Management training and development in China

Roger Connor,

Tom Smith,

How Did That Happen? Holding People Accountable for Results the Positive, Prin-

cipled Way, Penguin 272 pp. $ 26,95 Connors and Smith have spent decades implementing their approach to creating greater accountability in some of the world’s most admired companies. Through hundreds of successful client applications, they have proven that organizational accountability can be the single most important factor in ensuring a company’s success. Now, they present the Accountability Sequence, a systematic and sensible approach that includes two essential components: The Outer Ring, which reveals how to establih expectations and positive accountability connections with everyone in the Expectations Chain. The Inner Ring, which shows how to manage unmet expectations when people fail to deliver and thereby reverse the misfortune of missed results. Using case studies, practical models, and self-assessments, the authors make it possible for anyone to install accountability as a central part of their daily work, their team’s efforts, or an overall corporate culture-and, • in turn, increase profits and generate better results.

Management Training and Development in China

Prof Keith Goodall has just published his new book “Management Training and Development in China” (Routledge). On this occasion twsm has interviewed Prof Goodall, grasping the experience of an academic professor and consultant with a professional experience in Europe and China. The idea is to understand analogies and differences in management training and development between the emerging China and the rest of the world. Goodall investigates the growth of management training and consultancy companies, and analyses the perceived quality and utility of management training from the perspective of senior Chinese and expatriate managers. It summarises the current trends in management training and development in China, and outlines the likely course of future developments. Overall, this book is a comprehensive account of management training and development in China, and is an important resource in an area that has hitherto seen little substantive research.

twsm Which is the main difference between management in China and in the rest of the world?

kg It’s difficult to generalise because of the huge variety of types and sizes of business in China and the large differences in business cultures within Europe. Certainly the first word a foreign manager learns in China is probably ‘guanxi’ or ‘relationships’. Whereas American managers, say, will typically negotiate a legal contract and then strengthen relationships as business goes well, Chinese managers often want to develop a relationship first and then sign a contract. Of course, Italian managers will also recognise the primary importance of relationships. Another difference between Chinese management and many other countries is the degree of attention paid to ‘face’ in formal relationships. A foreign manager who gives direct, public criticism of his staff might well be seen as unduly aggressive and rude. The foreign manager may, in turn, feel that more open and direct conversations would be helpful. A final difference that many foreign managers notice is the high degree of ‘power distance’ in traditional Chinese manager-subordinate relations. When I ask Chinese managers how a good subordinate is traditionally expected to behave the word that most often comes back is ‘obedient’. American managers expect much more ‘proactive’ behaviour from their subordinates.

twsm Is there something that Europe can learn from China?

kg The importance of balancing respect for tradition with fast-paced change.

twsm How can China, USA and Europe improve the organisation through team work?

kg By not over-emphasising the importance of teams. They can, of course, be useful in certain situations but are often over-used and can be inefficient. Managers need to evaluate the nature of the task carefully before turning to a team.

twsm Human Resource Department: it is still a key function. Why and how do you think HR can be useful to overcome the crisis?

kg I don’t think HR is necessarily a key function in all organisations (after all HP didn’t have an HR department until they had around 250 employees). However, in the crisis many HR managers have understood that it is a great time to go shopping for talent and that they should be as concerned with retaining key staff as with downsizing.