Theoretical and practical implications
We characterize the current Chinese culture in general and Chinese
business leadership and management in particular as the coexistence
of multiple philosophies, perspectives, and approaches, some of which
are very different or even conflicting while others are similar and
complementary. In the following we summarize some general themes
that the Chinese leadership philosophies and perspectives can bring to
the world. We then stress the utility of eclectic and holistic approaches
to leadership challenges in China.
Some common themes of Chinese leadership philosophies
Chinese humanism
The first theme of Chinese philosophies is Chinese ‘‘humanism’’ or
‘‘humaneness,’’ namely, benevolence. Western humanism or the human
relations’ philosophy of management puts greater emphasis on the
autonomy, agency, and rights of the individual employees. Chinese
humanist philosophy stresses kindheartedness in one’s relationship with
other fellow-beings in the social and natural world. In leadership, its
straightforward application is being sensitive and attentive to the basic
needs of the followers. More importantly, it means a commitment to
building and maintaining a humane organization in which members’
livelihood is provided and their social-psychological well-being is taken
care of. Clearly there is a paternalistic tone to Chinese humanism. Such
paternalism could very well be both an impetus and an impedance
to the accomplishment of other organizational objectives such as
efficiency and profit. In general, to the extent an organization or a
leader is believed to be humane, that is, putting priority on serving the
long-term interest of the employees, there is greater legitimacy
of authority and greater employee commitment and loyalty to the
organization. In contrast, benevolence or humaneness does not seem
to be a central concept in the vocabulary of American business leader-
ship even though it was found to be a universally endorsed leadership
attribute (Houseet al., 2004 ). It does not seem to mesh very well
with the Western leadership concepts of vision, charisma, strategy,
intelligence, or effectiveness. Western business leaders have no problem
professing to serve the best interest of the shareholders through
tough leadership with their workforces; they could even be great
Introduction 17