1. Reflect on the leadership in China.

From the classes that we have had so far discussing about China’s

leadership, and also fellow peers’ journals, I realize that we might be a little

too critical towards Chinese leadership, and focusing a whole lot on Chinese

leadership in terms of government. Therefore, with the hope of providing a

breath of fresh air, this journal will mainly be focusing on Chinese business

leadership, and the competencies behind it, while also doing a comparison

between theory and reality.

According to additional readings that I have come across, many

competencies are required for successful Chinese business leadership, but in

lieu of word constraint, four of them will be discussed briefly before I give

my take on this, namely wu (悟) , zhong yong (中庸), patriotism, and

indirectness.

Unique to China, Wu represents a kind of very deep and sudden

insight that is multi-sensory and holistic by itself. Chinese tend to think

differently, seeing the entire issue as a whole and not simply as a series of

distinct parts. This kind of holistic thinking is often circular, going back to

the beginning to re-integrate things now that more is known.

Also unique to China, while zhong yong literally translates to English

as “in the middle,” the Chinese meaning of not going to extremes is very
important in China. The Chinese, by following the Confucian discipline of

zhong yong, are trying to get it “just right”, though inevitably making their

stands vague in the process.

Patriotism is another leadership competency that is important in

China. In China, the Chinese leader has an obligation not only to the

company to make a profit, but also to China to develop a successful

company that reflects positively on the Chinese society. In reality, job

descriptions in China often require a dedication to the success of China or to

the Communist Party.

Finally, the concept of indirectness is unique to Chinese leadership

success. Despite what many Westerners say about Chinese leaders, this

competency does not mean that the Chinese leader should always be

indirect. Rather, it means that the good Chinese leader knows when to be

direct and when it is better to be indirect. For example, in cases of face (面

子), it is often better to be indirect to protect the other person’s dignity. As

such, Chinese are often accused by Westerners of being too evasive and not

getting to the point at hand because they are too concerned with courtesy

over truth.

In my perspective, Chinese leadership, in theory, is a very effective

style of leadership in almost every aspect. Built up from the strong

foundation of Confucian values and teachings, the Chinese are very society-

oriented, always thinking about the greater community, taking a step back

and looking at the bigger picture. These desirable values or traits are then

manifested in the competencies of Chinese leadership. In the area of

business especially, the Chinese treasure relations, and are thus forward-

looking. Rather than going for short-term profits or benefits, the Chinese

aim for a long-lasting partnership, one that will see their cooperation through

for a long time to come. With this in mind, there is of course mutual give

and take, and a win-win situation eventually. This most definitely displays

holistic, all-rounded thinking, and selective indirectness on the Chinese’s

part.

With the leadership competency of patriotism, it goes to show the

communal trait of the Chinese community. To the extent of being stated in

black and white, it is evident that the Chinese are keen on helping one

another on the path towards success. These individuals or companies realize

the very fact that they are part of a larger community of comrades, and are

then gladly obliged to serve the community, by fulfilling one’s rightful role

in society. With each Chinese having such a greater purpose in mind, there

is bound to be an even brighter future for the Chinese community.

 Yet, if we do step away from these idealities and look at the realities,

there is still significant room for improvement. Look at China in its current

state. Yes, it is undeniable that from a macro perspective, it is a booming

economy, ranking second in the world in terms of economy, overtaking

America by the year 2020, well on its way of becoming a superpower.

However, let us change to a micro perspective and look at China, problems

are certainly aplenty. A major issue would then be the ever-widening rich

poor gap.

This rich-poor divide has been a controversial issue altogether, with

the rich being extravagantly affluent, and the poor being pathetically

underprivileged. From what seemed to be an economic issue in terms of

digits, it has evolved into a glaring social issue as China progressed.

If we look at how China works its way through economics, it is to

develop the coastal areas first, meaning cities like Beijing and Shanghai,

which have of course, blossomed into major developed cities. In contrast,

centrally located or westward cities have not benefited much from this

economic growth of China, simply because they are not the ones who are

seeing growth in the first place. There is progress and advancement, but not

as rapid. As a result, person A and B might both be from the big piece of
land called China, but one’s annual salary could still be 10 times more than

what the other earns in his entire lifetime.

Adding on to the problem, corruption amongst the ranks of officials

has continually grown rampant throughout the years. In the context of a

government official, corruption is the epitome of selfishness and

irresponsibility. Furthermore, this goes against the Confucian values that

were laid down as the cultural foundation for Chinese. Not just corruption on

the officials’ part, there are people who resort to scamming and conning

others just for their selfish gains and welfare, at the expense of others. As

stated earlier, in theory, individual Chinese are selfless and put the greater

good of the community above one’s self. But it appears that in reality, that is

certainly not the case.

However, not all hope is lost just yet. There are people who are rising

up against these “societal threats”, a representative figure being Bo Xilai, the

current Chongqing Municipality Party Secretary, who had taken a hard stand

against corruption and gangsterism in Chongqing. The government itself is

also finding ways to solve the problem of the rich-poor divide, aiming to

develop and empower other areas of China as well.

To sum up, the darkest period of the day is but the point in time just

before daybreak. If China does manage to tide through the last of these
tough times, China will emerge a world superpower. And to achieve that,

theoretical Chinese leadership would be a key role in this act. As long as

there are people who believe and advocate the ideal values of Chinese

leadership, the full prowess of the Chinese leadership will eventually be

unleashed, provided that reality fits in with theory.