Chinese Management Style

Over the years, several people have asked me what I think about “Chinese management style,” or how I’m adjusting to “Chinese management style.” Of course, I generally hold my tongue and utter some neutral comment about how it’s all very interesting and educational.

But to be honest, I’m not completely sure what is meant by “Chinese management style.” Is there a general style of management among Chinese business persons? Is it something that exists just as a natural consequence of the general personalities and characteristics of Chinese people are – they are a certain way, so they act in a certain way – or is it a style they deliberately seek to implement in their firms?

My opinion, based on experience with various local companies, is that calling it a management style is a euphemism. There’s really not much style to it, it’s not a system or calculated practice, it’s just how businesses end up being run as a result of the general personalities and characteristics of Chinese people. I guess I would summarize some of the key characteristics of “Chinese management style” as follows:

  • Rigidly structured levels of management with leaders at each level demanding strict, absolute obediance from inferiors, and inability for inferiors to question corporate practices or suggest improvements or changes (that would qualify as insubordination);

  • Endless debate, analysis, controversy, indecision and lingering doubts, and absence of leaders with ability to make clear, firm decisions and implement them unwaveringly;

  • Widespread lies, deceipt, distortion and concealment of facts from employees, government, customers and suppliers;

  • Adherence to stupid, outdated, useless policies because that’s the policy and difficulty assessing strengths and weaknesses objectively and acting accordingly.

  • Refusal to take responsibility for decisions or for problems, accompanied by widespread finger-pointing, blame, false accusations of wrongdoing and harsh psychological punishments inflicted on those being blamed.

What do you think? Have I missed something? Have I failed to understand and appreciate the subleties and the strengths of CMS?

Having never worked in China or Hong Kong, I would say your observations/ideas/assessements are primarily about Taiwanese business, IMO. And yep you’re dead on.

I know that working on films with Hong Kong people, it is exactly how you describe management styles.

So are you up for the task of writing that book on “How to do business with the Chinese”? :wink:

In my experience across Australia, Taiwan, China, Singapore and Hong Kong I reckon management styles are based on the person, not the country.

I have had dud western managers and great Asian ones, bad Asian ones with western education and great Asian ones with local education and vice versa etc etc. PEOPLE are either good managers or not, simple. Stereotyping or lumping it into Chinese management sucks but western is better (or vice versa) is like saying all people from {insert country here} are {insert stereotype here}.

This leads into the whole manangment Versus leadership discussion. And again, I have great Asian bosses that are good leaders but bad managers or vice versa etc etc.

As I said, I’m just responding to people’s questions about Chinese management style. It hadn’t occurred to me that there was such a thing, except that people keep mentioning it to me.

I guess your vote is that there is no such thing. Duly noted.

I wonder if others agree? I wonder if others feel the characteristics I described (or some other characteristics) are representative of Chinese/Taiwanese companies and distinguish them somewhat from Western companies. I don’t know (and I haven’t read those types of books namahottie refers to, but maybe I should), which is why I was asking.

In over 11 years here in Taiwan and in six organizations, I’ve not seen any pattern I would call a general Taiwanese management style, no. It appears mainly to be a function of the personality of the manager in charge.

Yeah…what you said is pretty much how I saw things when I worked in Taiwan…I was working at Taiwan’s largest semiconductor fab in Hsinchu (I won’t mention the name of the company, but anybody familiar with the high-tech sector can pretty much guess which company I am talking about)…I kinda got fed up and left…

I’ve had a lot of experience with a large company in Taiwan, and I’d say management was a

fly
seat
pants

method. Managers are promoted from within, whether or not they possess the skills to manage and lead. It’s like a form of company nepotism.

The result is a huge slowdown in the work at hand, reshuffling of caseloads, and an erasage of accountability.

But hey, that’s just my experience. :unamused:

[quote=“Mother Theresa”]- Rigidly structured levels of management with leaders at each level demanding strict, absolute obediance from inferiors, and inability for inferiors to question corporate practices or suggest improvements or changes (that would qualify as insubordination);
[/quote]

Thou shalt obey the complete idiot above you.

[quote=“Mother Theresa”]- Endless debate, analysis, controversy, indecision and lingering doubts, and absence of leaders with ability to make clear, firm decisions and implement them unwaveringly;
[/quote]

My second biggest piss off is the endless debate thing without actually implementing any test schemes to confirm facts and then try to make decisions based on the gathered wisdom of strong suspicions that something could be okay.

My biggest piss off of all time. I get “Ironman (or another name) doesn’t listen” because I gather all relevant information in, try to gather facts or arrange for facts to be gathered then make a decision that at times runs against the Chinese group “suspicion” the mob arrived at.

How dare I be an individual and make a decision.

Saving of face and greed are in this somewhere.

Yes and double yes.

Triple yes.

[quote]P.R.C. Chinese management style is founded upon the premise that all good flows from the manager. Fear of loss

A fish stinks from its head

Nobody wants to point out where the smell is coming from.
And they all know the answer.
So they pretend the stink is perfume and go merrily along.

Years ago someone advised me to read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms saying that within that book was all you needed to know and survive all aspects of Chinese society, including the office. I think they were right.

Petty faction building and the periodic mindless attacks were a big personal gripe of my Taiwan office life. Quite often they seemed to be nothing more than testing your defences. Fortunately I’m now back working for whitey and that truck simply don’t carry!

Interestingly my Chinese colleagues (mainland, Taiwanese and HK) clearly all maintain the mental boundaries of their various fiefdoms, despite not being able to clearly act on it. I’m quite sure though that should whitey sell out to Chang one day, Zhang Fei, Zhu Ge Liang and a none too merry band of eunuchs would descend in an instant. Shudder!

Overall I think the major characteristic of Chinese management is paralysis followed by crisis control.

<<少不讀水滸, 老不讀三國>>

HG

[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”] (Check original post by hg for full quote…this is cut out-cdf)

Overall I think the major characteristic of Chinese management is paralysis followed by crisis control.

<<少不讀水滸, 老不讀三國>>

HG[/quote]

Having worked for a few manufactuers and the incomparably pathetic ‘This Month In Taiwan’ I completley agree with HG’s statment. I would add that all responsiblity for training and job knowledge is on the individual as well, but all credit for something done right goes to the paralyzed management. BTW…crisis control is handled by the same basic principle in which it is mentioned above…its a vicious cycle. Amazing that anything gets done.

Chou

This is terrible - you poor people with bad experiences. I guess I have been lucky.

Would be interested to hear the flip side of all the great experiences the west has offered you? Or is it, as I suggested, bosses are bosses… they just suck everywhere? :slight_smile:

[quote=“AWOL”]This is terrible - you poor people with bad experiences. I guess I have been lucky.

Would be interested to hear the flip side of all the great experiences the west has offered you? Or is it, as I suggested, bosses are bosses… they just suck everywhere? :slight_smile:[/quote]

I can give you another flip side without having to go to the west.

I’m relating my experience as management/ boss dealing with other bosses. It still sucks just as hard.

I have to say, that working for a forign company here in HK, I am astonished at the pragmatism. There is simply no room for bullshit or petty empire building. Seriously!

HG

[quote=“AWOL”]This is terrible - you poor people with bad experiences. I guess I have been lucky.

Would be interested to hear the flip side of all the great experiences the west has offered you? Or is it, as I suggested, bosses are bosses… they just suck everywhere? :slight_smile:[/quote]

Sounds like you still don’t believe there is such a thing as Chinese management style.

Do you agree that Chinese culture is confucian or authoritarian or patriarchal? Do you agree that in Chinese culture children have less right to question their parents and students have less right to question their bosses?

Do you agree that Chinese culture emphasizes math, science and “rational” doctrines more than emotional, intuitive and people-oriented doctrines?

If so, wouldn’t one expect such cultural traits to have an effect on the management of Chinese/Taiwanese companies?

Having worked for both US and Taiwanese firms - including a local mfg (rule No. 1 - if the bosses wife is working for the company, under no circumstances work there) I’ve seen all of the above exhibited at both.

However, US firms generally have more kinds of processes in place that can check some of the more egregious personal behavior - that seems to me to be the only difference.

[quote=“Mother Theresa”]Do you agree that Chinese culture is confucian or authoritarian or patriarchal? Do you agree that in Chinese culture children have less right to question their parents and students have less right to question their bosses?

Do you agree that Chinese culture emphasizes math, science and “rational” doctrines more than emotional, intuitive and people-oriented doctrines?

If so, wouldn’t one expect such cultural traits to have an effect on the management of Chinese/Taiwanese companies?[/quote]

Yes to all of the above.

Sure, there are exceptions… but, they are simply… exceptions.

And yes, there are variances in degrees… but, they are merely… variances.

I did my MA internship in a joint venture between a company from my home town and one of Taiwan’s oldest and largest conglomerates back in 1988. The top down management style and complete deference to management, to the point of near kow towing to superiors, was strongly in place in the Taiwanese company’s offices.

I have worked for a Taiwan firm now for the past 10 years and while management here is indeed enlightened by local standards, and I am given major slack, the management style is similar though to a lesser degree.

There is no question that a general style of management exists here. Ask any Taiwanese whether they would like to work for a foreign company or for a local company.

And why does EVERYONE want to be the boss here?

I have worked for the same Japanese company for 25 year. The first 24 years in the US. I am a white American. For the past 5 years I commuted to Asia monthly for two weeks each month. Finally the Japanese in Japan accepted I was the best and first non Japanese to be assigned out of my home country.

Our office is in Hsinchu 75% Taiwanese and 25% Japanese plus me. My Chinese is better than any of the Japanese staff’s Chinese. And about half the Taiwanese can speak fluent Japanese. All the locals can speak English better than my Chinese. I beleive an ability to communicate in the local language does have an impact in the office.

Here is my impression. Japanese employees still beleive they have a job for life. And the main point is not to make noise. Getting ahead only comes with time and not result. Not causing discomfort to manager above is the highest priority.

While the Taiwanese want to figure out how the company can make more money because this should mean they get more. Me-- American is always worried no good result could mean cutbacks. This in spite of the fact I have worked for a Japanese company for this long.

Second the local people see me as more like them than the Japanese are.

Working and actually living for me is easier in Taiwan than in US. Especially the working part. Less “politics” in our office here in Taiwan compared to US. It may seem unbelievable but in our US company an Italian background seemed to increase chance of promotion.

My biggest frustration here in Taiwan is although it is a very high tech business selling almost exclusively to the big semiconductor fabs still business is mostly based upon good local friends or relatives.

Thankfully we have good sales team I just have to help on details and with communication to Japan.

So my main point is Japan and Taiwan are both islands off the coast of Asia but very different business practices.

don’t think you can make such sweeping generalizations. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t disagree with what you are saying. However, this can be applied to many people from many different races and countries.

In Taiwan, many people haven’t been educated internationally or exposed to outside-of-the-box thinking. Furthermore, many people with wealth have only had it for 20 years or so. They still say things that may not be considered proper within polite society. Being a homogoneous culture only compounds this problem: people are not as sensitive to the feelings of minorities.

I disagree, however, with the overall tone of your message. I work in R+D in Taiwan and the people I work with are incredibly smart, friendly, professional, tactful, fair, and meritocratic. For a Taiwanese or a global company to remain competitive in a globalized world, environments will have to become more dynamic and open to change. In many instances now in Taiwan, especially in government and in many small SMEs, people are set in their ways and don’t want to change. They are stubborn. However, the same could be said for many businesses in any part of the world. It is the nature of small businesspeople trying to protect their small piece of the pie. For organizations to truly grow, they need dynamic people with vision. I think companies with cutting edge R+D understand this.

Just my two cents.