Chinese andWestern negotiations 375 debate includes the need to defer to seniority which can often slow down the finalisation of the business deal as Chinese negotiators need to seek the authority of their immediate bosses. Three real life examples are used to illustrate the importance of Guanxi, the expectation of contract re-negotiation and the problem of dealing with Chinese bureaucracy. Chinese-based economies may mean big businessOne of the most rapidly developing economies, and a giant by any measure, is the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). Approximately one-fifth of the world's consumers live there, the country is currently undertaking vast infrastructure projects and there is a continued commitment to market-based reform. McKinsey estimates that by the year 2000 there are likely to be 200 million fairly affluent Chinese by world standards (Leung et al., 1995). Moreover, the Tiger economies, largely of Chinese ethnicity, portrayed in the Asia Pacific Profiles prepared by the Asia Pacific Economic Group (1994), also experience rapid growth, but are already enjoying a comparatively high standard of living based on global standards. These factors have contributed to the increasing attention from Western business. Imports to China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan have exceeded US$336 billion in 1993. Cultural differences add to the challengeIts size aside, the PRC appears to be one of the most challenging environments in which to conduct negotiations, a factor shared with other Chinese-based economies such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. China is a high context culture in which people are deeply involved with others and information is widely shared (Hall, 1976). The cultural variable has been explained by Guanxi, yet Guanxi would appear to be a dependent variable derived from the cultural and pragmatic necessities of Chinese society. Notable research to explain cultural differences between countries was carried out by Hofstede (1991) who identified four dimensions of culture:(1) power distance (measured from small to large);(2) collectivism versus individualism;(3) femininity versus masculinity;(4) uncertainty avoidance (from weak to strong). Later the author added a fifth dimension: long-term orientation in life versus a short-term orientation. In the empirical work Hofstede (1991) did not publish measurements for the PRC except for "long-term orientation", but it is possible to utilise the author's work to make comparisons between Western-based cultures, such as the USA, Great Britain and Australia, to Chinese cultures such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. Hofstede's (1991) work for the Chinese and Western countries are summarised in Table I.In terms of power distance Singapore scored 74 on the power distance index, Hong Kong 68 and Taiwan 58 compared to the lower scores of USA 40,

Relationship marketing is currently an important topic in the marketing literature. The use of relationships in marketing and business generally varies around the world. In the Chinese-based economies much is made of Guanxi which provides the relationship building for interpersonal relationships. In this paper the foundations of Guanxi are described in the form of a four-stage model. As Guanxi is a particular form of relationship in the Chinese culture and underpins much of the business carried out in Chinabased economies, it is compared to relationship building in Western cultures. The paper adds to the literature on relationships and how they are developed and is important to the literature on relationship marketing applied in the Chinese context. It also helps the practitioner, who wishes to develop relationships in Chinese-based economics, by providing guidelines on how the Chinese like to do business.

Purpose – To outline the role of the group supervision model in postgraduate training, especially its advantages in respect of research involving industry sponsors. Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers the various categories of supervision and the pivotal role played by the supervisor. It analyses indicators of supervisor effectiveness in four major categories including supervisory style, the supervisor competence and supervisor characteristics and attitudes. Finally, it discusses how universities have worked on student attitudinal and skill problems through the provision of postgraduate training courses and changes to the supervisory system. A number of group supervisory practice models are described and the role and function of a supervisor are considered. Findings – The quality of postgraduate study is not purely a question of supervision methodology and motivation but hinges also, but not exclusively, on institutional admission procedures and policies, faculty/school administration policies as well as assistance and infra structure that is provided by faculty/school to supervisors and students, including financial assistance, access to child care, pastoral care, computing, library, office space, phone access, access to secretarial support, provision of research seminars and presentations, funding for library searches, conferences, travel, fieldwork, photocopying, and opportunities for casual work within the school. Research limitations/implications – The paper acknowledges that current supervision of postgraduate research students is deficient in many cases, but cannot provide, for ethical reasons, examples of bad practice. It does acknowledge that problems exist manifesting themselves in inadequate supervision, emotional and psychological problems in the student body, communication problems between supervisors and supervisees, knowledge deficiencies in the student body with the ultimate effect of late completions and low retention rates. Practical implications – The paper shows that universities must work towards improved linkages to ensure that they can take advantage of partnership opportunities. Originality/value – The paper has identified approaches to panel supervision and outlines the role of the industry partnership model. It is helpful to both students and supervisors trying should to determine under what research arrangement they conduct their research.

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