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来源：百度文库 编辑：超级军网 时间：2024/04/27 22:05:30
Challenges in Chinese management
Although it has been years since China joint the WTO, business management in China, both in theory and practice, is still in a fledging phase compared to that of the developed nations. Managerial related business failures, most notably the recent fall of a large dairy manufacturer whose contaminated milk powder kills new born babies with kidney stones, may inadvertently help people to come up with a more realistic picture as to where China stands in regarding to business effectiveness. Quite often, business failures tend to be easily attributed to the lack of advanced technology or financial strength. However, the crux of the problem, as a close observation has shown, rests largely on the overall managerial mode and thinking, instead of technical aspects.
Unveiling this seemingly marvelous surface of an economic miracle, one finds in China a society which hasn’t yet totally shrugged off the burden of a long feudal agrarian society and a Soviet style planned economy. Capitalism and marketing economy, though hotly talked issues nowadays， are far from being fully understood and practiced in China. Undoubtedly, as a late runner, China has to condescend itself to learn from the West for management knowledge and practice. However, it takes more than crude and superficial imitations to qualify China as a world level competitor in terms of managerial efficiency and technical capacity. Could there be an appropriate mixture between the two cultures, which combines the strengths from both sides and yet avoids the weaknesses at the same time? Could there be a suitable managerial model that fits into the very nature of Chinese business environment?
In China, it might still be a challenge for people to fully accept the fact that management, not financial strengths or technology advantages, is the ultimate factor that defines success. Explicitly, managerial efficiency and effectiveness are everything that affects the overall performance of an organization, whether profit or nonprofit. Adhering to the right management mode means, first of all, a business should be engaging itself in the right things instead of making profit, because it knows very well if the one does the right things money will always be able to take care of itself. Doing the right things and doing it right should be the starting point for a business, but quite often, many Chinese businesses seem to be more obsessed with those popular and yet meaningless shibboleths such as “profit maximization” and “maximizing shareholder’s value” than anything else. Evidently, as several business failures have shown, this "profit maximization without consideration of any legal or ethnical consequences" mentality prevailing in China today is fatal to Chinese economy in the long run. What gives a well managed international company an upper hand in competition in most cases is not its technical advances, but a well disciplined management instead. The core value of an effective management rests on integrity and honesty, instead on the sheer luck and technical advances on which many people have this unflinching superstition. To put it simple, it is hardly about being “smart” or “strong” all the times, but utterly about being “right” instead.
Close examination shows, most Chinese companies are still far from being able to put themselves on the same track as their Western counterparts in terms of managerial efficiency, even though the majority of their employees are trained in the so called “Western styled business education”. Take for instance in human resource practices, most Chinese companies often focus more on reducing cost than building a team. I have read some job descriptions that are nothing but welters of various fancy technical terms and phrases, making them positions suitable only for few geniuses, instead of ordinary people. They obviously did not start from what a person can do but only from what a job requires. This person might be the one they are looking for in terms of technical qualifications, but could he be a team member for the company? Is he only applying for a job or is he developing a career? Questions such as these rarely receive attention in Chinese human resources practice. Providing an effective training is not only for technical purpose but also for achieving a goal of building a team within an organization. If there is no team spirit to consolidate people toward one goal, one tends to be dismayed and disloyal. He will shift job as soon as he sees a better place for what really matters is the money. In other words, he only has a job but a not a career. In Chinese this term is called “TiaoCao” or literally means a horse changing its stall. Too many “TiaoCao” is good neither for the workers themselves nor for the companies. One cuts corner on the money that should be spent would most likely pay more in the long run.
We have not yet seen many internationally recognized brand names cherished by Chinese companies. So far China’s strength still lies primarily in the fields of low cost manufacturing and assembling. Whether China is going to borrow, to rob, or to do whatever to get itself ahead in the supply chain of product may be a matter of consent. One thing seems to be certain: It demands a new way of doing things. This might be the toughest part of all since we were told that the power of habit is most difficult to change. A Japanese observer made a very good remark on the calling of China becoming “the factory of world”, a buzz word with rising momentum nowadays. By nature Chinese tend to be very shrewd businessmen but not craftsmen, though they obviously do not lack the caliber of performing a good work. In manufacturing fields, excellence depends on a hierarchically organized cooperation in which every detail is paid with great attention and each of them must be linked together to aim at one single goal: Perfection. At least that is the “secret” behind the so-called “Japanese miracle”. From Japanese perspective, Chinese businessmen are more suitable for trading than for making products. They usually are not satisfied with playing just a partial role in the whole production chain but mostly inclined to the domination of the whole production instead. A typical Chinese way of doing business therefore stretches itself in a more horizontally organized mode than a hierarchical one. Thus there might be numerous factories making virtually the same products but none of them with top quality. On the individual basis, a Chinese business might be a fierce competitor, but the industry as a whole is not fearsome at all because of the lack of discipline and coordination among its members who are not able to move and attack like an army. Eventually most of them will find themselves hard to survive in the face of a ferocious international competition. This overlapping mode of production and investment often proves to be a big waste in natural resources and man power. One should not be misguided by the labels of “Made in China”, since in most cases; Chinese companies did not design the products, but only performed the last and least profitable part of the whole production chain: assembling and manufacturing. The core technologies related to research and design are in the hands of multinational corporations which, through patent rights and expensive technology transfer fee, also manage to keep the large portion of the profit. In these joint ventures, Chinese companies provide high quality but relatively cheap manufacturing facilities and skilled workers. In this scenario, the manufacturing equipments and facilities could quickly be rendered obsolete if designs or technologies shifted to different levels. All of these factors, low profit margin and cost in changing facilities, further lower the profit of the manufacturing companies involved. In reflection to the perspective mentioned above, the more appropriated title for China’s industrial miracle ought not to be “The factory of world”, but “The assembly factory of world” instead. Giving the situation of what China is facing, the shortage of natural resources and a worsening ecological health, shifting to a new high value added production mode has thus become more and more urgent as time goes on.
One crucial factor for a successful enterprise, intangible it may be, is the benefit associated with a solid brand name. A well established brand name reflects the core value of corporate culture that defines what the business is really about, what it stands for. It’s more of a belief system than anything else. A brand name does not express itself only in a financial or marketing sense, although successful brand name does bring in good financial results. It is about a sense of value above anything else. In China, a traditional agricultural society in which commercialism had never gained any significant social status, brand name is a rather alien term. Craftsman or merchant is deemed mostly as an occupation unworthy of the talented minds. Viewed mainly as a greed driven conduct, commercialism never received sincere endowment from the dominating philosophy in Chinese culture: Confucianism, a moral value system which wholeheartedly emphasizes the importance of austerity. To most Chinese people, getting rich and maintaining ethical value still sound rather incompatible to each other.
When asked what makes Harley-Davidson such an unchallengeable icon in the motorcycle industry, its executive said: It is not the words or phrases from corporate mission statement or the images from advertisements. But a personal experience of riding on one of these rigs on the street, from the resounding noise of its rumbling engine there arrives the feeling that is nothing but that of the Harley-Davidson’s. This recognition of its own identity and nearly scrupulous emphasis on craftsmanship are the real substance which constitutes a great brand name, or a work of art. This feeling is yet being fully appreciated or understood, let alone being put into practice by most Chinese businesses. The absence of zeal in individualism may be one reason that hampers Chinese businesses to gain a strong foot in world market with solid brand names. The lack of a legal environment upon which a fair and honest business practice is based might be another. It is rather hard for a brand name to survive in a business environment which habitually does not respect intellectual property rights. If stealing and imitating are short cuts for success, why bother to spend millions on R&D? It is not as difficult to give birth to products as to help it grow free from the harms of its numerous imitators.
Chinese government, facing an ever deteriorating business environment, is struggling hard for a solution, and is urging companies to engage more in innovative and value added activities. Clearly cheap imitation and sheer assembly work have no future as the resource and environmental factors being taken into account. China may no longer be able to get away with the easy works of duplicating and cloning any more, it must show more talents in creating value in order to survive and exult itself into a higher level in this ever changing business arena. Innovation has been a buzz word nowadays as Chinese government keeps intensifying its rhetoric campaign urging for a better business environment. The true solution, however, rests not on passionate rhetoric of an innovation in a technical sense, but on an innovation in brainpower instead.
Chinese businesses often paid more attention to enhancing technical and financial calibers than to establishing a top notch craftsmanship and corporate culture. Technology advance and financial strength are important but not essential, since they alone are unproductive without the guidance of right strategy and management. It is said that Shanghai, after years of constructional frenzy, has finally surpassed New York City in the number of skyscrapers, which, for many Chinese, are viewed as an undeniable symbol of modernization. Be that as it may, do more high buildings alone make Shanghai the world financial center? The answer is rather self evident, of course. What really matters is not the superficiality but the substance, the software, the people, the system, the practice, and ultimately, the culture in general.
Anyone who is familiar with Chinese educational system must be utterly impressed by its emphasis on memorization and technical aspects of the subjects. It habitually seldom encourages students to develop a mindset that leads to risk taking and proactive activities. Western business education, on the other hand, is apt to provide students with opportunities to engage themselves in real situations where they could use practical knowledge to solve problems they might be facing in the future.
Chinese business education such as MBA program is still considered for the most part as a pure academic subject, whereas in fact it should be a mixture between practice and academy, or a cross functional field of study between art and science. The goal of managerial education is not to train good technicians or clerks. It is aimed at providing society with leaders and managers who could do right things and make things happen.
It is hard to reach this goal if there is not a clear defined mission and right strategy. For Chinese business education to fulfill its duty, perhaps more thoughts should be given in its overall philosophy and direction rather than superficial aspects such as textbooks or language requirements etc.
The very notion of business executive, to a great extent, is still a rather new thing to the Chinese business world both in concept and in practice. It is not tricks or “being smart” that makes one a good business manager. It certainly has nothing to do with these Hollywood images of fabulously dressed people living in an extravagant life style and riding on limousines. What it takes is a mindset of discipline and consistency to allow one doing the right thing and doing it effectively.
Management theory and practice must be examined in the context of the necessary cultural environment in order to make a good sense. Whatever theories and practices in management that are intended to be implanted in Chinese business soil must be first digested and understood through this complicated Chinese cultural paradigm, or they won’t be fruiting at all. It is interesting to see how China, with all its cultural heritage and history, having experienced some of the most infernal ordeals world history could ever present, will once again transform itself in our time. Capitalism and marketing economy are obviously the only way to go, but how could this transition be a peaceful and productive one is the focal point of the attention for all Chinese watchers, business and political alike.Challenges in Chinese management
Although it has been years since China joint the WTO, business management in China, both in theory and practice, is still in a fledging phase compared to that of the developed nations. Managerial related business failures, most notably the recent fall of a large dairy manufacturer whose contaminated milk powder kills new born babies with kidney stones, may inadvertently help people to come up with a more realistic picture as to where China stands in regarding to business effectiveness. Quite often, business failures tend to be easily attributed to the lack of advanced technology or financial strength. However, the crux of the problem, as a close observation has shown, rests largely on the overall managerial mode and thinking, instead of technical aspects.
Unveiling this seemingly marvelous surface of an economic miracle, one finds in China a society which hasn’t yet totally shrugged off the burden of a long feudal agrarian society and a Soviet style planned economy. Capitalism and marketing economy, though hotly talked issues nowadays， are far from being fully understood and practiced in China. Undoubtedly, as a late runner, China has to condescend itself to learn from the West for management knowledge and practice. However, it takes more than crude and superficial imitations to qualify China as a world level competitor in terms of managerial efficiency and technical capacity. Could there be an appropriate mixture between the two cultures, which combines the strengths from both sides and yet avoids the weaknesses at the same time? Could there be a suitable managerial model that fits into the very nature of Chinese business environment?
In China, it might still be a challenge for people to fully accept the fact that management, not financial strengths or technology advantages, is the ultimate factor that defines success. Explicitly, managerial efficiency and effectiveness are everything that affects the overall performance of an organization, whether profit or nonprofit. Adhering to the right management mode means, first of all, a business should be engaging itself in the right things instead of making profit, because it knows very well if the one does the right things money will always be able to take care of itself. Doing the right things and doing it right should be the starting point for a business, but quite often, many Chinese businesses seem to be more obsessed with those popular and yet meaningless shibboleths such as “profit maximization” and “maximizing shareholder’s value” than anything else. Evidently, as several business failures have shown, this "profit maximization without consideration of any legal or ethnical consequences" mentality prevailing in China today is fatal to Chinese economy in the long run. What gives a well managed international company an upper hand in competition in most cases is not its technical advances, but a well disciplined management instead. The core value of an effective management rests on integrity and honesty, instead on the sheer luck and technical advances on which many people have this unflinching superstition. To put it simple, it is hardly about being “smart” or “strong” all the times, but utterly about being “right” instead.
Close examination shows, most Chinese companies are still far from being able to put themselves on the same track as their Western counterparts in terms of managerial efficiency, even though the majority of their employees are trained in the so called “Western styled business education”. Take for instance in human resource practices, most Chinese companies often focus more on reducing cost than building a team. I have read some job descriptions that are nothing but welters of various fancy technical terms and phrases, making them positions suitable only for few geniuses, instead of ordinary people. They obviously did not start from what a person can do but only from what a job requires. This person might be the one they are looking for in terms of technical qualifications, but could he be a team member for the company? Is he only applying for a job or is he developing a career? Questions such as these rarely receive attention in Chinese human resources practice. Providing an effective training is not only for technical purpose but also for achieving a goal of building a team within an organization. If there is no team spirit to consolidate people toward one goal, one tends to be dismayed and disloyal. He will shift job as soon as he sees a better place for what really matters is the money. In other words, he only has a job but a not a career. In Chinese this term is called “TiaoCao” or literally means a horse changing its stall. Too many “TiaoCao” is good neither for the workers themselves nor for the companies. One cuts corner on the money that should be spent would most likely pay more in the long run.
We have not yet seen many internationally recognized brand names cherished by Chinese companies. So far China’s strength still lies primarily in the fields of low cost manufacturing and assembling. Whether China is going to borrow, to rob, or to do whatever to get itself ahead in the supply chain of product may be a matter of consent. One thing seems to be certain: It demands a new way of doing things. This might be the toughest part of all since we were told that the power of habit is most difficult to change. A Japanese observer made a very good remark on the calling of China becoming “the factory of world”, a buzz word with rising momentum nowadays. By nature Chinese tend to be very shrewd businessmen but not craftsmen, though they obviously do not lack the caliber of performing a good work. In manufacturing fields, excellence depends on a hierarchically organized cooperation in which every detail is paid with great attention and each of them must be linked together to aim at one single goal: Perfection. At least that is the “secret” behind the so-called “Japanese miracle”. From Japanese perspective, Chinese businessmen are more suitable for trading than for making products. They usually are not satisfied with playing just a partial role in the whole production chain but mostly inclined to the domination of the whole production instead. A typical Chinese way of doing business therefore stretches itself in a more horizontally organized mode than a hierarchical one. Thus there might be numerous factories making virtually the same products but none of them with top quality. On the individual basis, a Chinese business might be a fierce competitor, but the industry as a whole is not fearsome at all because of the lack of discipline and coordination among its members who are not able to move and attack like an army. Eventually most of them will find themselves hard to survive in the face of a ferocious international competition. This overlapping mode of production and investment often proves to be a big waste in natural resources and man power. One should not be misguided by the labels of “Made in China”, since in most cases; Chinese companies did not design the products, but only performed the last and least profitable part of the whole production chain: assembling and manufacturing. The core technologies related to research and design are in the hands of multinational corporations which, through patent rights and expensive technology transfer fee, also manage to keep the large portion of the profit. In these joint ventures, Chinese companies provide high quality but relatively cheap manufacturing facilities and skilled workers. In this scenario, the manufacturing equipments and facilities could quickly be rendered obsolete if designs or technologies shifted to different levels. All of these factors, low profit margin and cost in changing facilities, further lower the profit of the manufacturing companies involved. In reflection to the perspective mentioned above, the more appropriated title for China’s industrial miracle ought not to be “The factory of world”, but “The assembly factory of world” instead. Giving the situation of what China is facing, the shortage of natural resources and a worsening ecological health, shifting to a new high value added production mode has thus become more and more urgent as time goes on.
One crucial factor for a successful enterprise, intangible it may be, is the benefit associated with a solid brand name. A well established brand name reflects the core value of corporate culture that defines what the business is really about, what it stands for. It’s more of a belief system than anything else. A brand name does not express itself only in a financial or marketing sense, although successful brand name does bring in good financial results. It is about a sense of value above anything else. In China, a traditional agricultural society in which commercialism had never gained any significant social status, brand name is a rather alien term. Craftsman or merchant is deemed mostly as an occupation unworthy of the talented minds. Viewed mainly as a greed driven conduct, commercialism never received sincere endowment from the dominating philosophy in Chinese culture: Confucianism, a moral value system which wholeheartedly emphasizes the importance of austerity. To most Chinese people, getting rich and maintaining ethical value still sound rather incompatible to each other.
When asked what makes Harley-Davidson such an unchallengeable icon in the motorcycle industry, its executive said: It is not the words or phrases from corporate mission statement or the images from advertisements. But a personal experience of riding on one of these rigs on the street, from the resounding noise of its rumbling engine there arrives the feeling that is nothing but that of the Harley-Davidson’s. This recognition of its own identity and nearly scrupulous emphasis on craftsmanship are the real substance which constitutes a great brand name, or a work of art. This feeling is yet being fully appreciated or understood, let alone being put into practice by most Chinese businesses. The absence of zeal in individualism may be one reason that hampers Chinese businesses to gain a strong foot in world market with solid brand names. The lack of a legal environment upon which a fair and honest business practice is based might be another. It is rather hard for a brand name to survive in a business environment which habitually does not respect intellectual property rights. If stealing and imitating are short cuts for success, why bother to spend millions on R&D? It is not as difficult to give birth to products as to help it grow free from the harms of its numerous imitators.
Chinese government, facing an ever deteriorating business environment, is struggling hard for a solution, and is urging companies to engage more in innovative and value added activities. Clearly cheap imitation and sheer assembly work have no future as the resource and environmental factors being taken into account. China may no longer be able to get away with the easy works of duplicating and cloning any more, it must show more talents in creating value in order to survive and exult itself into a higher level in this ever changing business arena. Innovation has been a buzz word nowadays as Chinese government keeps intensifying its rhetoric campaign urging for a better business environment. The true solution, however, rests not on passionate rhetoric of an innovation in a technical sense, but on an innovation in brainpower instead.
Chinese businesses often paid more attention to enhancing technical and financial calibers than to establishing a top notch craftsmanship and corporate culture. Technology advance and financial strength are important but not essential, since they alone are unproductive without the guidance of right strategy and management. It is said that Shanghai, after years of constructional frenzy, has finally surpassed New York City in the number of skyscrapers, which, for many Chinese, are viewed as an undeniable symbol of modernization. Be that as it may, do more high buildings alone make Shanghai the world financial center? The answer is rather self evident, of course. What really matters is not the superficiality but the substance, the software, the people, the system, the practice, and ultimately, the culture in general.
Anyone who is familiar with Chinese educational system must be utterly impressed by its emphasis on memorization and technical aspects of the subjects. It habitually seldom encourages students to develop a mindset that leads to risk taking and proactive activities. Western business education, on the other hand, is apt to provide students with opportunities to engage themselves in real situations where they could use practical knowledge to solve problems they might be facing in the future.
Chinese business education such as MBA program is still considered for the most part as a pure academic subject, whereas in fact it should be a mixture between practice and academy, or a cross functional field of study between art and science. The goal of managerial education is not to train good technicians or clerks. It is aimed at providing society with leaders and managers who could do right things and make things happen.
It is hard to reach this goal if there is not a clear defined mission and right strategy. For Chinese business education to fulfill its duty, perhaps more thoughts should be given in its overall philosophy and direction rather than superficial aspects such as textbooks or language requirements etc.
The very notion of business executive, to a great extent, is still a rather new thing to the Chinese business world both in concept and in practice. It is not tricks or “being smart” that makes one a good business manager. It certainly has nothing to do with these Hollywood images of fabulously dressed people living in an extravagant life style and riding on limousines. What it takes is a mindset of discipline and consistency to allow one doing the right thing and doing it effectively.
Management theory and practice must be examined in the context of the necessary cultural environment in order to make a good sense. Whatever theories and practices in management that are intended to be implanted in Chinese business soil must be first digested and understood through this complicated Chinese cultural paradigm, or they won’t be fruiting at all. It is interesting to see how China, with all its cultural heritage and history, having experienced some of the most infernal ordeals world history could ever present, will once again transform itself in our time. Capitalism and marketing economy are obviously the only way to go, but how could this transition be a peaceful and productive one is the focal point of the attention for all Chinese watchers, business and political alike.
Although it has been years since China joint the WTO, business management in China, both in theory and practice, is still in a fledging phase compared to that of the developed nations. Managerial related business failures, most notably the recent fall of a large dairy manufacturer whose contaminated milk powder kills new born babies with kidney stones, may inadvertently help people to come up with a more realistic picture as to where China stands in regarding to business effectiveness. Quite often, business failures tend to be easily attributed to the lack of advanced technology or financial strength. However, the crux of the problem, as a close observation has shown, rests largely on the overall managerial mode and thinking, instead of technical aspects.
Unveiling this seemingly marvelous surface of an economic miracle, one finds in China a society which hasn’t yet totally shrugged off the burden of a long feudal agrarian society and a Soviet style planned economy. Capitalism and marketing economy, though hotly talked issues nowadays， are far from being fully understood and practiced in China. Undoubtedly, as a late runner, China has to condescend itself to learn from the West for management knowledge and practice. However, it takes more than crude and superficial imitations to qualify China as a world level competitor in terms of managerial efficiency and technical capacity. Could there be an appropriate mixture between the two cultures, which combines the strengths from both sides and yet avoids the weaknesses at the same time? Could there be a suitable managerial model that fits into the very nature of Chinese business environment?
In China, it might still be a challenge for people to fully accept the fact that management, not financial strengths or technology advantages, is the ultimate factor that defines success. Explicitly, managerial efficiency and effectiveness are everything that affects the overall performance of an organization, whether profit or nonprofit. Adhering to the right management mode means, first of all, a business should be engaging itself in the right things instead of making profit, because it knows very well if the one does the right things money will always be able to take care of itself. Doing the right things and doing it right should be the starting point for a business, but quite often, many Chinese businesses seem to be more obsessed with those popular and yet meaningless shibboleths such as “profit maximization” and “maximizing shareholder’s value” than anything else. Evidently, as several business failures have shown, this "profit maximization without consideration of any legal or ethnical consequences" mentality prevailing in China today is fatal to Chinese economy in the long run. What gives a well managed international company an upper hand in competition in most cases is not its technical advances, but a well disciplined management instead. The core value of an effective management rests on integrity and honesty, instead on the sheer luck and technical advances on which many people have this unflinching superstition. To put it simple, it is hardly about being “smart” or “strong” all the times, but utterly about being “right” instead.
Close examination shows, most Chinese companies are still far from being able to put themselves on the same track as their Western counterparts in terms of managerial efficiency, even though the majority of their employees are trained in the so called “Western styled business education”. Take for instance in human resource practices, most Chinese companies often focus more on reducing cost than building a team. I have read some job descriptions that are nothing but welters of various fancy technical terms and phrases, making them positions suitable only for few geniuses, instead of ordinary people. They obviously did not start from what a person can do but only from what a job requires. This person might be the one they are looking for in terms of technical qualifications, but could he be a team member for the company? Is he only applying for a job or is he developing a career? Questions such as these rarely receive attention in Chinese human resources practice. Providing an effective training is not only for technical purpose but also for achieving a goal of building a team within an organization. If there is no team spirit to consolidate people toward one goal, one tends to be dismayed and disloyal. He will shift job as soon as he sees a better place for what really matters is the money. In other words, he only has a job but a not a career. In Chinese this term is called “TiaoCao” or literally means a horse changing its stall. Too many “TiaoCao” is good neither for the workers themselves nor for the companies. One cuts corner on the money that should be spent would most likely pay more in the long run.
We have not yet seen many internationally recognized brand names cherished by Chinese companies. So far China’s strength still lies primarily in the fields of low cost manufacturing and assembling. Whether China is going to borrow, to rob, or to do whatever to get itself ahead in the supply chain of product may be a matter of consent. One thing seems to be certain: It demands a new way of doing things. This might be the toughest part of all since we were told that the power of habit is most difficult to change. A Japanese observer made a very good remark on the calling of China becoming “the factory of world”, a buzz word with rising momentum nowadays. By nature Chinese tend to be very shrewd businessmen but not craftsmen, though they obviously do not lack the caliber of performing a good work. In manufacturing fields, excellence depends on a hierarchically organized cooperation in which every detail is paid with great attention and each of them must be linked together to aim at one single goal: Perfection. At least that is the “secret” behind the so-called “Japanese miracle”. From Japanese perspective, Chinese businessmen are more suitable for trading than for making products. They usually are not satisfied with playing just a partial role in the whole production chain but mostly inclined to the domination of the whole production instead. A typical Chinese way of doing business therefore stretches itself in a more horizontally organized mode than a hierarchical one. Thus there might be numerous factories making virtually the same products but none of them with top quality. On the individual basis, a Chinese business might be a fierce competitor, but the industry as a whole is not fearsome at all because of the lack of discipline and coordination among its members who are not able to move and attack like an army. Eventually most of them will find themselves hard to survive in the face of a ferocious international competition. This overlapping mode of production and investment often proves to be a big waste in natural resources and man power. One should not be misguided by the labels of “Made in China”, since in most cases; Chinese companies did not design the products, but only performed the last and least profitable part of the whole production chain: assembling and manufacturing. The core technologies related to research and design are in the hands of multinational corporations which, through patent rights and expensive technology transfer fee, also manage to keep the large portion of the profit. In these joint ventures, Chinese companies provide high quality but relatively cheap manufacturing facilities and skilled workers. In this scenario, the manufacturing equipments and facilities could quickly be rendered obsolete if designs or technologies shifted to different levels. All of these factors, low profit margin and cost in changing facilities, further lower the profit of the manufacturing companies involved. In reflection to the perspective mentioned above, the more appropriated title for China’s industrial miracle ought not to be “The factory of world”, but “The assembly factory of world” instead. Giving the situation of what China is facing, the shortage of natural resources and a worsening ecological health, shifting to a new high value added production mode has thus become more and more urgent as time goes on.
One crucial factor for a successful enterprise, intangible it may be, is the benefit associated with a solid brand name. A well established brand name reflects the core value of corporate culture that defines what the business is really about, what it stands for. It’s more of a belief system than anything else. A brand name does not express itself only in a financial or marketing sense, although successful brand name does bring in good financial results. It is about a sense of value above anything else. In China, a traditional agricultural society in which commercialism had never gained any significant social status, brand name is a rather alien term. Craftsman or merchant is deemed mostly as an occupation unworthy of the talented minds. Viewed mainly as a greed driven conduct, commercialism never received sincere endowment from the dominating philosophy in Chinese culture: Confucianism, a moral value system which wholeheartedly emphasizes the importance of austerity. To most Chinese people, getting rich and maintaining ethical value still sound rather incompatible to each other.
When asked what makes Harley-Davidson such an unchallengeable icon in the motorcycle industry, its executive said: It is not the words or phrases from corporate mission statement or the images from advertisements. But a personal experience of riding on one of these rigs on the street, from the resounding noise of its rumbling engine there arrives the feeling that is nothing but that of the Harley-Davidson’s. This recognition of its own identity and nearly scrupulous emphasis on craftsmanship are the real substance which constitutes a great brand name, or a work of art. This feeling is yet being fully appreciated or understood, let alone being put into practice by most Chinese businesses. The absence of zeal in individualism may be one reason that hampers Chinese businesses to gain a strong foot in world market with solid brand names. The lack of a legal environment upon which a fair and honest business practice is based might be another. It is rather hard for a brand name to survive in a business environment which habitually does not respect intellectual property rights. If stealing and imitating are short cuts for success, why bother to spend millions on R&D? It is not as difficult to give birth to products as to help it grow free from the harms of its numerous imitators.
Chinese government, facing an ever deteriorating business environment, is struggling hard for a solution, and is urging companies to engage more in innovative and value added activities. Clearly cheap imitation and sheer assembly work have no future as the resource and environmental factors being taken into account. China may no longer be able to get away with the easy works of duplicating and cloning any more, it must show more talents in creating value in order to survive and exult itself into a higher level in this ever changing business arena. Innovation has been a buzz word nowadays as Chinese government keeps intensifying its rhetoric campaign urging for a better business environment. The true solution, however, rests not on passionate rhetoric of an innovation in a technical sense, but on an innovation in brainpower instead.
Chinese businesses often paid more attention to enhancing technical and financial calibers than to establishing a top notch craftsmanship and corporate culture. Technology advance and financial strength are important but not essential, since they alone are unproductive without the guidance of right strategy and management. It is said that Shanghai, after years of constructional frenzy, has finally surpassed New York City in the number of skyscrapers, which, for many Chinese, are viewed as an undeniable symbol of modernization. Be that as it may, do more high buildings alone make Shanghai the world financial center? The answer is rather self evident, of course. What really matters is not the superficiality but the substance, the software, the people, the system, the practice, and ultimately, the culture in general.
Anyone who is familiar with Chinese educational system must be utterly impressed by its emphasis on memorization and technical aspects of the subjects. It habitually seldom encourages students to develop a mindset that leads to risk taking and proactive activities. Western business education, on the other hand, is apt to provide students with opportunities to engage themselves in real situations where they could use practical knowledge to solve problems they might be facing in the future.
Chinese business education such as MBA program is still considered for the most part as a pure academic subject, whereas in fact it should be a mixture between practice and academy, or a cross functional field of study between art and science. The goal of managerial education is not to train good technicians or clerks. It is aimed at providing society with leaders and managers who could do right things and make things happen.
It is hard to reach this goal if there is not a clear defined mission and right strategy. For Chinese business education to fulfill its duty, perhaps more thoughts should be given in its overall philosophy and direction rather than superficial aspects such as textbooks or language requirements etc.
The very notion of business executive, to a great extent, is still a rather new thing to the Chinese business world both in concept and in practice. It is not tricks or “being smart” that makes one a good business manager. It certainly has nothing to do with these Hollywood images of fabulously dressed people living in an extravagant life style and riding on limousines. What it takes is a mindset of discipline and consistency to allow one doing the right thing and doing it effectively.
Management theory and practice must be examined in the context of the necessary cultural environment in order to make a good sense. Whatever theories and practices in management that are intended to be implanted in Chinese business soil must be first digested and understood through this complicated Chinese cultural paradigm, or they won’t be fruiting at all. It is interesting to see how China, with all its cultural heritage and history, having experienced some of the most infernal ordeals world history could ever present, will once again transform itself in our time. Capitalism and marketing economy are obviously the only way to go, but how could this transition be a peaceful and productive one is the focal point of the attention for all Chinese watchers, business and political alike.Challenges in Chinese management
Although it has been years since China joint the WTO, business management in China, both in theory and practice, is still in a fledging phase compared to that of the developed nations. Managerial related business failures, most notably the recent fall of a large dairy manufacturer whose contaminated milk powder kills new born babies with kidney stones, may inadvertently help people to come up with a more realistic picture as to where China stands in regarding to business effectiveness. Quite often, business failures tend to be easily attributed to the lack of advanced technology or financial strength. However, the crux of the problem, as a close observation has shown, rests largely on the overall managerial mode and thinking, instead of technical aspects.
Unveiling this seemingly marvelous surface of an economic miracle, one finds in China a society which hasn’t yet totally shrugged off the burden of a long feudal agrarian society and a Soviet style planned economy. Capitalism and marketing economy, though hotly talked issues nowadays， are far from being fully understood and practiced in China. Undoubtedly, as a late runner, China has to condescend itself to learn from the West for management knowledge and practice. However, it takes more than crude and superficial imitations to qualify China as a world level competitor in terms of managerial efficiency and technical capacity. Could there be an appropriate mixture between the two cultures, which combines the strengths from both sides and yet avoids the weaknesses at the same time? Could there be a suitable managerial model that fits into the very nature of Chinese business environment?
In China, it might still be a challenge for people to fully accept the fact that management, not financial strengths or technology advantages, is the ultimate factor that defines success. Explicitly, managerial efficiency and effectiveness are everything that affects the overall performance of an organization, whether profit or nonprofit. Adhering to the right management mode means, first of all, a business should be engaging itself in the right things instead of making profit, because it knows very well if the one does the right things money will always be able to take care of itself. Doing the right things and doing it right should be the starting point for a business, but quite often, many Chinese businesses seem to be more obsessed with those popular and yet meaningless shibboleths such as “profit maximization” and “maximizing shareholder’s value” than anything else. Evidently, as several business failures have shown, this "profit maximization without consideration of any legal or ethnical consequences" mentality prevailing in China today is fatal to Chinese economy in the long run. What gives a well managed international company an upper hand in competition in most cases is not its technical advances, but a well disciplined management instead. The core value of an effective management rests on integrity and honesty, instead on the sheer luck and technical advances on which many people have this unflinching superstition. To put it simple, it is hardly about being “smart” or “strong” all the times, but utterly about being “right” instead.
Close examination shows, most Chinese companies are still far from being able to put themselves on the same track as their Western counterparts in terms of managerial efficiency, even though the majority of their employees are trained in the so called “Western styled business education”. Take for instance in human resource practices, most Chinese companies often focus more on reducing cost than building a team. I have read some job descriptions that are nothing but welters of various fancy technical terms and phrases, making them positions suitable only for few geniuses, instead of ordinary people. They obviously did not start from what a person can do but only from what a job requires. This person might be the one they are looking for in terms of technical qualifications, but could he be a team member for the company? Is he only applying for a job or is he developing a career? Questions such as these rarely receive attention in Chinese human resources practice. Providing an effective training is not only for technical purpose but also for achieving a goal of building a team within an organization. If there is no team spirit to consolidate people toward one goal, one tends to be dismayed and disloyal. He will shift job as soon as he sees a better place for what really matters is the money. In other words, he only has a job but a not a career. In Chinese this term is called “TiaoCao” or literally means a horse changing its stall. Too many “TiaoCao” is good neither for the workers themselves nor for the companies. One cuts corner on the money that should be spent would most likely pay more in the long run.
We have not yet seen many internationally recognized brand names cherished by Chinese companies. So far China’s strength still lies primarily in the fields of low cost manufacturing and assembling. Whether China is going to borrow, to rob, or to do whatever to get itself ahead in the supply chain of product may be a matter of consent. One thing seems to be certain: It demands a new way of doing things. This might be the toughest part of all since we were told that the power of habit is most difficult to change. A Japanese observer made a very good remark on the calling of China becoming “the factory of world”, a buzz word with rising momentum nowadays. By nature Chinese tend to be very shrewd businessmen but not craftsmen, though they obviously do not lack the caliber of performing a good work. In manufacturing fields, excellence depends on a hierarchically organized cooperation in which every detail is paid with great attention and each of them must be linked together to aim at one single goal: Perfection. At least that is the “secret” behind the so-called “Japanese miracle”. From Japanese perspective, Chinese businessmen are more suitable for trading than for making products. They usually are not satisfied with playing just a partial role in the whole production chain but mostly inclined to the domination of the whole production instead. A typical Chinese way of doing business therefore stretches itself in a more horizontally organized mode than a hierarchical one. Thus there might be numerous factories making virtually the same products but none of them with top quality. On the individual basis, a Chinese business might be a fierce competitor, but the industry as a whole is not fearsome at all because of the lack of discipline and coordination among its members who are not able to move and attack like an army. Eventually most of them will find themselves hard to survive in the face of a ferocious international competition. This overlapping mode of production and investment often proves to be a big waste in natural resources and man power. One should not be misguided by the labels of “Made in China”, since in most cases; Chinese companies did not design the products, but only performed the last and least profitable part of the whole production chain: assembling and manufacturing. The core technologies related to research and design are in the hands of multinational corporations which, through patent rights and expensive technology transfer fee, also manage to keep the large portion of the profit. In these joint ventures, Chinese companies provide high quality but relatively cheap manufacturing facilities and skilled workers. In this scenario, the manufacturing equipments and facilities could quickly be rendered obsolete if designs or technologies shifted to different levels. All of these factors, low profit margin and cost in changing facilities, further lower the profit of the manufacturing companies involved. In reflection to the perspective mentioned above, the more appropriated title for China’s industrial miracle ought not to be “The factory of world”, but “The assembly factory of world” instead. Giving the situation of what China is facing, the shortage of natural resources and a worsening ecological health, shifting to a new high value added production mode has thus become more and more urgent as time goes on.
One crucial factor for a successful enterprise, intangible it may be, is the benefit associated with a solid brand name. A well established brand name reflects the core value of corporate culture that defines what the business is really about, what it stands for. It’s more of a belief system than anything else. A brand name does not express itself only in a financial or marketing sense, although successful brand name does bring in good financial results. It is about a sense of value above anything else. In China, a traditional agricultural society in which commercialism had never gained any significant social status, brand name is a rather alien term. Craftsman or merchant is deemed mostly as an occupation unworthy of the talented minds. Viewed mainly as a greed driven conduct, commercialism never received sincere endowment from the dominating philosophy in Chinese culture: Confucianism, a moral value system which wholeheartedly emphasizes the importance of austerity. To most Chinese people, getting rich and maintaining ethical value still sound rather incompatible to each other.
When asked what makes Harley-Davidson such an unchallengeable icon in the motorcycle industry, its executive said: It is not the words or phrases from corporate mission statement or the images from advertisements. But a personal experience of riding on one of these rigs on the street, from the resounding noise of its rumbling engine there arrives the feeling that is nothing but that of the Harley-Davidson’s. This recognition of its own identity and nearly scrupulous emphasis on craftsmanship are the real substance which constitutes a great brand name, or a work of art. This feeling is yet being fully appreciated or understood, let alone being put into practice by most Chinese businesses. The absence of zeal in individualism may be one reason that hampers Chinese businesses to gain a strong foot in world market with solid brand names. The lack of a legal environment upon which a fair and honest business practice is based might be another. It is rather hard for a brand name to survive in a business environment which habitually does not respect intellectual property rights. If stealing and imitating are short cuts for success, why bother to spend millions on R&D? It is not as difficult to give birth to products as to help it grow free from the harms of its numerous imitators.
Chinese government, facing an ever deteriorating business environment, is struggling hard for a solution, and is urging companies to engage more in innovative and value added activities. Clearly cheap imitation and sheer assembly work have no future as the resource and environmental factors being taken into account. China may no longer be able to get away with the easy works of duplicating and cloning any more, it must show more talents in creating value in order to survive and exult itself into a higher level in this ever changing business arena. Innovation has been a buzz word nowadays as Chinese government keeps intensifying its rhetoric campaign urging for a better business environment. The true solution, however, rests not on passionate rhetoric of an innovation in a technical sense, but on an innovation in brainpower instead.
Chinese businesses often paid more attention to enhancing technical and financial calibers than to establishing a top notch craftsmanship and corporate culture. Technology advance and financial strength are important but not essential, since they alone are unproductive without the guidance of right strategy and management. It is said that Shanghai, after years of constructional frenzy, has finally surpassed New York City in the number of skyscrapers, which, for many Chinese, are viewed as an undeniable symbol of modernization. Be that as it may, do more high buildings alone make Shanghai the world financial center? The answer is rather self evident, of course. What really matters is not the superficiality but the substance, the software, the people, the system, the practice, and ultimately, the culture in general.
Anyone who is familiar with Chinese educational system must be utterly impressed by its emphasis on memorization and technical aspects of the subjects. It habitually seldom encourages students to develop a mindset that leads to risk taking and proactive activities. Western business education, on the other hand, is apt to provide students with opportunities to engage themselves in real situations where they could use practical knowledge to solve problems they might be facing in the future.
Chinese business education such as MBA program is still considered for the most part as a pure academic subject, whereas in fact it should be a mixture between practice and academy, or a cross functional field of study between art and science. The goal of managerial education is not to train good technicians or clerks. It is aimed at providing society with leaders and managers who could do right things and make things happen.
It is hard to reach this goal if there is not a clear defined mission and right strategy. For Chinese business education to fulfill its duty, perhaps more thoughts should be given in its overall philosophy and direction rather than superficial aspects such as textbooks or language requirements etc.
The very notion of business executive, to a great extent, is still a rather new thing to the Chinese business world both in concept and in practice. It is not tricks or “being smart” that makes one a good business manager. It certainly has nothing to do with these Hollywood images of fabulously dressed people living in an extravagant life style and riding on limousines. What it takes is a mindset of discipline and consistency to allow one doing the right thing and doing it effectively.
Management theory and practice must be examined in the context of the necessary cultural environment in order to make a good sense. Whatever theories and practices in management that are intended to be implanted in Chinese business soil must be first digested and understood through this complicated Chinese cultural paradigm, or they won’t be fruiting at all. It is interesting to see how China, with all its cultural heritage and history, having experienced some of the most infernal ordeals world history could ever present, will once again transform itself in our time. Capitalism and marketing economy are obviously the only way to go, but how could this transition be a peaceful and productive one is the focal point of the attention for all Chinese watchers, business and political alike.
Awakening call
The year 2008 has so far been a time of mixed feelings. The combination of sorrow from natural disasters and the excitement from the marvelous success of Olympic Games bewilders people as China once again becomes the focal point of the world. This year also marks the 30-year anniversary of the reform and open door policy which has produced economic achievements that have stunned the world. On May 12th, China touched people’s hearts as the strong earthquake devastated the remote villages in Sichuan province, resulting in more than 80,000 casualties. The grotesque pictures came as a shocking reminder of the disaster nature could inflict upon people and how vulnerable we were indeed when facing that power.
People’s reaction to this disaster varies. Many see it as a tragedy, but more consider it as an opportunity to regain a lost sense of unity. Since the 1980s when the economic reforms started, China has been on a fast track of economic development almost unparalleled in world history: a double digit annual growth and an unprecedented social transition that affects the lives of people not only in China but around the world. As a result of this economic prosperity, China has gained a great deal in international status and people’s living standard has also been raised tremendously.
Yet the part that seemed to be neglected in the whole picture is the gradual erosion of traditional values among people. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that in today’s China, when it comes to values, all that used to be solid has evaporated in the face of the hysterical binge of profit seeking and hedonism, and further all that used to be highly respected is now profaned. People are suffering from such a spiritual malnutrition as they struggling hard to find a home to solace their wounded hearts. After material success and physical satisfaction excited them, people were left with a sense of loneliness when soberness regained control of their minds. Perhaps the most fortunate thing we get from this unfortunate event is the need of a self retrospection on the question of who we are and what we will be. Facing the brevity and vulnerability of life, we are finally compelled to ponder upon the real purpose of our existence and the relation with our kind.
It is said this quake is the most devastating one in terms of severity and causalities since 1976 when the city of Tangshan of Hebei province was virtually wiped from the surface of earth by an equally strong earthquake. According to Chinese superstition, a disaster of this magnitude is usually followed by a change of a great scale. In the wake of 1976 earth quake came the death of Chairman Mao and other top Chinese leaders, a turning point in modern Chinese history where a new era started. If history indeed repeats itself, we might have the opportunity to witness a turning point once again. Could this be the time for people to have serious thoughts on the future of this nation? Have we a better future? What are the valuable things that have been lost and now need to be restored?
The courage and generosity demonstrated in the aftermath rescue activities showed a sign of hope. Once again a simple and often forgotten truth makes itself evident, namely that the survival and prosperity of a society rests upon a moral solidarity widely existing among its citizens. The wellbeing of the individual is the prerequisite for the wellbeing for all. One’s sorrow and happiness are inseparable from that of the other’s. Regardless of their gender and status, people must be treated equally and with basic human dignity.
The quake also revealed a picture that many find uncomfortable to see. The difference in the living conditions between the well-developed coastal areas and the poor and remote parts of China poses such a sharp contrast that one has a hard time believing they in fact belong to the same country. The fancy villas and luxurious hotels in large cities formed a stark comparison with the scenes of crumbled rural school houses built with poor quality materials. In a country where the Gini index has grown to an alarming level, the risk also grows that the underprivileged millions who have nothing to lose will one day storm the wealthy metros in revenge.
The Chinese government also realizes the importance of maintaining a balance between prosperity and equality, knowing very well that the lack of either would be a remedy for disaster. To build a “harmonious society” has thus become the dominating theme in today’s public rhetoric. Yet there is still one crucial part of the question left unanswered: what is the motive and driving force for people to participate in this campaign of building a “harmonious society”? Surely hedonism can not be the force, but what else is there, besides the prevailing “getting rich” sentiment, that can unify people to work toward this goal? Undoubtedly, a society that relies solely on force or greed to keep things going cannot hold together, let alone prosper.
Ultimately there must be a willingness for people to do what they see is in the best interest of both themselves and society. We can only expect the great multiplication of human virtue in a morally disciplined and ordered society where people realize that a decent and respectful life is after all not unworthy of living. It is with this sense of honor and grace that people can rally and make a society a humane one, a better place for all to live in. Otherwise, we may just all perish.
A sense of grace and honor, as shown vividly in the rescue activities, can only come from as the endowment of a higher power. If there had not been an ultimate authority on whom we have this strong faith, and whose intrinsic traits are none other than benevolence and love, all the good deeds and generosity would not have been possible. It is only too often for people to contemplate in a sober sense at this crucial moment the fate of his fellow beings, and to see changes in their hearts as they are helping others, and to even hope the rise of Angel upon the face of earth.
The year 2008 has so far been a time of mixed feelings. The combination of sorrow from natural disasters and the excitement from the marvelous success of Olympic Games bewilders people as China once again becomes the focal point of the world. This year also marks the 30-year anniversary of the reform and open door policy which has produced economic achievements that have stunned the world. On May 12th, China touched people’s hearts as the strong earthquake devastated the remote villages in Sichuan province, resulting in more than 80,000 casualties. The grotesque pictures came as a shocking reminder of the disaster nature could inflict upon people and how vulnerable we were indeed when facing that power.
People’s reaction to this disaster varies. Many see it as a tragedy, but more consider it as an opportunity to regain a lost sense of unity. Since the 1980s when the economic reforms started, China has been on a fast track of economic development almost unparalleled in world history: a double digit annual growth and an unprecedented social transition that affects the lives of people not only in China but around the world. As a result of this economic prosperity, China has gained a great deal in international status and people’s living standard has also been raised tremendously.
Yet the part that seemed to be neglected in the whole picture is the gradual erosion of traditional values among people. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that in today’s China, when it comes to values, all that used to be solid has evaporated in the face of the hysterical binge of profit seeking and hedonism, and further all that used to be highly respected is now profaned. People are suffering from such a spiritual malnutrition as they struggling hard to find a home to solace their wounded hearts. After material success and physical satisfaction excited them, people were left with a sense of loneliness when soberness regained control of their minds. Perhaps the most fortunate thing we get from this unfortunate event is the need of a self retrospection on the question of who we are and what we will be. Facing the brevity and vulnerability of life, we are finally compelled to ponder upon the real purpose of our existence and the relation with our kind.
It is said this quake is the most devastating one in terms of severity and causalities since 1976 when the city of Tangshan of Hebei province was virtually wiped from the surface of earth by an equally strong earthquake. According to Chinese superstition, a disaster of this magnitude is usually followed by a change of a great scale. In the wake of 1976 earth quake came the death of Chairman Mao and other top Chinese leaders, a turning point in modern Chinese history where a new era started. If history indeed repeats itself, we might have the opportunity to witness a turning point once again. Could this be the time for people to have serious thoughts on the future of this nation? Have we a better future? What are the valuable things that have been lost and now need to be restored?
The courage and generosity demonstrated in the aftermath rescue activities showed a sign of hope. Once again a simple and often forgotten truth makes itself evident, namely that the survival and prosperity of a society rests upon a moral solidarity widely existing among its citizens. The wellbeing of the individual is the prerequisite for the wellbeing for all. One’s sorrow and happiness are inseparable from that of the other’s. Regardless of their gender and status, people must be treated equally and with basic human dignity.
The quake also revealed a picture that many find uncomfortable to see. The difference in the living conditions between the well-developed coastal areas and the poor and remote parts of China poses such a sharp contrast that one has a hard time believing they in fact belong to the same country. The fancy villas and luxurious hotels in large cities formed a stark comparison with the scenes of crumbled rural school houses built with poor quality materials. In a country where the Gini index has grown to an alarming level, the risk also grows that the underprivileged millions who have nothing to lose will one day storm the wealthy metros in revenge.
The Chinese government also realizes the importance of maintaining a balance between prosperity and equality, knowing very well that the lack of either would be a remedy for disaster. To build a “harmonious society” has thus become the dominating theme in today’s public rhetoric. Yet there is still one crucial part of the question left unanswered: what is the motive and driving force for people to participate in this campaign of building a “harmonious society”? Surely hedonism can not be the force, but what else is there, besides the prevailing “getting rich” sentiment, that can unify people to work toward this goal? Undoubtedly, a society that relies solely on force or greed to keep things going cannot hold together, let alone prosper.
Ultimately there must be a willingness for people to do what they see is in the best interest of both themselves and society. We can only expect the great multiplication of human virtue in a morally disciplined and ordered society where people realize that a decent and respectful life is after all not unworthy of living. It is with this sense of honor and grace that people can rally and make a society a humane one, a better place for all to live in. Otherwise, we may just all perish.
A sense of grace and honor, as shown vividly in the rescue activities, can only come from as the endowment of a higher power. If there had not been an ultimate authority on whom we have this strong faith, and whose intrinsic traits are none other than benevolence and love, all the good deeds and generosity would not have been possible. It is only too often for people to contemplate in a sober sense at this crucial moment the fate of his fellow beings, and to see changes in their hearts as they are helping others, and to even hope the rise of Angel upon the face of earth.
自由主义者的信仰,欢迎批评指正!
The faith of a free thinker, a religious nonbeliever
“We know there is no God but we must be good.” As said by John Stuart Mill. Our moral sentiment ought to be sprouting from the deep and innate concern of the wellbeing of others, while not ignoring the best interest of the individual. No genuine moral concerns could be derived from the fear of eternal punishment condescending from a higher authority. The simple and often forgotten truth is that, whatever that is true and good has to be natural at same time. A moral doctrine existed outside human nature is not true morality, but an illusion and deception. As a common saying goes, love can not be forced upon, forced love will lead to hate. Our moral conduct is for the sheer interest of ourselves and so I can hardly see any divine origin hidden behind it. That is to say, one ought to be more sensitive to what his conscience tells him that he should do than what religious doctrine oracles him what he could do.
No one with healthy mind of rationality will find it an easy task to believe that there is an anthropomorphic God who possesses human temperament, yet, at the same time, shows no concern of the suffering and tragic fate on his creation. If this God is as mercy as he claimed he is, why there are so many crimes and atrocities left untouched under his supervision? How is that the most callous and wrongful doings, such as slavery and genocides, are committed by people who claimed to be his believers? How could there be an omnipotent God who predestinated a life for his subjects and, at same time, gave him the freedom of choice? If this be the case, then we may logically assume that goodness and evilness are both the gifts from this same God whose basic characteristics are love and kindness. By the same token, is it logically correct that acceptance and denial of his existence are both from the wonderful endowment of his blessing? Is there anything more absurd and irrational than this contradictory nature of the Christian religion? Clearly, in order to be a believer of such faith, one must cease to think because the very notion of this anthropomorphic God runs antagonistically against itself. It seems that converting to a religion, in reality, demands a total surrender of one’s intelligence in the place of ultra stupidity. No need to abolish this artificial concept of God because he has, at very beginning, destroyed himself by his own inconsistency. The omnipotence and infallibility of this Judaism-Christian God prove nothing but his invalidity and therefore its nonexistence.
From a historical perspective, all religions, including Christianity, are products of social and economic development of human society. Just like all other cultural phenomenon of mankind, religion inevitably reflects the very basic characteristics of that social and economic soil upon which it nurtures itself. Contrary to the belief held reverently by the Evangelicals, human history does not constitute itself on the basis of quarreling among different abstract concepts, such as embellished as the holly struggle between Satan and God, but through a never ceasing evolution of the solid material substances. Thus these materialistic factors, namely economic and political factors, have played a determining role in the historical development in which religion is a byproduct, and will remain so in the future. Consequently, there can only be a historical view of religion instead of a religious view of history.
Quite contrary to the conventional thought, rejecting religion does not mean life should be a pure materialistic existence. Ironically, Atheists are in fact more of the result of religious persecution and bias than anything else; for the most severe reproach of the Deity is not to deny his existence but to impose upon him with the human ideas that are very unworthy of him. By imposing their secularist ideas upon a shadowy Deity, the religious people have not only done a great task in consecrating their callous and selfish desire, but also created the very conception of Atheists, the people who disagree with them in spiritual matters. In other words, denying an organized or formal religion does not make one an Atheist, it only allows one to be more cautious on what constitutes the notion of the “real religion”. Happy life demands meaning and value which can only be attained through a process of a spiritual awakening. This requires us to unfetter the materialistic bondage that had so much crippled us. Individual life can reach a meaning only if it is viewed from a greater angle in which we view ourselves as an integral part of a community。If indeed there is such thing as heaven, it ought to be a place where the universal salvation for all is the prerequisite for the salvation for individual. What the religious fanatics believed to be the paradise reserved only for few “chosen ones” could be found nowhere but only in their petty imaginations.
Organized religion or cult controls people's mind by capitalizing on the two weak aspects of mankind, namely fear and ignorance. As pointed out by Karl Marx, “Religion is the opium of the people; it is the hope of the hopeless condition, heart of the heartless world”. Truth will not flow out effortlessly from the doctrine of any religious faith. In case of moral dilemma, one would be better off by consulting himself with the wisdom obtained during life time as well as the power of rationality. In the journey of seeking truth, there is no short cut; you may have to devote yourself to the cause of seeking truth with full measure of efforts. One may quite well end up in vain by subscribing his mind blindly to any available package of faith or religion, hoping to get salvation or enlightenment through this easy way. Studying theology or following strictly on the fancy Pharisaic rituals alone will not make one holly or saved, since the ultimate fulfillment of a faith can only be measured by the fruit of a life that has been spent in a productive and meaningful way, just as Ben Franklin pointed out, at the very end, “We shall not be examined on what we thought, but on what we did that is good to our fellow human beings”.
In short, one must find his true self in order to gain true happiness. No individual can exist without community. A person’s consciousness reminds him of his existence as an individual being. From this perspective, we may say people are selfish by nature. However, to arrive to the meaning on life, one must go beyond that self consciousness and to conceive the truth with the regard of the unconscious part of our existence. The unconscious part constantly reminds us that we are part of a bigger thing, in which all people are related and their happiness and sorrows are inseparable from each other. This collective Un-consciousness we may call it God. Only by adhering one’s consciousness with this ultimate unconsciousness, human beings may be able to exalt themselves from the frailty of human nature, for humanity can reveal itself as a light guiding our minds through out our life journey. Thus to a true believer of this ultimate truth, or a liberal thinker as people may label him as, all religions are virtually preaching the same message, therefore, he finds neither necessity nor resentment in participating in the rituals of any belief systems, be it Christianity or whatever, for what really matters to him here are not the formality or rituals that are appealing to eyes but the substances instead, or the “light of truth” that enlightens one’s soul. Judging from this perspective, we may say that we, as free thinkers, are very religious indeed, and we do believe in one God who is all good and powerful.
The faith of a free thinker, a religious nonbeliever
“We know there is no God but we must be good.” As said by John Stuart Mill. Our moral sentiment ought to be sprouting from the deep and innate concern of the wellbeing of others, while not ignoring the best interest of the individual. No genuine moral concerns could be derived from the fear of eternal punishment condescending from a higher authority. The simple and often forgotten truth is that, whatever that is true and good has to be natural at same time. A moral doctrine existed outside human nature is not true morality, but an illusion and deception. As a common saying goes, love can not be forced upon, forced love will lead to hate. Our moral conduct is for the sheer interest of ourselves and so I can hardly see any divine origin hidden behind it. That is to say, one ought to be more sensitive to what his conscience tells him that he should do than what religious doctrine oracles him what he could do.
No one with healthy mind of rationality will find it an easy task to believe that there is an anthropomorphic God who possesses human temperament, yet, at the same time, shows no concern of the suffering and tragic fate on his creation. If this God is as mercy as he claimed he is, why there are so many crimes and atrocities left untouched under his supervision? How is that the most callous and wrongful doings, such as slavery and genocides, are committed by people who claimed to be his believers? How could there be an omnipotent God who predestinated a life for his subjects and, at same time, gave him the freedom of choice? If this be the case, then we may logically assume that goodness and evilness are both the gifts from this same God whose basic characteristics are love and kindness. By the same token, is it logically correct that acceptance and denial of his existence are both from the wonderful endowment of his blessing? Is there anything more absurd and irrational than this contradictory nature of the Christian religion? Clearly, in order to be a believer of such faith, one must cease to think because the very notion of this anthropomorphic God runs antagonistically against itself. It seems that converting to a religion, in reality, demands a total surrender of one’s intelligence in the place of ultra stupidity. No need to abolish this artificial concept of God because he has, at very beginning, destroyed himself by his own inconsistency. The omnipotence and infallibility of this Judaism-Christian God prove nothing but his invalidity and therefore its nonexistence.
From a historical perspective, all religions, including Christianity, are products of social and economic development of human society. Just like all other cultural phenomenon of mankind, religion inevitably reflects the very basic characteristics of that social and economic soil upon which it nurtures itself. Contrary to the belief held reverently by the Evangelicals, human history does not constitute itself on the basis of quarreling among different abstract concepts, such as embellished as the holly struggle between Satan and God, but through a never ceasing evolution of the solid material substances. Thus these materialistic factors, namely economic and political factors, have played a determining role in the historical development in which religion is a byproduct, and will remain so in the future. Consequently, there can only be a historical view of religion instead of a religious view of history.
Quite contrary to the conventional thought, rejecting religion does not mean life should be a pure materialistic existence. Ironically, Atheists are in fact more of the result of religious persecution and bias than anything else; for the most severe reproach of the Deity is not to deny his existence but to impose upon him with the human ideas that are very unworthy of him. By imposing their secularist ideas upon a shadowy Deity, the religious people have not only done a great task in consecrating their callous and selfish desire, but also created the very conception of Atheists, the people who disagree with them in spiritual matters. In other words, denying an organized or formal religion does not make one an Atheist, it only allows one to be more cautious on what constitutes the notion of the “real religion”. Happy life demands meaning and value which can only be attained through a process of a spiritual awakening. This requires us to unfetter the materialistic bondage that had so much crippled us. Individual life can reach a meaning only if it is viewed from a greater angle in which we view ourselves as an integral part of a community。If indeed there is such thing as heaven, it ought to be a place where the universal salvation for all is the prerequisite for the salvation for individual. What the religious fanatics believed to be the paradise reserved only for few “chosen ones” could be found nowhere but only in their petty imaginations.
Organized religion or cult controls people's mind by capitalizing on the two weak aspects of mankind, namely fear and ignorance. As pointed out by Karl Marx, “Religion is the opium of the people; it is the hope of the hopeless condition, heart of the heartless world”. Truth will not flow out effortlessly from the doctrine of any religious faith. In case of moral dilemma, one would be better off by consulting himself with the wisdom obtained during life time as well as the power of rationality. In the journey of seeking truth, there is no short cut; you may have to devote yourself to the cause of seeking truth with full measure of efforts. One may quite well end up in vain by subscribing his mind blindly to any available package of faith or religion, hoping to get salvation or enlightenment through this easy way. Studying theology or following strictly on the fancy Pharisaic rituals alone will not make one holly or saved, since the ultimate fulfillment of a faith can only be measured by the fruit of a life that has been spent in a productive and meaningful way, just as Ben Franklin pointed out, at the very end, “We shall not be examined on what we thought, but on what we did that is good to our fellow human beings”.
In short, one must find his true self in order to gain true happiness. No individual can exist without community. A person’s consciousness reminds him of his existence as an individual being. From this perspective, we may say people are selfish by nature. However, to arrive to the meaning on life, one must go beyond that self consciousness and to conceive the truth with the regard of the unconscious part of our existence. The unconscious part constantly reminds us that we are part of a bigger thing, in which all people are related and their happiness and sorrows are inseparable from each other. This collective Un-consciousness we may call it God. Only by adhering one’s consciousness with this ultimate unconsciousness, human beings may be able to exalt themselves from the frailty of human nature, for humanity can reveal itself as a light guiding our minds through out our life journey. Thus to a true believer of this ultimate truth, or a liberal thinker as people may label him as, all religions are virtually preaching the same message, therefore, he finds neither necessity nor resentment in participating in the rituals of any belief systems, be it Christianity or whatever, for what really matters to him here are not the formality or rituals that are appealing to eyes but the substances instead, or the “light of truth” that enlightens one’s soul. Judging from this perspective, we may say that we, as free thinkers, are very religious indeed, and we do believe in one God who is all good and powerful.
您照顾下我等没文化的，你不可能写个英文出来的同时不准备一份中文稿件吧。
Why charity and good deeds do not necessarily constitute good minds?
It is quite true that, when talking in terms of faith, Christianity is a practice that is applied universally. However, judging from a historical perspective, it is nevertheless a cultural phenomenon that bears a unique Western characteristic. Just like everything else, as an organized religion, Christianity is a byproduct of a given cultural and economic environment. As the promoters of this faith, namely those Western priests, must, either consciously or subconsciously, promote their cultural values whenever preaching the Gospels.
China, in the eyes of most Westerners, is nothing but a phenomenon of mysteries, a pagan society that needs to be proselytized in the name of the Lord. I believe most of them have neither the understanding nor the respect of the Chinese culture. Thus it is usually in this condescending and arrogant manner that they proceed their preaching, hoping the Chinese will accept their teachings but not become the same as themselves. For if a Chinese person somehow manage to transform himself into “Western like”, embracing the trait of independent and active thinking, they would be most likely acting in the same manner as his mentors, or start questioning the validity of their teaching. In one word, a truly Westernized Chinese would not be satisfied with being a docile follower, but an active leader in his life just as the way of his Western icons. Of course, this is not what these Westerners would like to see. They hope to create a group of followers but not independent thinkers who are capable of conducting an analytical thinking of their own.
What a cheerful thing for these clergymen to see a group of people who were born with saddles on their backs and willingly to be booted and ridden by few chosen ones in the name of God. A group of people who had no thought of its own but comfortably relied on the blessings and guidance of these Western superior icons. Charity works, to a great extent, are another ways to satisfy the religious fanatics’ desire of self glorification. China’s social and economic problems could not be solved by charity works of few foreigners; they could be solved by the efforts of good people with rational methods and accumulation of time. As for the real nature of these charitable works done by Western missionaries, we may also say that they are more of the holly water to solace the heart burn of their wounded conscience than of anything else. To these people, what is the difference between adopting a Chinese orphan and adopting an abandoned dog as a pet? Why is that they are so morally excited when it comes to save an orphan but being so indifferent when it comes to save the whole nation? Which Western power really helped China on an unselfish basis when China was engaging in a revolution to raise itself up? They helped China only if they saw their interests were at risk. When it comes to personal interest, these people are cold and no longer have we seen the philanthropic and chivalry sentiment. The religious zeal drowns quickly into the icy water of individualistic calculation.
China’s rise up began with the start of a series of revolutions led by freethinkers and had changed the society ever since. So far the result has been encouraging; most people would agree that China is now on the right path toward resurrection. All of this would not have happened had there not been the efforts and struggles of numerous good people who had dedicated their lives to course of fighting for liberty and equality for the Chinese people. The Western ruling classes, and their collaborators, namely those priests, were never enthusiastic about these changes. On the contrary, they were wholeheartedly antagonistic towards the revolutions and social reforms, both nationalistic and communist ones. They seldom miss the opportunity to demonize and calumniate the Chinese revolutions and revolutionaries. Alas, what a bunch of God loving people whose hearts were torn apart by the bloody images of war and turmoil caused by those ungodly Devil worshipers? However, when asked of their own bloody history of slavery and imperialism, there is hardly any crusading sentiment left but a quite bit of apathy. They would swiftly change the subject. Double standard is the trademark of their logic and it is this hypocritical manner which makes their preaching such a laughable and annoying thing to see. They knew very well if the Chinese start to take the fate into their own hands and manage to be the helmsmen of their own lives, there will be no need of these worthy prophets who had come a long way to spread the “good news”. Here we have no resentment against the Christian message per se, but the holiness of the message does not necessarily make its messenger a saint.
If you ask a Western priest of the possible solution for China’s social and economic problems, most likely you would hear things like: God has the best solution so why do not we just pray? If every one becomes a believer of Christ, problems will no longer exist. This reminds us a scenario of a dying person who is denied of medical treatment from a doctor but only offered a prayer from a priest in the hope of a miraculous recovery. The result, of course, is quite predicable. China’s resurrection is without denying a result of the sacrifice of numerous people including those good Chinese Christians; however, these people did not simply preach and pray but took action and fought instead.
One finds hard to blame the negative sentiment toward Christianity among the Chinese, if one takes an objective view of the modern history which is full of humiliation and exploitation from the foreign powers. For the most part, Christianity missionaries did not come to China as peaceful messengers but as confederates of the colonists and capitalists. The Bible was accompanied by rifles and canons, which were not used to enlighten but rather subordinate the Pagan Chinese.
As a group sponsored by capitalist society, missionaries were often the sonorous defenders of capitalistic system and its basic philosophy. The poor, in their mind, are not victims of the social and economic injustice, but rather the irresponsible and lazy scum of the earth who have no faith in God. In order to live a life like those wealthy Westerners, the only thing they need is a spirit of so the called entrepreneurship which is but an endowment form the Lord almighty. These people may be holly as far as their staunch conservative faith concerns, but they certainly lack the basic economic common sense. With more than 20,000 people dying on daily basis because of the lack of food and nutrition, while 10 percent of the people are worried about losing weight or what model of car they are going to drive next year, this world could never be a safe place to live. The cause of the poverty in this world is more of a problem of over development and unequal distribution of wealth than that of an underdevelopment as many economists want you to believe. It takes more than one earth for the world to afford an extravagant life style enjoyed and praised by the ruling class in the West. The promoters of free marketing economy keep forgetting the very basics fact that modern industrial market is by no means a real free one, but one dominated by few monopolies. The price in major industrial goods and even the tune of rhetoric in news and media are not a matter of freedom of choice but rather a result of hegemony by a handful few. American‘s superiority rests more in the global financial system dominated by a single country who can print hard currency as it wishes. The so called American economic model is neither applicable nor duplicable giving the limitation of the global resources. It is therefore economically not feasible for any other countries, be it a Christian one or not, no matter how strong its faith in the Lord, to enjoy the life style such as this. Explicitly, this has never been a matter of faith, but of reality instead.
The real faith in God rests not in an unconditioned and repulsive submission to a fate subscribed by a superior being, but in the belief of the holly righteousness which procures us to have a healthy mind. In other words, God endows us not only with his holly gratitude but also a holly expectation in our fully exercising of the power of reasoning which is also a precious gift from the creator. It can be said that Christ came to earth not only to save people with his blessings but also to set up an example for us to follow, to become a good person and to live a meaningful life.
It is quite true that, when talking in terms of faith, Christianity is a practice that is applied universally. However, judging from a historical perspective, it is nevertheless a cultural phenomenon that bears a unique Western characteristic. Just like everything else, as an organized religion, Christianity is a byproduct of a given cultural and economic environment. As the promoters of this faith, namely those Western priests, must, either consciously or subconsciously, promote their cultural values whenever preaching the Gospels.
China, in the eyes of most Westerners, is nothing but a phenomenon of mysteries, a pagan society that needs to be proselytized in the name of the Lord. I believe most of them have neither the understanding nor the respect of the Chinese culture. Thus it is usually in this condescending and arrogant manner that they proceed their preaching, hoping the Chinese will accept their teachings but not become the same as themselves. For if a Chinese person somehow manage to transform himself into “Western like”, embracing the trait of independent and active thinking, they would be most likely acting in the same manner as his mentors, or start questioning the validity of their teaching. In one word, a truly Westernized Chinese would not be satisfied with being a docile follower, but an active leader in his life just as the way of his Western icons. Of course, this is not what these Westerners would like to see. They hope to create a group of followers but not independent thinkers who are capable of conducting an analytical thinking of their own.
What a cheerful thing for these clergymen to see a group of people who were born with saddles on their backs and willingly to be booted and ridden by few chosen ones in the name of God. A group of people who had no thought of its own but comfortably relied on the blessings and guidance of these Western superior icons. Charity works, to a great extent, are another ways to satisfy the religious fanatics’ desire of self glorification. China’s social and economic problems could not be solved by charity works of few foreigners; they could be solved by the efforts of good people with rational methods and accumulation of time. As for the real nature of these charitable works done by Western missionaries, we may also say that they are more of the holly water to solace the heart burn of their wounded conscience than of anything else. To these people, what is the difference between adopting a Chinese orphan and adopting an abandoned dog as a pet? Why is that they are so morally excited when it comes to save an orphan but being so indifferent when it comes to save the whole nation? Which Western power really helped China on an unselfish basis when China was engaging in a revolution to raise itself up? They helped China only if they saw their interests were at risk. When it comes to personal interest, these people are cold and no longer have we seen the philanthropic and chivalry sentiment. The religious zeal drowns quickly into the icy water of individualistic calculation.
China’s rise up began with the start of a series of revolutions led by freethinkers and had changed the society ever since. So far the result has been encouraging; most people would agree that China is now on the right path toward resurrection. All of this would not have happened had there not been the efforts and struggles of numerous good people who had dedicated their lives to course of fighting for liberty and equality for the Chinese people. The Western ruling classes, and their collaborators, namely those priests, were never enthusiastic about these changes. On the contrary, they were wholeheartedly antagonistic towards the revolutions and social reforms, both nationalistic and communist ones. They seldom miss the opportunity to demonize and calumniate the Chinese revolutions and revolutionaries. Alas, what a bunch of God loving people whose hearts were torn apart by the bloody images of war and turmoil caused by those ungodly Devil worshipers? However, when asked of their own bloody history of slavery and imperialism, there is hardly any crusading sentiment left but a quite bit of apathy. They would swiftly change the subject. Double standard is the trademark of their logic and it is this hypocritical manner which makes their preaching such a laughable and annoying thing to see. They knew very well if the Chinese start to take the fate into their own hands and manage to be the helmsmen of their own lives, there will be no need of these worthy prophets who had come a long way to spread the “good news”. Here we have no resentment against the Christian message per se, but the holiness of the message does not necessarily make its messenger a saint.
If you ask a Western priest of the possible solution for China’s social and economic problems, most likely you would hear things like: God has the best solution so why do not we just pray? If every one becomes a believer of Christ, problems will no longer exist. This reminds us a scenario of a dying person who is denied of medical treatment from a doctor but only offered a prayer from a priest in the hope of a miraculous recovery. The result, of course, is quite predicable. China’s resurrection is without denying a result of the sacrifice of numerous people including those good Chinese Christians; however, these people did not simply preach and pray but took action and fought instead.
One finds hard to blame the negative sentiment toward Christianity among the Chinese, if one takes an objective view of the modern history which is full of humiliation and exploitation from the foreign powers. For the most part, Christianity missionaries did not come to China as peaceful messengers but as confederates of the colonists and capitalists. The Bible was accompanied by rifles and canons, which were not used to enlighten but rather subordinate the Pagan Chinese.
As a group sponsored by capitalist society, missionaries were often the sonorous defenders of capitalistic system and its basic philosophy. The poor, in their mind, are not victims of the social and economic injustice, but rather the irresponsible and lazy scum of the earth who have no faith in God. In order to live a life like those wealthy Westerners, the only thing they need is a spirit of so the called entrepreneurship which is but an endowment form the Lord almighty. These people may be holly as far as their staunch conservative faith concerns, but they certainly lack the basic economic common sense. With more than 20,000 people dying on daily basis because of the lack of food and nutrition, while 10 percent of the people are worried about losing weight or what model of car they are going to drive next year, this world could never be a safe place to live. The cause of the poverty in this world is more of a problem of over development and unequal distribution of wealth than that of an underdevelopment as many economists want you to believe. It takes more than one earth for the world to afford an extravagant life style enjoyed and praised by the ruling class in the West. The promoters of free marketing economy keep forgetting the very basics fact that modern industrial market is by no means a real free one, but one dominated by few monopolies. The price in major industrial goods and even the tune of rhetoric in news and media are not a matter of freedom of choice but rather a result of hegemony by a handful few. American‘s superiority rests more in the global financial system dominated by a single country who can print hard currency as it wishes. The so called American economic model is neither applicable nor duplicable giving the limitation of the global resources. It is therefore economically not feasible for any other countries, be it a Christian one or not, no matter how strong its faith in the Lord, to enjoy the life style such as this. Explicitly, this has never been a matter of faith, but of reality instead.
The real faith in God rests not in an unconditioned and repulsive submission to a fate subscribed by a superior being, but in the belief of the holly righteousness which procures us to have a healthy mind. In other words, God endows us not only with his holly gratitude but also a holly expectation in our fully exercising of the power of reasoning which is also a precious gift from the creator. It can be said that Christ came to earth not only to save people with his blessings but also to set up an example for us to follow, to become a good person and to live a meaningful life.
:L 欺负我们没文化[:a5:]
你的英语很牛比 看了第一行就看的出来 用词颇为正规
我就看了一段，感觉不敢恭维您的观点。
而且你的论文的注解和论据在什么地方。这些不会只是你自己的想法吧。没有Bbibiliography，就不能算是论文。论严谨性，给不及格。
基本是我自己的想法,我爱随地吐痰,偷东西,撒黄,但现在已经跟世界接轨了.