The "China phenomenon" and Chinese style management

Citation

Lin, G. and Li-Hua, R. (2008), "The "China phenomenon" and Chinese style management", Journal of Chinese Economic and Foreign Trade Studies, Vol. 1 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcefts.2008.36001aaa.001

The "China phenomenon" and Chinese style management

The "China phenomenon" and Chinese style management

The "China phenomenon" is changing the knowledge balance of the world. Many countries, in particular, Western countries, are carefully following the development and change of China's economic transformation and policy. Economists believe that a sound market and good governance are important ingredients for sustainable growth, where the features of this include the maximum role of the market, the importance of legal framework, rational decision-making, accountability and transparency, control of corruption, efficiency, strategic vision, equity and involvement. China's economy presents a mixture of features of a market economy intertwined with those of a command economy. The goal of the reform has been defined by the Chinese government as to build "socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics". The last three decades of China's economic reform has been a remarkable period of economic and political history. China has experienced the fastest growing economy growth and has become the engine of world economy. How could this happen? The World Bank reports that China could meet the new challenges and sustain this rapid growth, mainly because of its competitive advantages, such as, relative stability, a remarkably high saving rate, a strong record of pragmatic reforms, a disciplined and literate labour force and growing administrative capacity. In his recent speech at the China Forum organized by Phoenix, in Tokyo, Dr Franklin Yang Zhenning, the Noble Price winner, argued that a number of factors, particularly, the Chinese philosophy, – the people centred culture – has played a vital role.

The unprecedented growth of China's economy, which remains the fastest in the world, offers significant potential for both Chinese and foreign investors. China's entry into the WTO and accelerated liberalization process has resulted in a greater desire to conduct business in China. However, the uncertainties and ambiguities prevalent in the Chinese business environment are neither well understood nor effectively negotiated by the international investment community. The complexities, sophisticated Chinese philosophy and the attitudes of the Chinese toward the outside world have led to misunderstanding in the operation and the implementation of international joint venture projects in China. China's business environment continues to present many challenges, particularly in how to manage effective business networks and ensure smooth knowledge transfer, especially in international joint venture projects.

In the meantime, Levono's acquisition of IBM's PC department, Nanjing Automobile, China's oldest car maker, purchasing British MG Rover and, more recently, the bidding for a stake in Bear Stearns by a Chinese leading financial firm, CITIC Group, not only present opportunities, but also strategic challenges. Haier, Chinese electronic giant based in Qingdao, has been identified as a company with a sophisticated approach and energetic leadership. The guiding genius behind Haier's success is its chief executive officer, whose management approach has been strongly influenced by ancient Chinese philosophy. The legacies of these firms are at the centre of what is happening in China's economy. In other words, what they do will have big impact on foreign companies that are looking to succeed in China.

Is economics a universal and relevant subject? How has it been applied in China's progress? There are numerous cases in which China has not followed what economists have said, but its economy is prospering. There are also cases in which China did follow what economists have said. The results, however, were disappointing. With the liberalization and growing economic power, China is increasingly becoming a major laboratory for many issues of global concern, including trade imbalance, environments, global warming, control of disease, labour migration and rights, income distribution, government governance, multinational enterprise and product standards. This is indeed a great opportunity for economists to develop, test and modify their theories.

Philosophers have made an interesting comparison between American style management and Chinese style management. It has been understood that American style management is embedded in the process of self-actualization. It focuses on "management by objectives" and "management by results". However, Chinese style management concentrates on the philosophy of "self-disciplinary first and then managing people" under the Confucian philosophy. While Western style management is not to be replaced by the Chinese style management, there is no doubt that Chinese style management will have an important position in the management field in the twenty-first century. There is also little doubt that the twenty-first century is an era where people may need to understand Chinese philosophy and Western management science and may need to integrate Chinese wisdom with the conventional approaches developed in the West.

Welcome to the first issue of Journal of Chinese Economic and Foreign Trade Studies (€JCEFTS), a new journal which aims to give a broad international coverage of subjects relating to Chinese economics and business and business strategy in China. Emphasis is placed on the publication of articles which seek to link theory with application or critically analyse real situations in terms of Chinese economics and trade policies in China with the objective of identifying good practice in these areas and assisting in the development of more appropriate arrangement for addressing crucial issues of Chinese economy and business – in theory and in practice. Papers accepted for publication are double-blind refereed to ensure academic rigour and integrity.

Editorial objectives and coverage

The focus will be on publishing high-quality research papers, viewpoints, conceptual papers, case studies, literature reviews or general views. It is envisaged that the majority of articles will be empirical, but there will also be scope for review articles, and contributions that focus on developments in the research of Chinese economy, Chinese business and business environment in China. In terms of coverage, the journal will aim at an international audience. It will cover qualitative and quantitative research in all areas of Chinese business, technical economics, Chinese business and foreign trade, business environment, business strategy, Chinese economics, Chinese management and business, and how they impact upon the areas of marketing, human resources, accounting and finance and the supply chain. Areas covered will include:

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  Chinese business and culture.

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  Foreign trade and policy.

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  Technology economics.

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  Labour economics.

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  Macro- and micro-economics.

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  Knowledge transfer and sharing.

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  Chinese management and business strategy.

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  Cross-culture management.

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  Business in transitional economies.

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  Economic reform in China.

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  Post-WTO in China.

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  Globalization and its impact upon Chinese economics and business.

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  Comparative studies of business law and taxation issues.

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  Uni-, bi- and multi-lateral trade and investments.

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  Inward and outward foreign direct investments.

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  Development of service sector.

JCEFTS and University of International Business and Economics (UIBE)

The development of JCEFTS came out of discussions between ourselves and senior colleagues from UIBE and Emerald for proposals of launching a journal that would deal with heated debate of critical issues and strategic thinking in the fast growing Chinese economy and international business. JCEFTS negotiates China's unique position within the international economy, and its interaction with the rest of the world in the age of globalization. From a truly international perspective, the journal will publish both qualitative and quantitative research in all areas of Chinese business and foreign trade, technical economics, business environment and business strategy.

JCEFTS will publish high-quality research papers, viewpoints, conceptual papers, case studies, literature reviews and general views. The majority of articles will be empirical, but there will also be scope for review articles and contributions focusing on developments in the research of Chinese economy, Chinese business and business environments in China. Emphasis will be placed on the publication of articles that seek to link theory with application, or critically analyse real situations in terms of Chinese economics and business, with the objective of identifying good practice in these areas and assisting in the development of more appropriate arrangements for addressing crucial issues of Chinese economics and business. Papers accepted for publication will be double-blind peer-reviewed to ensure academic rigors and integrity.

JCEFTS has a strong editorial team based at UIBE www.uibe.edu.cn. Situated in China's capital Beijing, UIBE was designated as a "key university" by the government for its outstanding programmes. In May 1997, UIBE was put on the list of "Project 211" universities, a governmental programme aimed at turning about 100 Chinese universities into exceptionally high-quality academic institutions in the new century. In 2000, UIBE has become one of the state universities under the leadership of the Ministry of Education. UIBE consists of over 20 academic schools, departments and research centres. Among the over 30 Bachelor, Master's and Doctoral programmes that UIBE offers, International Trade, International Economic Law, English Language and International Business Management have been designated as key programmes under "Project 211". In December 1989, UIBE became the first university in China that had a Board of Trustees composed of members from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, Bank of China, People's Insurance Company of China, Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce, etc. Li Lanqing, the former Vice-Premier of the State Council, took the chair for its first session, and Wu Yi, Vice-Premier of the State Council, chaired the Board for its second session.

Guijun Lin and Richard Li-Hua