CULTURE AND WORK ORGANIZATION: THE CHINESE CASE *

Abstract This paper discusses the role of the indigenous values in facilitating the development of managerial and organizational systems underlying the success of indigenous enterprises in the newly industrialized societies. One illustration is the Chinese culture or, more specifically, the Confucian tradition and ethos, and their implication for management and worker performance in work organizations within the ‘Confucian league’ of Asian societies. The affective rational approach to the paternalistic style of the Japanese and Chinese management coupled with such normative values as trust, subtlety and loyalty of the employees explain the individuals' commitment to their work organization and the excellence in leadership. With reference to the leading steel plant. the China Steel Corporation in Taiwan, this paper examines how such a cherished system of managerial philosophy and practices, in the context of its indigenous Chinese cultural and normative heritage, has ban successfully applied to the integra...