Transcending Paradox: The Chinese “Middle Way” Perspective

Western thought is noted for its strengths in categorization and analysis; Eastern, or Chinese thought, is noted for its integrative and encompassing nature. This article seeks to bridge the two. Specifically, it aims to enrich Western thinking and the existing body of paradox literature by proposing the idea of paradoxical integration, a concept derived from the Chinese middle way philosophy. Paradoxical integration, the notion that two opposites (such as self and other) may be interdependent in nature and together constitute a totality (integration), is introduced as one means of transcending paradox and the conventional Western conceptualization of exclusive opposites. It suggests how we can apply the concept of interdependent opposites in a both/and framework to foster reconciliation of the apparent polarities of such dichotomies as competition and cooperation. The article concludes with a discussion of the broad implications of the concept of paradoxical integration upon both academic research and business practice.An erratum to this article can be found at     

Research on asian cultures and management: Some epistemological issues

This paper highlights the major issues raised in the conference Culture and Management Styles in Southeast Asian countries and discusses the espistomological and methodological problems of doing comparative management research in general as well as in the region.The paper identifies the themes which emerged from the conference discussions as (1) the fundamental rationale for research and the apparent weakness in making it explicit, (2) the questions of epistomology as regards causation, and the (3) more mundane issues faced in conforming to standard research paradigms. These issues are discussed under the following headings: What is to be included, subjects' espoused theory or theory in use, idiographic versus nomothetic approaches, more universal variables, problems of defining culture. The implications and significance of different approaches and disciplines concerning these issues are considered, and guidelines for future research in the area are suggested.Professor Gordon S. Redding is with the Department of Management Studies, University of Hong Kong.     

History and managerial culture in Singapore: “Pragmatism”, “openness” and “paternalism”

This paper examines the historical evolution of culture and management in Singapore, the existence of cultural fluidity in the society and the openness of Singapore to foreign management in relation to the changes in the environment resulting from modernization and development. Management in Singapore has always been multinational in origin. It has also been influenced considerably by the Chinese family system. It is in a state of flux; new and foreign practices are continually assimilated and adapted. Inspite of the wide variations in management practices, Singapore management remained characteristically pragmatic and open as well as paternalistic.Dr. Chong Li Choy is Senior Lecturer in the School of Management, National University of Singapore.     

Cultural dimensions in management and planning

The nature of management skills is such that they are culturally specific: a management technique or philosophy that is appropriate in one national culture is not necessarily appropriate in another. The paper describes the scope of (work-related) cultural differences as they were revealed by research in more than 50 countries around the world and discusses how these differences affect the validity of management techniques and philosophies in various countries within the functioning and meaning of planning.The author is with the Institute for Research on Intercultural Cooperation, the Netherlands. This paper is a shorter version of the first part of a report MAN DEV/28. Culture and Management Development, written on behalf of the UNDP/ILO Interregional Project Co-operation among Management Development Institutions and published by the International Labour Office, Management Development Branch, Training Department, Geneva 1983.     

Paths to Common Ground? A Rejoinder to Dewey's Response

While subsequent discussion in this Review has failed to reconcile the merger policies proposed by Dewey and Keyes, it has suggested that they are not as far apart as they seemed at first reading. It now appears that both writers advocate a serious critical consideration of the efficiencies claims advanced by proponents of otherwise unacceptable mergers. Moreover, there may be a possibility that Dewey's special large-firm merger control could be defended on grounds which would not conflict with Keyes' proposal but would simply complement it.     

Qualified audit reports and costly contracting

This paper investigates the financial characteristics of the population of listed Singaporean companies receiving first-time qualified audit reports. It develops and tests hypotheses which take into account the costly contracting implications of a qualification for both the auditor and client. A matched pair design is used as a control. Results show that firms receiving qualified reports are significantly less profitable and liquid and have significantly more debt than the control in the year of qualification. Profitability and liquidity are shown to have declined in the four-year period up to the qualification, while debt levels have increased. These results may partially explain why the general (overseas) no-effect result from share market announcement date studies exists; the qualification per se is a dated signal of financial deterioration that has existed for at least the previous four years. Qualification is also significantly associated with auditor type and ownership of the firm, and is also dependent upon whether or not the firm has revalued its assets or changed accounting methods. It is more likely that a qualified report will be issued by a non Big 8 auditor in Singapore to a firm which has a higher proportion of the equity owned by the management. Qualified firms are more likely to have revalued assets and changed accounting methods to increase income than the control group. The strength of the results is also shown to depend on the nature of the qualification. Companies receiving severe qualifications (ie going concern, not true and fair, and unable to form an opinion) have far more significant differences than their pairs compared with those firms receiving moderate or other qualifications.The authors are Senior Lecturer, School of Accountancy and Business, Nanyang Technological University and Professor, Department of Accounting, University of Sydney, respectively. All correspondence should be addressed to Yoke-Kai Chan, School of Accountancy and Business, Nayang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798.This paper has benefited from the comments of an anonymous referee, participants at the Australasian Banking and Finance Conference, the 15th Annual Congress of the European Accounting Association, and at workshops at the Australian Graduate School of Management, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, the Nanyang Technological University and the University of Southern Queensland, and in particular those of Greg Whittred, Steve Taylor, Roger Simnett, Kim Sawyer and Don Stokes. Financial support from the National University of Singapore is gratefully acknowledge. The usual caveats apply.     

Technology Education as Solo Activity or Socially Constructed Learning

There is a continuing perception that current educational arrangements for technology education in modern liberal democracies are at odds with its actual delivery in the classroom (Dakers & Doherty 2003). The technè versus poiesis tension (explained later) is one major contributor to this perception. Equally, the practice of transmission versus constructivist pedagogies contributes to the mismatch between policy and practice.This paper will investigate how factors relating to these two contributions affect the delivery of technological education. It will begin by discussing the derivation of the word technology and how its modern incarnation has become not only amorphous, but confusing for technology education, in that the term can be taken to mean production on the one hand or process on the other. It will then explore technology teachers perceptions (and misperceptions) of what constitutes technology education, and discuss why this can lead to confusion. It will further consider how this can affect the pedagogy adopted. It will then examine two pedagogical frameworks which result from teachers perceptions of technology education as either; a process of internalisation of technological skills and functions as representations exclusively within the mind and unique to the individual, thus solo, or; a process of technological skills and functions embedded in sociocultural activity in which cognition is distributed across the internal mind and the external environment. Finally, the paper will offer a framework for the delivery of technology education set within a community of learners paradigm.     

Matching students' technological thinking with the demands of a technological curriculum

The ability to think in the technology subject area has been analysed for a sample of 50 pupils in the 11–16 age range in a U.K. comprehensive school. It is suggested on the basis of the research that three factors are identified: function/structure, general intelligence and perceptual (visual) analysis. Developmental analysis suggests that changes with age occur in the first of these, with thinking moving from identification of function towards identification of structure. The mismatch between the development of technological thinking and teaching curricula is noted.     

Tasks in technology

Technology has long been recognised as a task-centred activity, but far too little work has been done to understand the nature of tasks and how they operate as teaching and learning tools. The problems surrounding Attainment Target 1 (AT1) in the national curriculum in England and Wales provide ample evidence of this. This paper explores — both in principle and through empirical research data — two central features of tasks ie pupil autonomy/teacher control and the role of the client or user of the end product. Very contrasting views about tasks emerge from the four key stages.     

Entry Patterns in the Southwest Airlines Route System

We estimate a model of city-pair entry for Southwest Airlines using data from 1990 to 2000. In addition to quantifying the market characteristics which have influenced Southwests entry decisions, we find evidence that Southwests entry strategies have changed significantly throughout the decade. Based on our models estimates, we provide an estimate of the foregone fare savings resulting from the Wright and Shelby Amendments. Finally, we identify those markets that are the most likely for future non-stop entry and suggest which network carriers are most vulnerable to future Southwest expansion.     

Perception of ‘economic reality’ with Design and Technology

Conclusion It has been argued that Design and Technology teachers would be helped by clear distinction between the terms, industry, business and economic. This would help to avoid the confusion between particular ways of viewing business (eg. through an economic concept such as profit maximisation;) and the multi-faceted character of the activity under observation. By this reasoning, the economic dimension of Design and Technology resides in the analysis of needs and the evaluation of products according to the value of the resources used up, and the value and distribution of the resources and products created. The link with discussion of value judgements in the subject (eg. Riggs and Conway, 1991) is very clear. So also is the dependence of this analysis on the definition of needs and evaluation and, crucially, the perceived relationship between the two, in learning and classroom practice.     

Reflection on technology in education

Reflection has become a buzzword in the educational profession. Its meaning, however, frequently remains vague. In this paper the meaning of reflection for technology education is elaborated on three levels. The first is a philosophical and educational level. The idea of Bildung, conceived as the formation of an autonomous personality, becomes a central category for instruction about technology. The second level is the realm of curriculum development and teachers' planning. The reference to Bildung implies that technology education should be based on technological key problems that apply to all members of society. On the third level, the meaning of reflection will be elaborated in the context of a qualitative research approach on teacher thinking in technology education. It resorts to the categories of the curriculum model and is illustrated by a case study on teacher planning in computer education.Dr K.-H. Hansen is a researcher at the Institute for Science Education (IPN) in Kiel. After some years of experience as a technician he studied sociology and graduated in education. He has published in computer education with an emphasis on pedagogical, historical, and social aspects. His research work comprises qualitative and quantitative studies of the educational uses of computers. His current research interests are the conceptual role of technology in integrated science and in STS education.     

Japanese managers in southeast asia: Amiable superstars or arrogant upstarts?

This study examines the stereotypes held by 664 expatriate and 624 local managers in the subsidiaries of 136 Japanese firms operating in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Using 18 semantic differential items, the opinions of the managers were sought concerning three matters: their own nationality (their autostereotype); the nationality with whom they worked (their heterostereotype); and how the nationality with whom they worked would see them (their metastereotype). Principal components analysis revealed three major factors underlying the stereotypes, which were labelled managerial, entrepreneurial and congenial. These three factors are used to compare the various stereotypes of the groups.The authors are members of the Department of Management, The University of Western Australia. They wish to acknowledge the contribution made by A. Radha Krishnan in the gathering of the data upon which this study is based.     

HUEI: Pricing a Chinese saving-borrowing pool

This paper tries to provide proper pricing methods for Traditional Huei Pool (THP), a very popular investment/borrowing vehicle in Taiwanese society. We find that THP equals the sum of a series of amortised loans by the dead members plus a newly formed THP by living members. If forming and terminating a THP is without any cost, it can be proven that the value of THP equals the discounted value of future payments by dead members. In addition, credit risk will increase the Huei discount and therefore will increase the funding cost for the Huei bidder.     

The management of Chinese small-business enterprises in Malaysia

This paper traces the development of Chinese business enterprises in Malaysia, a multiracial country where the Chinese comprise 30 per cent of the population. Most of the Chinese enterprises are very small. Reference is made to the sixteen Principles of Good Business Practices which originated from ancient China. It is argued that the strengths of the small Chinese organization such as strong family ties, sharing and pooling of resources, efficient use of manpower, practice of thrift, use of low gearing, flexibility of operations, etc., may become weaknesses if the business expands. ThePok Chow or labour contracting system, and the role of the Chinese business associations and guilds are also discussed. Since the promulgation of the new economic policy in 1970, there is greater urgency for Chinese enterprises to modernise, so as to adapt to changes in Malaysia.This paper has been submitted as a chapter of a forthcoming book entitled Managing in an Asian Plural Society. As one of the authors of this book, the writer of this paper is indebted to Tan Sri Datuk Hamzah Sendut and Mr. John Madsen, the other two authors, for permitting him to present this material at this conference.Professor Gregory Thong Tin Sin is chairman of the Division of Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya.     

The role of the ideal organization in comparative management: A cross cultural perspective of Japan & Korea

It is popular to talk of the Confucian Work Ethic when explaining the successes of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. This is not an accurate impression. The authors of this article found significant differences in management practices — both actual and ideal — between Japan and South Korea.Professors Lane Kelley, Reginald Worthley and Harry Lie are from the College of Business Administration, University of Hawaii while Professor Arthur Whatley is from the College of Business Administration & Economics, New Mexico State University.     

Location and Implementation Issues in Support Function FDI: The Globalisation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

This research looks at foreign direct investment in support functions such as R&D and employee training facilities, through a study of the globalisation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Linkages among investments are highlighted. Centripetal forces are identified which pull later-stage FDI to the sites of initial investments, resulting in the creation of integrated, self-contained value chains overseas. Specific examples of R&D and employee training FDI suggest that while the purpose of support function FDI is to gain cost or differentiation benefits, successful implementation requires effective knowledge creation and transfer capabilities.     

The NCAA Cartel and Competitive Balance in College Football

The NCAA regulates college football player recruiting, eligibility, and compensation. The economic theory of cartels suggests that one consequence may be reduced competitive balance. The enforced restrictions inhibit weak teams from improving, and protect strong teams from competition. A stratification is implied which should be evident over time as less churning in national rankings and conference standings, and fewer schools achieving national prominence. I test this general hypothesis by comparing various competitive balance measures for about 25 years before and after NCAA enforcement began in 1952. The hypothesis is supported by all measures at both the national and conference levels.     

Social categorisation in Philippine organisations: Values toward collective identity and management through intergroup relations

The popularity of American-style management techniques in the Philippines implies an inevitable transition from the traditional values rooted in interdependent collectivism to the modern values of independent individualism. It is argued that an indigenous style of Filipino management is viable and imperative, which recognises the salience of collective identities in organisations. Based on a theory of social categorisation, a conceptual model of management through intergroup relations is presented. The main contention is that, in place of a dysfunctional conflict between Americanised management tactics and contemporary Filipino values, organisational effectiveness could ensue from a synchronic synergy between Filipino-style management tactics and the social categorisation effects of intragroup convergence and intergroup divergence.     

China's Labour-Management System Reforms: Breaking the ‘Three Old Irons’ (1978–1999)

This article systematically examines the fundamental changes that have taken place in China's labour-management system since China embarked on its economic reforms in 1978. The system was, from the 1950s onwards, characterized by what were called the three old irons, i.e. life-time employment (the iron rice bowl), centrally administered wages (the iron wage), and state-controlled appointment and promotion of managerial staff (the iron chair). This study reviews the degree to which the reform process is breaking these three old irons and is arguably replacing them with a hybrid human resource management model, albeit with Chinese characteristics, that reflects the influence of foreign multinational corporations (MNCs) that have invested in China.