Taiwan Chinese managers' personality: is Confucian influence on the wane?

This paper conjectures that Chinese managers' personality in the Taiwan context, as shaped by Chinese tradition, has been moderated in response to their career experience. The paper begins with an introduction to Chinese culture and its impact on values and personality. It then goes on to argue that if the cultural context can nurture personality, we should therefore expect that as the context changes, personality can be moderated via economic reforms as in the case of Taiwan. It is reasonable to assume that among the Taiwanese, the occupational grouping that has most actively felt the impact of these reforms is managers who have been at the forefront of making them happen. We are not aware of any studies focusing on Taiwanese managers which attempt to assess how far their personality is still shaped by Confucian values which have strongly influenced Chinese traditions, and how far it has experienced changes that have come about through modernization and economic reform. We have addressed this research gap using the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI), an indigenous Chinese personality instrument developed by Cheung et al. (1996) with the support of an interview programme and a biographical data sheet to flesh out details related to the subjects' lives and experience. The findings suggest that the traditional Chinese personality with its grounding in Confucianism has been gradually eroding but that some elements of it are still strongly in evidence. The contribution of this study lies in illustrating how personality may be undergoing convergence through modernization. It also signals that cultural boundaries with reference to emic and etic research may also be converging. To the extent that this is so, future studies on culture and business management in China may need to reappraise their understanding of the nature of Chinese culture, values and personality, and how they have responded to business forces in a globalized world.     

Acculturation and Individualism as Predictors of Work‐Family Conflict in a Diverse Workforce

Ethnic and cultural diversity is an increasing reality in the US workplace. The current study highlights the importance of acknowledging the culturally heterogeneous nature of ethnic groups, and the need to focus on social identity characteristics such as cultural values when assessing group differences. We demonstrate that cultural values (i.e., individualism) contribute to employees' experiences of work‐family conflict beyond the effects of ethnicity. Specifically, we introduce a model informed by social identity theory that explains why acculturation is related to work‐family conflict. The model was tested with a sample of 309 employed Caucasian and Hispanic Americans. An empirical test of our model provides evidence that individualism mediates the relationship between language‐ and social‐based acculturation and work‐family conflict, even when controlling for ethnicity. Additionally, alternative models further reveal that the effects of acculturation and individualism contribute to work interfering with family. As an implication of the current study, we suggest that researchers and organizational managers should consider the cultural values of their diverse workforce when implementing policies that affect conflict between work and family. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

An exploration of the HRM values of Chinese managers working in Western multinational enterprises in China: implications for HR practice

This paper qualitatively explores the nature of human resource management (HRM) values of local Chinese managers working in Western-based multinational enterprises in China and also considers how these values are associated with preferences for HR practices. The study involves the use of repertory grid interviews with 36 local Chinese managers. The study shows that interviewees reflected a high level of assimilation and internalization of many Western HRM values. Interviewees also retained many traditional Chinese values, thus highlighting the role of institutional and cultural forces on HRM. However, among these local managers, there was clear decline in some traditional Chinese values, such as ‘harmony’ and ‘virtue’. A further interesting finding was the co-existence of paradoxical values of collectivism and individualism among the managers. Analyses of repertory grid data and interview comments also highlight that preferences for HR practices is associated with these underlying HRM values.     

Guanxi Management in Lean Production System—An Empirical Study of Taiwan‐Japanese Firms

While the emphasis in the West is on “what you know” refers to technological expertise, including the price and quality of tendered product or service, the emphasis in Confucian societies is on “who you know,” which refers to personal connections with the appropriate authorities or individuals. These connections are known in Chinese as guanxi, on which as the basis Chinese exchange a lifetime of favors, resources, and business leverage. This study seeks to study guanxi mechanism, the unique Chinese social‐cultural element and its impact on the managerial effectiveness of Taiwanese firms with lean implementation in practice, and an empirical study is constructed to verify our proposal. Results suggest that guanxi and its networks function as the lubrication that eases interpersonal conflicts and as the buffer in solving problems, which in turn upgrades the cooperative efficiency both inter‐ and intragroups. This article provides an inner view of cultural value, which offers insights that should prove helpful to academics in management and related disciplines as well as to practitioners engaged in Chinese production management.     

An Exploratory Investigation of Organizational Values in the United States and India

Abstract

This exploratory study examined similarities and differences between organizational values in the United States and India (n = 188). Results indicate (a) that the national culture impacts organizational values in USA and India and (b) support for the crossvergence perspective particularly for Indian organizational values wherein the values indicate a combination of indigenous and Western values. Given the increased US investment and business presence in India, a discussion of management procedures and techniques compatible with the Indian business values is offered for US managers dealing with an Indian work force.     

Reconciling traditional Chinese management with high‐tech Taiwan

The traditional view of management culture among the overseas Chinese is that of an autocratic, paternalistic and centralised organisation with low levels of trust of ‘outside’ professional managers and employees. By contrast, the organisational culture associated with successful innovation and/or high technology is that of a decentralised organisation with high levels of employee autonomy. Existing research indicates that the overseas Chinese have become successful by sticking to the business sectors compatible with their preferred management culture, and that this holds true for Taiwan. What, then, explains the Taiwanese success in high‐technology ventures? This article offers initial evidence that management culture in Taiwan is adapting in order to enable industrial development in new areas. In‐depth interviews with 20 Taiwanese companies indicated that the change is being led by the high‐technology businesses. However, while many of these business culture changes are in a direction towards the organisational culture associated with high‐technology companies, it is also clear that a strong Chinese influence remains.     

A framework for strategic decision making and performance among Chinese managers

This study develops an integrative model that explains the relationship between Chinese culture, managers' strategic decision making (SDM) processes, and organizational performance. For the study 1200 participants were randomly selected from a business club's company register, resulting in 204 valid respondents. The results highlighted two significant SDM paths used by managers: (1) the cognitive-speed path, which suggested that Overseas Chinese managers (the Chinese who live outside of Mainland China) focus on the big picture, draw analogies from past experiences, and use extensive networks to reduce the duration of the decision process; and (2) the social-political path which shows that Overseas Chinese managers focus on collective interests, strive to maintain harmony, and to save face while using a collaborative style to handle conflict; this approach reduces dysfunctional political behavior, while reinforcing the decision team's focus on common goals. From these results we concluded that a speedier decision making process (based on intuition, experience, and networks) accompanied by the appropriate use of political behavior (that created harmony, through a hierarchical structure, during conflict management) in the Overseas Chinese managers' strategic decision making process could positively influence organizational performance.     

The influence of relation-based and rule-based regulations on hiring decisions in the Australian and Hong Kong Chinese cultural contexts

Investigation of the cultural factors that may influence the employment decisions of managers is of increasing importance in the global business environment. The purpose of this research is to examine whether particularistic ties based on friendship influence hiring practices in relation-based (Hong Kong Chinese) and rule-based (Australian) cultural contexts. Three studies were conducted to examine this research question. Results indicate that friendship-based particularistic ties, specifically guanxi and mateship, can influence hiring decisions in both relation- and rule-based cultural contexts. The results of the studies have implications for human resource managers with regards to staffing organizations operating in different cultural contexts.     

What Do Expatriate Managers Know About Their HCN Subordinates' Work Values

Abstract

To be able to adjust to a foreign work environment, expatriate managers need to know what to adjust to. This article explored to what extent expatriate executives are familiar with the work values of their host country national subordinates in Asia. A field study investigated Swedish top managers' perceptions of the work values of their middle managers who were employed in Swedish subsidiaries in Hong Kong. The result showed that the Swedish executives significantly underestimated the importance of the work values of their subordinates in one third of the investigated values. Managerial implications of the findings are discussed.     

商务英语在企业管理中的应用

文化差异在企业管理者的英语运用中不容忽视,企业管理者在注重提高自己英语交际能力的同时,必须要了解中西文化差异,这样才能够更好的利用英语提高企业的竞争力。企业管理者在英语运用中尽量能够在了解国外文化的同时体现出我国的民族特色,这样才能够在很大程度上提高企业的影响力与管理水平,使企业能够得到更加长远的发展。本文将要探讨的重点就是企业管理者在英语运用中的文化差异以及企业管理者必须在英语运用中重视文化差异。通过对这两点的分析更加深刻的阐述文化差异在企业管理者的英语运用中不容忽视。     

Individual Civil Servants' Conceptions Of Accountability

Abstract

This article presents a preliminary study of how civil servants in the United Kingdom understand accountability characterized by its emphasis on individual performance and accountability. Using the interpretive approach known as phenomenography, we interviewed ten civil servants who as Senior Responsible Owners (SROs) were accountable for the delivery of IT enabled business change programmes. Our analysis revealed five attributes of accountability, each conceived at three levels in a hierarchy of increasing richness and complexity. These results challenge the notion that accountability is a unitary concept and that there is conflict between traditional and newer forms of accountability.     

A problematic transition to a strategic role: human resource management in industrial enterprises in China

The Chinese government has launched extensive reforms to encourage integration with the global economy. Our research investigates the implications for human resource management practices of the changing business environment in China, ownership of organizations, organizational strategies and strategic integration of the HR function. We conducted two surveys in major Chinese cities in 1994/5 and 2001/2, with managers of state-owned, privately owned, collectively owned and foreign-invested enterprises.

Regression analyses showed that organizational strategy and organizational ownership, in contrast with earlier research, were not found to be strong predictors of HRM practices. The changing business environment in China and participation by the HR function in strategic decision-making were the strongest predictors of HRM practices. Overall, a strategic role for the HR function and implementation of ‘Western’ HRM practices are becoming more prevalent in China, although the legacy of traditional practices endures and new challenges are emerging.     

The impact of group-oriented values on choice of conflict management styles and outcomes: an empirical study in Turkey

Globalization has led to increased attention to cultural diversity in workforces and its influences on organizational practice. This study examines group-oriented values and their impact on choice of conflict management styles as well as on conflict resolution outcomes in Turkey. Using a sample of 315 managerial personnel from various public and private organizations, this study shows that norms of subordination of personal needs to group interests and beliefs about the effects of personal pursuit on group productivity are the most important predictors of choice of conflict management styles in Turkey. In addition, dominating and obliging styles are associated with individual profits in actual conflict resolution process and integrating style is the primary determinant of satisfaction and relationship building in conflict management. Managerial implications are then discussed on diversity and conflict management training for effective international human resources management.     

Expatriate or local bosses? HCN subordinates' preferences in leadership behaviour

This article explores host-country national subordinates’ preferences in leadership behaviour comparing expatriate bosses and local bosses. From a sample of 240 middle managers in Hong Kong with experience with both local Chinese bosses and expatriate bosses from a broad spectrum of Western and Asian countries, it was found that the subordinate managers assessed the leadership behaviour of their expatriate bosses to be significantly closer to that of their perceived ideal boss. American leadership behaviour was the most preferred and Japanese leader style was the least preferred, with British leadership style comprising a middle group. Implications of these findings for international business firms and future academic research are discussed.     

Parent cultural control of foreign subsidiaries through organizational acculturation: a longitudinal study

Organizational acculturation refers to changes in the work values of host-country employees in foreign subsidiaries. Although many multinational corporations practise cultural control of global operations, organizational acculturation has attracted very little academic research. In the present study, the subjects are Hong Kong Chinese managers employed in subsidiaries of multinational corporations from a European country. Longitudinal research was conducted over three years among an 'acculturation' panel, a control panel and a benchmark panel. The findings showed that organizational acculturation may have occurred in some of the work values measured. Implications of these findings for international firms are discussed in detail.     

Expatriate learning: exploring how Japanese managers adapt in the United States

We present an exploratory study of how Japanese expatriates adapt to working in the United States over time. We view expatriate adaptation to a host culture through the lens of Experiential Learning Theory and learning style. Results of two studies, using quantitative and qualitative data, conducted in Japanese multinational corporations doing business in the USA reveal how learning style in Japanese expatriates changes over time and how Japanese managers differ from their US counterparts. Results suggested that Japanese managers become more concrete and more active in their learning styles over time spent in the USA. Results also revealed that the learning style of expatriates changes in response to cultural demands and that the patterns of change do not necessarily reflect that of US managers. We suggest that Japanese managers do not directly assimilate into US culture but develop specialized modes of adaptation to their host culture. Results of the study are generalized into eight propositions to guide future research on expatriate adaptation to a host culture.     

Harmony and organizational citizenship behavior in Chinese organizations

From the divergence perspective in human resource management (HRM), this paper develops an indigenous framework exploring the mechanisms between the prominent cultural characteristic of harmony originating from Confucian ideology, and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as well as job satisfaction in the Chinese context. By employing structural equation modeling, our findings demonstrate that the degree of harmony is positively related to employees' OCB and job satisfaction, and that job satisfaction positively mediates the relationship between the degree of harmony and OCB. This research – that examines the relationships between Chinese harmony grounding in an art-based view and employees' display of OCB derived from Western theories – is a response to the recent calls for introducing valid context-specific measures and considering the cultural impact on individual behaviors in HRM. This study suggests that firms in China may encourage employee OCB and job satisfaction by boosting harmonious level at workplace. It provides a useful guideline for multinational enterprises eager to effectively manage Chinese employees, and enriches non-Chinese managers' understanding of the values of harmony in China.     

Women Managers’ Careers in China: Theorizing the Influence of Gender and Collectivism

This article is concerned with developing an understanding of the careers of women managers in China. Existing literature suggests that while women in China are comparatively well represented in management roles, they face distinctive pressures and barriers to their progress arising from entrenched patriarchal and collectivist aspects of the Chinese cultural tradition. However, little is known about how these aspects impact on women's orientations towards their careers and to what extent influential Western career theories are adequate in interpreting their experience. Drawing on interviews with 20 women managers in China, the article interprets women's orientations towards their careers in relation to their adherence to traditional gender roles and collectivist values. Using this framework, a fourfold taxonomy is developed which identifies “conformist,” “revolutionary,” “soloist,” and “dissident” orientations. The article suggests that Western career theories fail to capture the collective dimension, and thus do not account fully for the range of experience and orientations of Chinese women managers that are captured in the taxonomy. Implications, both practical and theoretical, are discussed. Recommendations are also made as to how management and career development policies might be developed in organizations in China in order to address the diverse needs and preferences of women managers. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Executive Values and Decision Making: The Relationship of Culture and Information Flows

The effect of culture on work values has been studied in a number of ways, largely from a western perspective. Studies have predominantly employed questionnaires as the principal agent of data collection. Yet the Confucian work ethic attributes greater emphasis to collectivist values which bear more centrally on personal relationships. This research used discourse analysis in order to try to identify the implicit features of cultural values as they affected the transmission of financial information, a problem highlighted by the Asian currency crisis in 1997/98.
The international hotel industry operates in a multicultural environment where very often foreign operators manage locally owned premises. In these circumstances, budgetary planning and control is an important mechanism. A sample of the interactions between 18 hotel general managers and their financial controllers were studied in Hong Kong. Financial controllers are already subject to a number of role conflicts and it was found that these may be exaggerated by culture.
Chinese financial controllers seem to distort the outputs of budgetary planning and control processes in recognition of important organizational relationships. It is suggested that recognizing the direction and effect of these relationships has implications for leadership and performance judgements generally.