Citation
Peters, J. (2003), "Quality in China – what role does culture play?", Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 7 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/mbe.2003.26707aab.006
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2003, MCB UP Limited
Quality in China – what role does culture play?
Quality in China – what role does culture play?
This is a shortened version of "Chinese cultural values and total quality climate" by Carlos Noronha. Some parts of this article appear in The Theory of Culture-specific Total Quality Management: Quality Management in Chinese Regions, published by Palgrave in April 2002. It was originally published in Managing Service Quality, Vol. 12 No. 4, 2002.
Which is more difficult, implementing the "hard" features of TQM, such as the popular ISO 9000 quality management system or coming up with a sustainable system that allows maximum compatibility between the organizational climate?
Of course, the latter is infinitely harder to achieve because not only are organizational cultures so diverse, so too are national cultures. And China is no exception. But to what extent is the quality climate of Chinese companies influenced by the respective national culture, namely Chinese cultural values?
Chinese cultural values and TQM
Cultural values are deeply rooted or embedded in the members of an organization. It is thus from the artifacts or daily behaviors that these values are manifested. Also, you cannot attribute values as good or bad for the sound implementation of TQM since underlying cultural values have to accommodate the values of TQM itself. For example, Western companies that prize individual autonomy highly, as well as Asian companies that value good interpersonal relationships rather than individual rights, can both excel in TQM.
Thus, for Chinese companies, what are the values that help to promote TQM spirit and should therefore be emphasized by management? And, in what particular ways are the values influencing the implementation of TQM in Chinese companies?
Possible influences of Chinese cultural values on TQM
The following factors play some part in Chinese TQM:
Abasement – not in the negative Western sense but as an expression of modesty, humbleness, and politeness, which are virtues important to the cultivation of the mind. This cultural value is of particular importance to the nurturing of a management vision directed towards quality improvement.
Adaptiveness – the Chinese have been characterized as valuing common sense and utilitarian ways of thinking. This is particularly in congruence with the common sense approach of TQM in which things are managed by facts. Many of the problem-solving tools used in TQM require pragmatic minds, which are able to adapt to changing situations in the environment.
Harmony with the universe – the ancient Chinese were primarily peasants and their sowing and harvesting relied much on the transformations of natural phenomena and the operations of the four seasons. This cultural-ecological property has given rise to the essential doctrine of "oneness between Heaven and men".
Harmony with people – the Chinese are taught not to let primitive passions and impulses be completely repressed or unrestrictedly satisfied. TQM is essentially people-oriented management. The successful implementation of group activities such as quality control circles depends on the synergistic effect that harmonious human relations can bring about.
Respect for authority – the Confucian "five cardinal relations" do have an important place in Chinese cultural values. The mechanism of the relations is based on the rules of proper behavior or propriety, so that rights and responsibilities for each are entailed. In TQM, top management should take the lead role in disseminating quality-consciousness down the organizational hierarchy. When authority is valued, top management visions and directives are more easily and smoothly accepted.
Interdependence and sincerity – two important elements are crucial to the flexibility of the Chinese in terms of interpersonal relations. The first is the principle of "doing favors" which can be considered as "social investments" for which future returns are expected. The other important element is the concept of "face". The management of face is essential in maintaining the existing role relationships and preserving interpersonal harmony. To provide defective goods and low quality services is actually to lose face in front of peers and customers. To provide high quality goods and services is to do others favor and to maintain reciprocal treatments.
So does this mean that Chinese cultural values have a positive statistically significant influence on the quality climate of Chinese organizations?
Statistical analysis
To assess the underlying cultural values of the leaders of the Chinese companies, the Chinese Cultural Value Inventory developed by Yau (1994) was employed. The instrument contains 45 popular Chinese sayings also anchored on a one to six Likert-type scale. In Yau's administration of the instrument to two fairly large samples of Chinese respondents in Hong Kong, factor analysis revealed 12 core underlying cultural values of the Chinese people. They included:
- 1.
adaptiveness;
- 2.
sincerity/suspicion;
- 3.
respect for authority;
- 4.
harmony with the universe;
- 5.
harmony with people;
- 6.
interdependence;
- 7.
reciprocity;
- 8.
group orientation;
- 9.
face;
- 10.
abasement;
- 11.
past orientation; and
- 12.
conformity to activity.
The study comprised two main phases. In the first phase, the common underlying dimensions of Chinese cultural values and quality climate were uncovered through factor analysis using data gathered from three Chinese regions. In the second phase, the impact of the Chinese cultural values on quality climate was studied using one of the three samples. Chinese companies located in three Chinese regions namely, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China were included in the samples for the first phase.
To identify the common quality climate dimensions and common Chinese cultural values, the responses from the three regions were lumped together as a pancultural sample. Factors were then drawn from the analysis of these results.
In total, seven factors were identified:
- 1.
Factor 1. Abasement (ABASE):
- •
Haughtiness invites ruin, humility receives benefits.
- •
Reflect on our faults when we take a rest.
- •
At a different time and in a different place we will meet again.
- •
Endure and you will find everything all right; retreat and you will find yourself happy.
- •
If we want to criticize others, criticize ourselves first.
- •
Never forget what others have done for you.
- •
- 2.
Factor 2. Adaptiveness (ADAPT):
- •
The best strategy to deal with change is not to change at all.
- •
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
- •
Blessings abound in a family that preserves in good deeds.
- •
A family has its rules as a state has its laws.
- •
A man who can survive in hardship is the man of men.
- •
Better bend than break.
- •
- 3.
Factor 3. Harmony with people (HARPE):
- •
A family will be prosperous if it is in harmony.
- •
Forgive others whenever you can.
- •
Talk to people in their own language.
- •
Shameful affairs of the family should not be spoken about outside.
- •
I will not offend others unless I am offended.
- •
No matter what you are doing, do not go too far.
- •
Help each other whenever in need.
- •
- 4.
Factor 4. Harmony with the universe (HARUN):
- •
Live as it is predestined.
- •
He who submits to Heaven shall live; he who rebels against Heaven shall perish.
- •
Fate is predestined.
- •
Man can communicate with nature and exist in harmony.
- •
- 5.
Factor 5. Interdependence (INTDP):
- •
A man depends on his parents at home.
- •
If you honor me a linear foot, I should in return honor you ten feet.
- •
- 6.
Factor 6. Respect for authority (RESPC):
- •
I will treat my teacher as my father even though he has taught me for one day.
- •
Children have to respect the decisions of their parents.
- •
Old parents are just like treasure in your house when living with.
- •
- 7.
Factor 7. Sincerity/suspicion (SINCE):
- •
There is deceit in excessive courtesy.
- •
To please someone without a cause is either adulterous or greedy.
- •
A number of tests were then carried out in order to test the fitness of this factor model.
What was discovered?
From the results obtained based on the sampled companies studied, some preliminary findings are highlighted here:
- •
The quality climate of Chinese companies is significantly influenced by Chinese cultural values.
- •
In particular, the values of abasement, adaptiveness, harmony with people, interdependence, and respect for authority are found to be positively associated with TQM.
- •
On the other hand, the values of "harmony with the universe" which may incorporate passive fatalism, and "sincerity" which may be interpreted as "suspicion" in the opposite sense, do not contribute much towards the nurturing of a quality climate. However, further replications must be conducted to clarify or to support this finding.
Management implications
Some managerial implications of the study are suggested as follows:
- •
Chinese organizations cannot consider all TQM activities to be directly applicable. That is to say, no TQM program can be purchased from one's nearest business consultancy company. Adaptations and adjustments are important in nurturing a culture or organization-specific quality climate.
- •
Chinese organizations may consider the need to incorporate the teaching of their organizational philosophy, grounded on traditional Chinese cultural values, in employee training and especially during the induction program for new entrants.
- •
A strong management vision can be achieved by making full use of the value of "respect for authority" through having organizational leaders to participate personally in TQM activities. A mixture of both formal as well as informal powers is essential.
- •
Collective rather than individual endeavors, adaptive work rather than pure innovation, are still to be emphasized in Chinese organizations.
- •
Formalization of the quality management system through pragmatic application of the ISO 9000 system is important. However, it must be noted that ISO 9000 is nothing but a beginning in a TQM journey. The spirit is still to emphasize adaptations and adjustments to the particular organizational setting.
Although the study has focused on Chinese cultural values, it was believed that both at the theoretical and practical levels, the study should interest non-Chinese researchers and practitioners. First, it is already clear that there is an urgent need to theorize TQM as a cross-disciplinary subject of management research and to tackle the obvious research gap of cultural influences on TQM. The present attempt to suggest a theoretical proposition and to operationalize it into a testable hypothesis should prove a constructive start in filling up the lacuna. Second, due to rapid globalization, national differences in terms of the "hard" aspects like technology are becoming less and less. In order to create unique competitiveness, there is a need for TQM practitioners to shift from a traditional institutionalist's approach to a culturalist's approach, so as to better understand and manage management phenomena. Without thorough emic analyses of different cultural systems, hybridization of different management approaches will be impossible.