Her Magazine

Her Magazine - June/July 2012

Her Magazine is New Zealand’s only women’s business lifestyle magazine! Her Magazine highlights the achievements of successful and rising New Zealand businesswomen. Her Magazine encourages a healthy work/life balance.

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MASTER CLASS made in china 10 tips for living and working in the fun, complex and often frustrating world of China from Carolyn Smith: Carolyn Smith is the General Manager at The Westin Guangzhou. In this capacity, Carolyn is responsible for hotel operations and business. Carolyn started her journey with Starwood in 1999 at the Sheraton Auckland as Financial Controller. She later transferred to Australia followed by relocation to China in 2008 as General Manager of Four Points by Sheraton Shenzhen. Carolyn has three children. 1. Learn some of the language. It increases you credibility with the local Chinese people and helps you to get around. If you are going anywhere in China, other than a few large cities, there will be no English language nor English signage! 2. Read about the Chinese culture and Chinese people before coming to China. It will help you understand why they think so differently to us. There are many great books available providing tips on doing business in China and explaining the history and culture of the country and its people. 3. Show respect for the Government and its legislation. We come from a country with four million people – they lead a country with 1.3 billion people. 4. Be prepared to be adventurous with food! The locals like to be reminded of the animal they are eating whereas we opt for a chicken breast or fish fillet. It is not unusual to have the chicken on the table (complete with head propped up on the plate) or a barbequed baby pig standing on each table at a wedding with flashing lights in its eyes and under its tail (I'll leave the rest to your imagination)! 5. Come well equipped with clothing, stockings and shoes if relocating to China. I am tall and slim by New Zealand standards, but by Chinese standards I am 'big'. Dark brown 10 denier pantyhose are simply not available here, while shoes sized at 39 or above are rare unless you are shopping in the market. 6. Bring your own tanning lotion! Only whitening creams are available in China and the Chinese people definitely don't want to look tanned. 7. When out and about consider where the nearest toilets are and whether they are usable. Improve your squatting ability as Western style toilets are usually only found in Western style venues or upscale shopping centres. 8. Carry your own tissues and antibacterial gel – toilets generally don't have paper of any sort. 9. Avoid driving. In the event of an accident, negotiations take place in the middle of the road and it is necessary to pay money there and then. Even if you are in the right, unless you have strong Chinese language skills, your negotiating ability will be ineffective and you will be paying whether it is your fault or not. 10. A positive attitude and a great sense of humour is essential to ensure the frustrations of life in China don't overwhelm you. Living in China through this amazing period of change is a unique opportunity – don't waste it! Check out Annah's interview with Carolyn www.youtube. com/watch?v=0cHpgleJlNY USEFUL LINKS: KEA www.keanewzealand.com New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) www.nzte.govt.nz Epic NZ www.epicnz.co.nz www.hermagazine.co.nz | 41

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