Harmony and Patriarchy: The Cultural Basis for 'Paternalistic Headship' Among the Overseas Chinese

Abstract

This paper outlines a model of leadership attuned to the cultural specificities of the Overseas Chinese (OSC) context. The model is developed in a contrast ive mode to U.S. approaches to leadership which are depicted as being cultur ally bounded and non-transferable to the OSC situation. The model is extrapol ated from the persisting cultural values and traditions still prevalent in OSC organizations and management style. The concept of headship is heuristically adopted to demarcate the underlying orientation towards legitimized influen cing of followers by leaders and the structuring of relationships among the OSC. Chinese organizational 'heads' are seen to function on the basis of meet ing the mutually reinforcing dual requirements for legitimized order and com pliance achievement and the maintenance of social harmony. The cultural basis for meeting these requirements is examined in detail. The resulting 'leadership' orientation is depicted as 'paternalistic headship', the behavioural and attitu dinal elements of which are explored. The arguments are situated in the context of a burgeoning interest in, and recognition of a distinctive OSC management and business orientation.

Keywords

Descriptors: leadership Chinese headship paternalism harmony

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adler, N.J. 1991 International dimensions of organisational behaviour , 2nd ed. Boston : PWS-Kent.

Andres, T.D. 1989 Management Filipino style Makati, Manila: St Pauls Publications.

Badawy, M.K. 1980

'Styles of Mideastern managers'

California Management Review 22: 51-58.

Bass, B.M. , P.C. Burger , R. Doktor , and G.V. Barrett 1979 Assessment for managers: An international comparison New York: Free Press.

Economist, The 1996 'A survey of business in Asia. March 9th-15th'. Special Supplement.

England, G.W. , and R. Lee 1974

'The relationship between managerial values and managerial success in the United States, Japan, India and Australia'

Journal of Applied Psychology 59/4: 411-419.

England, G.W. , O.P. Dhingra , and N.C. Agarwal 1974 The manager and the man: A cross-cultural study of personal values Kent, OH: Kent State University Press.

Fatehi, K. 1996 International management: A cross-cultural approach Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall .

Gibb, C.A. 1969 'Leadership' in The handbook of social psychology. G. Lindzey and E. Aronson (eds.), 205-282. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

10.

Gua, J.-X. 1988 Three kingdoms and management strategies (in Chinese) Nanning: Guangxi People's Press .

11.

Hahn, H.Y. 1988 Current practices of Korean administration Tokyo: Toyokeizai Shimpo-sha.

12.

Hall, E.T. 1976 Beyond culture New York: Anchor Press.

13.

Hall, R.H. , and W. Xu 1991 'Run silent, run deep — cultural influences on organisations in the Far East'. Organization Studies 11/4: 569-576.

14.

Hamilton, G. , W. Zeile , and W.J. Kim 1990 'The network structures of East Asian economies' in Capitalism in contrasting cultures. S. Clegg and G. S. Redding (eds.), 105-129. Berlin: De Gruyter.

15.

Hamzah-Sendut, Tan Sri Datuk , J. Madsen , and G.T.S. Thong 1989 Managing in a plural society Singapore: Longman.

16.

Hicks, G.L. , and S.G. Redding 1983 'The story of the East Asian economic miracle. Part 2: The Culture Connection'. Euro-Asia Business Review 2/4: 18-22.

17.

Hofheinz, R. , and K.E. Calder 1982 East Asia edge New York: Basic Books.

18.

Hofstede, G. 1980 aCulture's consequences: International differences in work related values London: Sage.

19.

Hofstede, G. 1980b 'Motivation, leadership, and organization. Do American theories apply abroad?' Organizational Dynamics 9/1: 42-63.

20.

Hofstede, G. , and M.H. Bond 1988 'The Confucius connection: from cultural roots to economic growth.'. Organizational Dynamics 17: 4-21.

21.

Holloman, C.R. 1986

' "Headship" vs leadership'

Business and Economic Review 32/2: 35-37.

22.

Janelli, R.L. , and D.Y. Janelli 1982 Ancestor worship and Korean society Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.

23.

Jiang, Y.-W. , and J.-S. Min 1989 Ancient management thinking and Chinese-style management (in Chinese) Beijing: Economic Management Press.

24.

Jou, J.Y.H. 1983 'The relationship between the Chinese personal value system and management practices in large corporations in Taiwan' Unpublished doctoral dissertation, National Cheng-Chi University , Taiwan.

25.

Kahn, H. 1979 World Economic Development: 1979 and Beyond London: Croom Helm.

26.

Kao, H. S. R., D. Sinha, and S. H. Ng, editors 1994 Effective organisations and social values. London : Sage.

27.

Kao, J. 1993

'The world web of Chinese business'

Harvard Business Review (March-April): 24-36.

28.

Kenis, I. 1977 'A cross-cultural study of personality and leadership' . Group Organisational Studies 2: 49-60.

29.

Kirkbride, P.S. , S.F.Y. Tang , and R.I. Westwood 1991

'Chinese conflict preferences and negotiating behaviour: cultural and psychological influences'

Organization Studies 12/3: 365-386.

30.

Kirkbride, P.S. , and R.I. Westwood 1993 'Hong Kong', in Managers and national culture: A global perspective. R. B. Peterson (ed.), 321-347. Westpoint, CN: Greenwood/Quorum.

31.

Kohlberg, L. 1969 'Stage and sequence: the cognitive-developmental approach to socialisation' in Handbook of socialisation theory and research. D. Goslin (ed.), 347-475. Chicago: Rand McNally.

32.

Kohlberg, L. 1976 Moral development and behaviour New York: Holt, Reinhart and Winston.

33.

Kohut, J. , and A.T. Cheng 1996

'Return of the merchant mandarins'

Asia, Inc. 5/3: 22-31.

34.

Komin, S. 1990 a'Culture and work-related values in Thai organisations' International Journal of Psychology 25: 681-704.

35.

Komin, S. 1990 bPsychology of the Thai people: Behaviours and behavioural patterns Bangkok: National Institute of Development Administration.

36.

Kraar, L. 1994 a'The overseas Chinese'. Fortune 130/9: 45-68.

37.

Kraar, L. 1994 b'The new power in Asia' Fortune 130/9: 38-44.

38.

Laaksonen, O. 1988 Management in China during and after Mao Berlin: De Gruyter.

39.

Lee, S.M. , and S. Yoo 1987 'The K-type management: a driving force of Korean prosperity'. International Management Review 4: 37-45.

40.

Li, F. , and H. Ma 1991 Military strategies and enterprise competition (in Chinese) Nanning : Guangxi People's Press.

41.

Lim, L., and P. Gosling, editors 1983 The Chinese in Southeast Asia, Vols. 1 and2. Singapore: Maruzen Asia.

42.

Limlingan, V.S. 1986 The overseas Chinese in ASEAN: Business strategies and management practices Pasig, Metro Manila: Vita Development Corporation.

43.

Louie Kam 1980 Critiques of Confucius in contemporary China Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.

44.

Maruyama, M. 1974 'Paradigmatology and its application to cross-disciplinary, cross-professional and cross-cultural communication'. Dialectica 28/3-4: 135-196.

45.

46.

Meek, C.B. , and Y.-H. Song 1993 'South Korea' in Managers and national culture: A global perspective. R. B. Peterson (ed.), 287-320. Westport, CN: Quorum.

47.

Oh, T.K. 1991 'Understanding managerial values and behaviour among the Gang of Four: Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong'. Journal of Management Development 10/20: 45-56.

48.

Posner, B.Z. , and P.S. Low 1990

'Australian and American managerial values: subtle differences'

International Journal of Management 7/1: 89-97.

49.

Posner, B.Z. , and W.H. Schmidt 1992

'The values of American managers : An update'

California Management Review 34/3: 80-94.

50.

Poston, D.L. , and M.-Y. Yu 1990 'The distribution of the overseas Chinese in the contemporary world'. International Migration Review 26/.3: 4480-4509.

51.

Pugh, D.S. , and S.G. Redding

1985

'A comparative study of the structure and content of Chinese businesses in Hong Kong'

Paper presented at the Association of Teachers of Management Research Conference. Ashridge Management College, England, January.

52.

Putti, J. 1991 Management: Asian context Singapore : McGraw-Hill.

53.

Pye, L. 1985 Asian power and politics Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

54.

Redding, G.S. 1980

'Cognition as an aspect of culture and its relation to management process: an exploratory view of the Chinese case'

Journal of Management Studies 17/2: 127-148.

55.

Redding, S.G. 1990 The spirit of Chinese capitalism Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

56.

Redding, S.G. 1991 'Culture and entrepreneurial behaviour among the overseas Chinese' in The culture of entrepreneurship . B. Berger (ed.), 137-227. San Francisco: Institute of Contemporary Studies.

57.

Redding, S.G. 1995 'Overseas Chinese networks: understanding the enigma' . Long Range Planning 28/1: 61-69.

58.

Redding, S.G. , and T.W. Casey 1975 'Managerial beliefs among Asian managers' in Proceedings of the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Kansas City 36th . R. L. Taylor, M. J. O'Connell, R. A. Zawacki, and D. D. War-wick (eds.), 351-355.

59.

Redding, S.G. , and M. Hsiao 1990 'An empirical study of overseas managerial ideology' . International Journal of Psychology 25: 629-641.

60.

Redding, S.G. , and T.A. Martyn-Johns 1979 'Paradigm differences and their relation to management, with reference to Southeast Asia' in Organisational functioning in a cross-cultural perspective. G. W. England, A. R. Negandhi, and B. Wilpert (eds.), 103-125. Kent, OH: Comparative Administration Research Institute.

61.

Redding, S.G. , and M. Ng 1982

'The role of "face" in the organisational perceptions of Chinese managers'

Organization Studies 3/3: 201-219.

62.

Redding, S.G. , and D.S. Pugh 1986 'The formal and the informal: Japanese and Chinese organisation structures' in The enterprise and management in East Asia. S. R. Clegg, D. C. Dunphy, and S. G. Redding (eds.), 153-167. Hong Kong: Centre for Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong.

63.

Redding, S.G. , and G.Y.Y. Wong 1986 'The psychology of Chinese organizational behaviour' in The psychology of the Chinese people. M. H. Bond (ed.), 267-295. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.

64.

Rees, J. , and M. Sullivan 1995

'Work hard, make money'

Far Eastern Economic Review 158/35: 61-62.

65.

Ronen, S. 1986 Comparative and multinational management New York: Wiley.

66.

Shenkar, O. 1991 Organisations and Management in China, 1979-1990 New York : M. E. Sharpe.

67.

Shin, Y.K. 1984 Characteristics and tasks of Korean enterprises Seoul : SNU Press.

68.

Silas, L.R. 1987

'Understanding Asian business organisations'

Euro-Asian Business Review 6/1: 31-36.

69.

Silin, R.H. 1976 Leadership and values: the organization of large-scale Taiwanese enterprises Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

70.

Sit, V.F.S. , and S.-L. Wong 1988 Changes in industrial structure and the role of small and medium industries in Asian countries: The case of Hong Kong Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong, Centre of Asian Studies.

71.

Smith, P.B. , and M.H. Bond 1993 Social psychology across cultures: analysis and perspectives London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.

72.

Smith, P.B. , and M.F. Peterson 1988 Leadership, organisations and culture London: Sage.

73.

Soloman, R.H. 1971

'Educational themes in China's changing culture'

China Quarterly 22: 154-170.

74.

Tarwater, J.W. 1996

'Chinese and American students' interpersonal values: a cross-cultural comparison'

Journal of College Student Personnel 7: 351-354.

75.

Thompson, A.G. 1989 'Cross-cultural management of labour in a Thai environment'. Asia Pacific Journal of Management 6/2: 323-338.

76.

Triandis, H.C. 1982-3

'Dimensions of cultural variation as parameters of organisational theories'

International Studies of Management and Organisation 12/4: 139-169.

77.

Wang, G. 1991 China and the overseas Chinese Singapore: Times Academic Press.

78.

Wang, L.W. 1981 'Values and alienation attitudes towards the school: the case of junior high school students' (in Chinese) Unpublished Master's thesis, National Taiwan University.

79.

Warner, M., editor 1987 Management reforms in China. London: Francis Pinter.

80.

Weber, M. 1951 The religion of China Glencoe, IL: The Free Press.

81.

Wee, C.H. 1991 Sun Tzu: War and management New York: Addison-Wesley.

82.

Westwood, R.I. , and A. Chan 1992 'Headship and leadership' in Organisational behaviour: Southeast Asian perspectives. R. I. Westwood (ed.), 118-143. Hong Kong: Longman .

83.

Westwood, R.I. , and A. Chan 1995

'The transferability of leadership training in the East Asian context'

Asia Pacific Business Review 2/1: 68-92.

84.

Westwood, R.I. , S.F.Y. Tang , and P.S. Kirkbride 1992

'Chinese conflict behaviour: cultural antecedents and behavioural consequences'

Organisation Development Journal 10/2: 13-19.

85.

Whitley, R. 1992 Business systems in East Asia: Firms, markets and societies, London: Sage .

86.

Widyahartono, B. 1991 'The Pancasila way of managing in Indonesia' in Management: Asian context. J. M. Putti (ed.), 130-144. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.

87.

Wong, S.L. 1983

'Business ideology of Chinese industrialists in Hong Kong'

Royal Asiatic Society Journal 23: 137-171.

88.

Wong, S.L. 1985 'The Chinese family firm: a model'. The British Journal of Sociology 36/1: 58-72.

89.

Wong, S.L. 1988 'The applicability of Asian family values to other sociocultural settings' in In search of an East Asian development model. P. L. Berger and H. H. M. Hsiao (eds.), 134-152. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

90.

Wong, T. 1982

'Aggression, personality and political culture'

Bulletin of the Hong Kong Psychological Society 9: 5-17.

91.

Wu, Y.-L. 1983 'Chinese entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia'. American Economic Review 73: 112-117.

92.

Wu, Y.-L. , and C.-H. Wu 1980 Economic development in Southeast Asia: The Chinese dimension Stanford, CA: Hoover Insti, tute Press.

93.

Wu Yu 1917 'Li lun' [On li], HCN 3/3.

94.

Wyatt, T. 1989 'Quality of working life: cross-cultural considerations' . Asia-Pacific Journal of Management 6/1: 129-140.

95.

Yang, K.S. 1986 'Chinese personality and its change' in The psychology of the Chinese people. M. H. Bond (ed.), 106-169. Hong Kong Oxford University Press.

96.

Yang, K. S., K. K. Hwang, and C. J Chuang, editors 1984 Proceedings of the conference on 'Chinese ways of Management' (in Chinese). National Taiwan University and China Daily , Taipei.

97.

Yoo, S. , and S.M. Lee 1987

'Management style and practice of Korean chaebols'

California Management Review 29/4: 95-110.

98.

Yoshihara, K. 1988 The rise of Ersatz Capitalism in Southeast Asia Oxford: Oxford University Press .