Cultural Planning In China

Introduction

Culture can be defined as a set of shared beliefs that a group of people practice. Every nation across the world has a culture that can best be used to describe them. China has a population of more than 1.5 billion people with a strong culture that stretches for over 4000 years. The Chinese transformation in to the fastest growing economy of at an annual rate of about 10% has brought the country into much international focus. The country has the second largest economy in the world and is also ranked second behind the United States for the recipient of Foreign Direct Investment, FDI. The United States is a superpower with unmatched economic, political and military power (BBC.com, 2014). The USA has the largest GDP in the world

Planning is defined as the activity of deciding in advance what tasks need to be done and therefore come up with ways of accomplishing the same tasks. Planning ensures that things to happen which if left unattended to would otherwise not have occurred (Daft, 1997).

Organizing

Organizing is the next task that follows planning in the management process. Organizing involves synchronization of all the available management resources to achieve the set goals and objectives. The resources necessary for management are; human, physical and financial factors. Organizing therefore ensures that different roles and responsibilities are clearly outlined within the organization (Daft, 1997).

Staffing

Staffing is a management that involves the allocation of responsibilities and tasks to different employees within an organization. Tasks are allocated to individuals carefully after consideration of their abilities to complete them successfully (Daft, 1997).

Directing

Leading employees towards the achievement of set goals and objectives of a company is directing. All managers have different ways through which they lead members of their company to achieve set goals. Effective leaders have the ability to realize the highest productivity levels of all their employees (Daft,

As a function of management, controlling involves the whole monitoring process to ensure that tasks are performed at the required standards to attain organizational goals. It is therefore the duty of managers to identify problems within their systems and resolve them appropriately (Daft, 1997).

Cultural Values vs. Management Tasks

Different cultural values affect how the different tasks of management are accomplished within every company. The following tables indicate how the different cultural values between the Chinese and American society affect their respective management processes.

Table 2: Time Focus China: Monochronic USA : Monochronic

Planning A lot of focus is placed on the tasks at hand and making appropriate schedule to attain results

Organizing Management uses a structured and linear approach that focuses on the tasks

Staffing A lot of emphasis is placed on meeting the immediate short-term goals

Directing Much emphasis is placed on following predetermined plans and the management of information

Controlling Control systems favored by this culture depend on structured attention to detail and strict deadlines.

Table 3: Time orientation China: Future USA: Past

Planning Emphasis is placed on long-term plans and results Emphasis is placed on continuation of traditions to build on long term