The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent

Title A comparison of the conflict behaviour between theChinese and Westernsenior executives in Hong Kong

Author(s) Tang Cheung, Fung-yee, Sara.; 鄧張鳳儀.

Citation

Issue Date 1985

URL http://hdl.handle.net/10722/37815

Rights The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patentrights) and the right to use in future works.

A COMPARISON OF THE CONFLICT ： 8 皿 " 7 工 _ BETWEEN CHINESE M D WESTERN SENIOR EXKJUTIYSS

BT HONG KONG

Sara TANG CHEDNG Fung-yee

RESEARCH REPORT

Presented t o Professor S.G. Redding

In P a r t i a l Fu l f i lment o f the Requirements f o r the Master i n Business ‘Administrat ion

U n i v e r s i t y of Hong Kong

A p r i l 1985

ACKHOWLEDaagBTT

The author would l ike to acknowledge the following who have helped

i n the data collection for the questionnaire survey : -

Andrew Chee, Kitohell, John Liu,

Gerry Sherry, Rajan A^ith Suniara* Simon Tam,

Ivor Thomast C*C* Wan, C.W. Yip

Credit goes to Danny Tang for his thorough efforts i n computer data

processing and Mandy L i for accurate and rapid manuscript typing#

The author vould also l ike to thank Mr, G* Wong for his useful

comments*

Last, but certainly not least, the author owes a special debt to

Professor S.G. Eedding for his valuable advice and gaidanoe

throughout the project.

t a b l e o f c q h t w t s

Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgemen t

Abstract

IKIEODUGTICSR 6 - 17

1 • D e f i n i t i o n of C o n f l i c t

2 . Antecedent Causes of C o n f l i c t 3 ' Specu la t ion of C u l t u r a l

D i f f e r e n c e s

4* O b j e c t i v e s of Research 5* Organiza t ion of Chapters

CHAPTER I I L i m m E E E E V T S f 18 - 45

1 . L i t e r a t u r e on Chinese Oultaral Values

1 - 1 Confonni ty 1 *2 Harraony E t h i c s

1 . 3 Face

2 . L i t e r a t u r e on Conoepts o f C o n f l i c t Behaviour

2 . 1 Two General Models of C o n f l i c t Behaviour

2 . 2 I m p l i c a t i o n s

2 . 3 Empi r i ca l S t u d i e s of C o n f l i c t Behaviour

3 . A Ee - s t a t emen t of Research h y p o t h e s i s

3•1 Dependent V a r i a b l e s

3 •2 Independent V a r i a b l e s 3• 3 In te rven ing ' V a r i a b l e s 3*4 Summary

Contents

CHAPTER I I I

EEFEBESCES

APPHmiCES

KESEAHCH METHODOLOGIES 46 • 53

1 . C r o s s - c u l t u r a l Research Methods

2 . Design of P r e s e n t Study

2 .1 Content Analys is of L i t e r a t u r e

2 . 2 Q t i e s t i o m a i r e Survey 2 . 3 Real-world Case A n a l y s i s

RESULTS MD MAJSTS1S 54 一 73

1 • Qae s t i onna i r e Survey

1 .1 The Sample 1 . 2 C o n f l i c t Behaviour

1 *3 C u l t u r a l F a c t o r s

1 - 4 T e s t of Hypothesis

2» Eea l -wor ld Case Ana lys i s

2 .1 C o n f l i c t Episode 1

2 . 2 C o n f l i c t Episode 2

2 . 3 C o n f l i c t Episode 3

2 . 4 Summary

CCKCLUSIONS 74 - 79^

1 • C u l t u r a l V a r i a b l e s

2 . C o n f l i c t Behar iour

3* Value of t h e Research.

80 • 83

A - C o n f l i c t Management S t y l e I n v e n t o r y

B - Scor ing and I n t e r p r e t i n g t h e Thomas-Kilman C o n f l i c t Mode Ins t rumen t

ABSTRACT

Con f l i c t occurs i n almost every organization and i s a natura l part

of s o c i a l re la t ionsh ips . I t can cause constructive or destruct ive

e f fec t s to an organization depending on how i t i s being managed*

Many Western soc ia l researchers have looked i n t o i t s phenomenon and

developed a nimiber o f models descr ib ing the process and management.

Two models * the Process Model and Structura l Model developed "by

Z . Thomas (1976) are used as basis f o r the present research* The

object ives of t h i s study are to i den t i f y the cu l t u r a l va r iab les

that in f luence con f l i c t behaviour of Chinese executives; tes t the

hypothesis that Chinese executives are more i n c l i ned to use a l e s s

assert ive o r a middle-ground approach i n c on f l i c t management; and

diagnose some real-wo r i d cases to explore the behavioral d i f ferences

between the Chinese and Western executives under c on f l i c t s i tuat ions .

Mu l t i p l e methods which inc lude l i t e ra tu re search, questionnaire survey

and rea l -wor ld case ana lys is are used i n t h i s research.

The l i t e r a t u r e search revealed that Chinese t r ad i t i ona l values -

"Jen" O ) ’ " L i 1 ' ( 禮 ) , " W u - l t m 1 ' ( 务 傭 ) , ” f i l i a l p iety” ( 卷 ） ,

p a r t i c u l a r i s m " ( 間 係 ） ， “ C h u n g Y u n g " ( 中 慮 ） ， " C h u n g E。1,(中务口

and “ shame" ) - which or ig inated from Confucianism and Taoism,

have s i gn i f i c an t inf luence on the c on f l i c t behaviour of Chinese managers.

This i s a l so v e r i f i e d by the questionnaire survey and rea l -wor ld case

ana lys i s .

75 Chinese senior executives (Government Sector), 60 B r i t i s h senior

executives (&cverrmient Sector), and 43 Chinese sen ior executives

(P r i va te Sector) were asked to f i l l out the questionnaires wixicii had

been designed t o f i n d out t h e i r c o n f l i c t management mode and t h e i r

weighting^s t o ra r ious f a c t o r s that they may consider when choosing

t h e i r ooixfl iot-handl i n g strategies^ The r e s u l t s showed tha t there

i s s t a t i s t i c a l d i f ferenoe between the behraiour o f the Clii i iese sen ior

execut ives (G-ovenunent Sector) and B r i t i s h sen ior execut ives

(Government Sector) bat no d i f ferenoe between the Chinese sen ior

execut i res (Govexmaent Sector) and Chinese sen ior execut i res (Pr ivate

Sector ) . 2?he hypothesis has been p a r t l y proved. ！The Chinese

execut ives, i r r espec t i ve of which sector they are i rork ing In , have

s i g n i f i c a n t l y higtier preference f o r the "compromising" and "avoii ing11

modes whi le the B r i t i s h executives of the goTernment sector kave a

h igher preference f o r the vcollaborating-11 and "competing" modes.

Again these cu l t u r a l d i f fe rences were observed i n r e a l - l i f e incidents#

The s t a t i s t i c a l t e s t s a l s o confirm that the Chinese executives are

l e s s asse r t i ve than t h e i r Western co-onterparts i n c o n f l i c t behaviour.

The non-confrontat ion e th i c s o f Chinese executives have t h e i r own

mer i t s and demerits# There i s a need f o r them t o be aware of t h e i r

o m s t y l e s and develop t h e i r s k i l l s i n u s i ng other approaches under

cont ingent situations# However, there are d i f f i c u l t i e s i n t r ans fe r r i ng

Western management conoepts to Eastern soc i e t i e s througii education

and t r a i n i n g . Henae, much e f f o r t w i l l be required i n f i n d i n g ways

t o break the cu l t u r a l "barriers.

IRTHOlfUCTIQN

D e f i n i t i o n of C o n f l i c t

C o n f l i c t - an everyday f a r e o f an organizat ion - occurs

whenever there are d i f fe rences i n po in t s of v iew. Wexley and

Y u k l (19了7) def ined c o n f l i c t as

f! a dispute o r s t ragg le between two pa r t i e s tha t

i s character ized by overt expression o f

h o s t i l i t y aaid/or i n t en t i ona l in ter ference i n

the goal attainment o f the opposing par ty • n

Such d i s p u t e can happen "between b o s s and s u b o r d i n a t e ; "between

depa r tmen t s ; between l i n e and s t a f f p e r s o n n e l , and between a

l a b o r tLnion and manag-ement. The l a t t e r i s seldom s e e n I n

o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n Hong Kong where l a b o r "unions a r e few and

r e l a t i v e l y i i i a c t i T e . I n t e r f e r e n c e s i n t h e g o a l a t t a i n m e n t of

t h e oppos ing p a r t i e s a r e c a r r i e d o u t t h rough d i f f e r e n t t a c t i c s ,

a g g r e s s i v e l y o r p a s s i v e l y , depending on t h e p a r t i e s 1 p e r c e p t i o n ,

emot ion and behavioxir i n t h e c o n f l i c t p r o e e s s , Hen。e，managers

w i t h d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r a l background h o l d i n g d i f f e r e n t v a l u e s and

b e l i e f s may behave d i f f e r e n t l y i n c o n f l i c t s i t u a t i o n s .

Anteceden t Causes o f C o n f l i c t

I n examlnxng t h e c a u s e s o f c o n f l i c t , Walton and D u t t o n (196?)

i d e n t i f i e d s e v e r a l m a j o r a n t e c e d e n t c o n d i t i o n s leading- t o

c o n f l i c t s i n an o r g a n i z a t i o n .

Task Interdependence - i t i s conmion i n an organizat ion that

people or departments co-operate to accomplish a task .

Since people do not think a l i t e and may have d i f f e r en t

p r i o r i t i e s and goals, dispute a r i ses i n the process o f

co-operation. The est en t o f c on f l i c t depends on the degree

o f d i f ferences i n values, goals, p r i o r i t i e s and ways o f

aooomplishing the task between the depending pa r t i e s .

• Competit ion f o r Common Resources - r e s o u r c e s such a s money,

space , s u p p l i e s , pe rsonne l and suppor t s e r v i c e s i n a n

o r g a n i z a t i o n a r e l i m i t e d . C o n f l i c t a r i s e s when i n t e r e s t e d

p a r t i e s compete t o obtain a "bigger p i e c e of t h e cake . The

s c a r c e r t h e r e s o u r c e s and t h e more i m p o r t a n t t hey a r e , t h e

k e e n e r t h e compe t i t ion w i l l b e .

• Ambigui t ies - ambigui ty i n d e f i n i n g j o b s , t a s k , r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s ,

c r i t e r i a f o r performance e v a l u a t i o n , and r a n g e s of a u t h o r i t y

between p e r s o n n e l o r departments_ i s a p o t e n t i a l s o u r c e f o r

c o n f l i c t . When d i f f e r e n t p a r t i e s a t tempt t o assume more

c o n t r o l o v e r d e s i r a b l e a c t i v i t i e s ; r e l i n q u i s h t h e i r p a r t i n

t h e p e r f o m a n c e of u n d e s i r a b l e t a s k s ; t a k e g r e a t e r c r e d i t f o r

s u c c e s s ; and blame o t h e r s f o r f a i l u r e , c o n f l i c t a r i s e s .

. S t a t u s Problem - s t a t u s problem i n an o r g a n i s a t i o n c a n l e a d

t o i n t e r d e p a r t m e n t a l o r i n t r a d e p a r t m e n t a l f r u s t r a t i o n and

h o s t i l i t y ^ Peop le o r depar tments competing' f o r higSaer

s t a t u s , p r e s t i g e and power, deve lop f r i c t i o n a g a i n s t eacli

o t h e r . F r u s t r a t i o n aaong i n d i v i d u a l s o r depa r tmen t s can a l s o

develop i n t o c o n f l i c t T«hen t h e r e a r e p e r c e i v e d i n e q u a l i t i e s

i n rewards, j o b assignment , working1 c o n d i t i o n s and s t a t u s

symbols.

e . Conmrunioation Obs tac le s - misunders tand ing due t o commuriication

"bar r ie rs and p r e o e p t i o n p r e v e n t s agreements and e s c a l a t e s

‘ c on f i i c t between d i f f e r en t pa r t i e s i n an organisat ion. Oa

the other hand, some studies a l so show that too much open

commiuiioation revea ls Inequa l i t i e s and d i f fe rences I n view

between pa r t i e s can lead to c o n f l i c t generation*

f . Personal S k i l l s and T ra i t s - an i nd i v i dua l 1 s persona l i ty ,

needs, values, soc ia l , p o l i t i c a l and r e l i g i o u s "background

a f f e c t h i s behaviour towards disputes and d i f fe rences with

another i nd i v i dua l . People who are i n f l e x i b l e o r have

strong desire for tlvr^nxl±D.g^, a r e l i k e l y t o "be a g g r e s s i v e

compe t i to r s and w i l l e s c a l a t e d i s p u t e s i n t o c o n f l i c t s .

C o n t r a r i l y , peop le having d more s a b n i s s i v e and accoioiaodating'

c h a r a c t e r w i l l a t t e m p t t o r e s o l v e t h e d i f f e r e n c e s ox d i sagreements

b e f o r e they develop i n t o c o n f l i c t s -

Although t h e above an teoeden t s were i d e n t i f i e d f rom Western

o r g a n i z a t i o n s , t hey a r e n o t uncommon i n Cidnese o r g a n i s a t i o n s *

L i k e any o t h e r o r g a n i s a t i o n s i n Western s o c i e t i e s , t h e problems

o f s c a r c e r e s o u r c e s , t a s k in te rdependence , a m b i g r d t i e s ,

compe t i t i on f o r s t a t u s and communication b a r r i e r s e x i s t .

P e r s o n a l f a c t o r s such a s needs , v a l u e s , b e l i e f s > and

a m b i t i o n s a l s o a f f e c t t l ie amount and I n t e n s i t y o f c o n f l i c t i n

t h e s e organizations•

3 . Specu lat ion o f Cu l t u r a l D i f ferences

Desp i te the un i v e r s a l existence o f o rgan i za t i ona l c o n f l i c t s , they

may be perceived and managed d i f f e r e n t l y by managers o f d i f f e r e n t

c u l t u r a l background. Some s o c i a l researchers have conducted

s t ud i e s t o examine c u l t u r a l d i f f e rences i n barg-aining behaviour

(Drackman e t al•， 1 9 7 0 . However, the experimental evidence

obta ined presents a ra the r confused p i c t u r e 一 some s tud ies repor t

no d i f f e rences among cu l tu res ; some suggest c u l t u r a l e f f e c t s ; and

o thers show e f f e c t s due to other dimensions such as urban versus

r u r a l , age and sex (see tab le l ) . Nevertheless, c u l t u r a l d i f f e rences

i n c o n f l i c t behaviour hasre been speculated.

Table 1 o f Stud ies Ezaa in ing the E f f e c t s o f Cu l tu re ,

S。le，Sex, and A^e (Druokman e t a l ” 1976)

Study Variables Examined

Cullure Role Sex

Task Used FukHU^S^

Brchmcr c( al . ( 3 9 7 0 )

H a m m o n d c t a!. ( ! 9 6 R )

Miller c i al. ( 1 9 7 0 )

S u m m e r s ct i \ l . { 1 9 6 R )

M t ^ i i n l o c k and N u t t i n ¢1969)

C!/.cch.(八）vs. Grcccc (B) vs. Japan fC) vs. Sweden (D) v.、 U 』 . ( E )

Europeans ( A ) vs. Americans (B)

S w e d e n ( A ) vs. U .S . (B )

Ar;ibs ( A ) vs. Americans (B) {hcierocuhural ncjiotiatious)

Helium (八）vt U.S. (B)

O nilivc f!ic( paiadijrm

Cognitrvc conHici p«iradti:m

Cognitive conf l ict paracii«:m

Cognitive conHici paradigm

!{ (• P

2nd ( O vs. Mnximi/.inp 4 i h ( D ) vs. diiTcrcnors 6 t h grade ( E ) ^aine

A > B

=B

A > H

A = j

C7B > C : / A ； D / B > U / A

10

T A B L E I (Continued)

Siudy

Culture

Varieties Examined Task Used

Role Sex A^e

Findings

Mushakoji “

¢ 1 9 7 2 )

A l c o c k ( 1 9 7 4 )

Garment ( 1 9 7 4 )

Carment ¢ 1 9 7 5 )

Bartos ¢1967)

x Cumming5 a n d H a m c t i ( 1 9 7 4 )

Japanese ( A ) vs. Amer icans ( B )

Canadians ( A ) v i , Indians (B)

Canadians ( A ) vs. Indians (B)

Canadians ( A ) vs. Indians (B)

Japanese ( A ) vs. AmcrJcans ( B )

Denmark (人）vs. England (B) vs. Switzerland (C) v i . U ^ . (D)

Maie ( Q vs.

Female (D)

Maie (C) vs. Female (D)

Young (C) vs. Old (D)

A H C paper game

Mauix gumc

Maximizing differences pame

Maximizing diffcrcncc j; game

Simulated internationul negotiations

Simuiated voter's paradox

A〉B (in terms (if

C / A > C / B = I) /A = l ) / i i

B > A

C/li = D/B>C/A = U / A

A > R; C > D

C > A = B = D

Porat ( 1 9 7 0 )

Madsen ( 1 9 7 1 )

Madsen Shapira

and ( 1 9 7 0 )

Kagan and Madsen ( 1 9 7 1J

Shapira und Lomranz (】972) and Shapira a n d Madsen f 1 9 6 9 )

Spain ( A ) vs. D e n m a i k ( S ) vs. S w e d e n (C) vs . Switzer land ( D ) vs. U n i t e d Kingdom (E)

M e x i c o ( A ) vs. U . S . ( C a l i f o r n h ) (B)

Afro-Amer ican ( A ) vs. Anglo-American (B) vs. Mexican-American (C) vs. Mexican Vil lage ( D )

Anglo-American ( A ) vs. Mexican-American (B) vs. Mex ican (C)

Urban Israeli ( A ) vs. Kibbutz Israeli (B) vs. Vil lage Arabs fC)

4-5 (C) vs. 7 -8 f D ) vs. 10-1 1 (E)

B o y s (E) vs. Girls CF)

4 -5 ( D ) vs. 7-9 (E)

B o y s ( O j vs Girls CE)

S imulated co l lec i ive bargaining

Cooperat ion board

Cooperat ion board

Coopera i ion board

Cooperat ion board

B = C = D 〉 A ; B = O E ( t ime t o resolu-t ion) ; B - E > C ( o n set t lement c a s t )

B > A ; E > D > C (i'or Americans o n l y )

A = B = C > D ; F > E ( f o r Mexican-Americans o n l y )

B > C ; E > D

A > C > B ; E > D (for Arab children o n l y )

11

T A B L E l (Continued)

Study Variables Examined Task Used Findings 。

Culture Role Sex

Shapira ( 1 9 7 0 )

Nayar c l al. ( 1 9 6 8 )

Zechmeis ter a n d Druckman ( 1 9 7 3 )

D r u c k m a n , S o l o m o n , a n d Zechmeis ter ¢ 1 9 7 2 )

B e n t o n a n d Druckman ( 1 9 7 3 )

B e n t o n ( 1 9 7 2 )

Urban Israeli ( A ) vs. Kibbutz Israeli (B )

Cruder and R o s e n ¢ 1 9 7 1 )

L a m m a n d Kogan (1970)

Hermann a n d Kogan (1 9 6 8 )

G r o u p CO) vs. Self (D); Public ( £ ) vs. Private responding ( F )

Forma! repre-sentation ( A ) vs. O w n pos i t ions (B)

Ideological Rep . ( A ) vs. Nonrep . (B); Formal posi-t ion (C) vs. O w n posit ion ( D )

G r o u p (八）vi Self (B); Audience (C) vs. No Audience (D)

Representative/ Unequal aUocalion (A) vs. Nonrcp./ unequal fU); Rep./ equal ( O vs. Nomep./equaI CD)

Highiy account-able reprcscnia-tives (A) vs. mod-erately account-able reps. (B) vs. low accountable reps. CC)

Accoumabie rep-resentatives (八)

vs. nonaccoun table reps. (B)

Representative (A) vs. alternate (B) vs. n on re pre sen Ui-live fC)

Dclcg;itcs (A) vs. leaders (B)

Boys (G) vs. Giris (H)

4 (1) vs. 5 (J) vs. 7-8 (K) vs.

10-11 (L)

Males (E) vs. Females (F)

Boys (E) vs. Giris (F)

7-9 (G) vs. 10-11 (H) vs. 13-15 (I)

Cooperation board

Negotiation-debate

Simuiated political decision-making

Bonrd game

Board game

Board

A > B ; C = D ; E = V; C = H : K > L = J > i . G / O G / D ; H/C= H/D

A > B

A = I!; C >!);!•；> 1-. E / A > E / B .

A > B ; C = D ; G = II = !

i - /A l - v c M - v n

A > B = C :

B > C

S i m u b i e d ‘negoliaiions

between two

companies

Choice dilemmas/ Risky-shir! l;jsk

C'lioicc dilemmas/ Risky-shift task

A > B

. > H = C

A > B

Organ (1971)

Solomon and Druckman ()972)

Vina eke and Gullickson (1964)

Sampson and Kardush (1965)

High Visibility (A) vs. Low Visibility (B)

Males (A) vs. Femaies (B)

Males (A) vs. Females (B)

7-9 (A) vs. 10-12 (B) vs. 13-15 (C)

7-3 ycar-oids (C) vs. 14-16 year-olds (D) vs. coIlegc students CE)

Young (7-8) (C) vs. Old (9-11)(0)

Modified prisoner's dilemma

Board A 〉 B > C

Parchcst- A/E〉A/D > A/C. l ike board B / E = B / D = H/C g a m e

Matrix game A / C 〉 A / D ; B / D > B / C .

a- Expressed in terms o f greater conflict，greater compet i t iveness , less compromis ing, f ewer agreements , e t c . T h u s , A > B indicates thai c o n d b t i o n A p r o d u c e d more c o n f l i c t t h a n c o n d i t i o n B. b . 丁his symbolism is used to describe an interaction: young U.S. (C within B; D within B) arc more competitive than young ns <C 人；D within B); by the sixth grade however they are equally competitive. c . S sadhe red more t o the “ c o n s t i t u e n c y n o r m " ( c o o p e r a t i v e o r c o m p e t i t i v e ) w h e n the i r p e r f o r m a n c e w a s m o n i t o r e d .

12

Desp i te a oonsiderable amount o f research e f f o r t having been

spent i n comparing the bargaining behaviours o f people i n

d i f f e r e n t European and Amexioan c o u n t r i e s ， l i t t l e h a s been

done i n comparing t h e Western and Chinese ways o f managing o r g a n i -

s a t i o n a l c o n f l i c t s . The a u t h o r was a b l e t o l o a a t e o n l y one

r e s e a r c h pape r on t h i s s u b j e c t by Gixin (1972) • He. r e p o r t e d a

l a b o r a t o r y and a q u e s t i o n n a i r e survey on t h e d i f f e r e n c e s

between Chinese and Western managers i n t h e i r approaches t o

o rg ran iza t iona l c o n f l i c t , u s i n g a sample o f t w e l v e Chinese and

seven e x p a t r i a t e s e n i o r managers f rom d i f f e r e n t f i e l d s o f

b u s i n e s s / i n d u s t r y . The l a b o r a t o r y r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e d i f f e r e n o e s

i n c o n f l i c t r e s o l u t i o n approaches between t h e two g roups of

managers and t h e o b s e r v a t i o n s can b e summarised a s f o l l o w s : -

T a b l e 2 : A Si3Tpmary of t h e Labora to ry F i n d i n g s Repor ted by Chin (1972)

C o n f l i c t R e s o l u t i o n —Chinese Managers E x p a t r i a t e ！ M a n a g e r s

1 • Pace

2 . S t y l e

3« Commitment

4« C o n f l i c t w i t h

a u t h o r i t y

5* Face f a c t o r ,

Slower

L e s s a g g r e s s i v e and

more f l e x i b l e

"Agree i n p r i n c i p l e 1

Show d e f e r e n c e

ftaicker

More a g g r e s s i v e

and. l e s s f l e x i b l e

F i r m e r

N e u t r a l

Cons ide r v e r y i m p o r t a n t Show l e s s concern

The q u e s t i o n n a i r e f i n d i n g s a r e a l s o i n t e r e s t i n g - b o t h groups of

managers f e l t t h a t " forc ing 1 1 t a c t i c s i n c o n f l i c t r e s o l u t i o n were

2x0s七 tmies izab le "but the Chinese managers expressed l e s s strong

ob jec t ion t o t h e i r existence ( tab le 3 ) .

13

Ta^le 3 ： Analys is of Des i red Versus Actual Modes of C o n f l i c t Reso lu t ion (Chin, 1976)

Mode

F o r c i n g

Smoothing

"Chinese11

C o n f r o n t a t i o n

Chinese Kon-Ch.ine se Chinese Kon-Chinese Desired-Rani: Desired-Rank Actual-Rank Actual-Rank

T - t e s t

Mode

F o r c i n g

Smoothing l’Chlnese , ,

C o n f r o n t a t i o n

Chinese Ys Hon-Chinese Besired-Eank

Chinese Ys Hon-Ciiinese Actual-Rank

Chinese D e s i r e d Ys Actual-Rank

Kon-Chinese Des i red Ys i o t u a l - E a n k

n s

a . s = S i g n i f i c a n t a t l e v e l

b . n s = N o n - s i g n i f i c a n t a t 5务 l e v e l

c . ”Chinese” mode of c o n f l i c t r e s o l u t i o n was developed by D r s . Chin aiad t i n g and was desc r ibed by t h e p r o v e r b s -"A gentleman r e f r a i n s from shaming h i s o p p o n e n t . " D o n 1 1 i n t e r f e r e w i t h t he n a t u r a l r i o v of e v e n t s * 、 " D i s p u t e s begin w i t h too much t a l k i n g , t r o u b l e s s t a r t f rom over ambition.1 1 & "Avoid extremes, s t o p j u s t i n

Ch i n ' s paper supports the existence o f c u l t u r a l d i f fe rence i n

c o n f l i c t management between Chinese and We s t e m managers.

However, he d i d not i d e n t i f y the c i z l tura l va r i ab l e s that

in f luence the observed behaviour. I n addit ion, "there are some

c o n f l i c t i n g f ind ings between the laboratory observat ion and the

Questionnaiie survey - the h igh existence o f a "forcing’ ' t a c t i c i n

c o n f l i c t r e s o l u t i o n r e p o r t e d by t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e su rvey was n o t

demonst ra ted by t h e Chinese maaagers i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y s i t u a t i o n s .

Hence, more r e s e a r c h e f f o r t and e m p i r i c a l ev idence . a r e r e q u i r e d

f o r a more thorough xmders tanding of t h i s s u b j e c t .

O b j e c t i v e s of Research

Recogn i s ing t h a t c o n f l i c t i s a n a t u r a l p a r t of s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s

and p r e s e n t i n any o r g a n i z a t i o n , Western o r Chinese , an m d e r s t a n d i n g

o f t h e phenomenon i s e s s e n t i a l f o r managers t o be a"ble t o manage

i t e f f e c t i v e l y • C o n f l i c t , i f n o t managed p r o p e r l y , can cause

d e s t r u c t i v e behav iour i n an o r g a n i z a t i o n such a s d e t r i i n e n t a l

compet i t ion , s u s p i c i o n and d i s t r u s t , g o a l d i sp l acemen t and low

p r o d u c t i v i t y ( L i p p i t t , 1983) • On t h e o t h e r hand, c o n f l i c t can

"be c o n s t r u c t i v e i n m a i n t a i n i n g an op t imal l e v e l o f s t i m u l a t i o n

i n an o r g a n i z a t i o n , promoting c r e a t i v i t y i n t h e g e n e r a t i o n of

i d e a s through, c o n f r o n t a t i o n of d i v e r g e n t v iews, and enhancing

r a t i o n a l , g o a l - o r i e n t e d behav iour of t h e c o n f l i c t i n g p a r t i e s

(！Thomas, 197^) • C o n f l i c t i s vie-vred p o s i t i v e l y a s an agen t f o r

change ( L i t t e r e r , 1966), a s t in ru lan t f o r a group t o uphold

i n t e r n a l cohes iveness and xmi ty u n d e r i n t e r g r o u p c o n f l i c t i n g

15

s i t ua t i on (Blake & Mouton, 1961) and an agent f o r ad jus t ing the

"balance of power (Coser, 195 ) • Such baianoed on o o n f l i o t

i s f o u n d i n t h e Western l i t e r a t u r e - b u t i s l a c k i n g i n t h e Chinese

l i t e r a l j u r e which a d d r e s s e s t h e t o p i c i n an o p p o s i t e way -

o r g a n i z a t i o n a l harmony» f tHoTt^ ;which i s t h e Cidnese word f o r

harmonyj h a s been v i g o r o u s l y promoted by many r e p u t a b l e Ctiinese

s c h o l a r s . E i i s l e a d s t o two i n t e r e s t i n g q u e s t i o n s : -

a ) Are Chinese Managers i n Hong Eong- i n f l u e n c e d by t h e

t r a d i t i o n a l v a l u e o f "Ho"? I f y e s , what a r e t h e i r r e s u l t a n t

c o n f l i c t behav iours mder such i n f l u e n c e s ？

b) What oon f l i o t phenomenon would occur i f the c o n f l i c t i s

between a Chinese and a Western manager ？

！The above questions are ra i sed because o f the s pe c i a l s i t ua t i on

o f Hong Kong where the east meets the west. Despi te 98 percent

o f populat ion be ing Chinese (1981 Census), Westerners are a c t i v e i n

^any nra l t inat ional oompanies and tixe governinent bureaucracj; many o f

them occupy key managerial pos i t ions* Although some people

be l i e ve that the Hong ^ong Chinese are so c i a l i z ed and there i s

no problem o f import ing Western management concepts, Chin* s

repor t (1572) shows c u l t u r a l e f f e c t s on c o n f l i c t management and

G. Eedding (1977) observed c u l t u r a l d i f ferences i n subordinate

management. The author, works i n an organizat ion w i t h an

employee composition o f 11 percent expatr iates and 89 percent

Chinese, observei some unsuccessful c r o s s - cu l t u r a l i n te rac t i ons

i n wii ich i r r i t a t i o n and f r u s t r a t i o n were caused "by m i simderstandings

16

between managers o f d i f f e r en t ou l t u ra l or ig ins . Thus, the

a b i l i t y to see each other1 s po in ts o f view i s important i n such

organizat ional enviromnent.

Th i s study i s therefore devoted to analyse c o n f l i c t "behariour

o f the Hong ^ong Chinese managers; f i n d out to what extent they

d i f f e r from the t h e i r Western counterparts; and diagnose

a o n f l i c t s i tua t ions i n which two pa r t i e s o f d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r a l

o r i g i n s are- invo l red. 工七 i s hoped that the study can provide some

insig-ht f o r the Westerners to tmderstand the percept ions, needs,

s o c i a l constra ints and personal d i spos i t i ons o f the Chinese

managers reac t ing t o confrontat ions; and increase the s e l f -

awareness of the Chinese managers• I n a d d i t i o n , i t may g i v e

some i n d i c a t i o n abou t t h e a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f Western c o n f l i c t

management s t r a t e g i e s i n Chinese s o c i e t y - I n s h o r t , t h e p r o j e c t

i s des igned t o : -

a ) i d e n t i f y t h e c u l t u r a l v a r i a b l e s t h a t i n f l u e n c e t h e c o n f l i c t

behav iour of t h e Hong Eong Chinese managers

t ) "fees七 the i ypo thes i s that Chinese managers are i n c l i n e d t o

use the l e s s asse r t i ve con f i i c t -hand l i ng behariour o r

middle-of-the-road behaTianr

c) diagnose the c o n f l i c t episodes i nvo l v i ng Chinese and Western

managers I n order t o have a deeper understanding about t h e i r

process and r e s u l t s .

Orgraniaation o f ChaDters

Fol lowing t h i s Chapter, a l i t e r a t u r e review i s reported

i n Chapter 工工• I t was conducted t o

a ) e s t a b l i s h t h e c u l t u r a l v a r i a b l e s t h a t a f f e c t c o n f l i c t

behaviour .of Chinese managers

b) c o n s o l i d a t e t h e h y p o t h e s i s .

Research methodologies f o r s t udy ing t h e t h r e e a r e a s l i s t e d i n

S e c t i o n 4 axe d i scussed i n Chapter I I I . Da ta a n a l y s i s and

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n a r e p r e sen t ed i n Chapter IY. The l a s t Chapter

c o n t a i n s t h e conc lus ions of t h e whole p r o j e c t .

IS

CHiPEEE 工工

LITERA^TOEE B W I M

1» L i t e r a t u r e Beviev on Chinese C u l t u r a l Values

Much of Chinese thought and v a l u e s o r i g i n a t e d f r o m

Confucianism ‘ ' which was developed by Confucius and h i s d i s c i p l e s

Tseng Tzu and Mencius» Confucianism i n c l u d e s a v a r i e t y of

s u b j e c t s such a s ph i losophy of l i f e , e t h i c s , e d u c a t i o n and

p o l i t i c a l i deo logy which were r e c o r d e d i n t h e Four Books,

namely, Ana lec t s , D o c t r i n e of t h e Mean, Grea t L e a r n i n g and Works

o f Mencius (Tseng^JTB) * Another school of t hough t which a l s o

p l a y s an impor tan t p a r t i n shap ing t h e v a l u e s o f Ciiinese i s

Taoism, o r i g i n a t e d by Lao Tsu and expanded by Cinmg Tze (Hsu, 1982)»

* ！ These two schools o f thoughts have dominated i n the Chinese

c i v i l i z a t i o n f o r over two thousand years and t h e i r in f luences

upon the interpersonal behaviour o f Ciiinese are tremendous.

Despi te the impact o f i n du s t r i a l i z a t i o n i n many Chinese soc i e t i e s

and the inf luences o f western c i v i l i z a t i o n , s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s

s t i l l obserre s i g n i f i c an t in f luences o f t r a d i t i o n a l conceptions

and va lues i n the behariotir o f Chinese (Bond and Wang, 1983) •

Thus t Confucian and T a o i s t v a l u e s con t inue t o p r o v i d e u s i n s i g i i t s

i n t o t h e b e h a v i o r a l p a t t e r n s i n Ciiinese s o c i e t i e s - I n t h i s s e c t i o n ,

t h e s e t r s u i i t i o n a l v a l u e s a r e ana ly sed i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e i r

i n f l u e n c e s on t h e c o n f l i c t behav iour of a Chinese manager I n an

o r g a n i z a t i o n .

Conformity

1*1*1 J Qn )

,TJen ' ,，being t h e c o r e o f Confucian t h o u g h t s , h a s

at meaning f o r man and i i i s r e l a t i o n s h i p s . I n t h e

Confucian iruroan-centered ph i lo sophy , man does

n o t e x i s t a l o n e b u t i n e x t r i c a b l y bound u p w i t h

h i s con tex t - h i s f a m i l y , h i s claxi and h i s

sovere ign (Eedding, 1980) .工七 i s t h i s value of

"man" that d is t inug ishes Chinese soc ie ty as

c o l l e c t i v i s t i n comparison t o the i n d i v i d u a l i s t

Western soc i e t i e s whloh emphasize i nd i v i dua l i sm

and se l f - r e l i anoe .

1.1.2 Ind iv idua l i sm Index

Hofstede (1980) conducted a very de t a i l e d c ross -

c u l t u r a l study on ind iv idua l i sm (and i t s opposite

co l l e c t i r i sm) which confirms that Chinese soc i e t i e s

are c o l l e c t i v i s t . H i s f inding's are extracted here

i n f i gu re 1.

Figure 1 The pos i t i on of the 40 countries o f the power distance and indiv idual isni scales

Power Distance Index

1 2 .

20

(4) Small Power Distance/ C o l l e c t i v i s t

GOL » .,

T A I ? s r

T H A

(1) Large Power D i s t a n c e / SIK

CHI EOK

ARG . JAP

AUT SPA ISE

^CR -aER SV7I

SJE

3 S L : DH、:

NZL NET ‘

Small Power Distance/ I nd i v i dua l i s t

(2) Large Power Distance/ I nd i v i dua l i s t

91. JJSAj

11 26 44 61 77 94

xapu

j

i j

n:n2>j

PUH

21

Ind iv idua l i sm which descr ibes the r e l a t i on sh i p

between the i nd iT i dua l and the c o l i e c t i r i t y which

p r e v a i l s i n a given soc ie ty i s represented by

iELdiTidualism index (lUV) • The r e s u l t i n d i c a t e s

c l e a r l y t h a t wes te rn c o u n t r i e s l i k e U . S . A . ,

A u s t r a l i a and U n i t e d Zingdozu have ^ e r y h i g h UW •

91, 90 aad 89 r e s p e c t i v e l y w h i l e O r i e n t a l c o u n t r i e s

l i k e Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, which a r e

l a reg-e ly popu la t ed by Chinese, h a r e r e l a t i v e l y

low I W - 25，20 and 27 r e s p e c t i v e l y # E i e

c o l l e c t i v i t y o r i e n t a t i o n of a n i n d i r i d u a l makes

him conform t o group v a l u e s and op in ions* "We"

consc iousness and p a r t i c u l a r i s m a r e c h a x a c t e r i s t i c

s o c i e t a l norms o f t h e c o l l e c t i T i s t s o c i e t i e s .

Under s i t u a t i o n s o f c o n f l i c t o f i n t e r e s t , t h e r e

i s a g r e a t e r t endency f o r such an i n d i T i d u a l t o

c o n c e p t u a l i z e t h e i s s u e a c c o r d i n g t o t h e i n t e r e s t

of t h e group h e be longs to* On t h e o t h e r hand,

i f t h e d i s p u t e i s between h i m s e l f and t h e group,

lie i s more w i l l i n g t o modify h i s v i e w f o r t h e

sake of m a i n t a i n i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s * -

1 . 1 . 3 L i & Wu-lim ( 禮 ， 五 资 ）

Conformity i n Ciiinese soc i e t i e s has "been endorsed

f o r a l o n g t ime. Confucius taught c on t r o l over

onese l f i n conformity w i t h the r a l e s o f propr ie ty ,

22

" L i " . These r a l e s structure in te rpersona l

re la t ionsh ips i n t o h l e rach i ca l d u a l i t i e s -

pr ince - nanister, f a the r - son, husband • w i f e ,

o l d e r b r o t h e r - yoimg-er b r o t h e r , and f r i e n d -

f r i e n d . ！The maintenance of these f i v e re la t ionsh ips ,

"Wu-lim", i s considered as the duty o f every

i nd i v i dua l who has t o adjust h imse l f t o the i n t e r -

personal re la t ions l i i ps but not to change the r o l e

systems nor the enviromnent CPseng, 1973) • S i e

p r i n c i p l e i d e a i s i n l i n e w i t h J e n t h a t one h a s

t o s a c r i f i c e one1 s own i n t e r e s t and modi fy o n e s e l f

i n t o h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p s . Aggress ive "behaTio-or t o

a s s e r t onese l f and d i s t u r b t h e p o l i t i c a l , f a m i l y

and s o c i a l h l e r a c h l e s i s condemned«

二 ，

1 . 1 . 4 F i l i a l ？ iety ( 零 )

Interpersonal rela/t丄onshlps are f u r t he r strengthened

by the pract ice o f f i l i a l p i e t y . Confucians ho ld

the view that f i l i a l p i e t y i s a v i r t u e f o r every

person to fo l low. The prac t i ce s t a r t s a t home that

l inaaestioning obedience t o parents i s expected from

tixe c i i i l d . The nur tu r ing o f ch i l d r en i n Chinese

f am i l i e s w i th f i l i a l p i e t y as the v i r t u e has shaped

the Chinese people to be s o c i a l l y or iented, i n t e r -

dependent, submissive t c aa tho r i t y and non-aggressive*

Th i s i s i n contrast w i t h Western f am i l i e s which

23

aim a t t r a i n i ng t h e i r ch i ld ren to be independent

adul ts (Bond & Wang, 1983) • F i l i a l p i e t y i s

f u r t h e r extended 七o a person's r e l a t i o n s wi th

a l l author i ty : -

"As a sovereign one should rest i n benevolence;

as a min is ter one should r e s t i n reverence;

as a fa ther one should rest i n kindness;

as a son one should r e s t i n f i l i a l p ie ty ; and

i n dea l ing w i th oilers f e l l ow men, one should

r e s t i n good f a i t h* "

(Great Learning)

I n every re la t ionsh ip , mutual dependence and

ob l iga t ion are emphasized and i n d i v i d u a l

independence and antagonism are denied#

1.1.5 Im-plications

！The unique characteristic； o f con fo rmi ty i n

Ciiinese s o c i e t i e s , which h a s "been ach i eved th rough

t h e Tallies o f J e n , L i and f i l i a l p i e t y , sugges t s

t h a t t h e r e i s a g r e a t tendency f o r t h e Chinese t o

a v o i d agg re s s ion i n f e a r of d i s t u r b i n g t h e

r e l a t i o n s h i p s . I f d i f r e r e n o e s a r e p e r o e i r e d

between o n e s e l f and h i s s u p e r i o r , h i s n a t u r e of

d e f e r e n c e t o a u t h o r i t y w i l l l e a d him t o give u p

h i s p o s i t i o n and accoiamodate t h a t of t h e super ior#

When t h e d i s p u t e i s between o n e s e l f and h i s group,

24

he i s rea iy to modlfj h i s view to avo id conT l i c t .

A study reported by Bond aad Wang (1983) a l so confirms

t i iat under group pressure, Chinese attempt to

ciroiiiiivent c on f l i c t by compromising s l i g h t l y on

almost every po int of contention*

1.2 Harmony E th i c s

1 »2*1 Chung Y-ong ( 中 萬 )

Confucians do not only emphasize on bu i l d i ng

proper re la t ionsh ips bat a lso s t ress the

necess i ty o f keeping these r e l a t i onsh ip s ixx

harmony aad peace. (equi l ibr i tmi) and

"yung" (normality) from the Doctr ine o f Mean are

taken as the p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l i dea l i sm o f

Confucianism^ Svexyone i s asked t o adapt oneself

t o the c o l l e c t i v i t y , cont ro l one's own emotions

and not to over-disoharg-e them; t o avo id confusion,

competition and c o n f l i c t . Hormal i ty i s stressed

so that the behaviour o f an i n d i v i d ua l cmst not

v i o l a t e the general r u l e s and norms o f a soc iety .

(Hsu, 1982).

11 Shu11 (forgiveness) i s the e th i c s t o be promoted

i n interpersonal In terac t ions . ‘1 Chan-tse"

(gentlemen) are asked to overlook minor wrongs

o r i n j u r i e s (Yang, 1957)•

25

Tims, everybody contr ibutes t o the establishment

of a harmonious soc iety by oon t r o l l i n g h i s own

aggression and emotion• Equilibri-mzi and s t a b i l i t y

a r e maintained by endor s ing t h e f i r e r e l a t i o n s h i p s *

Analec ts , f ILet t h e r u l e r be r u l e r , t h e m i n i s t e r

be m i n i s t e r ; l e t t h e f a t h e r be f a t h e r and t h e son

be son.11 People a r e i n do c t r l n a t ed t o a c c e p t t h e i r

s o c i a l p o s i t i o n s wi thou t oomplaint and per form t o

t h e b e s t o f t h e i r a b i l i t y t h e o b l i g a t i o n s a t t a c h e d

t o t h e i r p o s i t i o n s . (D* Bodde, 1953)•

1 . 2 . 2 Chung Ho ( 中 和 )

Mean and harmony, flChung Ho", i s the s ta te o f mind

that people should possess, "When the emotions

o f pleasure, anger, sorrow, and j o y are not

s t i r r ed , our mind i s i n the s tate o f mean and

equi l ibr iuni; when these emotions are expressed but

i n proper degree, our mind i s i n the condi t ion of

harmony." (Doctrine o f Mean and Harmony). Again,

s e l f cont ro l regarding one's emotion i s emphasized.

As stated by Tseng, 0573) nTh±s i s r e l a t e d t o t h e

phi losophy of l i f e of mean aad harmony, wiiich seeks

t o h o l d a ba lance and t o pursue a m i d d l e cou r se

"between extremes of t h e o r y and p r a c t i c e , a c t i o n

and I n a c t i o n • • • • • ” The harmony e t h i c i s a p p l i e d

by Chinese t o ach ieve n o t on ly i n t r a p e r s o n a l

26

harmony, but a l so interpersonal harmony and

hamony between human beings and nature#

1.2.3 Wu Wei ( 裤 為 ）

Taoism, ano ther i n f l u e n t i a l school of thought I n

Ciiinese s o c i e t y o t h e r than Confuciaxiisni, a l s o

h o l d s s i m i l a r a t t i t u d e s towards harmony aad peace•

The p r a c t i c e of "Wa Wei'1 i s t o a v o i d compet i t ion

w i t h o t h e r s and n o t t o be c a l c u l a t i v e i n s o c i a l

r e l a t i o n s . S e l f l e s s n e s s i s t h e way t o accomplish

peace and haxmony (Hsu, 1982) • The e t h i c of non-

c o n f r o n t a t i o n i s h i g h i y p r a i s e d .

1 . 2 . 4 Im-pl icat ions

I t i s t h e harmony e t h i c t h a t i n f l u e n c e s t h e non-

a g g r e s s i v e behaviour of many Chinese p e o p l e .

S o c i a l p r e s s u r e f o r c e s a person t o behave g e n t l y

and calm i n c o n f l i c t s i t u a t i o n s . The phi losophy

of mean c o n d i t i o n s a pe r son t o choose a

middle way, i » e . compromising, i n o r d e r t o

ma in ta in harmony and peace- However, t h e

accomplishment of harmony m d e r such s i t u a t i o n s

does n o t exc lude t h e e x i s t e n c e of p a s s i v e

r e s i s t a n c e between t h e compromising p a r t i e s •

Pace

The t h i r d va r i ab l e that in f luences the c o n f l i c t "behaviour

o f Chinese i s face. Gkjffmann (1955) def ined face as " the

pos i t i v e s o c i a l va lue a person e f f e c t i v e l y c la ims f o r

Mmse l f by the l i n e others assinne he has taken dur ing a

pa r t i c u l a r contact ." T3ms, the face mechanism operates

t o inf luence a person t o behave i n such, a way t i i a t h i s own

composure i s maintained and a t the same time， does n o t

cause embarrassment t o h i m s e l f and h i s i n t e r a c t i n g p a x t i e s .

The i n f l u e n c e of f a c e i n s o c i a l i n t e r a c t i o n s i s u n i v e r s a l

"bat i s p a r t i c u l a r l y s i g n i f i c a n t t o t h e Chinese ( L i n , 1977) •

U 1 Opera t ions o f Face

Eedding and Ng (1982) oonducted r e s e a r c h t o f i n d

ou七 the perception o f face and i t s operat ion among

the midd le - leve l Chinese executives i n Hong Kong*

The data revea l three important po i n t s : -

. The r o l e of face i n organ isat iona l r e l a t i onsh ip s

i s strongly af f i rmed.

• The j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r f a c e - r e l a t e d b e h a v i o u r

i s no rma l ly i n t e rms o f group o r i n t e r p e r s o n a l

harmony.

• H i e r a r c i i i c a l p e r c e p t i o n s of t h e s o c i a l o r d e r

i n f l u e n c e f a c e t r a n s a c t i o n s *

28

Recognizing the importance o f " face" and i t s

in f luences i n interpersonal behaviour i n s o c i a l

a id organizat ional s i tua t ions , the impact o f

" face" i n c on f l i c t s i t ua t i on can be projected.

When disputes oaaur between two part ies， a g g r e s s i v e

behav iour f rom e i t h e r p a r t y i s l i k e l y t o i n j u r e

t h e f a o e of t h e o t h e r p a r t y . As n o t giving1 f a o e

t o a pe r son i s p e r c e i v e d a s denying t h e pe r son 1 s

p r i d e and d i g n i t y , n e i t h e r p a r t y *111 I n i t i a t e

such a g g r e s s i v e a c t i o n s "under normal circumstances^.

I n a d d i t i o n , t h e adop t ion of f a o e - g i v i n g o r f a c e -

s a v i n g behaviour i n o o n f l i o t s i t u a t i o n s i s va lued

a s a means t o m a i n t a i n group harmony• Ciiinese f e e l

shameful I n d i s t u r b i n g group o r i n t e r p e r s o n a l

harmony; t h i s s e n s i t i v i t y i s developed t h r o u ^ i

ch i ldhood t r a i n i n g i n shaming t e c h n i q u e s and group ,

l o y a l t y (Wilson, 1970)•

1*3-2 Faoe & R e c i p r o c i t y

D e s p i t e a g e n e r a l tendency o f u s i n g n o n - a g g r e s s i v e

t a c t i c s i n c o n f l i c t r e s o l u t i o n , t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of

Chinese u s i n g a g g r e s s i v e a c t i o n s i s n o t p r e c l u d e d .

！The p r i n c i p l e o f "Pa。” ( r e c i p r o c i t y ) j u s t i f i e s a

man t o r e t a l i a t e when h i s f a o e i s c h a l l e n g e d o r a t t a cked*

As Confuc ius s a i d , " t o recompense i n j u r y with, i n j u r y " ,

one may engage i n a c t i o n s t h a t d e s t r o y t h e o t h e r 1 s

face or simply do no七 give face i n re turn (Eedding

and Kg, 1982). Tims, tension and anxiety are f e l t

by both par t i es when c on f l i c t develops i n t o a

win-lose s i tua t ion i n which the face o f e i t he r

par ty i s threatened. On the other hand r e c i p roc i t y

a l so re inforces non-aggressive behaviours i n c on f l i c t

s i tuat ions* Co-operation i n one par ty i s responded

t o by co-operation i n the opposing pa r t y . The

working o f r e c i p roc i t y i n Chinese soc ie ty i s k i g i i l y .

p a r t i c u l a r i s t i c (Yang, 1957) • A pe r son i s w i l l i n g

t o compromise f o r t h e purpose of b u i l d i n g u p networks

i n a n t i c i p a t i o n o f a f u t u r e r e t u r n o f f a v o u r . He

h a s a g r e a t e r i n c e n t i y e t o g i v e f a c e i f h e a n t i c i p a t e s

f r e q u e n t i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h t h e o t h e r p a r t y i n f u t u r e

and i f t h e o t h e r p a r t y i s a t a h i g h e r p o s i t i o n i n

t h e s o c i a l o r d e r .

Face of Mediators

I n extremely adverse c o n d i t i o n s where n e i t h e r p a r t y

i s w i l l i n g t o modify h i s pos i t i on^ t h e j u s u a l l y

u s e a media to r f o r s h o r t - c i r c u i t i n g a g g r e s s i o n

between t h e con tend ing p a r t i e s aad re— estab l i sh ing

comm-unioation and re l a t i ons (Bond & Wang, 1983) •

Media to r s wi th h i g h p r e s t i g e and s u f f i c i e n t f a o e

a r e most e f f e c t i v e a s t h e opposing p a r t i e s can

c o m f o r t a t l y a l t e r t h e i r p o s i t i o n s and j u s t i f y t h e i r

a c t i o n s a s g i v i n g f a c e t c t h e m e d i a t o r .

1 »3*4 Imxi l icat ions

Face t o g e t h e r with, t h e p r i n c i p l e s of r e c i p r o c i t y ,

shaae e t h i c s and p a r t i c u l a r i s m , a l l i n f l u e n c e t h e

behav iour of CMnese i n c o n f l i c t s i t u a t i o n s - Under

f o r m a l c i rcumstanoes , t h e p a r t i . e s w i l l choose non-

a g g r e s s i v e t a c t i c s f o r m a i n t a i n i n g each o七he—s f a c e ,

i n t e r p e r s o n a l harmony and network b u i l d i n g - I n

extreme o o n d i t i o n s when t h e f a o e o f one p a r t y i s

t h r e a t e n e d , a g g r e s s i v e behaviour w i l l be used f o r

r e t r i b u t i o n . The u s e of m e d i a t o r s p r e v e n t s o v e r t

h o s t i l i t y a s t h e p a r t i e s a r e more w i l l i n g t o change

t h e i r p o s i t i o n s f o r t h e sake of g i v i n g f a o e t o t h e

m e d i a t o r .

L i t e r a t u r e Review on Concepts of Conflic七 Behaviour

Conoepts of c o n f l i c t behaviour have been thoroughly explored "by

Western s o c i a l researchers from var ious d i s c i p l i n e s such as

i n d u s t r i a l re lat ion's, psychology aad so c i a l psychology. However,

s i m i l a r l i t e r a t u r e on Chinese ways of c o n f l i c t r e so lu t i on i s

l ack ing- Hence, Western concepts and models are used as bas i s

f o r d iscuss ion and research.

2.1 Two General Models o f Con f l i c t Behaviour

Two general models o f dyadic c on f l i c t • t h e p r o c e s s model and

s t r u c t u r a l model, developed by Kenneth Thomas (1976) a r e

u s e f u l concep t s f o r a n a l y s i n g c o n f l i c t b e h a v i o u r . The

31

process model focusses upon the sequence o f events Tritii in

a c o n f l i c t episode whi le the s t rac tu ra l model h i gh l i gh t s

the pressure and constra ints that a f f e c t o o n f l i c t behaviour

o f the opposing pa r t i e s .

2 , 1 P r o o e s s Model

The process model describes the sequence and

re la t ionsh ips o f 5 events i n a c o n f l i c t episode.

I t i s i l l u s t r a t e d diagrammatically as fo l l ows : -

F rus t ra t i on

Conceptaal izat ion Other 's react ions

Outcome

I^pisode 1

P ras t ra t i on

Conceptual izat ion Other1 s react ions

Behaviour

Outcome

Episode 2

i ！

P igure 2 Process Model o f I^adic Con f l i c t (Zenneth ！Qiomas , 191^)

32

Frust ra t ion

The f i r s t event i n a c o n f l i c t episode i s

frustration^ The pa r t i e s ' oonoemed are

f rus t ra ted by any of the antecedent condit ions

described i n Chapter 工 Section 2.

Conceptuallgation

The second event i s the pa r t i e s 1 conaeptual izat ion

o f the f r a s t r a t i on . At t h i s stage, the issue

i s defined and poss ib le ac t i on a l t e rna t i ves

and t h e i r outcome are considered. D i f f e ren t

patterns o f c o n f l i c t o f i n t e r e s t are perceived

depeniing on how the i ssue i s def ined : -

c a l te rnat ives that s a t i s f y on ly e i t he r

one of the pa r t i e s are chosen i f a win- lose

s i tua t i on i s conceptualized

• compromising a l t e r n a t i v e s a r e cons idered

i f t h e p a r t i e s d e f i n e "the s i t u a t i o n a s

zero-sum;

• i n t e g r a t i v e a l t e r n a t i v e s a r e cons idered

i f t h e i s s u e i s d e f i n e d a s an indetermlxiant

o r win-win s i t u a t i o n ;

• f r a s t r a t i o n remains i f t h e i s s u e i s d e f i n e d

a s b i g and u n r e s o l v a b l e

33

Competit ive Co l l abora t i ve (Domination) ( in tegra t ion)

Sharing (Compromise)

Avoidant Acoommodative (Neglect) (Appeasement)

Unco- . ^ ^ Cooperative operat ive

Pa r t y 1 s des i re to s a t i s f y other*s concern ,

F igure 3 F i ve conf 1 i c t -hand l ing o r i en ta t i on (Kenneth Thomas, 157^)

。• Behar ionr

A f t e r c o n o e p t u a l i z i n g the c o n f i i c t i s s u e , t h e

opposing p a r t i e s adopt d i x f e p e n t o r i e n t a t i o n s

sxid s t r a t e g i c o b j e c t i v e s wixich a r e expressed

t a c t i c a . 1 beh-avi oxlt* There qxq

丄土“ poss ib le con f l i c t - hand l i ng or ienta t ions ,

nanisiy avoiiant，coinpe'ti ' t i 'vs 9 sharing，

c o l l a b o r a t i v e , and acoommodative depending

on t h e degree t o which t h e p a r t i e s a r e

b i l l i n g t o c o - o p e r a t e a n d / o r a s s e r t t h e i r

own p o s i t i o n s i n t h e c o n T l i c t s i t u a t i o n * The

n v G o r i e n t a t i o n s a r e r e p r e s e n t e d g r a p h l a a l l y

a s f o l l o w s : -a>-j:p.l9SBr5

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The t ao t i c s tha t can be employed by the

pa r t i e s are many and some major types o f

c o n f l i c t reac t ions that have been descr ibed

"by var ious behav iora l s c i e n t i s t s (Blake and

Mouton, 1964； P r a i t t , 1972; Walton and

MoKersie, 195^) a r e d i s c u s s e d h e r e ：參

» Withdrawal - e i t h e r o r b o t h p a r t i e s

withdraw f r o m t h e c o n f l i c t s i t u a t i o n *

The t a c t i c i s u s e d when t h e p a r t i e s want

t o avoid c o n f r o n t a t i o n .

• ！^mr nthing - the pa r t i e s attempt t o nsmooth

over*' the c o n f l i c t by emphasizing areas

o f agreesent and ignore t h e i r d i f f e rences

over oon f l i o t u a l areas.

• Pe r suas ion - one p a r t y t r i e s t o pe r suade

t h e o t h e r p a r t y t o cliange h i s p o s i t i o n

b y t a c t i c s such a s p r o v i d i n g f a c t u a l

e r i d e n c e , p o i n t i n g o u t c o s t and b e n e f i t s

o r d i s c r e d i t i n g t h e o p p o n e n t 1 s i n f o r m a t i o n

and l o g i c #

• Forcing： 翁 pressure t a c t i c s are used t c

fo rce the o ther par ty to g i ve i n . Opposing

par ty makes use of d i f f e r e n t power bases

such as informat ion power, r e fe ren t power,

l eg i t ima te power, expert power, coercive

power, and reward power, to win over

the other par ty . Forc ing o f ten resu l t s

i n a win-lose s i tua t ion i n wiiich. the

weaker party gives way but resents i n

a passive manner.

Bargaining - when bargain ing t a c t i c s are

used, the opposing pa r t i e s exchange

concessions u n t i l a compromise wiiich i s

nratually • a ccep t ab l e i s r e a c h e d . Ba rga in ing

s t a n c e s v a r y i n intensity f rom "ha rd -

bargaining•” through 11 s o f t bargainiag11

depending upon how nruoh one demands and

the r i s k one i s w i l l i n g t o take.

Integrat ive Problem So lv ing - c on f l i c t s

are solved through t a c t i c s that increase

the j o i n t gain o f both par t ies* I n

searching f o r an in tegra t i ve so lut ion,

the pa r t i e s need to be open and honest

i n exchanging information, f l e x i b l e and

exploratory i n at t i tude, and t r a s t each

other.

Third Party Intervention - t h i s t a c t i c

i s used when the opposing pa r t i e s are

unw i l l i ng t o change t h e i r pos i t i ons . The

t h i r d par ty oan act as an a r b i t r a t o r to ‘

determine a b inding settlement a f t e r

hearing both sides o f c o n f l i c t ; o r as

a mediator to re -es tab l i sh communication

and f a c i l i t a t e in tegrat iTe problem

solving; o r as a process consultant to

improve the re la t ionsh ip between the

par t ies and develop t h e i r capaci ty to

resolve c on f l i c t s by themselves*

Interact ion .

Interact ion i s the four th phase o f the

process* Pa r t y ! s behaviour i n i t i a t e s a

sequenoe o f response from the two pa r t i e s .

Their or ientat ions, s t ra teg ic object ives and

t a c t i c s may ah an g-e depending on each other1 s

behaviour. As a resu l t , the c o n f l i c t o f

i n te res t may be escalated o r de-escalated

wiiich i n turn a f f e c t s the outcome.

Oatooiae

！The f i n a l event i s the outcome of the c o n f l i c t

episode. "When the in te rac t ion between the

pa r t i e s stops, outcome occurs. The res idua l

emotions and long term e f f e c t s o f the outaome

on the par t ies 1 goal attainments vary w i th

the d i f f e ren t or ientat ions and t a c t i c s adopted

by the pa r t i e s i n the c o n f l i c t process#

37

2.1.2 S t ruc tura l Model

Poor s t ruc tu ra l va r i ab les which shape c o n f l i c t

behaviour are i d e n t i f i e d ； - "behavioral

pred ispos i t ions, s o c i a l pressure, i ncen t i ve

straoture, and r o l e s and procedures. The

re la t ionsh ips o f the va r i ab les are shown

diagrammatically as fo l l ows : -

1, Par ty 1 s

Behaviora l

PredlspcBitim Behaviorax Sules and Procedures P red i s^cs i t i

Other

Behaviour

2, S o c i a l

Pressure；

on P a r t y

P r e s s u r e on Other

3» Incen t ive

S t r u c t u r e

F i g u r e 4 S t r u c t u r a l Model of Dyadic C o n f l i c t (Kenneth 'fticmas, 1976)

Behavioral P red i spo s i t i ons

The f i r s t var iab le that shapes the pa r t i e s r

behaviour i s t h e i r own sets o f behaviora l

predisposit ions, motives, needs, persona l i t i es

and hlerachy of responses f o r handl ing c on f l i c t •

P a r t i e s have g r e a t e r tendency t o u s e t h e i r

‘1 dominant s ty le " (Blake and Mont on, 19^4) and

i f xmsuccessful, f a l l back t o t h e i r "back-up

s t y l e " . People wi th h igh a f f i l i a t i v e o r

in terac t ion needs tend to use accosimodation

as t h e i r dominant s t y l e whi le people who are

!t task-oriented" pre fe r confrontat ion i n response

to c on f l i c t .

Soc ia l Pressure

The second set of var iab les i n the s t ruoutra l

model i s s o c i a l pressure• P a r t y r e p r e s e n t i n g

a group i n a c o n f l i c t s i t u a t i o n i s s u b j e c t

t o c o n s t i t u e n t p r e s s u r e which o f t e n f o r c e s

t h e p a r t y t o adopt a more c o m p e t i t i v e and

a s s e r t i v e approach. P a r t y may a l s o be exposed

t o ambient s o c i a l p r e s s u r e s which a r e formed

because of c u l t u r a l v a l u e s , o r g a n i z a t i o n a l /

work-group norms, and p u b l i c i n t e r e s t .

Ambient s o c i a l p r e s s u r e a l s o i n T l u e n a e s t h e

p a r t y 1 s tendency t c adopt a c e r t a i n o r i e n t a t i o n

i n c on f l i c t reso lu t ion . For instance, the

party may adopt an accommodative o r i en ta t i on

un ie r the inf luence o f a s o c i a l norm whioh

considers aggression as bad. Thus，people

"who a r e i n f l u e n c e d by t h e Confuc ian c u l t u r e

may have a g r e a t e r tendency t o u s e an

acooiomodative o r i e n t a t i o n .

I n c e n t i v e S t r u c t u r e

The t h i r d v a r i a b l e t h a t a f f e c t s c o n f l i c t

behaviour i s i n c e n t i v e s t r u c t u r e which, i n v o l v e s

two a s p e c t s - t h e s t a k e s i n v o l v e d i n t h e

r e l a t i o n s i i i p between t h e conce rns of t h e

opposing p a r t i e s and t h e e x t e n t t o which t h e r e

i s c o n f l i c t of i n t e r e s t s P a r t y t e n d s t o be

more a s s e r t i v e when s t a k e s a r e h i g h and more

compet i t ive when t h e c o n f l i c t o f i n t e r e s t i s

g r e a t . On t h e o t h e r hand, a l e s s a s s e r t i v e

behaviour i s adopted by t h e p a r t y when s t a k e s

a r e low. The p a r t y i s more i n c l i n e d t o u s e

t h e o o l l a b o r a t i v e o r aGcommodative methods

when h i s a o n c e m i s s i m i l a r t o t h a t o f t h e

o t h e r p a r t y ' s o r s h a r e s conmion i n t e r e s t s i n

t h e i s s u e . The j o i n t e f f e c t o f s t a k e s and

c o n f l i c t of i n t e r e s t can be r e p r e s e n t e d

g r a p h i c a l l y a s f o l l o w s : -

Competition Co l l abora t ion

Sharing

^ ^o idance Accozamodation

| 、 。 s t l y ~ , , M o s t i ^ 籌 Con f l i c t i ng ^ Cormon ^ Interests In te res ts

Con f l i c t i ng vs Common Interests i n Relat ion 5 Predominant Conf l ict-handl ing ' Behavior o f Party as a

Function of Stakes and aggregate ConTl i c t o f In te res t i n a Relat ionship (Kenneth Thomas, 197^)

Figure

d . Rales and Procedures

The f i n a l set o f in f luences i n the model i s

r a l e s and procedures. Pa r t i e s invo lved i n

a c on f l i c t s i t ua t i on are o f ten constrained

by dec is ion r u l e s and negot ia t ion procedures.

"When t h i r d par ty . intervent ions are used,

another set of r a l e s i s o f ten present t o

regxalate the mediation or a r b i t r a t i o n .

i

Impl icat ions

The two models developed "by Eenneth Haomas (1976) focus

on d i f f e r en t aspects o f c o n f l i c t phenomena and are

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complementary t o each o t h e r . They a r e u s e f u l t o o l s f o r

pred ic t ing c on f l i c t behavior o f opposing p a r t i e s i n a

cor j f l i c t situation。！The Process Model suggests that

"there are f i v e bas ic c o n f l i c t or ientat ions adopted by the

c on f l i c t i n g pa r t i e s . I t w i l l be interest ing- t o investigatie

which or ientat ion ( i f any) i s mostly pre fer red by Chinese

managers. The St ructura l Model recognizes the irrf lnences

o f "behavioral pred ispos i t ions and so c i a l pressure on

c on f l i c t behaviotir. Hence, the c u l t u r a l va lues that shape

these two sets o f var iab les p lay an important pa r t i n

in f luenc ing the c on f l i c t behaTiour of a cu l tu re group.

Empir ica l Studies of Con f l i c t Behaviour

Shea (1980) reviewed several important s tud ies o f c o n f l i c t

behaviour - Dunlop1 s " I ndus t r i a l Re lat ions Systems*' (1958),

Walton and McXersie1 s "A Behavioral Theory o f Labor

Kegot iat ions" (1965)» Deutsch1 s ”The Seso lu t ion of Con f l i c t "

(1973), Eubin aad Bromi1 s "The Soc i a l Psychology o f

Bargaining and Negotiat ion" (1975) and A l d e r f e r ' s "Group

and Intergroup Eelat ions” (1977)- The f o c u s e s of t h e s e

•s tudies , t h e v a r i a b l e s , t h e d a t a base , t h e a c t o r s , and

t h e "benef i t -and-cos t of t h e approaches a r e summarised

i n t h e following- t a b l e : -

42

Table 4 ： - Siifflinaries of Works Reviewed, Shea (1980)

A uthor Dunlop Wal ton/McK ersie Deutsch Rubin/Brown Alderfsr ‘

focus of industrial negotiating strat- interpersonal negotiating intergroup analysis relations egies/tactics conflict behavior behavior

systems behavior

major rules o f an behavior o f individual behavior o f behavior o f

dependent industrial rela- bargaining conflict bargainer group

variable tions system representative behavior

major actors degree of commitment, characteristics of motivational identity and

independent context o f openness in com- conflicting parties, orientation organizationally

variables ideology munication, o f trust, prior relationship power, inter- based group o f internal control among parties, nature personal affiliations

o f issues giving rise orientation to conflict’ social environment within which conflict occurs. strategies and tactics used, consequences o f confl ict t o parties and o ther interested parties

daia base

most probable real world audience

benefits and costs of approach

cases (system level, real world, international)

policy makers

overview with a loss of particulars

cases (bargaining sessions)

negotiators

handy package of behavior with little exploration of w h y it occurs

mixture of iabora-• tory，current real world, and historical, b u t largely laboratory

negotiators

helpful diagnosis of wha t influences behavior . . . in t he laboratory

almost exclusively laboratory

negotiators

fu r ther developed/ refined Deutsch, confined t o the lab-oratory

cases and surveys

people on t h e margins

stresses useful concept o f intergroup phenomenon b u t underplays t h e impor-t ance of personal and syster Jevd variables

The various studies suggest that c on f l i c t behavioiix i s

inf luenced by 3 major types of f ac to r s • i n d i v i d u a l , group

and systemic a t v a r y i n g e x t e n t s . The s t u d i e s , though

prov ide an i n s i g h t on t h e p r o c e s s and s t r u c t u r a l v a r i a b l e s

of t h e c o n f l i c t episode, a r e c r i t i c i s e d f o r t h e i r l a c k of

11 real-world1 1 evidence because many of t h e f i n d i n g s came

f rom l a b o r a t o r y r e s e a r c h e s . Neve r the l e s s , t h e dependent

and Independent v a r i a b l e s i d e n t i f i e d a r e Impor t an t f a c t o r s

f o r f u t u r e r e s e a r c h i n t h i s f i e l d .

A Re*statement of Research Hypothesis

3* 1 Dependent V a r i a b l e s

S t a t e d i n Chapter I , one of t h e o b j e c t i v e s of t h i s r e s e a r c h

i s t o t e s t t h e hypo thes i s t h a t "Chinese Managers a r e more

i n c l i n e d t o u s e t h e l e s s a s s e r t i v e c o n f l i c t - h a n d l i n g

behaviour o r m i d d l e - o f - t h e - r o a d behaviour" • Based on t h e

p roces s model (£• Thomas, 1576), f i v e t y p e s of o o n f l i c t

behaviours w i t h d i f f e r e n t deg rees of a s s e r t i v e n e s s a r e used

a s t h e dependent v a r i a t l e s of t h e hypo thes i s : -

Types of C o n f l i c t A s s e r t i v e n e s s Behaviour

1 . Competing High

2 . C o l l a b o r a t i n g High

3 • Compromising Meditun

4« Avoiding Low

5 • Accomodat ing Lour

44

I"t i s hypothesized that moving from type 1 to 5， t h e r e i s

an i n c r e a s i n g tendency of a Ciiinese manager adopting- t h a t

p a r t i c u l a r t ype o f c o n f l i c t behaviour*

3_2 Indet)endent V a r i a b l e s

C u l t u r a l v a l u e s a r e ass-umed t o be t h e i ndependen t

v a r i a b l e ' s I n f l u e n c i n g t h e Chinese eocecsrtiv专s t o

choose a l e s s asse r t i ve oon f l i o t o r i en ta t io ru

Ihese values inc lude Jen, L i , Wa-lam, f i l i a l p i e t y , Cinmg

Yung， Chung Eo, mi Wei, f a c e , and r e c i p r o c i t y , and a r e

grouped i n t o t h r e e v a r i a b l e s • "Conformi ty" , "Harmony E t h i c s "

and ”Pace" 111022 i r i l l be f-urther inves t iga ted .

“ 3 . 3 Intervening Var iab les

Depending on the form o f conceptual izat ion, a person i n

a c on f l i c t s i t ua t i on chooses h i s behaviour (K. Thomas, 197^) •

Hence, "Concep tua l i s a t i on" i s cons ide red a s t h e i n t e r v e n i n g

v a r i a b l e of t h e h y p o t h e s i s . Other t han t h e independen t

v a r i a b l e s t h a t i i i f l u e n c e t h e form of c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n ,

ex t r aneous v a r i a b l e s a l s o e x e r t t h e i r e f f e c t s - These

ex t r aneous r a r i a t l e s i n c l u d e p e r s o n a l a m b i t i o n s / c i r c u m s t a n c e s /

education/westemization, o r g a n i s a t i o n a l c l i m a t e , and so

on . They a r e assumed t o b e c o n s t a n t "by a p p r o p r i a t e sampling-*

To summarise, t h e h y p o t h e s i s i s r e p r e s e n t e d "by t h e

fo l low ing diagram : -

Figure 6 ; Hypothesis o f Con f l i c t Behavicxir .

IpdeDendent Var iab les Intervening Var iab les Denenden七 Var iab les

Form of Coneeptualization

Conformity

Earmony E th i c s Face

Cu l tu ra l 7axia"bles

Ertraneous Var iab les

Personal ambitions

Personal crrctnnstarees

We s t em i za t i on

Organisational Climate

Accommodating

Competiag-

Co l laborat ing

Compromising

•e o f C o n f l i c t Behaviour

I n tlie f o l l o w i n g c h a p t e r , the r e s e a r c h methodolog ies employed

t o t e s t t h i s h y p o t h e s i s a r e d i s c u s s e d

HESEAECH MEIHODOLCCIES

Cross-cu l tura l Se search Methods

The inc reas ing argumentations on the un ive rsa l r a l i d i t y o r

n o n r a l i d i t j of Western managenient theor ies have at t rac ted a

growing nxmber of soc i a l s c i en t i s t s conducting c ross - cu l tu ra l

researches to compare, beharior between cu l tures . A t y p i c a l

example i s the s t u d y by Hof stede (1980). He invest igated the

problem "Do Ameriaaxi Theories Apply abroad?" ； had spent s i x

years i n data co l l ec t i on and f i v e years i n data ana lys i s

covering 40 ootmtries. Thus, the amount o f e f f o r t and

d i f f i c u l t i e s to be overcome i s tremendous.

B r i s l i n et al* (1973) discussed the ava i lab le methodologies,

l im i t a t i on s , methods aad e x i s t i n g c ross - cu l tu ra l

assessment instruirients* They also pointed out the var ious

problems faced by so c i a l researchers i n gathering and

i n t e rp re t i ng the necessary i a t a s —

a . ga in ing access to the coltxire;

b. obta in ing eguivalent samples of people f o r comparative

stud ies;

g. i r r i t i n g meaningful questions and t r ans l a t i ng them;

d. ascer ta in ing that the guest ions wr i t ten i n d i f f e r en t

languages have the saae meaning;

assur ing that any add i t iona l too l s of research ( t e s t

equipment) are not merely a momentary and strange imposi t ion

on subjects.

interv iewing people who may be mich more ho s t i l e o r courteous

(both leading to "biases) to researchers than respondents

from home cotmtry;

g, developing reasons f o r the obtained data without b iases

towards the researcher1 s own cu l ture.

To overcome these d i f f i c u l t i e s , techniqaes i n questioimaire

wording and translat ion, var ious survey/experimental methods,

and s t a t i s t i c a l va l idat ion/ana lys is methods we2B suggested. I n

planning f o r the data co l l e c t i on and in terpretat io i : o f t h i s

research^ the author has considered the var ious problems l i s t e d

above and the techniques and methodologies suggested by B r i s l i n .

However, due to the l im i t a t i on of time and resources, a n i the

spec ia l environment o f Hong E-ong, the author lias to l i m i t the

scale o f the research and choose a method that i s eas ie r to

handle despite the resu l t s found may not be en t i r e l y conclusive

and require fur ther va l i da t i on .

Design of Present Study

Mo l t i p l e methods - content analys is o f l i t e r a t u r e , questionnaire

survsy and ?!T63J.™T0zld.,! c a s e a n a l y s i s wsre ussd. "fco iirvestiga/fce

t h e t h r e e r e s e a r c h a r e a s l i s t e d i n Chapter I : •

a ) i d e n t i f y t h e c u l t u r a l v a r i a t l e s t h a t I n f l u e n c e t h e c o n f l i c t

beiiaTiour of t h e Hong Eong Chinese managers

t e s t the hypothesis that Chinese managers are inc l lx ied

to use tiie l e s s -assertive c on f l i c t iebavicmrs among

the f i r e types'of c on f l i c t management or ientat ions •

ooiapetiiig, c o l l a b o r a t i n g , compromising, a v o i d i n g and

accommodating.

d iagnose c o n f l i c t ep i sodes . involving Chinese and Western

managers i n o rde r t o h a r e a deeper imderstandiag- of t h e i r

p r o c e s s and r e s u l t s .

Content Analysis of L i t e r a t u r e

L i t e r a t u r e on Chinese th ink ing , ph i losophy and v a l u e s were

searched t o i d e n t i f y t h e v a r i a b l e s t h a t shape Ciiinese

behav iour i n c o n f l i c t s i t u a t i o n - T h i s h a s been r e p o r t e d

i n Chapter 工工 and therefore, i s not t o be repeated here.

The cu l t u r a l var iab les i den t i f i ed are grouped i n t o

”Conformity", "Harmony S t hies" & "Pace"•

To conso l ida t e t h i s f i n d i n g , p a r t of t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e

(App* A) i s devoted t o a s c e r t a i n t o what e x t e n t t h e

responden ts aons ide r t h e s e c u l t u r a l y a l u e s . Q a e s t i o n s

i n p a r t B measrare t he e x t e n t by a s c a l e of 5 - Quest ions

1， 6， 7 r e l a t e t o n o n - c u l t u r a l f a c t o r s whi le t h e o t h e r

q u e s t i o n s r e l a t e t o c u l t u r a l f a c t o r s such a s concern f o r

o t h e r 1 s f e e l i n g , p a r t i c u l a r i s m , conformi ty t o group

op in ion , r e c i p r o c i t y and f a c e .

The scores f o r " cu l t u r a l va lues considerat ion” f o r 0,.2,

3，4, 5j 8 of p a r t B range f rom a mlniimiin o f 5 t o a maximum

of 25» The mean & mode s c o r e s of each f a c t o r ob t a ined lyy t h e

E x p a t r i a t e and Chinese responden t s were compared . for f a r t h e r i n t e r

p r e t a t i o n i n t h e n e x t c h a p t e r . Ch i - squa re t e s t was a p p l i e d

t o t e s t whether t h e r e i s any s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e "between

tiienu Chi-squaxe t e s t i s u s e d because t h e g roups p r e f e r e n c e s

were measared on d i s c r e t e s c a l e s .

I n a d d i t i o n t o c o n t e n t a n a l y s i s and q u e s t i o n n a i r e

survey , "real-world* ' case a n a l y s i s was a l s o u s e d t o

s t u d y t h e o p e r a t i o n s of t h e s e c u l t u r a l v a r i a b l e s .

Qaes t i onna i r e Suryey

Qaes t i onna i r e survey was conducted f o r i n v e s t i g a t i n g

t h e I n f l u e n c e s of c u l t u r a l v a l u e s ( e x p l a i n e d i n 2.1〉

and t e ' s t i n g t h e h y p o t h e s i s - c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e i n

c o n f l i c t behaviour*

B r i s l i n e t a l (1973) recommended t h e u s e o f a l r e a d y

v a l i d a t e d i n s t r u m e n t s and c o l l e c t e d i n f o n a a t i o n f o r

c r o s s - c u l t u r a l comparisons* However, most o f t h e

e m p i r i c a l s t u d i e s of c o n f l i c t behav iour made u s e o f

Xa.boirs."toxy iii6"th.ods whioh. iisd. been c r i t i c i s e d £ o t "being

u n r e a l ( Shea, 1980) •

The a u t h o r h a s reviewed a number of e x i s t i n g q u e s t i o n n a i r e s -

C o n f l i c t Management Survey ( J . H a l l , 1969)，Thomas-Kilmaim

C o n f l i c t Mode I n s t r u m e n t , C o n f l i c t Management S t y l e Survey

50

(M, Robert, 1982) and Conf l i c t Management Climate Index

(B» Crosby & J . Scherer , 1981)* iimoxig them, on ly t h e

f i r s t two q u e s t i o n n a i r e s p r o r i d e a i r e ady- g a t h e r e d d a t a .

Unfo r tuna te ly , t h e sample s p e c i f i c a t i o n such a s age, sex,

n a t i o n a l i t y and socioeconomic l e v e l i s n o t a v a i l a b l e ,

making c r o s s - c u l t u r a l comparison d i f f i c u l t .

2 . 2 . 1 The Qaes t ionna i re

Because of t h e comprehensiveness and s i m p l i c i t y

i n s idminis t ra t ion , t h e Thomas-Eilmaiin1 s i n v e n t o r y

i s used f o r t h i s r e s e a r c h . The q u e s t i o n n a i r e

(App. A) i s extended t o i n c l u d e some q u e s t i o n s

on t h e e f f e c t s of c u l t u r a l v a r i a b l e s . Quest ion

1 t o 30 of P a r t A a r e con ta ined i n t h e o r i g i n a l

i nven to ry which p r e d i c t s t h e c o n f l i c t o r i e n t a t i o n -

competing, avoid ing , c o l l a b o r a t i n g , compromising

o r accommodating - o f an i n d i v i d u a l * The s c o r i n g

and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n methods a r e enc losed I n

Appendix B.

2^2 .2 Sajnpling1

I n o r d e r t o compare t h e c u l t u r a l e f f e c t s on c o n f l i c t

behaviour , two groups of managers - Ciiinese and

E r p a t r i a t e s - were i n v i t e d t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n

t h e - q u e s t i o m a i r e survey• These managers a r e

s e n i o r government e x e c u t i v e s a t s i m i l a r

ranks (sa lary point above MPS 38) at tend ing

the var ious courses organised "by the

government t r a i n i n g centres namely, the C i v i l

Service Tra in ing Centre and the 'Senior S t a f f Course

Centre. T!his sample i s chosen f o r tiro reasons ; -

a) they are captive pa r t i c i pan ts and a h igh percentage

of return of the questionnadres can be ensured;

b) they a l l work i n the sazae type o f org'aaisations

(d i f f e ren t government departments) and are

therefore soc ia l i zed by the same k i n d o f

"organisat ion culture1 ' , are subject t o s im i l a r

organizat ional constra ints; and hence, enabl ing

us t o s ing le out the va r i ab l e - c u l t u r a l value —

t o account f o r any d i f f e r e n c e measured .

The s i z e of each group of managers i s abou t 50 a s

t h e r e i s v e r y l i t t l e ga in i n r e l i a b i l i t y o v e r an

a b s o l u t e sample s i z e of 5〇 (Hofs tede , 1981) .

The ques t ionna i r e s i n "their o r i g i n a l l anguage -

Eng l i sh , were f i l l e d out by a l l t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s

d e s p i t e one grcap1 s mother- tongue i s Ch inese .

The q u e s t i o n n a i r e s a r e n o t t r a n s l a t e d "because of

t h e s p e c i a l f e a t u r e i n Hong Kong - a "b i l ingua l

s o c i e t y and t h a t most of t h e managers, pair七 icularly

those occupying senior pos i t i ons , can commnnicate

i n Eng l i sh without any d i f f i c u l t y . Keeping the

52

questionnaire i n i t s o r i g i n a l language has the

advantages of preserving i t s i n i t i a l meaning, and

saving the time and e f f o r t to apply va r ious

t rans la t ion techniques such as back-1 ran s i at i on .

To f i n d out whether there i s any d i f f e rence i n

c on f l i c t behaviour between managers o f P r i va te

and Pub l i c Sector, a t h i r d survey sample i s

included. They are middle to sen ior managers

from var ious f i e l d s of the Pr ivate Sector, who

are attending the Hong Eong Un ive rs i t y MBA programme*

This sample i s chosen, again because t h e y are

captive par t i c ipants and represent a cross-sec七ion

of the Pr iva te Sector*

2.2.3 Data Analys is

Data co l l ec ted from the questionnaire survey were

analysed t o f i n d out the i n c l i n a t i on s o f Chinese

aad Western managers i n t h e i r c o n f l i c t behaviour.

The scores obtained f o r each sample were compiled

1 and compared wi th the Scoring- Table o f the

Thomas-Eilmann1 s Instrument (App- B) • T--

t e s t was a p p l i e d t o t e s t t h e s t a t i s t i c a l s i g n i -

f i c a n c e o f t h e d i f f e r e n c e between t h e d a t a of t h e

Western and Chinese managers, and a l s o t h o s e

between t h e Chinese managers of t h e P u b l i c and

Pr ivate Sector* T- test was appl ied because scores

of the con f l i c t or ientat ions were compiled froin

12 discrete scores making the r e s u l t i n g scores near

to oontimious. The S t a t i s t i c a l Package f o r the

Soc ia l Sciences (SPSS) iras used to analyse the data.

Real-vor ld Case Analys is

To provide a deeper -understanding about the c on f l i c t

phenomenon and avoid the c r i t i c i sm of being a r t i f i c i a l

(Shea, 1980), real-wor ld case analys is was used as the

t h i r d research too l -

Being a t r a i n i ng manager who i s required to meet t r a i n i ng

requests from various departments and analyse organizat ional

problems, the author has a l o t o f chances observing i n t e r -

departmental and interpersonal c on f l i c t s and neg-otiations.

Some c on f l i c t s are between the l o c a l managers only while

others involve both l o c a l and expatr iate managers. To add

some."real-world" data to t h i s research, severa l c o n f l i c t ‘

episodes were analysed ^rith respect to t h e i r processes,

s t ruc tu ra l var iab les , r e su l t s and e f f ec t s . Spec ia l a t ten t ion

was given to the behavioral differenoes between the Chinese

and Western managers. The episodes together the

analyses are reported i n Chapter IT.

EESULTS M D M iLTS IS

ftaestionnaire Sarvey

1 -1 The Sample

A t o t a l o f 178 middle to senior execut ives f i l l e d out

the questionnaires. To f i n d out whether c u l t u r a l va lues

a f f e c t o on f l i c t behaviour, the sajnple used i n t h i s sorvey

was made up o f three groups - Government Sector expat r ia tes

( B r i t i s h ) , Government Sector Chinese, and P r i v a t e Sector

CMnese. The data obtained from the th ree groups were

compaxed w i t h each other . Demographic d e t a i l s o f the

respondents are l i s t e d i n tab les 5， 6， & 7 : -

Table of t h e Respondents

Absolute E e l a t i v e A d j u s t e d Cummulative Frequency Frequency F r e q u e n c y ⑷ Prequencj (¢)

Belov 20

20-29

30-39

40-49

50-59 Above 59

33

85

45

13

18

47 25

7

6

18 47 25

6 0^6

19 .1

6 6 . 9

92.1 9 9 - 4

1 0 0 - 0

T o t a l 178 100 .0 100.0

5

5

Table 6 : - Sez oT the Eespondents

Ses Absolute Frequency .

Ee l a t i r e Frequency (¢)

Adjus ted Frequency

CoiDinalative Frequency ⑶

Male 142 79-8 89-9 89*9

Female 16 9.0 10.1 100.0

M i s s i n g 20 11.2 M i s s i ng 100.0

To ta l 178 100.0 100.0

Table 7 • - Working S e c t o r and K a t i o n a l i t y of Respondents

Working S e c t o r and N a t i o n a l i t y

Absolute fielative Frequency Frequency

M j u s t e d ( ¾ Frequency ( ^ )

Comnralative f r e q u e n c y ( ¾

GoTermnent S e c t o r E x p a t r i a t e s

60 33-7 3 3 . 7 33 .7

G-ovemment Chinese

Sec to r 75 42 .1 42 .1 75-8

P r i v a t e S e c t o r Chinese

43 24-2 2 4 . 2 100.0

T o t a l 178 100.0 • 100 .0

1 . 2 C o n f l i c t Behavicoir

E . ！Thomas (1976) c l a s s i f i e d c on f l i c t behaviours Into f i v e

•types - compet ing，col laborat ing^ comproinisiiig, a v o i d i n g

and accommodating, based on d i f f e r e n t d e g r e e s of a s s e r t i v e n e s s

co-operati"veness o f t h e ；party i n c o n f l i c t . Adopting

t h i s classification, the Thomas-Eilmann Con f l i c t Mode

Instroment was developed t o assess one's oonf l i o t -hand l ing

or ienta t ion . Pa r t A o f the questionnaire used i n t h i s

research i s the 2?homas-E[iImann i-nstrument# I t was inc-luded

"fc。rind ou t t h e genera l p r e f e r e n c e of t h e r e sponden t s i n

t h e i r c o n f l i c t behavioxir#

1*2^1 Dominant S t y l e s

P a r t A soores of t h e t h r e e samples a r e compiled

t o i d e n t i f y t h e d i f f e r e n t p a t t e r n s o f behaviotir

and dominant s t y l e s of t h e t h r e e groups of

respondents# ！The resu l t s are summarised i n tab le

8 & 9»

Tab le 8 : - C o n f l i c t Behaviour Scores

S t a t i K t i a s ^ ^ N .

Oom-p*tins J C o l l&bo r a t i n g CoaprOBisin^ k v o i d i n ^ ' 1

| J ioooanodating

S t a t i K t i a s ^ ^ N . C / £ G/C P/C I | G/E G/C p / c G/E C/C P/C ; G / S G/C P/C

； i | 0 / t 丨 G/C ‘ P/C

6-550 5.213 5-279 | 7.81? 5.?oo 6*279 6.167 6.040 7.32s 5.483 6.773 6-860 i . 丨 3 - 9 6 7 ； 4 - 4 2 7

i 4 - 2 0 5

Mod* ‘ . 0 0 0 3-000 5 .000 1 7 -000 5 .000 5-000 6-000 8.000 7-000 I 5-000 7 . 0 0 0 E.OOO | 3-000 4 . 0 0 0 )

3 .000

S t a n d a r d IWTiJLtiCO 3 0 7 7 3 . 2 7 7 2 . ^ 4 8 2 . 0 9 5 2 . 0 6 $ 2.501 2 . 1 9 5 2 .424 2 -368 2 .390 2 . 1 9 1 2 . 2 1 0

i | 2 . 0 2 5 j 2 . 1 6 3 2 - 0 5 4

Median 6 . 0 0 0 4 - . 6 9 2 5 .222 ： 7 * 9 2 9 5 - 3 0 6 6 - 0 0 0 6 . 1 3 6 a . 308 7 . 4 3 8 5-250 6 . 8 0 0

s' ！

7 . 1 4 3 ” 3 - 4 3 8 j 4 - 3 4 4

ii ：

3 .S89 ,

Kwy t G/E Govamstent S « o t o r E x p a t r i a t e (Bri . t i*b)

G/C Gov-ftrcav&t S e c t o r Chine丨《

Ta t l e 9 i - Inc l i na t ions of Con f l i c t Behaviour o f the Eespondents

ConTliot Behaviour

Eespoadaots 乂 Highest Soore • ••• - — “ - JiOwest Score (Highest Incliization) (lowest Irjcllnation)

CoTemaent Seotor Expatriates (British)

Mean :

Mode 1

»

Collaborating

Collaborating

Collaborating

Coopetln^

Coaprooi-slii

Coaproaisin

CospraaiBlj^

g Avoiding

S Competing

Avoiding

Coffipotin

AToidLln

Accoaisodatiji^

AcccBBDodatlag

Accoomodatin

Goverrua^nt Sector Chinese

Ueas :

Mode i

i

Ooaproaisin^

Coaprooislng

Coaapromlslng：

•voiding

Avoiding

••oiding

Coapetlftg

Collaborating

Collaborating

Collaborating

•ooooood&tio^

Competing

Acaoanodatlixg

Coffipetlng

Aocoqinodati ng

Private Sector Chinese

Mean t

Mode i

Uedian i

Oottprooising

•voiding

CoapromisxB

kruLdlng

Coapxm&iBin

Aroiding

Collaborating

g Collaborating Co&peting

Collaborating

Competing

Competing

Accomodating

Accocaoodatlag

Accoanodatin^

The Chinese e x e c u t i v e s of "both t h e Government and

P r i v a t e s e c t o r s show s i m i l a r t e n d e n c i e s i n t i i e i r

c o n f l i c t - h a n d l i n g behaviouiv-both u s i n g ”compromising"

& "avoiding" as t h e i r dominant s t y l e s , and

^accommodating,T as t h e i r l e a s t p re fe r red s t y l e . On

the other hand, the Western managers show a d i f f e r en t

pat tern - us ing ‘1 co l laborat ing" & n competing'" as

t h e i r dominant s t y l e , and "accommodating" as t h e i r

l e a s t preferred s t y l e s .

1 #2«2 C u l t u r a l D i f f e r e n c e s

T - t e s t was used t o a s s e s s t h e s t a t i s t i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e

of t h e d i f f e r e n t p a t t e r n s of bei iaviouxs among t h e

"tixree groups of vq spotiden"ts• ！Hie r e s u l t s bxq l i s t e d

i n tab les 10 & 11 •

Table 1 0 : - Test of S t a t i s t i c a l S ign i f i cance (u/E & G/c)

Standard Pooled Varianofe Esti»At« V ri Abies GrouDi ? _ Cases Uean Beviation Error T Value ？ -Ta i l ed Probability

Competing G/E

G/C

60

75

^-5500

5.2133

3-377

3.227

0-436

0.373 2.34 0-021 ( » )

Collaborating g / e g / c

60

7 5

7 , f i l 6 7

5 . 5 2 0 0

2 . 0 9 5

2 . 0 6 9

0 .27。

0 . 2 3 9 6 . 3 7 0 - 0 0 0 ( « )

Coapromlsin ： G/E g / c

60

? 5

6 . 1 6 6 7

6 . 0 4 0 0

2 . 1 9 5

2 . 4 2 4

0 . 2 8 3 0 . 2 8 0

- 4 . 6 5 o . o o o ( « )

AToiding： G/E g / c

6 0

7 5

5 . 4 8 3 3

6 . t t 3 3

2 - 3 9 0

2 . 1 9 1

0 . 3 0 9

0 . 2 5 3 - 3 - 2 6 0 - 0 0 1 {«)

Aocoaood&ting g / e g / c

6 0

7 5

5 . 9 6 6 7

4 -4267

2 . 0 2 5

2 . 1 6 3

0 . 2 6 1

0 , 2 5 0 - u 2 6 0 . 2 9 0 (ns)

Key : C/E Govemoent Sactor Expatriates (British) G/C GoverruMrnt Sector Chinese ns non significant ) ) t - t e s t significant l«vel at 0.05 s Bignificant \

T a b l e 1 1 : - Tes t of S t a t i s t i c a l S i g n i f i c a n c e (G/C k P / c )

- Number of Standard Stoad&rd Pooled yarlanoe Estiaate ?aria-bias Groups Casaa Mean ！deviation Sgrar T Value 2-Tai.Ie Probability

C o « p , t i ^ G/C 7 5 5 . 2 1 3 3 3 . 2 2 7 0 . 3 7 3 一 . ” 。 . 奶 （ n s )

P / C 4 3 5 - 2 7 9 1 2 . 5 4 S 0 . 3 8 9

C o l l a W t i n g ; G/C 7 5 5 .5200 2 . 0 6 5 0 . 2 於 ^ . 7 8 0 .078 (ns)

P/C 43 6.2791 2 . 5 0 1 0 . 3 8 1

Co » p r o m i s i n g G/C 7 5 8 , 0 4 0 0 2 - 4 2 4 0 , 2 8 0 、 巧 ( 加 )

P/C 43 . 7 . 3256 2-368 0.361

A v o i d i n g G/C 75 ^.7733 2 0 . 2 5 3 „ 0 . 2 1 0 . 8 3 6 ( a s ) p /C 4 3 6 . 6 8 0 5 2 . 2 1 0 0 . 3 3 7

Aoconunodating' G/C 7 5 4*4267 2 . 1 6 3 0 . 2 5 0 0 . 5 3 0 . 5 9 4 ( n s ) P / C 4 3 4 . 2 0 9 3 2 . 0 5 4 0 . 3 T 3

£ey ： g/E Govermaent Seotor Erpatriat»s (Britiah) p/C Private S»ctor Chin«e ns non •igaifioajit ) , * a ac ) t - t e s t aignifleant l*vel at 0*05 s flignificant \

59

Between the G-ovemment Sector E rpa t r i a tes and Chinese,

four out of f i v e va r iab les tested show s t a t i s t i c a l

signxricance a t 0#05 level* However? no s t a t i s t i c a l

s ign i f i cance are shown "by a l l the va r i ab les tested

between the Pr ivate Sector Chinese and the Govemmexit

Sector Chinese# As respondents o f d i f f e r en t

n a t i ona l i t i e s show d i f f e ren t patterns o f c o n f l i c t

behaviour vrhlle respondents of same na t i o na l i t y

but working i n d i f f e ren t sectors, show no d i f ference

i n c o n f l i c t behaviour, c u l t u r a l f ac to r s "ougiit

to be the independent var iab les i n shaping behaviour.

1.2.3 Be-constract ion o f Score-peraenti les Table

Because of the cu l t u r a l d i f ferences i n c o n f l i c t

"behaTiour, the Thomas-Ki Imann score-perc en t i l e s

need to be reconstructed to f i t the part icra lar

culture» The cormnulative f r e q u e n c i e s of t h e s c o r e s

of t h e t h r e e groups of respondents a r e p l o t t e d

a g a i n s t t h e o r i g i n a l Thomas-Kilmann s o o r e s i n

f i g u r e 7• Again, c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n o e i n s o o r e -

p e r c e n t i l e s between t h e Western aad E a s t e r n

Manag-ers i s conf i rmed. Comparatively, t h e Chinese

managers axe l e s s competing, l e s s co l l abo ra t i ng^

more compromising and more avoiding' t h a n t h e i r

B r i t i s h coun te rpa r t s» However, t h e y a r e s i m i l a r

i n t h e i r acconimodating i n c l i n a t i o n unde r c o n f l i c t

s i t u a t i o n s *

F igure 7 : Soore-•percent i les of t h e Bespondent

A B C D A B ' G 3) - T R o m s - i n m A m o h i g h j a l s c o e e s -G07EHKMENT EIPITEIATES (BRITISH) SCOEES ‘ QOVESNMENT CHIRESE SCOBES

CHINESE SCOEES

B C

Aoaonanodat ing-Competing Co l l abora t ing Compromising Avoid ing

100

T o

ON

^80-

<5 7

60-

Idle

30

20

10 ‘

A

B

c

B

u B •y

_2

1

o

可T—

1

i

1

o

i- 1 1

I Z

0

1

o

1 i 11

10

1 J ^ 11 1 1

2 10 5 1 0

0 11 10

11 10

e -o

61

Gu l to ra l Faotors

Par t B of the questionnaire i s designed to f i n d out to

what extent some fac tors , c u l t u r a l o r non-cul tura l , a f f e c t

the respondents i n choosing' t h e i r conf l i e t -handl ing mode*

Since cu l t u r a l d i f ference i s confirmed by the r e su l t s

obtained i n Part A, i t i s considered su f f i c i en t to compare

the scores o f the Government Sector Expatr iates w i th those

o f the Government Sector Chinese only f o r t h i s part of the

research. The r e su l t s are suminarised i n ta l i le 12«

Tab le 1 2 : - F a c t o r s A f f e c t i n g C o n f l i c t Behaviour - Scores & S i g n i f i c a n c e

Victors Groups Meac Mode Standard Deviation Chi-sqraare Tees of ?r«edorc Sia^ificance

Lo^ice k J acts oi" the Issu* G/S

c/c A.76T

4.693

5.000

5-000

O.465

0-569 1 . 2 6 ? 2 0,530 (ns)

？eelin rs of the Oppotin G/E ?a r

订 c/c 2.833

2.973

3-000

3.000

0.717

0.83S 9.712 4 O.O46 ( « )

Position or Status of G/S Oppoaia Party c / c

2.633 3.W7

2.000

4.000

0-991

0.949 25.192 4 0.000 ( . )

Opinion* of the Croup G/JS fi«pr«sast«d ^

4-167

4-200

4.000

5.000

0-740

0.805 1.046 3 0.79C (ns)

7b« Conct»sions tb« Other 0/S Party has Made

3.017 3.253

3.000 3.000

0.T70

O.&87 5.702 4 0.222 (na)

Own Parsotud Iat«rt*t 0/ l

G/C

2.667 3-027

2.000 3.000

1-174 0.986

&.241 4 0.083 (na)

The Best Solution Divput*

for the &/E

o/c 4-817

4.617

5 - 0 0 0

5 . 0 0 0

0.390

0.66B 2..926 3 0.403 (na)

The Ekbarrasseent Biay b« caused to Oppo ia Party

that C/I t h« G/C

2.517

3.000

3 . 0 0 0

3 - 0 0 0

0,554

0.850 11,062 4 0 . 0 2 6 (，）

x*y : G/I GorcnMit Steior Xxpatxiat*# (British)

G/C Gcrrcrmcst Sector Chin«s«

t a i ^ n i r i m o t Chi* square t«st 1t%1 at 0.05

!Ehe results show that the respondents, i r respect iTe o f

• their n a t i o n a l i t i e s , ^ave v e r y h i g h soores t o t h e o b j e c t i v e

f a c t o r s • " l o g i c & f a c t s of t h e i s s u e " & " b e s t s o l u t i o n f o r

"the d i s p u t e " , and r e l a t i v e l y low s c o r e s t o p e r s o n a l f a c t o r -

”own personal i n te res t ±n t h e d i s p u t e " . T h i s i s n o t

imexpected because a l l t h e responden ts axe w e l l educa ted

s e n i o r s t a f f who would have a n a t u r a l tendency t o c o n s i d e r

r a t i o n a l l y and o t j e c t i r e l y i n t h e f i r s t i n s t a n c e u n d e r

c o n f l i c t s i t u a t i o n s .

Both groups of responden ts gave equa l weigh t ing 's t o t h e

f a c t o r s "opin ions of t h e group r e p r e s e n t e d " and " t h e

concess ions t h e o t h e r p a r t y h a s made". There i s no

c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e way t h e two groups c o n s i d e r

t h e i r r e p r e s e n t a t i o n r o l e s and r e c i p r o c i t y o b l i g a t i o n s

i n c o n f l i c t s o l u t i o n .

However, t h e r e a r e t h r e e c u l t u r a l v a r i a b l e s • ?1feeling-s

of t h e opposing p a r t y " , " p o s i t i o n o r s t a t u s of opposing

party*1 and ” the embarrassment that may be caused t o the

opposing* party" - showing s t a t i s t i c a l s ign i f i cance . The

Chinese managers gave greater considerat ion to a l l the

above three fac to rs than t h e i r B r i t i s h counterparts.

Purthennore, the greatest d i f ference i s shown by the

va r i ab l e "pos i t ion o r status of opposing party" shoving

that t r ad i t i ona l va lues - ”part icu lar ism" and "respect to

hierarchy*1, inf luence the c on f l i c t behaviour of Chinese

"to the la rgest extent. Other values such as "conaem

f o r other1 s fee l ings ( i . e . maintenanoe of harmony)and

"avoid embarrassing ethers ( i . e . face g iv ing/sav ing) v are

a l so found to be the major fac to rs causing the c u l t a r a l

d i f ference i n c on f l i c t behaviour-

Test of Hypothesis

工七 i s eridenced that there i s cu l t u r a l d i f f e rence i n

c on f l i c t behaviour between the Chinese and B r i t i s h managers

surveyed i n t h i s research. I n addit ion, Chinese t r ad i t i ona l

values are found to be e f f ec t i ve i n i n f l uenc ing c o n f l i c t

beharioxxr.

The hypothesis under t e s t i ng states t i iat r!Chinese managers

are i n c l i ned to use the l e s s asser t i re con f l i c t -hand l i ng

behavicoir o r middle-of-the-road behaviour" and that

11 Ciiinese managers1 conf l i c t -hand l ing modes f o l l ow a

continmun wi th increas ing degree of i n c l i n a t i o n from 1

t o 5 ,

Continuum o f Con f l i c t Assertiveness Behariotir

1 • Competing

2 . C o l l a b o r a t i n g

3 . Compromising

4« Avoid i n g

S i g h

Middle

Low

5 . Ac c oamiodating Loir

"Witb the exoeption o f accommodating "behaviour, the re su i t s

ind i ca te that the Chinese managers f o l l ow a s im i l a r order

o f preference i n c o n f l i c t behavioux,with 11 compromising1” £：

^avoidiag1 ' a s t h e f i r s t two p r e f e r r e d s t y l e s and 11 c o l l a b o r a t i n g "

& "compe t ing a t s i m i l a r degree of p r e f e r e n c e a f t e r t h e f i r s t

two modes. Hence, i t i s t r u e t h a t Chinese v a l u e non-aggress ion

and haxmony i n s o c i a l i n t e r a c t i o n s . By s e t t l i n g a d i s p u t e

w i t h a middle-of - t h e - r o a d s o l u t i o n , b o t h p a r t i e s a r e s a t i s f i e d

t o some e x t e n t and t h e i r "Taces" a r e saved through t h e

compromise* The second most p r e f e r r e d means o f c o n f l i c t

r e s o l u t i o n i s a v o i d i n g ‘ which again r e l a t e s t c the non-

confrontation e th i c s of Chinese.

Contrast ing the Chinese managers' behaviour, t h e i r western

counterparts show a more aggressive and i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c

or ientat ion i n dealing1 w i th conf l i c ts* "Gollaboirating"

.and "competing11 are t h e i r most preferred s t y l e s whi le

"compromising11 aad tIavoiding1, axe l e s s preferred.

There i s one s i m i l a r i t y between the two c u l t u r a l groups in.

handl ing con f l i c t s - both prefer the accoMaodating behaviour

l e a s t . 工七 i s an expected phenomenon amongst the western

managers because o f t h e i r i B d i v i dua l i s t i c character-

However, i t i s d i f f i c u l t to r a t i ona l i s e f o r the Chinese

managers* The cu l t u r a l values o f "Jen" and "conformity"

should have shaped the Ciiinese to be cso-operatire and

non-aggressive. Henoe, the Chinese managers should show

h ig l i preference f o r accoimodating behaviour• Eever the le s s，

susii c o n f l i c t i n g r e s u i t xaay due t o a s t r o n g e r i n f l u e n c e

f r o m two o t h e r c u l t u r a l f a c t o r s - " f a c e " & " r e s p e c t f o r

h i e r a r c h y " . The p a r t y u s i n g an a o comm o d a t i n g mode n o r m a l l y

l o s e s t h e game t o t a l l y . Chinese managers a t hi gh p o s i t i o n

i n an o r g a n i z a t i o n a r e l i k e l y t o p e r c e i v e l o s i n g t h e game

a s l o s i n g t h e i r " f a c e " and " a a t h o r i t y " . Hence, t h e y show

t h e l e a s t i n c l i n a t i o n i n u s i n g t h i s p a r t i c u l a r s t y l e .

However, f a r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n i s r e q u i r e d i n c o n f i r m i n g

t h e above argument.

I n svjmaxy, t h e l ^ o t h e s i s i s p a r t i a l l y aonf i rmed i r i t h t h e

o r d e r of i n c l i n a t i o n r e a r r a n g e d a s f o l l o w s ; -

xnc reasxng

i n c l i n a t i o n

1 • AcconmiodatirLg

2 . Competing o r C o l l a b o r a t i n g

3 . Avoiding

4* Comprouiising

C u l t u r a l v a r i a b l e s i n a l u d i n g "conformity”，"harmony e t h i c s ”

and 11 f a c e " o p e r a t e , c a u s i n g t h e d i f f e r e n o e i n "behaviour

"between Chinese and Western managers i n c o n f l i c t s i t u a t i o n s .

R e a l - v o r l d Case Ana lys i s

！To some 3r©33.**woirXd. svl.d.siiCG "to "tiii-s reseBXcli, sod© c o n ^ l x c t

e p i s o d e s observed by t h e a u t h o r were ana lysed and r e p o r t e d here^

S p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n was g iven t o t h e b e h a v i o r a l d i f f e r e n o e s between

t h e Chinese and Western managers invo lved i n t h e c o n f l i c t ,

66

names of the people in the episodes are disguised to preserve

confidentiality.

2.1 Conflict Episode 1

2.1.1 Process

In a pre-course preparation meeting, six training

officers - one expatriate and f i re locals, briefed

each, other on the content and format of the lectures

for a ”Training Officers1 Basic Course". Originally,

the course co-ordinator, Mr- A*, intended to use

the ineeting as an information sharing session and

a l l members except the expatriate staff, Mr- B*-*,

accept the agenda. Mr. proposed to discuss

the objectives, -oontent and methodologies of every

session in details so aB to make the necessary

amendments before finalizing the syllabuses and

time-table. Subsequently, the agenda was chaaged

according to the suggestions of Mr.

For one particular lecture, a l l members found the

level proposed "by Mr. 0* too advanced. Howerer,

Mr. £3* was re luc tant t o make any change and

defended, "Prom my ezperience,工 feel that a l l

trainers should learn this subject thoroughly.

I don't want to see them carrying out "pseudo-

七 r a i n i n g " "because of inadequate knowledge •”

* Chinese Executive

** Western Executive

Mr- D , who disagreed i r i th Mr- G*, argued, "The

new tra iners would only be fr ightened away by your

complicated theories and therefore a more bas ic

concept of t h i s subject i s su f f i c i en t• ” The

argumsit went on f o r a while "before the course

oo-ordinator attempted to a rb i t ra te . Mr. A*

said, ""Why don* t we compromise a "bit and t a i l o r

the session a t an Intermediate l e v e l . " Members

of the meeting were quite happy t c accept the

sugg-estion*

However, Mr. 3*" ， ob jec ted t o such an a r b i t r a r y

dec i s ion and asked t h e meet ing t o review Tar ious

f a c t o r s such a s t r a i n e e s 1 background, needs ,

I n t e r e s t and so on be fo re making a f i n a l dec i s ion -

Eventual ly , t h e d i scuss ion was d e f e r r e d t o ano ther

d.&'tB • 、

2 I n a l y s i s

I n t h i s episode, o o n f l i c t was due t o d i f f e r e n c e

i n opinion and i d e a among members of t h e meet ing.

Group conformi ty among t h e Chinese s t a f f can be

seen i n two occasions - a c c e p t i n g t h e agenda of

t h e meeting and t h e compromise s o l u t i o n r ega rd ing

t h e conten t of a l e c t u r e . Con t r a r i l y , t h e Western

execut ive was more i n d i v i d a a l i s t i c and a s s e r t i v e ,

Chinese execut ive

Western ezeaut iTe

68

and，in bo th o c c a s i o n s , was a b l e t o change t h e

g r o u p ' s d e c i s i o n .

I t appea r s t h a t t h e Chinese e x e c u t i v e s were v e r y

w i l l i n g t o s e t t l e a d i s p u t e by a oompromise

s o l u t i o n . I n t h e above s i t u a t i o n , d e s p i t e t h e

v a r i o u s r e a s o n s h e l d by t h e t r a i n e r s vho d i s a g r e e d

"with, each o t h e r , t h e y a l l a ccep ted t h e compromise

s o l u t i o n sugges ted by t h e chaixman o f t h e meeting'

a a i , i n f a c t , t h e word 11 oompromlse^ was a c t u a l l y

u s e d i n t h e d i s c u s s i o n .

‘The phenoiaenoii observed was i n l i n e v i th . the r e s u l t s

obtained from the questionnaire and l i t e r a t u r e

survey. Compromising, a dominarit behaviour of

Ciiinese managers ind i ca ted by the survey, was

a c t u a l l y observed i n r e a l - l i f e s i t u a t i o n . "Cbuag

Tung" (middle o f the road) irhich has been advocated

by the Confucians was being p rac t i s ed . Besides,

the Western managers involved i n the oonfrontat ion

was found t o be asse r t i ve and co l l abo ra t i ve ; again

conf i rming the f i nd i ng s of the survey#

2*2 Con f l i c t Episode 2

2.2.1 Process

Mr. A**, Course D i r e c t o r o f a Management

DeTelopmerit Course f o r Senior Execut ives, was

s e l e c t i ng some appropriate souvenirs f o r the

guest speakers o f the course* M i ss B*, b i s

* Chinese execut ives

** WAfttfVi execut ives

assistant, saggestei him to use the oompany

shields. Accepting' the suggestion, Mr» A**

asked Miss t o ob ta in two dozens of such

s h i e l d s f rom t h e S t a f f E e l a t i o n s Manager,

Mr. C*• Miss B* saccessfxi l ly ob ta ined t h e

requ i red amomt from Mr. C*! s a s s i s t a n t , Mr. D*.

La t e r , Mr. 0* knew the s i t u a t i o n and was annoyed

because of two reasons : -

a) he was n o t informed beforehand, and

t ) a l l h i s s tock was used up becsaise of t h a t .

Mr. C* "fchen i n s t r u c t e d h i s a s s i s t a n t t o i n fo rm

Miss t h a t such souvenirs ooxild n o t be g iven

out t o l o c a l gues t s and t h e r e f o r e had t o "be

r e tu rned t o t h e S t a f f E e l a t i o n s O f f i c e . Hear ing

t h e news, Miss B*- informed Mr. A** and asked f o g

adv ice . Mr. A** was v e r y annoyed "by t h e d e c i s i o n

of t h e S t a f f He la t ions Manager and immediately

phoned him. Eoweverj Mr. C* was n o t i n t h e o f f i c e

and h i s a s s i s t a n t r ece ived t h e c a l l i n s t e a d .

" ！ Pe l l C* that there i s no way stopping *me to

give out the sourenirs because 工 liave already

sent out some o f them. I don11 want some o f

the speakers go away wi th souvenirs whi le the

others get nothing. T e l l -0* to c a l l me before

doing any f o o l i s h thing!" sa id Mr. A**.

CMnese executive

Western executive

Mr. D* re la ted the message to Mr. C* •wh.o was

ve iy •unhappy about t he manner of Mr. A**.

However, Mr. C* subsequently changed h i s d e c i s i o n

ana asked h i s a s s i s t a n t t o p a s s h i s consent t o

2*2*2 Analysis

Confrontat ion between Mr. A** and Mr. C* was due

t o two r easons : -

a) competi t ion f o r l i m i t e d r e s o u r c e s by t h e

two p a r t i e s concerned,

b) mi sunder s t anding between t h e two p a r t i e s

because of l a c k of comm-onication

I n t h e abore s i t u a t i o n , t h e r e was n c d i r e c t

oonmiuiiication between Mr. A** and Mr. C*- A l l

dealing's were handled by bo th p a r t i e s * a s s i s t a t n t s .

This was a r e s u l t of Mr. C*，s d e l i b e r a t e avo id ing

behaTiour. Consequently, b o t h p a r t i e s remained

xms a t i s f i ed even a f t e r t h e c o n f l i c t .

During t h e c o n f l i c t p rocess , t h e e x p a t r i a t e s t a f f ,

Mr. was aggress ive and p e r s i s t e n t i n s t r i T i n g

t o achieve h i s o b j e c t i v e s . Mr. C*, t h e Chinese

manager, though anncryed by Mr. A**, avoided d i r e c t

con f ron t a t i on wi th him and e v e n t u a l l y passed h i s

consent t o ^ r n t h r o u ^ i h i s a s s i s t a n t s Desp i t e

l o s i n g t h e game a t t h e end, Mr. C* perce ived i t a

Chinese execut ive

Western ezecut ive

71

to save h i s own face by not t a l k i n g to A"^.

Miss and Mr. the two ass i s tan ts , were pass ive

"throughout: the confrontat ion process • a t y p i c a l

Chinese behav iour of s t a y i n g away f r o m c o a f l i o t .

2 . 3 C o n f l i c t Episode 3

2»3*1 Process

The T r a i n i n g Manager, Mr. A*, was r e q u e s t e d t o

look i n t o t h e s t a f f s s t a n d a r d o f -wr i t t en E n g l i s h

and, i f r e q u i r e d , a r r ange some t r a i n i n g ' coi r rses

f o r them* Miss t h e Government C o n s u l t a a t o f

E n g l i s h l anguage t r a i n i n g , was i n v i t e d t o c a r r y

o u t a t r a i n i n g needs s tudy w i t h a v iew t o d e s i g n

an In -house cou r se f o r t h e s t a f f . M"ter I n t e r -

v iewing t h e s t a f f k t h e i r s u p e r v i s o r s , and

e z a a i n i n g t h e i r r o u t i n e cor respondences & r e p o r t s ^

Miss B*" i d e n t i f i e d s e v e r a l p r o t l e m a r e a s i n

writ七en conmrunic三七ion that the s t a f f requ i red

improTement. She conoluded her t r a i n i n g needs

study by proposing a 2-week t r a i n i n g ；programme*

At that po in t of time, Mr. 0* became the depart-

mental head f o l l ow i ng the ret irement o f i d s

predecessor. Mr. C** d i d not -believe i n the

value o f t r a i n i n g and he i n s t r a c t ed Mr. A* t o

cancel 七he proposed course. Mr . A* iras r e r y

f rus t ra ted because the t r a i n i n g needs study had

* Chinese executive

** Western executive

pointed out the necessi ty o f such t r a i n i n g aad he

could not f i n d any profess iona l reason t o tu rn

ioTO Miss B*1 s recommendations• BoweTer, h e was

v e r y r e l u c t a n t t o say "no" t o h i s s u p e r i o r .

F i n a l l y , h e approached Mr. C** and asked C** t o

t a l k t o Miss B**# Subsequently, Miss was t o l d

"by C** t i i a t t h e course had t o be c a n c e l l e d "because

h e could n o t r e l e a s e t h e s t a f f t o a t t e n d due t o

t i i e i r heavy workload.

2 . 3 - 2 .Analysis

I n t h i s c a s e , t h e c o n f l i c t was between a s u b o r d i n a t e

and a s u p e r i o r . As p r e d i c t e d , t h e s u b o r d i n a t e was

submissive aaad d i d n o t oppose h i s s u p e r i o r 1 s i d e a

'no tv l ths tand ing ' t h e f a c t s and l o ^ i c of t h e i s s u e •

Besides,七 l ie avoid ing behaviour was eridenced by

the way he got h i s job done - ask ing h i s super ior

t o refuse the t h i r d party involved I n the s i t ua t i on .

Contrasting t i d s passive "behaviour, the expatr ia te

s t a f f was aggressive and f i rm i n ge t t i ng h i s message

across and achiev ing h i s object ives .

A l l the three inc iden ts reported involved both expatr ia te

and Chinese s t a f f . Consistent ly, a l l the expatr ia te s t a f f

were more asser t ive and, t o some extent, aggressive i n

* CMnese executives

** Western executive

h.aadling the confrontat ions. On the other hand, the

Chinese were e i t he r avoid ing or compromising i n s e t t l i n g the

disputes even though they had to forgo some o f t h e i r i n t e r e s t

o r profess iona l status. Factors l i k e ”face” and " p o s i t i o n

o f t h e opposing p a r t y " were found t o b e i n T l u e n t i s i l i n

shap ing t h e Chinese c o n f l i c t behaviour*

I n a d d i t i o n t o "the above i n c i d e n t s , t h e a u t h o r had asked

t h e r e sponden t s of t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e survey t o r e l a t e some

o f t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e . Many of t h e Chinese r e s p o n d e n t s

admi t t ed t h a t t h e y were more comfor tab le w i t h t h e "middle -

g'round" t a c t i c s and p r e f e r r e d t o be p a r t i a l l y s a t i s f i e d

r a t h e r than winning o r l o o s i n g t o t a l l y . They cons ide red

" g i v i n g f a c e " and " s a v i n g f a o e " s imul t aneous ly i n a

c o n f r o n t a t i o n a mature way of s e t t l i n g d i s p u t e and m a i n t a i n i n g

long- t e rm r e l a t i o n s . However, t h e i r e x p a t r i a t e c o u n t e r p a r t s

d i d n o t f e e l compromising a good way i n h a n d l i n g c o n f l i c t .

！They preferred to "bring out the d i f fe rences and work out a

j o i n t so lu t ion even though the time requ i red might be

longer. Despite the general behavioral 七rends, there are

exceptions among the two c u l t u r a l groups because o f the

operat ion of other non-oultuxal f ac to r s such as personal

ambitions, p o l i t i c s and circumstances^

CCJNCLITSICKS

Gu l tura l Var iab les

The content analys is of l i t e r a t u r e shows that se re ra l c u l t u r a l

va r iab les inf luence strongly the c on f l i c t behavionir of Chinese,

They can be grouped imder three categories - conformity, harmony

eth ics and face .

Conformity i n Ciiinese soc ie t ies has been achieved

through the values of Jen, L i , and f i l i a l piety* People

respect hierarchy and maintain re la t ionsh ips throngiL

mu-tual respect and co-operation* Subordinates are

taught t o be ob l i g ing and submissive to t h e i r super ior .

Group in te res t and opinion are h igh ly valued and one has

t o s a c r i f i c e personal i n te res t to group i n t e re s t .

Harmony et l i i cs have been advocated by both the Confucians

and Taoists* The philosophy of "mean”, "Chung- Yung",

"Chmg Hon and ”Wu Wei" inf luence the Chinese to con t ro l

t h e i r emotions under c on f l i c t s i tua t ions . Open

aggi'© s s i on i s oon sidsTed siismeful and n o t gsntlGmarxly •

Sometimes, middle-ways have t o be adopted t o a l l o w a

c e r t a i n degree of s a t i s f a c t i o n t o t h e o o n f l i o t i n g p a r t i e s .

Face , t o g e t h e r w i t h r e c i p r o c i t y , shame e t M c s and

p a r t i c u l a r i s m , forms a v e r y inrportant f a c t o r t h a t shapes

the conTl ic t behaTioux of Chinese managers# "When two

pa r t i e s are In dispute, both pa r t i e s are cautious i n

choosing actions that would not challenge each other1 s

f a ce . Aggressive oompetition i s uncoronion "unless one

• p a r t y pe roe ives t h a t t h e a c t i o n s of t h e opposing p a r t y

have des t royed h i s r a c e . Ee w i l l t hen r e t a l i a t e by

t a k i n g away t h e o t h e r p a r t y f s faoe* However, Chinese

a r e v e r y c a x e f u l i n t a k i n g a c t i o n s t h a t may endanger

t h e f a c e of t h e o t h e r p a r l y . Thej a r e n o t w i l l i n g t o

nmin 2?ela*tioxisiiips becstuse of minor d i sp i r t e s e s p e c i a l l y

when "fciiey an*ticipa-te £ire5u.6n"t corf tact wittx each o"tlier

i n f u t u r e * ！Ehey w i l l a l s o f e e l shameful i n e sca l a t i ng

the o on f l i c t .

A l l the above cu l t u ra l va r i ab l es persuade the Chinese

exeaatiTes to harmonise and adopt a l e s s agressive

approach i n oon f l i c t reso lu t ion . In case of d ispute i r i t h the

super ior, one has to show l i i s respect by g i v i n g way. I n other

occasions, one may need to f o l l ow a middle-way t o please a l l

pa r t i e s concerned-

F indings o f the questionnaire survey (Part B) a l so support the

results of the literature xeseaxoh. CMnese execaztives pay

greater attention to the emotive and personal factors l ike

"position and status of opposing party", "embarrassment to the

opposing party" and “feelings of the opposing party"* Thus,

cultural'variables such as "Jen", "Wa-lun", F i l i a l Piety",

"Particulaxisin", "Pace" and'"Harmony e t h i c s " operate t o

76

inf luence the conflict-^handling modes of Chinese managers* Contrar i ly ,

the Western managers consider these i r r a t i o n a l f a c to r s l e s s important,

as predicted by t h e i r more i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c orientation#

2« C o n f l i c t Behaviour

P a r t A of t h e qaes t i onna i r e survey was devoted t o f i n d ou t t h e

g e n e r a l c o n f l i c t o r i e n t a t i o n s of t h e Chinese and Western managers.

The sample was chosen t o minimize t h e i n f l u e n c e of o t h e r f a c t o r s

•such a s o rgan iza t ion c u l t u r e . The r e s u l t s conf i rm t h a t t h e r e

a r e c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e s i n c o n f l i c t behaviour between t h e tiro

groups of respondents • t h e Chinese and B r i t i s h s e n i o r goTemment

e x e c u t i v e I n a d d i t i o n , t h e s t a t i s t i c a l t e s t s a l s o show t h a t

Chinese execu t ives , d e s p i t e working i n d i f f e r e n t s e c t o r s -

• goTemment and prirate, b e h a v e s i m i l a r l y in h a n d l i n g conflicts.

I t would be u s e f u l i f f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h could be done t o I n v e s t i g a t e

t h e c o n f l i c t behaviour of t h e e x p a t r i a t e s i n t h e P r i v a t e Sec to r

so t h a t a more comprehensive conclus ion could be drawn r e g a r d i n g

t h e c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e s between t h e Chinese and Westezn E x e o u t i r e s .

Chinese execu t ives a r e found t o b e l e s s agg re s s ive and have a

h i g h e r p r e f e r e n c e f o r t h e , rcompromising and "avoiding11 modes of

c o n f l i c t management# T h e i r Western c o u n t e r p a r t s , b e i n g more

a g g r e s s i v e and i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c , adop t ‘‘ collaborating11 and

” competing" as t h e i r dominant s t ra teg ies . However, the:re i s one

unpredictable r e su l t from the survey - both groups o f managers

pre fer "accommodating" behaviour least* I t i s suspected that

t h e i r sen io r i t y and pos i t ions i n the organisation have made

i t "unnecessary f o r them "to use 3. lose—'win s t e a t e g y i n xesolving '

oonf l i c t s* Nevertheless, fu r ther invest igat ion i s required

*to es tab l i sh th.e f a c t and i t s causes*

A number o f real-world Incidents were diagnosed f o r deeper

understanding of the c on f l i c t behaviour of the Ciiinese and

Western executives. In a l l the cases examined, the Western

executives were more assert ive and preferred to focus on f a c t s

and otQectives while t h e i r Chinese coimterparts were more 、

consc ious of t h e i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s and d i d t h e i r b e s t

t o maintain, harmony and each o t h e r s ' f a o e . The r e s u l t i s

c o n s i s t e n t v i t h t h e f i n d i n g s of t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e s t r r rey.

Because of t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n c o n f l i c t behaviour "between t h e

Chinese and Western managers, t h e Thomas-Kilmazm1 s g raph of

p e r c e n t i l e s - s c o r e s i s n o t v a l i d f o r execu t i ve s of d i f f e r e n t

n a t i o n a l i t i e s . A new graph i s cons t r ac t ed based on t h e s c o r e s

ob t a ined from t h e Chinese sample of t h i s survey .

The h y p o t h e s i s under t e s t i n g i s p a r t i a l l y proved by t h e

p r e s e n t d a t a - t h e behav io ra l d i f f e r e n c e between t h e Chinese

and Western execut ives i s s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t ; and t h e

c u l t u r a l T a r i a b l e s opera te a s independent v a r i a b l e s t o

i n f l u e n c e t h e c o n f l i c t o r i e n t a t i o n s of t h e s e ezecut ives#

Hcwever, t h e Inol lna t j -on of "the Chinese execu t ives i n "tiieir

c o n f l i c t behaviour d i f f e r s s l i g h t l y from t h e o r i g i n a l

p r e d i c t i o n . The model i s r e c o n s t r u c t e d a s "belov : -

78

F igure 8 : • C o n f l i o t Behaviour of Chinese Execu t ives

Independen t V a r i a b l e s I n t e r y e n i n g V a r i a b l e s Dependent Y a r i a b l e s

Form o f Conoeptual izat icai Conformi ty

Harmony E t h i c s

Face

O a l t u r a l V a r i a b l e s

Eztraneous V a r i a b l e s

Persona l ambi t ions Persona l c i rcumstanoes

Educat ion

Organ iza t iona l Climate

Types of C o n f l i c t Beharioiir

Acoommodatiag

Competing &

C o l l a b o r a t i n g

Avoiding

Compromising、

3 • . Value of t h e Research

Goirtention remains about t h e t r a n s f e r a b i l i t y of

Wes"tem manag'eiiient concepts "to Eastexn. o r g a n i z a t i o n s • The

t r a n s f e r i s be l i eved t o "be d i f f i c u l t because of t h e l a r g e

d i f f e r e n c e i n -values and behav iaa r between peop le of d i f f e r e n t

n a t i o n a l i t i e s . This r e s e a r c h confirms t h e c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e

i n c o n f l i c t behaviour between t h e B r i t i s h and Chinese managers.

Although t h e Chinese e x e c u t i v e s i n Hong Kong have a l o t o f

exposure t o Western i d e a s througii educat ion and social/tfU-siness

i n t e r a c t i o n s , t h e y s t i l l behave i n the "Chinese" way* 工七

appears that tra in ix ig and education on Western concepts are

l e s s i n f l u e n t i a l than the t r ad i t i o na l Talues and cu l t u r a l norms.

Hence, a be t te r m ie r s tand ing o f the cu l t u r a l d i f ferences i n

79

organizat ional behaviour i s essen t i a l i n minimising1 viui&oessaxy

misunderstanding and promoting co-operation between managers o f

d i f f e ren t cu l t u r a l o r i g ins . The f lnd iags o f t h i s research .hare

added new infonuation t o the c ross -cu l tu ra l aspects of management•

The Ciiinese s t y l e s of - o o n f l i c t management iiave t h e i r own m e r i t s

a n i d e m e r i t s . The n o n - o o n f r o n t a t i o n o r i e n t a t i o n of Chinese

e x e c u t i v e s towards c o n f l i c t h e l p s t o m a i n t a i n harmony and a^acesses

open aggress ioru Harmful e f f e c t s fiae t o open aggression such a s non-

p r o d u c t i v e compet i t ion among s t a f r , g o a l d isp lacement behav iour s ,

s u s p i c i o n s and d i s t r a s i between o o n f l i c t i n g p a r t i e s , and so on,

a r e avoided. However, t h e n o n - c o n f r o n t a t i o n approach i n ' hand l ing

c o n r i i c t s a l s o h a s i t s weaknesses* "When c o n f l i c t s a r e suppressed

o r avoided, t h e y cannot be u sed a s a g e n t s f o r change o r innoTation，

and t h e problem i s o f t e n l e f t •unsolved. When a middle-way i s

chosen f o r s e t t l i n g a c o n f l i c t , t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n may n o t be

a d o p t i n g t h e "best means t o ach ieve i t s g o a l . Seoogaiz ing t h e

v a l u e s and l i m i t a t i o n s of t h e Chinese s t y l e s o f confl_ict management,

i t i s e s s e n t i a l t h a t f u t u r e management educa t ion can h e l p t o r a i s e

t h e awareness of t h e Chinese managers about t h e i r own c o n f l i c t

o r i e n t a t i o n s and promote t i i e i r s k i l l s i n a d o p t i n g d i f f e r e n t modes

of o o n f l i c t management, i n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e more a s s e r t i v e types*

However, uracil e f f o r t i s n e c e s s a r y i n deve lop ing e f f e c t i v e educa t ion

methodologies t h a t can overcome t h e a u l t u r a l "bar r ie r s b e f o r e such

educa t ion becomes e f f e c t i v e *

EEF5BMGES

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1953， 19-80.

M.S. Bond & S.H» WMG, China : Aggress ive Behaviour and t h e

Problem of Maintaining1 Order and Harmony• A. P . G o l d s t e i n &

M.E. Seg-all , e d . , A g r e s s i o n i n Global P e r s p e c t i v e , Perg-amon

P r e s s , 1983, 58-74.

E.W» B r i s l i n , W.J. Lonner , i l .E . ！Thomdike, C ros s - cu l t u ra l Ee search

Methods, A Wiley - Intersc ience Pub l i ca t ion , 1973*

A .S . CHIK, Hong- Kong Managerial S ty les : Chinese and Western

.Approaches t o Con f l i c t Management, So c i a l He search Centre,

The Chinese Un i ve r s i t y o f Hons： Kong, 1972 (unpub l i shed )

L . Coser , The F u n c t i o n s o f S o c i a l C o n f l i c t , New York : ！The Free

Press , 195^*

B . Cro s t y & J . J . Scherer, Diagnosing Organizat ional C o n f l i c t -

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F a c i l i t a t o r s , Un i ve r s i t y Associates, 1981.

Deutsch, The Reso lut ion o f Con f l i c t : Construct ive and

•Des t ruGt ive Processes# Kew Eaven J Y a l e U a i v e r s i t y P r e s s ,

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!)• Druckman, A.A* Benton, P . A l l , J . S * Bagux, Cul te j ra l B i T f e x e n c e s

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^ Dunlop, I n d u s t r i a l E e l a t i o n s Systems* Kew York : Henry H o l t , 1958.

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CCKELICT MIEAGEMEUT STILE XNYMTOET

CONFLICT MAKAGByIEKTT STTLE INYMTORY

INSTRUCTIOHS

Pa r t A

Consider s i t ua t i ons i n which you f i n d your wishes d i f f e r i n g from those of another person. How do you usua l l y respond t o such s i tua t i ons ？

The fo l lowings are pa i r s of statements descr ib ing poss ib le behaviora l responses- Fo r each pa i r , please c i r c l e the "A” o r !'B!! s t a t e m e n t which i s most c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of y o u r own b e h a v i o r . . .

I n many c a s e s , n e i t h e r t h e 11 A'1 n o r t h e "B" s t a t emen t may b e v e r y t y p i c a l of y o u r behav io r ; b u t . p l e a s e s e l e c t t h e r e sponse which you would be more l i k e l y t o u s e .

1 • A. There a r e t imes when I l e t o t h e r s t a k e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r s o l v i n g t h e problem.

B. R a t h e r than n e g o t i a t e t h e t h i n g s on which we d i s a g r e e , 工 t r y t o s t ress those things upon which we both agree•

A, I t r y t o f i n d a compromise s o l u t i o n .

3 . 工 attempt to deal w i th a l l of h i s and ray concerns.

3 . A. I am usua l l y f i rm i n pursuing my goa ls ‘

B . 工 might t r y to soothe the o the r^ f ee l i ng s and preserve our re l a t i onsh ip .

4 . A . 工 t r y to f i n d a compromise solution*

B. I sometimes s a c r i f i c e my own wishes f o r the wishes of the other person.

5 . a . I cons i s ten t l y seek the o ther ' s help i n working out a so lu t ion . * I

B. I t r y to do what i s necessary to avoid use less tens ions.

6 . A* I t r y to avoid c rea t i ng "unpleasantness f o r myself*

B. I t r y t o win my pos i t i on .

工 " t r y to postpone the i s sue u n t i l 工 have had some time to th ink i t over.

B . 工 g i ve up some po ints i n exchange f o r others*

S . A. I am usua l l y f i rm i n pursuing my goa ls .

2* 工 attempt to get a l l concerns and i ssues Ixmaediately out i n the open.

9» A•工 f e e l that d i f ferenoes are not always worth worrying about.

£• 工 make some e f f o r t to get my way.

10. A* I am f i r m i n pursuing my goals.

B. 工 t r y to f i n d a compromise so lu t ion .

11. A* I attempt to get a l l concerns and i ssues immediately out i n the open.

B . 工 might t r y to soothe the other1s f ee l i ng s and preserve our relat ionship#

12- A. I sometimes avoid tak ing pos i t ions which would create controversy.

B， 工 w i l l l e t him have some of h i s pos i t i ons i f he l e t s me have some o f mine.

13- A. 工 propose a middle ground.

B . 工 press to get my po in ts made.

14. A . 工 七 e l l him my ideas and ask f o r h i s .

• B . 工 t r y to show him the l o g i c and benef i t s o f my pos i t i on .

-15. A . 工 might t r y to soothe the other1 s f e e l i ng s and preserve ‘ o u r r e l a t i onsh ip .

B . 工 t r y to do what i s necessary to avoid tens ions.

16. A. I t r y not t o hur七 ttie other1 s f ee l i ngs .

B . 工 t r y t c convince the other person o f the mer i ts o f my po s i t i o n .

工 as usua l l y f i rm i n pursuing my goals.

工 t r y to do what i s necessary to avoid use less tensions*

I f i t makes the other person happy, I might l e t him maintain h i s v iews.

I w i l l l e t him have some o f h i s pos i t i ons i f he l e t s me have some of mine.

工 attempt to get a l l aoncems and issues immediately out i n the open.

工 t r y to postpone the i s s ue u n t i l 工 have had some time t o th ink i t over.

工 attempt to inHnediately work through our d i f fe rences .

工 t r y to f i n d a f a i r combination of gains and losses f o r both of us .

I n approaching negot iat ions, I t r y t o be considerate of the other person1 s wishes.

工 always lean toward a d i r e c t d iscussion of the problem*

工 t r y to f i n d a po s i t i o n that i s intermediate ‘between h i s and mine.

工 asser t my wishes. ,

工 am very often concerned w i th s a t i s f y i ng a l l our wishes.

There are times when I l e t others take r e spons i b i l i t y f o r so l v i ng the problem.

I f the o ther ' s pos i t ion, seems very important to him,工

would t r y to meet h i s wishes.

I t r y t o get hijn t o s e t t l e f o r a compromise.

工 t r y t o show him the l o g i c and benef i ts o f my pos i t i on .

I n approaching negot iat ions, I t r y to be considerate of the other person's wishes.

26• A* 工 propose a middle ground.

工 am near ly always concerned with s a t i s f y i n g a l l our wishes.

27• A. X sometimes avoid t a k i n g p o s i t i o n s "that would c r e a t e con t rove r sy -

B. I f i t makes t h e o t h e r pe rson happy,工 may l e t him maintain h i s views.

28, 工 am usua l l y f i m i i n pursuing my goals.

工 " u s u a l l y seek the other1 s help i n working out a solution^

29- A* 工 propose a middle ground.

£1 工 f e e l that d i f ferences are not always worth worrying about.

30. A. I t r y not to hurt the other1 s fee l ings .

E, I always share the problem with the other person so that we oan work i t out.

p a r t e Below i s a l i s t o f f ac to r s whioh you may o r may not consider

before choosing your s t rateg ies and t a c t i c s i n c o n f l i c t

reso lu t ion , please c i r c l e the score you would g ive f o r each

f a c t o r : -

1 - not consider a t a l l s 2 consider to a l i t t l e extent;

3 - consider to some extent) 4 “ c o n s i d e r a laxg^e extent,

5 - oonsider to a very large extent*

1. Log ic and f a c t s of the i s sue

2 . Fee l ings of the opposing party

3, Po s i t i o n or status o f the opposing party

4 . Opinions of the group I represent

5. The concessions that the other party has made

6. My personal in te res t

7 • The b e s t s o l u t i o n f o r t h e d i s p u t e

8« The embar rass men t t h a t n a y b e caused t o t h e oppos ing p a r t y

9» Any oiib.ex' f a c t o r s you would c o n s i d e r i n o o n f l i c t r e s o l u t i o n ，

p l e a s e s t a t e •

P a r t

P l e a s e \ / t h e aDDropriate boxes

Age below 20

40-49

Sex Male

20-29

50-59

Pemale

30-39

above 59

Yes

Ho

3 - Are you an e x p a t r i a t e ？

Please s ta te na t i ona l i t y

Are you working i n the Government o r P r i va te Sector

Govermaent P r i va te Sector

KXXXXXXXK'XKXKXXXXKKX'M K y KKKKXXKKXKXXKKyKKXX KXKXXXXXX XXKXKKKXKK^^

-Thank You Very Much -

APPSmiZ B - SCOHIHG MD DraEEPHETDTG THE

THOMAS-KELMAM COI^LICT MOIE

INSTRUMENT

SCORING THE THOMAS-KIbMANN CONFLICT MODE INS丁RUMDrr .

Circle the letters below which you circlad on each itain of the questl onnaire.

• Competing Collaborsting Comproim'sing Avoidina Acconraodating . ( f o r c i n g ) (profalenr so lv ing) (sharino) (withdrawal) (smoothinc)

3-5 6 7 s 9 GT2^^456T&9C1234567S90

11117TTT112Z2222Z2223

Total nuinber o f Hems c i r c l e d in. each column:

GRAPHING YOUR PROFILE SCORES

Your profile of scores indicates the repertoire of conflict-handling ski l ls which you,, as an individual, use in the kinds of confHicI: situations you face. Your score profile can be graphed on the next page entitled, "Your Scores on the 丁homas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument."

The five modes are. represented by the five columns labeled "competing," Hcollaborating," and so on. In the column under each model label is the range of possi-ble scores on that mode 一 from 0 (for very low use) to 12 (for very high use). Circle your own scores on each of the five modes.

Each possible scorl is graphed in relation to the scores of managers who have already taken the Thomas-KiImann Conflict Mode Instrument. 丁he horizontal "lines represent• percent! 1 es 一 the percentage of people who have scored at or below a given number. If you had scored some number above the "8Q " line on competing, for example, that would mean that ycu had scored higher than 80S of the people who have taken the Thomas-KiImann Conflict Mode Instrument. — that you were in the top 20% on coinpetition.. . . . .

The double- l i n e s (at the 25th and 75th percent i les) separate the middle 50% of the scores on each mode, from the top 25¾ and the bottom 25%. In general , i f your score f a l l s somewhsre within the middle 50¾ on a given mode，you are c lose t o the average in your use of -that mode. .If your score f a l l s outside that range, then- your use of that mode i s somewhat higher or lower then most of the people who have taken t h e Instrument. Remember that extreme scores are not necessari ly bad, however, s ince your s i tuat ion may require high or low use of a given conf1ict-handling mode. -

YOUR SCORES ON THE THOMAS-KILMANN CONFLICT MODE INSTRUMENT

High .25S

1002

90S-

80%

Comoet na

T T 11 10

Collab-oratina

IZ 11

Compro-misinc

I T 17 10

Avoid-i n o

" T T "

.Accom-. raodatina

' 1 0

70%

60%

MiddTe SQS. ‘ 50%

40%

30%

Low JO)'

2Q%

or

G 1

4>

OS

•Scares are graphed in re la t ion t o the scores o f 33S practic ing managers s t . middle and upper 1 eve-ls in business and coveminsnu organizations.^

COMPETING COLLABORATING

COMPHOMtSJNG

AVOIDiNG ACCOMMODATING t ： k

UNCOOPERATIVE 一 ^ COOPERATIVE.

COOPERATIVSNESS

•This two dimensional model of c o n f l i c t handling behavior i s adapted from "Conflict and Confl ict Management" by Kenneth Thomas in Voluiue II of The Handbook of Industrial and Oraanizationa] Psychology, edited by Marvfn Dunnette (Chicago:一"Rand McNally, 1975).—"Another valuable contribution in t h i s fiel .d i s the work of Robert Blake and Jane Mo'uton in The Managsria! Grid (Houston: Gulf Publishing, 1964).

INTERPRETING YOUR SCORES ON THE THOMAS-KIU4MN CONFLICT MODE INSTRUMENT*

丁he. Five Conf] ict Kandlinq Modes

designed to assess an "Conflict Situations"

- . •

The Thomas-KiImann Confi i c t Mode Instrument i s indiv idual | s behavior in c o n f l i c t s i tuat ions . — s r e s i tuat ions in which the concerns of two people appear t o be incompatible._ In. such s i tua t ions , we can describe a person's behavior a7ong two bas ic dimensions: (1) as ser t iveness , the extant t o which the individual attsmpts t o _ s a t i s f y his own concerns, and (2) coopera-t i v e n e s s , the extent to which the individual aftanpts t o s a t i s f y the* other person's concerns. These two basic dimensions o f behavior can be used t o de f ine f i v e s p e c i f i c methods of dealing with c o n f l i c t s . Thsse f i v e "conflict-handling modes" are shown below: "

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»S3N3>PUULS«V

Competing i s assertive and uncooperative — an' individual pursues his own concerns. at. the o ther person1 s expense. This i s a power-oriented inode, i n which one uses whatever power seems appropriate to win one's own p o s i t i o a — one's a b i l i t y t o argue, one's rank, econcnn'c sanctions. Competing might mean "standing up far your r ight s ," defending a posit ion which: you b e l i e v e i s correct , or simply trying to win.

Acccngnodatinq i s unassert ive and coaperative 一 the op posits of competing. When acconnnodating-,. an individual neglects his own concerns to satisfy the concerns of the other person; there is an element of s.elf-saerifies in this rnode^ Accommodating might take the fonn of selfless, generosity or •cnan'ty,. obeying another person1 s order whei one- would pre fer not t i , or y i e l d i n g , t o another's point.-of view.

Avoiding i s unassert ive and .uncooperative 一 the "individual does not limiediataly pursue- his own cnncsms or those af the other- person. He does: not" address the conflict. Avoiding nright take the fora of diplomati-cally sidestsppinc arr issue, postponing an issue until a bettsr time, or simply withdrawing from a threatening situation、

CallaboratinG- "is both- c s s a r t f v e arid cnoperstive 一 the opposita of a.void.ing, Cq]laborat.ing involves an. a.tts£npt. t o work with t h e other-person ttr f i n d same ： s o l u t i o n which f u l l y s a t i s f i e s the .concarrts of both persons.. I t . means digging -into "an- i s s u e t o i d e n t i f y the underlying cancsrrts of- the： two individuals- and to f ind, aji a-lternative which meets both sets* of" concsms . Collaborating: between• two persons nright take the f o m . of" exploring e. disagresnent to. 1 earn frorn each. a t h e r f s insights， concluding to. resolve- some condition which would otherwise - have then competing f o r resources-, o r confrdnting and. trying' to f i n d a crea t ive salut-ion to- an interpersonal pnsbleni..

ComD?*omistnq i s i n t s n n e d i a t e i n b o t h a s s e r t i v e n e s s and c o o p e r a t i v e n e s s . The ot3j.ective- i s to. find, some- expecii.ent,, mu.tu«.l 1 y accsprable. so lut ion which parti a l l y' s a t i s ' f i s s both part i es - I t f a l l s on £ middle ground between coiroeti-rrQ- and accornnodat-i ng -. Ccnipromi s i na gives, up snore than competing bat. 1 e s s than accosrsnodating. Likewise, . i t .acidresses. a,n i s s u e more d i r e c t l y than- avoiding* but doesrs't exp!ors 11 i n ^sjniich. depth £.s c o l l a b o r a t i n g . CoiiTprcmisfng might' mean ^spl i t t ing the d i frerence , exchanging- concassions-, or seeking .a. quick middle~ground pos i t ion .