In China, business people get a new kind of cultural re-education
All this training does not come cheap. The classes cost up to 925 yuan ($115) an hour. Wannabe socialites pick among international table manners (which includes "Menu Reading" and "Do's and Don'ts Around the Table"), finding Mr. Right-Miss Right (which includes subjects like "Different Values in Males, Females, and Foreigners"), or "The Ultimate Power Studies of Being a Lady or Gentleman." Yamada also runs classes for children, teaching them such fundamentals as how to use a knife and fork, and has over 100 private students, who pay 20,000 yuan ($2,500) for eight hours of intense tutoring.
Back in the conference room, Yamada shows pictures of Greta Garbo, Rita Hayworth, and Richard Gere, then contrasts them with pictures of Chinese people with bad haircuts taken from magazines.
"It took Japan 20 years after the war to stand on its own feet," she says. "China is still a developing country. Many of these people only started making money two or three years ago. Their parents never taught them to close their mouths when they're eating or not to pile their plates really high at buffets. They need help."
advertisement
