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Dr Mark Brian Debowski & Ms Sui Li Yu Guangdong Province, People ' s Republic of China
The authors examine how the concept of leadership is developed and maintained in Cantonese society. They provide a unique perspective on this question generated from an analysis and reflection of extant socio-economic practices in Canton. Their reflections argue that how leaders ' roles in Chinese society will change depends on the current leaders seeing personal advantage in such changes occurring. Ultimately, change can only be achieved through instruction and role modelling in key social institutions.
As the authors weave their way through the seeming mayhem that results from 120 million Guangdong people on their way to work in a bustling Cantonese city, the temptation to punctuate their travels to view the commencing work day for those working in medium to large scale retail and service industries is profound.
Cutting through the vitas of rickshaws; street markets; crowds of loud, emotional, gregarious people and drab, dusty alleyways and streets are occasional views (standing out like lighthouses on rocky shoals) of surprising uniformity. Highly regimented rows and columns of young employees in crisp (generally white or blue) uniforms stand rigidly to attention in front of their places of employment. Their bosses (seemingly no older than they) strut up and down the ' regiment ' bellowing orders, corporate mottos and instructions, while the employees stand motionless. The perception that these are actually statues is broken only by their reddish faces as they are yelled at.
The first time a ' White Ghost ' (as those of European descent are locally called) views this scene, they are tempted to wonder how such a leadership style can exist in the twenty-first century. Surely the second half of the twentieth resonated with the underlying social emergence of ever-increasing egalitarianism. Themes of personal dignity, individual rights, equality and freedoms for all made inroads into all societies over that era? Consequent to these social reform themes, a socio-economic environment was engendered that perceived rules more as general guides to be likened to a compass, and hence opened the doors to worker inputs in the forms of evaluation, criticism and negotiation rather than perceiving them as a set of commandments handed down from above.
The visitor rapidly learns, however, that in a world of 1.6 billion people, where one works or they starve, niceties such as personal dignity are for those in possession of power.
The reader may well state what is being viewed is management. Leadership as experienced by these employees (in such a socio-economic setting) is far more remote, functional (financial bottom line-focused) and non-negotiable than we ' Westerners ' have experienced. Leaders are experienced only indirectly through their lower order managers. Hence the spectacles we observe outside places of employment each day reflect as concept of leadership very different to that many of us have experienced.
It would be so easy for one to criticise what is happening outside these regimented shop fronts. To imagine that such leadership concepts and strategies engender feelings of individual insignificance in this huge socio-economic monolith that is China. Yet, on asking for the perceptions of the young people standing to attention outside their employment, one obtains a very different perception. Many of them consider themselves as supremely fortunate. They, after all, have the security of a job that means food for their families tonight. One, after all, can ignore the yells of a manager but it is much harder to ignore the tears of a hungry sibling and the hunger pains you must endure.
Furthermore, to most of these employees, the notion that there exists any other leadership style raises surprise. They have not experienced another form of leadership.
One may fairly ask how Cantons extant leadership strategies and styles are perpetuated and survive. This nation is rapidly progressing toward a prominent position on the world economic stage and, as such, faces ever-increasing exposure to, and criticism from, its newly emerging trade partners.
Leadership may be considered one of the universal cornerstones of civilization. The authors contend that the influences of leadership style may be conveniently re-grouped into four bounding parameters. Leadership style, we contend, may be analysed as both a cause and a consequence of the surrounding society ' s Culture, its notions of Power and their expression, the use of this power in Planning and Control of institutional practice. We call it our CPPC model.
We propose that the leadership strategies utilitarian in any culture are the result of a socio-cultural template that is bounded by these four parameters. Within such bounds, acceptable leadership concepts and practice is constantly enforced and perpetuated by society ' s primary educators/trainers, namely the family, the education institutions and (to a far lesser extent) employee training. These primary educators/trainers perpetuate and further generate societal evolution of leadership concepts, values and practices within any culture. This evolution is promulgated through two primary strategies: deliberate instruction and through role modelling.
It would be fair to say that underlying the infrastructure of Chinese society (and presumably all other societies) are some general codes for values and notions of worth and importance for concepts such as good leadership. Two of these themes that may be endemic, particularly in China, however, may be respect for elders/ancestors and respect and compliance to the established order. The primary maintenance mechanism in all this may well be the concept of ' face ' or personal pride. From a functionalist perspective these codes are important to the Chinese social fabric if 1.6 billion people are to be controlled and maintained.
Leaders in China (be they in the home, the school or industry) command and demand an unquestioning compliance. They are strong, remote and often detached figures. A clear power hierarchy exists to perpetuate this leadership model. Communication is distinctly from one layer to the immediate layer below it. Rarely are these lines crossed (with communication seldom being across two or more levels up or down the hierarchy) for fear of demeaning one ' s own position (bringing loss of personal ' face ' ) in relating to much lower levels or insulting those above you ( ' loss of superior ' s ' face ' ) by going over their heads. It is interesting to note that as one ' s status elevates (up these organisational hierarchies), the level of formality and mystique slowly subsides. At the lowest levels, however, that of the child, the student or the unskilled worker, this model is an all powerful ' reality ' and mechanism for control.
This leadership style pervades Chinese society ' s primary sources of socialisation, the home, the school and, to a lesser extent, the workplace. Even the media enforces the extant system and model of leadership. For such an ingrained societal concept as leadership to change requires those in power to desire for it to change. They must provide clear articulation of the new concept and its benefits and living example in these primary sources of socialisation. With the need for international approval to enhance international economic progress, such financial motivation for change would appear to now exist in China.
As with all cultural observations, it is important not to surmise and generalise too much from what one believes they are witnessing. It would be overly simplistic to assume that this is the only leadership style extant in China. There is a Chinese idiom that states ' the best and the worst in the world can be found in China ' . Leadership, surely, is no exception to this idiom. So it is with leadership models, as well. The authors have personally witnessed leaders whose styles would be considered progressive, even by ' Western ' standards. Leaders who eat their meals, share their ideas and challenges and accept input with employees and their families, sharing the highs and lows of the corporate effort and working with their employees.
Leaders who display these qualities appear to be rare, however. While by-and-large the silent majority of employees admire this participative leadership approach and are loyal and grateful to those who display this style, on occasion such leaders are mistakenly identified by ' old school ' followers (those would-be dogmatic leaders) as weak. Such employees often subvert or openly challenge these positions and styles. All too many employees (in this cultural setting) see such a leadership style as foolish and a sign of weakness to be taken advantage of. Hence, the strength required to practise with a different model of leadership is immense. It is only the brave, the visionary and the personally and financially strong leader who can survive with such a ' modernist ' philosophy and strategy of leadership.
The concept of leadership and how it is practised varies between societies. The extant Chinese concepts and perceptions of leadership and its application will be under pressure to change as China reaches ever further out into the world economic community. The change process they will need to follow has parallels with every other society. This change process will require that, wherever they deal with the future leaders, there will be a need to consciously promulgate (through both clear and deliberate articulation and role modelling) what they want these future leaders to practise.
This same issue is a huge challenge for us all. We need to put aside what makes life easiest (or most expedient) for us in the present. We need to act being ever mindful that young people in our charge today (be they our children, or pupils, or our novice employees) will one day be the captains of our society. These young people will only be able to build on the leadership foundations we articulate and role model for them today. The challenge for each of us then to face is whether we are truly leaders (visionaries who desire to be vectors for positive future change) or just extant managers of people.
Dr Mark Debowski has held numerous managerial positions, including roles as CEO, business manager and principal spanning the petrochemical, public service, industrial training and educational industries over the last thirty years. At the time of writing this report, he was resident in China acting as C.F.O. for an education service provider and as an Education Consultant (English Language & Overseas Education) to a number of institutions across Guangdong province. Mark has an extensive publication history spanning Mathematics, Science, Training and Education and, more recently, in Business Administration, Leadership, Finance and Marketing fields. Mark possesses a Doctorate in Mathematics Education, a Masters Degree in Science, a Doctorate in Business Administration and qualifications in Assessment and Workplace Training.
Ms Sui Li (Sally) Yu has ten years of experience as a business leader in Chinese society. She is currently general manager and owner of a number of associated businesses throughout Guangdong province. These businesses span a number of areas in the commercial sector, including a number of service and retail functions. Some of these businesses are in the fields of immigration, visa and education provision, import/export and hospitality and tourism.
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