The 2010 conference on management in China Beyond the Time, Within the Culture:A Preliminary Perspective of Confucianism as a Foundation in Chinese, Japanese and Korean Business Management Culture Naixi Zhang Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen, Groningen 9700 AV, the Netherlands E-mail: [email protected] , [email protected] Abstract: Confucianism, as one of the most panegyric ideologies, has great influence on oriental people’s thinking and living ways. Though it is concerned firstly with cultivating people’s ethical behavior and up- grading social welfare, it also greatly affects oriental countries’ (China, Japan and Korea) business world since many business characteristics are based on Confucius concepts. In this paper, the role of Confucius thinking in Chinese, Japanese and Korean business culture will be discussed. Besides, their similar and dif- ferent ways of adopting Confucius thinking is also including into this discussion. Key words: Confucianism, East Asian management, Hierarchical structure, Rule by man, Rule by law, thought of “Emphasize agriculture and restrain commerce” Research theme: Effectiveness of management tactics in cultural perspective cording to Drucker and Nakauchi (1997) Chinese are 1. Introduction developing a distinct and quite different management According to Hofstede (1980), before understanding how style and management structure. But actually Chinese people from one country do business, we must under- business does not have a clear management style; the stand its underlying culture. So what is culture? In Ha- most familiar character to the western world is “Guanxi segawa and Noronha’s (2009) opinion, Hofstede’s defi- (business relationship and networking), being flexible nition “the collective programming of the mind which and willing to bend the rules” (Burns, 1998, p39-41). distinguishes the members of the human group from an- This paper is going to explore Chinese business culture other” (1980, p25) is over simplified. There are numer- from Confucianism perspective. ous defining ways according to different research per- Japan as the only developed country in East Asia, its spectives. Hasegawa and Noronha’s (2009) definition of business culture and management style are well-known culture is “a system that contains values, beliefs, atti- all over the world. And with Samsung, LG and other tudes and behaviors shared by a group of people.” (2009, Korean multinationals rise, Korean business thinking p.105) Though it is still a simple one, it covers the basic style began to earn attention. Both as Chinese tributary ideological parts and elements of culture. states in the history, Japan and Korea are greatly edified This paper is going to look at the Confucianism’s in- by Chinese culture. Since Confucianism is the most in- fluence on business management culture. So depending fluential school of thought in ancient China, just like on Hasegawa and Noronha’s (2009) culture definition, Burns said “Confucianism, more a system of ethics than we define business management culture as “a business a religion, emphasizing obligations as a function of rela- system containing values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors tionships…that has had the major influence on Chinese which can influence one country’s cooperate manage- life” (Burns,1998, p29). Besides, it also gains extreme ment and can eventually form its country’s business popularity in Japan and Korea in all walks of life. In the management styles.” modern history, compared with Japan and Korea, Chi- Confucian-based values have a deep and great influ- nese business has only started for 30 years which needs ence on Oriental people’s thinking and living styles from precious experience and model for further invention and politics, culture, and business to many other fields. As rational development. As it is Confucianism plays a basic Redding (2009) states “Chinese deep influence lies in the and vital role for the formation and perfection of both formative processes that made Japan, Korea, and Viet- business management cultures, Chinese business will nam.” And the GLOBE study identifies a Confucian Asia indeed be able to learn to get a certain useful experience cluster which includes China, Korea and Japan. from their practical use and refinement. Despite the growing economic power of China, Chinese What can Chinese learn from the two countries’ busi- business practices remain poorly understood (Martinsons ness use of Confucian thoughts and how to make the best and Westwood, 1997) even by Chinese themselves. Ac- use of them according to its own situation is the theme 77 978-1-935068-35-8 © 2010 SciRes. The 2010 conference on management in China for this paper. And all of these principles have given birth to a New In this paper, the role of Confucius thinking in Japa- Asian industrial civilization. Japan, Korea and Singapore nese and Korean business culture will be discussed. Be- all have borrowed ideas from ancient Chinese philosophy sides, their similar and different ways of adopting Con- and reinterpreted them to their current conditions. In fucius thinking is also including into discussion. Cer- Martinson and Westwood’s (1997) opinion, all these tainly, not every word of Confucius is right, so how does three countries have succeed in developing a manage- each country understand his thinking and make best use ment style of their own based on a blending of Confu- for itself will be looked into. In front of Japanese and cianism and Western scientific management. Korean’s precious experiences and lessons, can China But, Confucius also made an amount of negative re- achieve a more meaningful implementation of Confu- marks and arguments about business, which is not suit cius’ words in building Chinese own business and man- for the development of one country’s business environ- agement style in the 21st century is the final goal of this ment. E.g., in his opinion, hierarchy and rank are ex- research. tremely important, including doing business, so to a cer- tain degree, decision making process is from top level to 2. Biography the working people, and the authority and decisions of As Plato in the west, Confucius is one of the greatest superiors can not be questioned because of the hierar- thinker and educator in the history of China (Min Yang, chical order, and this brought many problems for Chi- 2006, p50). Confucius (551-479 B.C.) was born at Zouyi, nese business development; From Confucius’ point of now south-east of Qufu city, Shandong Province. He is view, relationships are more significant for people to regarded as one of the most brilliant Chinese culture to- solve problems than laws, so in another way of saying, tems and souls for his three great contributions: first, he Confucius prefers “Rule by Man” rather than “Rule by complied and preserved three generations’ literary work, Law”, which is also an obstacle for modern management; namely as The Six Classics including Shi (The Book of due to the limitation of the agriculture society, in the Songs), Shu (Collection of Ancient Texts), Li (The Rites), deep heart of Confucius, he treats business and busi- Yue (The Music), Yi (The Book of Changes), and Chun nessmen as distrustful; and unethical, which is not a Qiu (The Spring and Autumn Annuals). The accom- good sign for society to build a healthy business envi- plishment of the above six great books makes an enor- ronment. mous impact on the succession and development of the 3. Literature Summary traditional Chinese culture. Second, Confucius estab- lished a system of “ren” (benevolence) philosophy, Martinsons and Westwood (1997) point out that “Confu- which is also the theme of his Analects. Based on ren, cian-based values and behaviors distinguish Chinese Confucius puts forward the concept of li referring to a set management system from their Anglo-American coun- of ritual and musical systems, with the hierarchical sys- terparts. The Japanese, Korean and Chinese all rooted in tem as its core. Third, Confucius established private the social ethic espoused by Confucius and his princi- schools and founded a systematic educational framework. ples.” Noronha (2009, p114) adds that since Japan im- And his philosophical thoughts are still valuable in ap- ported Confucian philosophy more than a thousand years plication today. (Min Yang, 2006, p51) ago from China, now it has been a central tenet for Japa- Japan and Korea were used to be Chinese dependen- nese life. The characteristics such as filial piety, hierar- cies in the history, especially during Tang Dynasty chical social relationships and virtuous behavior towards (618-907AC), Chinese classic culture did a mighty and others mainly form today’s Japanese culture. When ana- powerful enlightenment on both Japan and Korean Pen- lyzing Korea, Hemmert (2009, p 245) states that Korean insula. cultural tradition is strongly linked to the Confucianism Confucius provides numerous good influences on peo- and emphasizes values as “filial piety, loyalty to senior ple’s thinking and the ways of solving problems, these individuals within a hierarchy and trust between friends excellencies also affect business and management world and colleagues”. So, from the above statement, we get profoundly. He holds diligence, responsibility, thrift, Confucius-based culture values for these three countries, promptness, co-operation, and learning in esteem, and all but there are still critical differences between the three of these are the precious merits for businessmen. Also, he where “Japanese are akin to a block of granite while emphasizes on harmony among people which can reduce Chinese resemble a tray of loose sand. So, Chinese conflicts and helps to ensure a smooth process of running management style is different from North America, a business. Besides, in Confucius opinion, business Europe, even Japan and Korea.” (Martinsons and West- should be based on the principle of Yi (righteousness), wood, 1997) Chinese management style is mainly de- and only in this way, can a business eliminating illegal pending on traditional Confucianism, and still on its way profits and reach long-term expansion.