.S. He had no idea whether or not buffets were common in China, but he just figured that it would work. The Chinese employees though, who knew the culture and ways of the people knew that it wouldn't work because the people would just eat ridiculous amounts of food. Mr. Shapiro's big mistake was not understanding the place he was in, and that is why he lost so much money.
sry my quote was "After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town" p.193
I disagree with what Stephi said slightly, because I do not think Peter dislikes the American way of business. I don't think he has any problem with the American way of business, he just understands that the American way of business will not work in China. I do think that Peter dislikes Mr. Shapiro, because Mr. Shapiro is ignorant, but that doesn't mean that he dislikes the American way of business because of this.
I also do think this raises a question about globalization. Can people properly understand other country's ways of business and life if they have never lived there? Peter can understand the American way of business because he has lived in America, but the other Native Chinese employees do not really understand it. I think the answer to this question is no, people cannot properly understand it.
"You think I enjoy burning them? If I gave them away I'd be fired. This is the
American way of doing business." - Peter p.217
I chose this quotation because what sounds so American, is not throwing away
food at the end, but doing what someone tells you to for money. One of the
characteristics that people define with America is that there is a chance for
fame for everyone. However, this is not true, and makes people believe that they
need to be famous, or get to the top. We are very goal oriented, and so if the
boss tells you to do something, you will do it if it gives you an advantage over
the other employees. I think that this is a sad fact about American culture, and
that more people around the world are doing this too.
I will respond to Josh R’s reflection about the buffet idea that Mr. Shapiro
suggested. Yes, Mr. Shapiro is ignorant to the ways of the Chinese, just as the
Chinese are ignorant to the true ways (not just shown on TV. or in movies) of Americans, which is shown
in The Joy Luck Club, my outside reading story. This quotation, and Josh’s
analysis of the quotation raise some concerns of globalization. How will
globalization succeed if the people are ignorant to each other’s cultures and
ways? I bet that Mr. Shapiro would still be ignorant if he worked at Dell.
Maybe, even more so, since he would have less human interactions with Chinese
customers.
Zeba
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