DOCUMENT RESUME ED 366 023 CS 508 430 …

1 DOCUMENT RESUMEED 366 023CS 508 430 AUTHORChen, Guo- ming ; chung , JensenTITLEThe Impact of Confucianism on DATENov 93 NOTE37p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of theSpeech communication Association (79th, Miami Beach,FL, November 18-21, 1993).PUB TYPES peeches/Conference Papers (150)ReportsDescriptive (141)EDRS PRICEMF01/PCO2 Plus *Confucianism; *Cultural Influences; ElementarySecondary Education; *Foreign Countries; HigherEducation; Interpersonal communication ;* organizational CommunicationIDENTIFIERS*Confucius; Educational Ideologies; Hong Kong;Japan;Singapore; South Korea; TaiwanABSTRACTC onfucianism has been identifiedas the majorcultural factor that explains the economicsuccess of the Asian FiveDragons (Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan).

2 Thispaper explores the impact of Confucianism on the organizationalcommunication in these nations, basedon the four key principles ofconfucian teaching: the hierarchical relationship,the family system,"Jen" (benevolence), and the emphasison education. The paper notesthat the confucian emphasis on education at all levelshas become oneof the most important characteristics of Chinese culture,and thetradition is carried over to every Asian nation, especiallythe AsianFive Dragons. The paper further discusses theinfluence of these fourprinciples of Confucianism on management behaviorsand communicationin the organization.

3 The paper also explains theimplication ofConfucianism's influence on organizational presenting Confucian principles and their relationtointerpersonal communication , management, and organizationalcommunication are included. (Contains 42 references.) (Author/RS)**Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best thatcan be made**from the original DOCUMENT .**The Impact of Confucianism on organizational CommunicationGuo- ming ChenDepartment of communication StudiesUniversity of Rhode IslandIndependent HallKingston, RI 02881(401) 792-2552 jensen ChungDepartment of Speech CommunicationSan Francisco State University1600 Holloway Francisco, CA 94132(415)

4 338-7794 Paper presented at the annual meeting of the 1993 SCA Conventior,November, Miami Beach, DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATIONOnce of Educatonal Research and ImprovementEDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTERIERIOW rfus DOCUMENT has beenluced esreceived from th person olitigationonomatmoIt0 Minor changes have been mode tOimprOverefirOduction twentyRants of wows or comorte stated m thisdoCirmint do not necessarily representofficialOERI poeaton or policy2 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THISMATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BYTO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)

5 "BEST COPY has been identified as the major culturalfactor that explains the economic success of the Asian paper explores the impact of Confucianism onthe organizational communication in these nations, based onthe four key principles of confucian teachings: thehierarchical relationship, the family system, Jen, and theemphasis on study further discusses the influenceof these four principles of Confucianism on management influence on the organizational communication arealso Impact of Confucianism on organizational OrganizationThe progress of technology has made global markets moreaccessible and the business world more interrelated andinternational in the last Adler (1983)

6 Indicates,the increasing internationalization of business means anincreasing multiculturalism within organizations and anincreasing interaction between managers and employees ofdifferent increasing multiculturalism inorganizations calls for understandings among cultures and newstrategies for organizational operations. From Adler's perspectivethe influence of Confucianism on the modern Asian organizations isa case that deserves a further investigation by the Pacific basin nations, the internationalization ofbusiness has occurred and in recent years in this regionseveral newly industrializing nations have emerged in East these Asian nations five have been experiencing what iscalled an "economic miracle.

7 "These political entities, dubbed"Five Dragons," include Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea,and to a World Bank report (1988), between 1980and 1986 period, the average annual growth rate of per capita grossnational product (GNP) was for Hong Kong, for Japan, Singapore, for South Korea, and for Taiwan, whileonly for European countries and for the United are these particular countries so successfuleconomically?Many scholars have attempted to answer this44question from different perspectives, including the value ofeconomic growth and the fast response to the international market( , Chan, 1990; Wu, 1988).

8 Although different scholarsprovide various factors to explain the unexpected economicgrowth of the Five Dragons, most of them agree that, for theroot cause, one must turn to the domain of is thepurpose of this inquiry to examine the impact of culturalenvironment on the economic success of the Asian Five these economically successful nations in NortheastAsia share the same cultural heritage of Confucianism, thisinquiry aims at investigating how Confucianism as a culturalfactor contributes to the success of these , this study explores the impact of Confucianismon the organizational life and organizational communication inthese ModifiersTo what degree do the cultural factors of a societyinfluence its organizational life?

9 Child (1981) indicatesthat different cultural orientations will lead to specificorganizational (1984) summarizes fivehypotheses regarding the relationship between culturalorientations and organizational effects specified by Child:(1) If the society considers human nature as good, then theorganizations will advocate employee autonomy and relianceonintrinsic motivation; (2) if the society believes that the human55being is the master of nature, then the organizations willlead to adventurous and proactive management; (3) if thesociety orients to the future, then the organizations willemphasize long-term planning, workforce planning, andassessment centers; (4) if the society is "being" oriented,then the organizations will emphasize interpersonalsensitivity, and concern about morale and communicationclimate.

10 And (5) if the society orients to individualism, thenthe organizations will minimize authority and 's (1980) large-scale study shows the consistentrelationship between cultural orientations and results of Hofstede's national value surveys from amultinational company in some 40 different countries revealfour dimensions of cultural values that are related to theorganizational life: power distance, individualism,masculinity, and uncertainty , the Chinese Culture Connection (1987) also hascollected data from 22 countries and found four dimensions ofcultural values that show influence on organizational life,especially in Asian of the four dimensionsare similar to Hofstede's power distance, individualism, fourth one is labeled "Confucian WorkDynamism.