Blog d'Anthony Poncier

As I travelled a lot in South-East Asia ( especially Viet Nam), cultural management issues have always interested me. But I finally realized that I had never discussed this issue in terms of management 2.0. I was in China few month ago to organize focus groups and interviews about these management issues, and I was able to dig more precisely into the problem (french version here).

While undoubtedly professionals of cultural management will find that I « push open doors », it seemed to me nevertheless interesting to share those thoughts with you.

Of course there is not one China, but « Chinas ». Moreover, China is very different from the other countries in South-East Asia where I’m more used to travel. However some characteristics  are common and interesting to confront to the management 2.0 model,  that I describe regularly on this blog .

How the networking works

The operations are very traditionaly top-down and the manager can hardly be questioned (respect for authority). We see here that the company functionning in network with manager as facilitator is not a simple model to implement. Not only because the manager refuses to accept that his position could be questioned, but also because the employees might not accept the  approach.

E-reputation ?

The issue of e-reputation in business is an uneasy one. People avoid to expose themselves because it is considered as an agressive behaviour and because they could loose face, in case of failure. Everything is in the reservoir and it’s the manager’s role to note potential, need or request. In parallel, it avoids the « experts » self-proclaimed attitude (but they are more numerous on the web that in companies).

Which part of autonomy ?

One of the strengths of management 2.0 is empowerment. In a society where risk taking is relatively small (it’s explained very well historically) and the degree of autonomy particularly limited, two modes of operation are in conflict. Chinese companies are based on extremely heavy processes and bureaucracy , the opposite of an agile enterprise model.

Supportive attitude ?

Mutual aid, co-construction, risk-taking are the foundation of enterprise 2.0. But it will be much more complicated to manage in the Chinese culture. When you have a problem for which you need  help, it means losing face. Moreover, for years the Chinese traditional management when detecting a problem is not there to help solving it, but here to find a culprit to punish. This will greatly penalized risk-taking and attempts to innovate.

No chance for management 2.0 ?

Fortunately there are also factors to move towards 2.0 with this type of management. The Chinese people are very sensitive to interpersonal relationships in their workplace. Showing that this type of operation will strengthen the links between teams and enhance the « atmosphere » at work can be a powerful incentive.

Similarly, the networking attitude is deeply rooted in culture (although guanxi can be seen rather negatively) and therefore can easily be integrated into companies operations. As in the western countries, having an assesment system and a remuneration promotion would encourage employees to participate.

Last but not least, the new generation is much closer to Western modes of operation. There is a transcontinental gen Y culture incredible (employability, empowerment, commitment to progress quickly …). Then saved by the Y generation ?

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• Management 2.0 : une vision occidentale ?
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Tags: Asia, China, english, generation y, management 2.0