6. Bamboo Ceiling

Foreign staff in Chinese companies report that they very often find themselves marginalized and see very few opportunities for professional advancement. The exclusion a foreign employee working in a Chinese company experiences takes many forms: Linguistic, Organizational, Racial, etc. This chapter focuses on some of the most critical challenges foreigners face when working in a Chinese organization and introduces some of the more effective techniques and approaches they have taken to overcome those challenges. In taking steps to make the working environment in a Chinese company more conducive to foreign staff, the foreign employee will benefit from ongoing efforts Chinese firms are making to refine and improve the ways they approach, support, and integrate the increasing number of foreign professionals they hire.