Yang, G (2017) Problematic encounters between Chinese nationals and black South Africans in the building industry in Johannesburg South Africa: An intercultural communication analysis. PhD thesis, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Abstract
The purpose of my thesis was to investigate whether Chinese nationals and black South Africans had different cultural constructs regarding individualism-collectivism, the power distance index, contextual communication, attitudes to time and communication strategies and whether such differences caused problematic encounters between them in the building industry in Johannesburg. The thesis is composed of six chapters, each of them dealing with different aspects of the research. Chapter one is introductory, accounting for China-Africa/South Africa relationships, international concern about the challenges of the relationships, justification, aims and rationale statement. Chapter two is divided into four parts, providing a review of existing literature regarding the four cultural dimensions and three communication strategies of Chinese, black (South) Africans and Europeans whose cultures have a profound impact on black Africans. Chapter three concentrates on research questions, three data collection instruments, requirements and number of participants. Chapter four concentrates on data analysis and findings from open/close ended and interview questionnaires. Chapter five argues how the different cultural dimensions and communications strategies caused the problematic interactions between Chinese nationals and black South African employees. Contributions of this study are included in this chapter. Chapter six deals with conclusions, limitations and recommendations. The findings support the researcher’ original propositions that Chinese nationals and black South Africans had different cultural dimensions and such differences caused their problematic interactions. Based on the results, this study recommends that cultural dimensions should receive due consideration to address contentious labour relations between Chinese companies and black Africans instead of simply observing labour laws as broadly claimed in political and economic circles. The major practical implication of the present research is that it provides much needed answers to both Chinese and black South Africans to understand the root causes of their problematic interactions better. Thus, the results should be applicable to a wide population that is interested in Sino-Africa relations.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Ohlhoff, H |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | China; South Africa; communication; interview; labour relations; population |
| Index terms: | Johannesburg, labour law, Africa, building industry, interaction, dimension, labour relation, interview, data analysis, strategy, population, questionnaire, accounting, China, South Africa |
| Subjects: | industry analysis, economics, management, employment law, regions and continents, health monitoring assessment and metrics, data analysis and analytics, data collection methods, demography, behavioral psychology, Geography, economic analysis |
| Topics: | Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Legal Issues, Supply Chain Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Urban Studies |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here