In
the past few years a growing amount of attention has been focused on leadership
in China. In particular, international researchers are interested in learning
if the country’s economic progress is creating a new cadre of leaders whose
styles are different from the styles of leaders of the past. In one of the most
comprehensive studies to date, Ralston and his colleagues found that, indeed, a
new generation of Chinese leaders is emerging and they are somewhat different
from past leaders in work values.
The
researchers gathered data from a large number of managers and professionals ( n =869) who were about to take part in
management development programs. These individuals were part of what the
researchers called the “New Generation” of Chinese organizational leaders. The researchers
wanted to determine if this new generation of managers had the same work values
as those of the “Current Generation” and “Older
Generation”
groups. In their investigation, the researchers focused their attention on the importance
that the respondents assigned to three areas: individualism, collectivism, and Confucianism.
Individualism was measured by the importance assigned to self-sufficiency and
personal accomplishments. Collectivism was measured by the person’s willingness
to subordinate personal goals to those of the work group with an emphasis on
sharing and group harmony. Confucianism was measured by the importance the
respondent assigned to societal harmony, virtuous interpersonal behavior, and
personal and interpersonal harmony.