Planes, Trains And Automobiles: The China Way
James Fallows, Atlantic Magazine writer extraordinaire, has a great post, entitled,”‘The’ way vs ‘a’ way (Japan v China dept),” comparing Japan’s way of doing things versus China’s (h/t to Experience Not Logic). Fallows uses fueling a plane as a great visual example, but to fully understand it, you must go to his blog check it out. Fallows summarizes the differences between China methods and Japan methods as follows:
With usual caveats against sweeping generalization, what this made me think was: Japan is all about the way of doing things. Practice, ritual, perfectionism, as much fanatical attention to the process as to the result. China is all about finding a way to do things. Improvisation, little interest in rules, putting up with whatever is necessary to attain the result.
(Yeah yeah yeah, there are exceptions: perfectionist operations in China, loosey-goosey ones in Japan. Still.)
At the moment, I am feeling positive toward both approaches. The emphasis on the right way of doing things is re-surprising on each encounter with Japan. And the determination to do things in China, no matter what, commands respect, despite the obvious complications and problems it creates.
Japan taxi drivers where white gloves and drivers can open the back door electronically from the front. Someone ought to compare that with China also.
With China on one side and Japan on the other, where does the United States fit? I would argue much closer to China than to Japan.
Source: China Law Blog
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