The Role of “Face” in the Organizational Perceptions of Chinese Managers

Redding, Sean; Ng, Michael K.

doi:10.1080/00208825.1983.11656369

Cited by 164 publications

(163 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Preliminary evidence shows that compared to those in the West, members of Eastern organizations place a great deal of importance on maintaining face and tend to honor face concerns by communicating in ways that avoid offending others and embarrassing oneself in the process. A loss of self-face is associated with feelings of shame, whereas feelings of satisfaction and pride are reported to follow from face-gaining episodes (Redding & Ng, 1982). Thus, having been socialized to conduct themselves in an appropriately superior fashion, upper-level managers in Chinese organizations may be even more deeply motivated by face concerns and the need to demonstrate emotional restraint.…”

Section: Chinese Management and Emotionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, Chinese bureaucracy departs from the modern ideal in that not all employees are treated uniformly according to an impersonal system of rules and regulations (Redding & Ng, 1982). Face concerns can motivate favoritism and personalistic treatment of employees both of which undermine the Western, bureaucratic assumptions of rationality.…”

Section: Chinese Management and Emotionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Managers may be experiencing a broader range of emotion with greater levels of intensity than ever before. At the same time, traditional cultural values grounded in Confucianism (Yang, 1959) and concerns for face (Redding & Ng, 1982) restrain the expression of emotion that potentially could be divisive. Economic and social forces may be intersecting in ways that intensify the need for emotion work among high-level managers in China.…”

Section: Chinese Management and Emotionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Face concerns can motivate favoritism and personalistic treatment of employees both of which undermine the Western, bureaucratic assumptions of rationality. For instance, a supervisor may need to restrain criticism of an employee because of a face obligation to a third party who had been a sponsor of this particular employee (Redding & Ng, 1982). Any single manager-employee relationship does not stand alone but rather is nested within a web of relationships.…”

Section: Chinese Management and Emotionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Managerial Emotionality in Chinese Factories

Krone

Chen

Sloan³

et al. 1997

Management Communication Quarterly

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Managerial emotion may be experienced and handled differently when reason and emotion are understood to be continuously (e.g., Eastern cultures) rather than dichotomously (e.g., Western cultures) related. Using a social constructionist perspective, this study investigated emotionality among directors from 48 different factories in the People's Republic of China. Social, moral, and material/economic situations were identified as sources of pleasant and unpleasant managerial emotional experience. Thought-feeling continuities were identified in how the managers described their emotional experiences. Both pleasant and unpleasant emotions were experienced very intensely and were managed in ways that both conformed to and departed from cultural ideals. Managerial emotions appeared to be best handled by thinking through them rather than by venting or suppressing them.

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Section: Chinese Management and Emotionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Chinese Management and Emotionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Chinese Management and Emotionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Chinese Management and Emotionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Managerial Emotionality in Chinese Factories

Krone

Chen

Sloan³

et al. 1997

Management Communication Quarterly

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“…Points of critique are therefore often delicately disguised as suggestions for improvement. A study by Redding and Ng (1982) among 102 Chinese managers in Hong Kong illustrates that all respondents saw the preservation of face as very important for their work as business managers.…”

Section: Identifying Chinese Valuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing human resources across cultures: a comparative analysis of practices in industrial enterprises in China and The Netherlands

Verburg¹,

Drenth²,

Koopman³

et al. 1999

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

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Although researchers and practitioners have come up with many good ideas for improving the employment relationship, there is no evidence for universally applicable practices. Prior theoretical work and research in the area of (intemational) human resource management indicate that cultural and contextual constraints are responsible for the problematic nature of transference of practices. This study illustrates and explains the contextual as well as cultural boundaries through a direct comparison of practices as used in a matched sample of industrial companies in China (n -97) and The Netherlands (n -47), It is argued that differences in organizational structure, cultural values and labour regulations account for the variation between countries. The results show considerable differences between China and The Netherlands in the HRM practices of industrial enterprises. Also, the organizational culture of the companies studied varies between ihe two countries and the differences found are clearly in line with differences on the national cultural level.

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