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The Chinese owner of a flower retail company invites the Rwandan executive manager of a tin smelting company to a tea ceremony. The situation takes place in Kigali, capital of Rwanda. Mr Sung wants to strengthen the relationship with his Rwandan friend, Mr Nyara, whose company is located 80 kilometres away. During their discussions, the two men exchange numerous ideas on general economic development of their respective companies. Thereafter, Mr Sung provides deeper insight into Chinese cultural aspects and rituals and explains the deeper meaning of hosting tea parties in Chinese contexts. Mr Nyara remembers that he once read about Chinese negotiation strategies and stratagems, particularly when negotiating with foreign business partners, and also about Chinese investments into natural resources, as well as opaque policies of Chinese investors. Mr Nyara is unsure of the reliability of his friendship with Mr Sung.

In the B2C e-commerce market, logistics plays a crucial role, not only as a cost factor, but also as a major success factor for the firms. It is therefore important for e-tailers to know which trends in B2C e-commerce logistics are considered to be the way forward. This also has implications for the directions of future research.

In a majority of European countries, educational staff and systems are insufficiently prepared to deal with students from non-European cultures. The team ombuds model—inspired mostly by Scandinavian experiences—can serve as a macro-didactic concept to assist with the integration of students from different cultural orientations. Shame is often evident in learners from collectivistic cultures who easily feel shame when linked to a loss of face in the social system of the new culture. This model offers a range of facilities to help learners express themselves concerning assessments, marks, attendance during lessons, and not least, with intercultural mediation and conflict management through the ombud function. The use of this function is illustrated in the example of a migrant Chinese girl of 16 years who attends German college (Grade 11) and struggles with shame in three ways. First, in terms of language, she is shy to speak using incorrect language patterns. Second, in communication, she feels shame if required to speak directly to the teacher as representative of the educational hierarchy, and even to speak in front of her fellow learners. Third, she is inhibited in political expression because in her country of origin, political interest and expression are a matter of conformity, not of democratic discussion. By applying the team ombuds model and its implicit didactic methods, she gradually loses her shame and successfully catches up with her classmates.

The newly founded Confucius Institute in Maputo, Mozambique, hosts a series of intercultural events and conferences on Chinese-African cooperation. The first conference deals with cultural biases and stereotypes in Chinese-African organisations. Two prominent researchers are invited to speak about their research. Dr Mei is a Chinese researcher who has conducted field studies in a Chinese-owned corporation in Mozambique. In clear but polite terms, she explains the positive and negative judgements of Chinese management towards Mozambican workers. Likewise, her Congolese colleague Prof. Mareleta presents his results of the views of Congolese workers in Chinese-African organisational joint ventures. The audience of business people and government officials from China and Mozambique is invited to discuss the issues publicly, but it appears to be challenging for them to discuss background information on cultural concepts and propose appropriate solutions to the multiple issues addressed. The conference concludes with recommendations for Chinese-African cooperation.

South Sudan is rich in oil resources, and China plays a pivotal role in the country. About 40% of the oil production lies in the hands of Chinese investors. Mr Lin, one of the Chinese managers of a topping refinery situated near the White Nile, understands that educated South Sudanese staff could in future manage the oil production and refinery work. However, currently, only approximately one-third of the population is literate, and education is not readily available. Mr Lin has been instructed to offer knowledge-sharing and communication skills trainings to lift the educational standard of workers in his refinery. However, the South Sudanese workers do not anticipate any improvement because Chinese managers often move from company to company or even return to China for good. The refinery appears to be divided into managers and computer specialists speaking Chinese, and a workforce of South Sudanese who speak Luo and Dinka (local languages). English as a bridging language is largely absent. Mr Lin believes in the power of cooperation as when four decades ago, China developed from an agricultural economy into a modern industrial economy.

Zambia, a landlocked country in sub-Saharan Africa, has many natural resources and industries, including a flourishing textile industry. Zambia-China Mulungushi Textiles Limited is a joint venture company based in Kabwe, Zambia, which manufactures and markets textiles. After a decade of standstill, the organisation was reopened in 2016. However, during the past few years, some issues have arisen regarding decision-making and participation of local employees. Many Zambian employees feel disrespected by their Chinese managers. Mrs Kabelo, a qualified design maker who is in middle management, is promoting new African-style textile designs, which could attract more customers and protect the organisation from a second shutdown. How should she approach the Chinese management? At a meeting of the Zambian employees aiming to reach an agreement, they discuss how to access the Chinese management and decide to write an official letter using language that is interculturally sound. Is it appropriate to use Chinese idioms to open the ears of Chinese management to hear the Zambian issues on participating in decision-making to promote modern African design patterns and colours?

Mr Wei is the Chinese CEO of a huge “new city” housing development project in Luanda, Angola. Although he applies different situational management styles tailored to suit African and Chinese employees, his Angolan employees feel they are somehow discriminated against and grouped as “second-class” staff. They express their unhappiness, but Mr Wei continues with his two different management styles. He applies the Daoshi role in his management position to properly guide the Angolan staff members for the benefit of the country, the company and themselves. The Angolan employees believe that Mr Wei wants to inject them with foreign values, and they dislike his language policy: Chinese with Chinese and English with Angolans. They do not feel accepted in their own language and culture. Mr Wei is not sure if he really understands the deep-rooted differences in Chinese and African socio-history that might result in mistrust and misunderstandings in his building and construction company.

This chapter deals with a Tanzanian-Chinese water project that is under construction. For the Chinese, the project combines aid with trade by supplying the regional population with healthy drinking water. One of the aims of Chinese strategy in Tanzania is to become the top supplier of healthy water and sanitation. So, for the Chinese, the project can be called an “economic aid project”. However, the Tanzanian employees are uncomfortable with the information policy of the Chinese management as well as that of the communal authorities. They feel uncertain of the aims and strategy of the Chinese management and try to overcome this lack of information. Additionally, Tanzanians fear that the water will be sold and not distributed to the local community. Both sides work on a more transparent information policy in the organisation, between the communal government and the organisation and an improved public relation with the customers of healthy water and sanitation in the region.

Since its independence, Zimbabwe has opened its gates to Chinese investment. The country has precious mineral resources, and mining industries are booming. In a gold mining plant in Mashonaland, the relationship between the Chinese management and the staff is quite tense. Grievances of the Zimbabweans include the treatment of workers, the “hire-and-fire” policy, and safety and security measures. Admittedly, the Chinese management has created many jobs, but mine workers are not sure if they can keep their places in the mining company. Some feel threatened by the high number of workers who lose their jobs suddenly. But the issues of unfair contracts and the abuse of labourers are also on the agenda. The situation in the gold mine has gained public interest, and investigative journalists approach Mr Peng, the human resource manager of the company, to get an answer. Mr Peng responds in a friendly manner to their questions about the Chinese management’s expectations of the working staff in the mine.

Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa with a flourishing industrial sector, with many people who need to have modern Internet access. A Chinese organisation has created a huge fibre-optic infrastructure in the country, to meet the needs of the population. The Ugandan public relations manager of the project, Mr Bugeke, explains selected issues in working conditions and recruitment policies to students of Makerere University. Mr Bugeke is a bicultural manager who has studied in China for several years, but he cannot respond in depth to the students’ questions, for instance, about Confucian ethics, or China’s “grand strategy” and how it affects the fibre-optic project in Kampala.

Ground-based medical support (GBMS) utilizes specially trained medical personnel to provide medical recommendations for in-flight events and preflight passenger screenings. GBMS services are contracted by airlines and are most commonly provided by third-party entities that staff physicians and/or nurses experienced in flight physiology, aircraft operations, and emergency medicine. GBMS may also assist airlines in recognizing the need for public health notification for potential infectious disease involving international travel, as well as the management of occupational health issues such as pilot and crew fitness-to-fly assessments. During an in-flight emergency, airlines largely rely on the advice of GBMS medical providers for decisions regarding medical treatment and use of onboard medications or equipment, often with the assistance and further input of onboard medical volunteers. The decision to divert an aircraft, while influenced by the medical recommendation of GBMS, is ultimately made by the pilot in command and the airline’s dispatch center.