influence on them. Thirteen of them (52 percent) said that traditional
Chinese thoughts inspired them in terms of strategy while Western
management theory influenced them in terms of tactics. Many inter-
viewees also pointed out the differences between Chinese and Western
cultures: the Chinese emphasize relationships, while Westerners em-
phasize rationality; the Chinese emphasize quality, while Westerners
emphasize quantity, etc. The interviewees pointed out that it is
impossible to rely only on relationships to run a company, and stand-
ard operating procedures are also necessary. However, it was also not
possible to run Chinese companies solely on the basis of a Western
management theory that focused on efficiency and standard operat-
ing procedures, because Chinese employees and subordinates expect
that their managers will take their personal situations into consider-
ation. Several interviewees believed that in Chinese management,
relationship considerations, together with moral persuasion, should
supersede rules and regulations.
The interviewees categorized corporate problems into two types:
managing people and managing tasks. They believed that the strong
emphasis on operations and quotas in Western management theory
had been very helpful in the management of their companies’ pro-
duction and distribution. On the other hand, traditional Chinese
culture had helped them to manage their employees and subordinates
effectively and reasonably. A case in point can be found in the division
of labor between the husband and wife executives that we reported
earlier. We were told that the husband used Western economics and
management theories to design the corporation’s structure and stan-
dard operating procedures whereas the wife used what she learnt from
the philosophies of Confucius and Xunzi to build relationships with
employees and subordinates.
The interviewed executives generally believed that they learnt the
production and operation techniques from modern business adminis-
tration training which is mostly imported from the West, and they
depended on Chinese history, society, and culture for inspiration to
manage people effectively.
These interviewees said that both traditional Chinese culture and
Western management practices had merits. The combination of the
two streams allowed one to manage a company effectively and effi-
ciently. Some interviewees who had received business administra-
tion education said that a successful business leader not only had
Chinese traditions and Western theories 265