An Introduction and Analysis of Zeng Shiqiang’s Management Thinking: A Balanced View on Promotion

Chinese style management is considered to be a kind of a culture which has gained its popularity influenced by Chinese culture and custom with a long period of time. The Chinese style promotion is considered to be one of the important factors in Chinese style management. This paper is to introduce and analyze Professor Zeng Shiqiang’s Chinese management thinking on the promotion, and the corresponding strategies both for the managing leader and the subordinate on how to succeed in it.

Learning from Chinese Management

China is one of the fastest-growing economies and has gained a leading position in terms of production or exports. China’s managerial and business practices are influenced by its traditional cultural values. The article investigates, along with the influences of these values on management, the points of interest of the Chinese management model for other cultures.

Theory of self-cultivation based on Confucianism: a supplement to social exchange theory

Purpose Although domestic research on Chinese management is emerging, a suitable domestic theory is still needed to support and explain Chinese management practice. Given that, this paper aims to extract ideas of cultivation from Confucianism and propose a theoretical framework of self-cultivation with a purpose to provide new explanations for domestic (nondomestic as well) management practice. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from pre-Qin cultivation discourse and management practice, this paper develops a theoretical framework of self-cultivation and discusses its implications. Findings This paper argues that self-cultivation emphasizes self-consciousness, initiative and selflessness. It also includes self-reflection, self-discipline, self-study and self-improvement, as well as self-dedication, all of which reflect the ideal realm of “self-cultivation.” This “realm” refers to the process of pursuing an ideal personality and high moral standards. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature by identifying various potential applications of self-cultivation theory to domestic research on organizational behavior in China.

Pidgin play: Linguistic subversion on Chinese-run construction sites in Ethiopia

The Chinese-run construction sites that have emerged across the Ethiopian landscape over the past two decades have given rise to a pidgin—a contact language that facilitates communication between Chinese managers and the Ethiopian labourers under their direction. By unravelling the nature of this pidgin, including its lexicon, syntax, and semantics, this article discusses the power dynamics in Ethiopian–Chinese encounters through the lens of language. A prototypical contact language at first blush, the pidgin spoken on Chinese road projects in Ethiopia is different from pidgins that emerged in colonial Africa. Its structure and use reveal that power relations between Chinese management and Ethiopian rank and file are less asymmetrical than often portrayed. As a site of contestation as much as collaboration, pidgin has in fact become one of the domains in which power is negotiated. By hijacking words and manipulating their meanings, Ethiopian workers play with pidgin in an attempt to confront expatriate management and challenge the sociopolitical asymmetries that the growing Chinese presence in their country has brought forth.