Leading with Cultural Intelligence, 2012a

communicate this indirectly to Mary. She does not want Mary to lose face or take offense, yet the results
are exactly the opposite of what Savitha expects. Mary thinks she is evasive. Both Savitha and Mary can
learn about the different ways that different cultures express relationships and maintain healthy
relationships. If both were aware of each other’s cultural norms, they could adapt their behaviors.
The Concept of Face
An important aspect of interpersonal relationships is the concept of face. “Face” is seen as one’s public
image in social contexts, and this concept is very important in Asian cultures that have a collectivist
identity. These societies are concerned with saving face, or how they will appear to those around them.
Public criticisms that can lead to a person losing face may harm the person’s identity and image,
especially within their families and communities. Losing face can lead to deadly consequences, as in the
following example:
In August 2007, Mattell was forced to recall over 900,000 plastic toys due to excessive amounts of lead in
the paint. Later that month, Zhang Shuhong, the CEO of Lee Der Industrial in China, the manufacturer of
the toys, committed suicide after China temporarily banned the company’s exports. A Chinese newspaper
said that a supplier, Zhang’s best friend, sold Lee Der fake paint that was used in the toys. “The boss and
the company were harmed by the paint supplier, the closest friend of our boss,” the report said. It
continued that “in China it is not unusual for disgraced officials to commit suicide.”
Later that year, in September, Mattel’s Executive Vice President for Worldwide Operations, Thomas
Debrowski made a public apology to the Chinese government saying, “Mattel takes full responsibility for
these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people and all of our customers who received
the toys. It is important for everyone to understand that the vast majority of these products that we
recalled were the result of a flaw in Mattel’s design, not through a manufacturing flaw in Chinese
manufacturers.” [6]
As this case illustrates, this situation even led to Mattel trying to save its face with the Chinese
government and its people.
Time
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