China's reforms and openness have given a boost to the country's new development. Today's socialism with Chinese characteristics is not at all similar to the centrally planned economy that took place at the very beginning of the PRC's formation. Recently, many economists have turned to the concept of" Chinese management style", trying to find the reasons for the successful and efficient operation of modern Chinese enterprises, which bring almost 10% annual growth in China's GDP. What does "manage in Chinese" mean? What is the relationship between traditional Chinese philosophical thought and modern corporate governance in China? Is there really a so-called specificity that distinguishes the management process carried out in China from that in the West, in the East - in Japan? This paper is intended to answer these questions.

TRADITIONAL CHINESE MANAGEMENT APPROACHES

To begin with, we will consider the basic principles of the "Chinese management style" and trace the development of managerial thought from its origins in traditional philosophy to the modern corporate management style. After all, China, a country with a rich cultural heritage, like no other, is characterized by "relying on the old", its own rich experience. The so-called Chinese specifics, of course, take place in matters of management, an activity that has long been considered the greatest duty of Jun-tzu1.

For many reasons, the teachings of Confucius play a very important role in all spheres of Chinese society. It is not surprising that modern Chinese scholars who describe the traditional management style find inspiration in this teaching as well. Consider one of the most famous concepts of Confucianism - " correcting names "(Zheng ming).

A name in Confucianism is something that connects the external and internal image of any object. The image is very important for the Chinese, since hieroglyphics imply imaginative thinking, unlike Western phonetic and syntactic thinking. An external image is one that can be observed with the help of the senses, primarily with the help of vision. An internal image is the sensation that an object evokes in the observer's mind. Combining, the external and internal images give a complete image of the object. These images, superimposed in the consciousness of the subject of observation (in our case, the manager) on a specific process that lasts in time, connected with its object, lead to the appearance of an individual concept of the object. The concept, or "name", allows the observer to use the image of the object in his own way.-

1 Jun-tzu is a noble husband.

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renya. The reverse process occurs - changing the name-concept of the object, bringing its concept to the "correct" one in accordance with the subject's understanding of this correctness.

But on the path of "name correction", it is important that the manager has the right hierarchy of goals and values. Otherwise, they will have to go back to correcting the same concepts, not realizing that their image depends on the nature of goals and values at a higher level of the hierarchy. The task of the manager is to return to these concepts, compare them with those that he has in his practice, and make a "correction of names". But the fact is that distortions have always occurred and will continue to occur. And this is also a very important idea in the concept of the Chinese management process. Distortions cannot but occur, otherwise the system will not be dynamic and, therefore, will not be able to reach its ideal state, the tao, which according to worldview teachings is impossible in principle. Without movement, constant change, the system will be completely destroyed and cease to exist. It is important for the manager to always be in a state where he anticipates the onset of distortions and when he constantly manages the situation, correcting the distortion even before it appears. Presentiment, seeing the smallest signs that are not yet available to the vision of an ordinary person, is a very important moment in the management process.

Jiang Ruxiang, a well-known specialist in industrial strategy, Master of Economics, Doctor of Sociology at Peking University, who once created a strategy for Motorola in China, in his book "Zhen Zheng de zhi xing" ("The Truth of Management"), considered the concept of"name correction" on the example of why Chinese enterprises often use it as an example. They face the difficulties of "breaking through", how to move from a " big "enterprise to a "strong" one, how to become a world-class corporation, etc. [Jiang Ruxiang, 2005]. He makes interesting conclusions that the transition of a large enterprise to a new level, for example, to the world level, cannot be implemented simply by mechanically increasing production volumes, the number of employees, the number of mechanisms and equipment. Such a transition should not be random, but it must be carried out through careful strategic planning. And why, strictly speaking, can't you" accidentally " reach a new level, become even more, if it turns out by itself? Dr. Jiang Ruxiang's answer to this question is directly in the style of the "name correction" concept. A big company, he says, is not necessarily a strong one! However, a small enterprise necessarily means "not strong". In other words, the force has its limitations in the size of the controlled system, and the larger it is, the potentially stronger it can be. But in the absence of strength, an enterprise that becomes "big" will not necessarily gain strength.

The author of the book asks the question: why is it difficult for a Chinese enterprise to be both big and strong at the same time? And he gives this answer: because the Chinese specific economic environment has created huge enterprises, but they lack organizational strength. But the special Chinese culture has created people who are smart and able to change. And when an enterprise has a lot of smart employees, it leads to the fact that the enterprise creates a special culture of strategy. And when there is a strategy, the company can move to a new level and become not only big, but also strong.

Separately, it is worth considering classical military texts describing combat strategies, which traditionally served as guides for making decisions of "noble men" not only in the arena of war, but also in the management of the state. Here we consider the traditional canon of "Sanshilyu ji", which is a set of 36 universal rules or actions - stratagems, each of which should be applied depending on the current situation to achieve success.-

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ha 2. Less well-known in the West than similar works such as Sun Tzu's The Art of War and Lao Tzu's Tao te Ching (translation), the 36 Stratagems is an equally important part of Chinese strategic thought.

Using stratagems has always been considered a high art that only talented people possessed, but stratagemism is inherent in the Chinese mentality. For example, the founder of modern China, Mao Zedong, was well versed in the art of stratagem thinking and often used stratagems in political and military struggles. The lines from his famous poem "The enemy is coming - we are retreating..." are an excellent example of the fourth stratagem " Wait in peace for the tired enemy "(Krippendorf, 2005).

Stratagemism, therefore, is an integral feature of the Chinese national character, a feature of national psychology. Chinese people were taught from childhood to calculate the situation many moves ahead and use system traps to achieve success. It is not surprising that today Chinese entrepreneurs often use stratagemism in solving certain situations, because the Chinese tradition taught them to calculate their moves through such strategic treatises (Sun Tzu's "Methods of Combat", Zhuge Liang's treatises, etc.). The interpretation of stratagems, especially in relation to business communication, has now become a favorite activity of many authors [Sun-tzu, 2003].

So, let's try to identify the main categories that modern Chinese scientists use when describing previous Chinese approaches to management.

1. Company structure

First, let's look at the specifics of the management structure. One of the main types of organization building in China is based on an anthropomorphic view of the managed system as a living organism, while the reverse comparison is also preserved - often the body is likened to society. So, quite often they say that a country is like a body, and its sovereign is the heart of the country. In the treatise "Li Ji" it is said that the ruler and the people are one and the same, as the ruler - so are the people. The ruler and the people are like the heart and the body: if the heart is calm, the body rests, and the wound in the body makes the heart suffer.

Another widely used type of organizational construction is the construction of an organization based on the family structure principle. Such a system has been practiced by the Chinese since ancient times and recommended by various sages as a basis for restoring order in the country. The bottom line is that in managing a family, the main thing was to correctly establish the "root" of the foundation. By" root " they meant moral principles (de), and by the basis-the character of a person, his upbringing. If the" root "of the foundation is correct, then the "tops" (or all other things and actions of a person) will also be located correctly. "For the root is that which makes the beginning, and the tops are that which harmonizes in resonance."

Therefore, when it is said that in China enterprises are arranged as a family, according to the family type, it should be understood that the main task of the family organization is to give a person the appropriate upbringing, instruction, so that both the "roots" and the" tops " are correct. From this main task, all other moral principles are already based, including those that should treat parents as parents, bras, etc.-

2 36 stratagems developed by the Chinese over thousands of years and collected in this treatise. In fact, the number of stratagems is not limited to 36, but practice shows that these behaviors usually describe all possible situations with certain modifications.

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to the brothers as brothers, to the elders as elders, and to the younger ones as juniors. This is the traditional structure of the entire Chinese society.

Another type of control is the arrangement of a controlled system in accordance with the philosophical idea of the trinity of Heaven, Earth, and Man. The sky is a factor of time, the Earth is a factor of space, and Man is a factor of relationships. The role of the manager is to be able to accurately assess these three points as a kind of framework in which decisions are made and which need to be taken into account. Seeing the processes that take place in such an environment allows the manager to master the situation. They should have adequate knowledge of what the factors of time, space, and relationships are currently characterized by. Each time, given one of the factors, such as time, he needs to remember about the other two: the human factor and the materiality of the structure. To do this, firstly, you need to have the necessary information, secondly, you need to have the appropriate knowledge, and thirdly, you need to understand how the relationships between these factors are built [Yi Zhoution, 2006].

As for the modern use of these organizational structures, modern scientists recognize that all three types of managed system devices, as a rule, do not exist separately, in their pure form. In their opinion, the features of each type can be found in different organizations. This does not mean that there are any contradictions at all, since the allocation of device types of the managed system in accordance with Chinese specifics is rather conditional. However, the heads of enterprises and organizations themselves hardly thought about the type of development of the system they managed when creating them.

2. Company goals

As for the Chinese management style, it is more correct to talk about the success of the organization's work; according to modern Chinese scientists, success is the main criterion for its work. This distinguishes it from management in the West, which is understood as the coordination of human and other resources in order to solve the tasks set3; the main criterion for the work performed in this case is efficiency.

The concept of efficiency in management is interrelated with the concept of success. Success is defined as success in the conceived business, successful achievement of the set goal, as well as as recognition by society of someone's merits, public approval of something. But the effectiveness of the managed system is also determined by the achievement of the goals that are set for it. That is why many managers strive for the efficiency of their management, for the efficiency of the companies and enterprises they manage. However, these concepts are still not synonymous, there is a significant difference between them, and efficiency, the ability to bring an effect, does not mean success. Economic effect is understood as a useful result of economic activity, usually measured by the difference between the monetary income from the activity and the monetary expenditure on its implementation [Peter Nolan, 2001].

However, high efficiency can be achieved at such a moral and psychological price that all your friends and relatives will stop communicating with you. But when a company or organization is successful, it also gets public approval. In addition, a successful company is likely to be effective, because it is difficult to succeed without efficiency. Therefore, being successful (as a manager or enterprise) is much better than just being effective. Therefore

3 Hereafter, except where specifically stated, the author refers to the American model of governance.

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Chinese managers of companies should first of all strive for success, not efficiency.

Traditionally, Chinese success is expressed in terms of "prosperity", "peace","peace". These concepts can be applied to both a business and a specific company. Prosperity is due to the fact that the company is developing, increasing its turnover, and the people working in it are constantly improving their well-being. Peace is the ability of people in the company and the company itself to exist peacefully, serenely, without fear for their future. Peace is understood primarily as the absence of conflicts among team members, between managers and subordinates, between the people and the authorities, so peace is a favorable climate in the company.

A successful company is one that, even in a competitive struggle, is able to behave with dignity, be guided by the right principles, and receive public approval. In a successful company, calm, strong people make a common cause. There can be no success in a company where everyone is "sitting on" each other, wishing evil, being jealous and gossiping, and which is ready to "sacrifice" the good of its employees in order to achieve its goals. Neither people nor companies that have risen to the top of the social ladder by trampling their competitors can be called successful [Zeng Renqiang, 2006].

3. The Era of Socialism

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese have long lived under a socialist system of government. It can be briefly described as follows:

* guaranteed employment,

* salary independence from the volume and quality of work performed,

* non-transparency of salary accrual and promotion,

* the ubiquity of the clan system. Those who were not related or in close relationships with people of higher rank had almost no chance of advancing through the ranks.

What we see today in the largest Chinese companies is radically different from this picture. The Chinese realized in time that when working on the foreign market, they will have to change their traditional approach to management. Since the mid-1980s, so-called business gurus have been attracted to China. They began to instill team spirit in the Chinese and instill a corporate culture. Business training schools began to open. Naturally, Chinese companies began to adopt the Western structure of companies and Western management principles. Shanghai and Beijing began to gradually turn into business capitals, artisanal production acquired a "white collar". The business cards of most employees of Chinese companies were labeled "manager" and "executive officer".

However, very soon the Chinese, having learned what Western management is, began to look for their own "own way" of management, based on the traditional Chinese (not socialist!) approach. Recently, many publications of modern Chinese scientists have appeared describing "management based on the Book of Changes", "management according to Sun Tzu", "management according to 36 stratagems", etc.

MODERN MANAGEMENT IN CHINA

Speaking of modern management in China, let's take the example of Haier, China's largest electronics manufacturer.4 By its size, the company

4 Haier was founded in 1991, when the company called Qingdao Refrigerator (founded in 1984) was renamed to Haier. Over the past 15 years, the company has shown stable production growth of 70-80%.% annually.

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it is rapidly approaching the giants of the market-American, Korean and Japanese companies. This is partly due to the fact that the company strives to produce technically more advanced and cheaper analogues of the "original" electronics models, and partly due to well-built management. It should be noted that many smaller players successfully use the structure and management organization of Haier, which is an excellent example of the "new Chinese management". Relying on the traditional management methods discussed above, the company has tried to adapt them as much as possible to the conditions of a market economy.

Here you can find the results of a study of the company's structure conducted by Chinese scientists from Tsinghua University and Zhongshan University - Ou Yang and Tao Hua. They are published in the paper "Market economy model of Chinese management-case of Haier" [Ou Yang, Tao Hua, 2003].

The main characteristics of the Haier management structure, according to the results of the study, are as follows::

* Evaluating the work of an individual, not a group of workers. In fact, there are no small work groups or teams of workers in the company. Every man for himself.

The company refused to create various groups at the level of ordinary workers. Thus, each of them is given a chance to maximize their abilities and not depend on the failures of employees. As for the higher level, the creation of mobile groups among managers is also absent. The exception is groups that are involved in the development of new products, but the designated team leader selects the staff himself, not depending on the decision of the higher management. Given that the team leader himself is interested in the success of the new development, he tries to gather the most capable team.

* Workers ' salaries are determined directly by the work performed. Mid-level managers ' salaries are determined directly by their performance (product profitability).

A worker's salary is calculated using the formula:

S = S1 + S2 - T, where

S - employee's salary,

1 S - the number of manufactured products multiplied by the product coefficient,

2S - the number of defective items found on employees, multiplied by the product factor,

T is the number of defective items found by employees at the employee's place, multiplied by the product coefficient.

The profitability of a product is calculated using the formula:

P = (Spr - Cp/75) (S - Sm), where

P - yield,

Spr - the cost of a new product,

Cp - cost of components,

S-sales,

Sm - minimum sales.

* There are no fixed salaries or guaranteed incentives for workers.

All salaries are calculated according to the following formulas:if a worker works well, he already gets a well-deserved reward, but if a worker does not earn enough, he gets less. It creates an incentive to work more productively.

* Evaluation of completed work takes place immediately, as soon as the work is completed.

Each worker evaluates their work every day based on seven characteristics (amount of work, defective work, use of materials, condition of equipment-

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safety, attitude to work, discipline) by filling out the ZE 5 card. A higher-level manager collects maps and verifies them. Every month, information about the best and worst employees is posted at the company's stand.

* Job evaluation criteria are fully open - workers are evaluated using an arithmetic formula.

No one from the higher management is able to influence the results of calculations and, as a result, the assessment of the work performed by the employee. At the same time, any worker can challenge the results of their work if they can prove their case by providing the information recorded on the ZE card.

Thus, with this management organization, the employee of the company becomes more interested in the success of the company, because his own income depends on the success of the company. At the worker level, this is determined by the quantity of quality goods produced, at the level of the project manager (middle manager) - by the production and marketing of a new product, at the level of the department director - by the profitability of the department's work. There is a direct market relationship between a worker's salary and the success of a product in the market.

Let's try to understand why this "carrot and stick" system is successfully operating in the new China. First, as the researchers note, the Chinese are tired of the old, socialist system, the main problem of which was that the company's employees lacked motivation, opportunities for innovation and the spirit of competition. Secondly, there is a fear of unemployment, which is very important for modern China. Third, trade has played a huge role throughout China's history. Hence the passion for entrepreneurship, high motivation for achievement, competitive spirit, focus on money, materialism, which the Chinese imbibes with their mother's milk.

The new management style fully meets the above needs.

WHAT IS"CHINESE MANAGEMENT"?

Let's first try to understand what is the difference between approaches to management in both Western and Eastern traditions, and identify their common features. Traditionally, the Western management culture is attributed to an individualistic orientation, an emphasis on the equality of individuals and internal control, on rational methods and technical means of management, while the Eastern approach to management is characterized by a collectivist orientation, a humanistic orientation, subordination to authority and external control, an emphasis on passivity, dependence and conservatism. As for the Chinese culture itself, it is very important to understand that China, which generally meets the general "Eastern" characteristics, has always had its own specifics. Therefore, the approach to governance in China is still different from, say, the Japanese one. One of the distinguishing features is that the Chinese do not distinguish between work, family, and social relationships. Today, you can see that those who have achieved some success in business do not separate their work from their personal lives.

An American scientist of Taiwanese origin, Cheng Zhongying, in one of his works revealed the special features of the" Western "and" Far Eastern " approaches to management, which allows us to look at the problem of differences in management approaches as a holistic phenomenon. These distinctive features are shown in the following table:

5 3E - "everyone, everything, everyday" - "every employee, every detail, every day".

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Table

Rationalistic management

(western approach)

Humanistic management

(Far Eastern approach)

Abstractness, i.e. the desire to impose abstract ideas and concepts on reality

Objectivism, i.e. the perception of things as objects independent of the mind that perceives them

Mechanics: a view of the world as a system of objects governed by immutable laws

Dualism: the juxtaposition of primary and secondary properties, reason and intuition, objective and subjective

Absolutism: deductive, linear and unidirectional nature of management

Concreteness: the object of management is a specific integral person

Subjectivism: the ability to identify and base non-rational human functions

Organicism: taking a living organism as a reference point in the complex integrity of its existence

Holism, or non-duality: an orientation towards the wholeness of the biological organism and the harmonization of human functions instead of contrasting the human mind with nature

Relativism, or non-absolutivism: focusing on the interaction of people, respect for the will and opinions of others

--- Source: [Zeng Renqiang 2005].

Thus, the main principle of Chinese management is first of all to be at the center of the process that you manage, to attract the necessary people and correctly place them in positions that correspond to their abilities, to create humane conditions for controlled self-organization. It may seem that the main thing in management is to achieve complete authoritarianism. However, in fact, proper management "in Chinese" in the future implies the possibility of not having constant control over the managed process. "Cadres decide everything!" - this Soviet-era slogan is the most accurate reflection of reality in China, because Chinese leaders have been using this idea for two and a half thousand years.

You can sum up the first results:

* To manage in Chinese means to cultivate inner moral strength( te), which is the main tool of management.

* Manage in Chinese - means to carry out soft monitoring of the management process (dao) with the obligatory anticipation of possible crisis situations, even if the organization is already in crisis.

If we consider Chinese management from the point of view of the main goals and objectives that it faces, then, of course, we will not see any significant differences from Western management. In modern China, as in any other country, management is required to optimize production processes and get the maximum profit at the lowest cost. In today's reforming China, production, technology, and trade are often organized according to Western models, which naturally affects the changes that are taking place in the entire society. These processes are particularly fast in large cities. However, in terms of content, especially at the level of relationships between people, between superiors and subordinates, between people and society, traditional Chinese values, and with them traditional management principles, still remain extremely strong, and it can even be said that they largely determine the nature of continuously developing industrial relations.

COMPARISON WITH JAPANESE AND AMERICAN MANAGEMENT

We have already pointed out some distinguishing features of Chinese management from Western management. We will highlight such differences, since very often in special cases-

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The Eastern management style is not divided into Chinese, Japanese, etc. in modern literature. As a rule, they talk about Eastern specifics, Eastern thinking in general. Of course, you don't need to be an expert to understand the differences between Japanese management (full of traditional approaches) and, for example, Indian (which has long coexisted with English law). Here, a distinction is made between Japanese and Chinese management styles, since, despite its importance, it is very often overlooked by specialists due to the comparative proximity of the two cultures.

Let's highlight the main characteristics of Japanese management in comparison with Chinese:

* Japanese people focus on teamwork. Japanese enterprises evaluate not only the individual's work, but also teamwork, discipline, and loyalty to the company. As noted above, Chinese companies often use the "every man for himself"principle.

* Workers and employees have limited knowledge of how their work is evaluated and promoted (department heads have a voice). Chinese workers and employees have an accurate idea of how much they have earned and how much more work they need to do to get a promotion.

* The dispute system - a collective discussion of the activities of a Japanese company-puts an end to your career. On the contrary, any competitive and well-founded initiative is welcome at a Chinese enterprise. Moreover, a worker or manager who offers a non-standard or just a new approach to work that can make the work more productive receives encouragement in the form of bonuses or promotions. In the reality of a Japanese company, any initiative, even if it is very productive, is unlikely to be considered at all, moreover, the employee who proposed it calls into question his or her professionalism and that of a higher employee.

* There is an intangible incentive. For the Japanese, the non-material evaluation of their work is very important. The approval of your superiors is a very good incentive. For Chinese workers, the simple approval of a higher-level employee is not so important, the main thing is material encouragement.

* Medium-term prospects, wages and positions of workers may not change for many years. Traditionally, a Japanese worker can work in one position for a long time before being promoted. The Chinese worker "grows" much faster, in addition, the system of personnel rotation is quite widespread.

* The salary of workers and employees is fixed. As a rule, the salary of an employee of a Japanese company does not depend on the product actually produced. In Chinese companies, the employee receives a salary, which is calculated on the basis of the work performed.

Let us note in conclusion that Japanese management, despite the fact that it meets market requirements, is not based on the market, but on psychology and sociology.

As for American management, we have highlighted above the main differences between the Western (American) management style and the Chinese one. I would like to add the following:

* Salaries are fixed here. Like the Japanese worker, the American gets a fixed salary plus bonuses.

* Salaries and promotions do not depend much on the performance assessment of the company's employee.

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Another thing is in Haier. Here, for example, the worst 5% of employees are automatically dismissed. This practice is also used by other large Chinese companies, not to mention private and individual entrepreneurs.

In conclusion, I would like to note that the peculiarity of Chinese strategy building is that the real strategy is always hidden. In any case, any large companies in China, unlike Western ones, do not disclose their real strategies. In the West, it is customary to widely announce their strategies. It is believed that this can attract investors and public interest, serve as an incentive for employees and block management from retreating.

Strategic forecasting in the West is the calculation of possible consequences according to several scenarios: the best, average, or worst-case scenario. Thus, it is very difficult not to" guess " some of these options. In addition, if the situation develops for the worst, then the reasons are not sought in external forces (although sometimes they refer to unforeseen circumstances), but in the mental abilities of a person or a group of strategic forecast developers. If the forecast comes true, developers get good bonuses, and if not, they don't get any bonuses.

The Chinese have always attached great importance to making predictions come true, as they are the most valuable source for making any kind of decision. In modern China, both at the state level and in individual firms, there are entire divisions for centralized strategy development and long-term planning management. But there are also many mechanisms that are not of an official managerial nature - in China, despite all the revolutionary changes, traditional mechanisms of informal influence or situation management have been preserved.

list of literature

Krippendorf K. 36 strategii dlya pobedy v epokhu konkurentsii [36 strategies for winning in the era of competition]. Sun Tzu. The art of war. Strategy and Tactics of the winner, Moscow: Eksmo Publishing House; St. Petersburg: Terra Fantastica, 2003.

Jiang Ruxiang. Zhen zheng de zhixing ("The Truth of Management"). Beijing, 2005.

Ou Yang, Tao Hua. Market Economy Model of Chinese Management - Case of Haier. 2003.

Peter Nolan. China and the Global Economy. USA: Palvgrave, 2001.

Yi Zhoutian. Yi jing guan li (Management and the Book of Changes). Beijing, 2006.

Zeng Renqiang. Zhong guo shi guan li (Management in Chinese). Beijing, 2006.

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