Angry China and Learning
The Economist’s May 1 2008 edition featured a cover story that detailed key reasons why protests within China continue to spring up, and why xenophobia persists unabated. Of the two forms of anger, outward-turning anger poses a threat to employees’ commitment and learning contribution to their organizations.
Outward-turning anger seethes against environmental restrictions, economic obstacles, and criticism of social/government policies by Western peoples and Western governments. Chinese critics blame foreigners for stunting the growth of China as a dominant global power, and feel outsiders hypocritically comment on the state of China’s internal affairs.
Does this form of anger exhibit itself in the Chinese workplace and affect learning?
Due to intense patriotic sentiment, it is likely that some attitudes affect the quality of Chinese employees’ contributions in foreign-owned companies. Unless employees feel connected to the foreign entity, there exists the real risk that Chinese staff will resent “foreign devil” businesses that sap the wealth of China in exchange for their monthly paychecks. Other people may simply shift into indifference toward the company because foreigners own it, and it is therefore not part of “our China.”
Faced with such hostile or apathetic attitudes, how can you gauge the level of company commitment among your Chinese staff?
Farh and Organ have conducted research on organizational citizenship behaviors that may give clues on how well your Chinese employees view their foreign employer as a partner rather than opponent of their motherland. I include my comments on a few of what I believe are key behaviors.
Self-Training: Self-training includes learning on one’s own through formal and informal avenues. But self-learning, in and of itself, does not necessarily constitute a behavior of a company citizen. Many employees continue their learning only to increase their personal competitiveness in getting promotions or finding a better job. Self-training best serves the employee and the company when it is practiced with organizational (shared) learning. Management fosters shared learning by: creating a compelling, shared vision, celebrating successes derived from shared learning, and clearing structural/systemic obstacles that bottleneck the adoption of shared learning. In effect, show your company that you want them to be successful, but tie personal development to organizational development.
Social welfare participation: Many foreign companies miss the opportunity to show how much they do care for China. Charitable organizations continue to strengthen their impact on the country, and provide an opportunity for employees and expat leaders to volunteer together. Domestic organizations like Hope Schools and international groups like Habitat for Humanity both provide avenues for colleagues to bond with the company while serving others. When combined with regular, personal interaction, social welfare participation allows Chinese and foreign staff to commit to the company and communicate their hope for China’s success.
Protecting and Saving Company Resources: I know a consultant with an international firm who deliberately boarded his company-purchased flight to Europe, even though he was well aware that the business meeting in Europe (the original and only purpose of the trip) had been cancelled. Excessive waste of company monies often originates from a “it’s the rich foreign company’s money” attitude.
Organizational citizenship ideally includes investing for the future. A former colleague of mine liked to use the phrase “penny wise and dollar foolish.” A committed member of your organization should feel encouraged to look for new opportunities and explore possibilities. Savings and efficiency are not to be held in disdain, but my friend’s quote referred to benefits lost because of excessive focus on cost control or risk mitigation. Reward team endeavors into new opportunities and their strategic cultivation of customer goodwill with intangible and financial rewards.
Your company may not face riots and protests, but leaders can promote organizational citizenship behaviors to ward-off anger, apathy and disdain while fostering commitment and effective learning.
Farh, Zhong, and Organ: Organizational Citizenship Behavior in the People’s Republic of China. Organization Science, vol 15 no 2, 2004
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