How Chinese thought can lead the transformation in management practice

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the emerging, post‐Newtonian twenty‐first century worldview, integrating elements of holistic Chinese philosophy and individualistic Western Newtonianism, is also driving a new model of organization, the articulation of which Chinese managers and thinkers must take a leadership position.

Design/methodology/approach

The author focuses, first, on the similarities between the worldviews of Chinese philosophy and post‐Newtonianism; second, on how those changes in worldview support the emerging model of organization, whose management style one writer refers to as “unmanaging”; and, third, on the benefits available for Chinese business people who apply their acculturated understanding of principles that still seem foreign to Western business people.

Findings

This essay asserts that the worldview emerging from twentieth century science – primarily quantum mechanics and complexity theory – will reinforce many of the basic assumptions basic to Chinese culture and philosophy. As a result, Chinese managers and thinkers have the opportunity to make critical contributions to an emerging model of organization, which Western management thinkers have been predicting for nearly half a century.

Practical implications

The paper offers a series of theoretical tools, taken from fields of study ranging from the philosophy of science to organizational dynamics, with which Chinese managers and thinkers can develop a leadership position in the discussion that has begun about what the author calls the post‐Newtonian organizational model.

Originality/value

The value of the essay lies in its integration of twentieth century science, Chinese philosophy and the study of organizations to indicate how Chinese managers and thinkers can help shape a new, trans‐cultural way of understanding organizations, markets and finally, the world.

Citation

Baskin, K. (2011), "How Chinese thought can lead the transformation in management practice", Chinese Management Studies, Vol. 5 No. 4, pp. 354-367. https://doi.org/10.1108/17506141111183136