Leadership self-development in China and Vietnam

The transition towards a socialist market-oriented economy has presented many challenges to both China and Vietnam. One of the key human resource challenges has been to develop business leadership skills in a flexible, timely and cost-effective manner. This paper focuses on the self-initiated approach to professional development that has been introduced by managers at a grassroot level to improve business leadership (referred to as self-development). Given the limited research on self-development in China and Vietnam, the intention of this paper is to enrich understanding of why managers in a complex and dynamic transitional environment undertake self-development activities. The findings of this study suggest that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ paradigm to understand self-development across contexts. First, the western model of leadership competencies at the different management levels do not necessarily fit the needs that managers are targeting in their self-development activities in China and Vietnam. Second, despite some similarities between China and Vietnam, the Chinese managers were more interested in technical leadership skills than the Vietnamese managers whose self-development foci were centred on improving their moral standards. Such differences highlight each country's stage of economic and social development while reinforcing the influence of contextual factors. It also suggests that self-development is best understood as a process within a specific context.

Leadership and teamwork in medical emergencies: Performance of nursing students and registered nurses in simulated patient scenarios

Aims and objectives: To examine nursing students' and registered nurses' teamwork skills whilst managing simulated deteriorating patients. Background: Studies continue to show the lack of timely recognition of patient deterioration. Management of deteriorating patients can be influenced by education and experience. Design: Mixed methods study conducted in two universities and a rural hospital in Victoria, and one university in Queensland, Australia. Methods: Three simulation scenarios (chest pain, hypovolaemic shock and respiratory distress) were completed in teams of three by 97 nursing students and 44 registered nurses, equating to a total of 32 student and 15 registered nurse teams. Data were obtained from (1) Objective Structured Clinical Examination rating to assess performance; (2) Team Emergency Assessment Measure scores to assess teamwork; (3) simulation video footage; (4) reflective interview during participants' review of video footage. Qualitative thematic analysis of video and interview data was undertaken. Results: Objective structured clinical examination performance was similar across registered nurses and students (mean 54% and 49%); however, Team Emergency Assessment Measure scores differed significantly between the two groups (57% vs 38%, t = 6·841, p < 0·01). In both groups, there was a correlation between technical (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) and nontechnical (Team Emergency Assessment Measure) scores for the respiratory distress scenario (student teams: r = 0·530, p = 0·004, registered nurse teams r = 0·903, p < 0·01) and hypovolaemia scenario (student teams: r = 0·534, p = 0·02, registered nurse teams: r = 0·535, p = 0·049). Themes generated from the analysis of the combined quantitative and qualitative data were as follows: (1) leadership and followership behaviours; (2) help-seeking behaviours; (3) reliance on previous experience; (4) fixation on a single detail; and (5) team support. Conclusions: There is scope to improve leadership, team work and task management skills for registered nurses and nursing students. Simulation appears to be beneficial in enabling less experienced staff to assess their teamwork skills. Relevance to clinical practice: There is a need to encourage less experienced staff to become leaders and for all staff to develop improved teamwork skills for medical emergencies.

A very short fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying leadership

In teaching you how to critically appraise and work with leadership theories rather than faithfully accept them, this book will not merely make you a better student of leadership; it could make you a better leader too.

Business leadership development in China

This book argues that China's businesses, and hence China's future economic development, face a huge crisis in that there is a considerable "leadership gap" in China, with a shortage of competent business leaders, at a time when new ...

Making sense of business leadership vis-à-vis china’s reform and transition

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the contemporary paradigm of business leadership vis-à-vis China’s reform and transitional context. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs an evidence-based approach to explore the business leadership issues influenced by economic reform and within the context of societal transition in China. A qualitative research method was adopted based on in-depth interviews with a number of middle managers from a variety of Chinese enterprises, including state-owned, domestic-private and foreigninvested enterprises. Content analysis of several rounds of interviews added depth to the data analysis. Findings – The findings complement existing thoughts and illustrate concepts, issues, and characteristics not yet emphasized in mainstream literature. General patterns and associated characteristics of business leadership in China, as well as specific patterns associated with different forms of enterprise ownerships, are identified. Research limitations/implications – The study makes a timely and necessary contribution that enriches context-specific understandings of business leadership against the backdrop of surrounding economic, social, and cultural changes. Practical implications – The study enriches understandings of commonalities and differences in leadership across the globe, facilitating working collaboratively to achieve common goals in a global community. Originality/value – The study offers new insights into business leadership by linking contextual, personal, and cognitional factors together and demonstrates some unique characteristics of leadership styles in transitional economies like China.

I can see clearly now the moderating effects of role clarity on subordinate responses to ethical leadership

© Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Purpose – Although there is growing research on the relationship between ethical leadership and subordinate work behaviors, limited research has examined the boundary conditions under which ethical leadership is more or less effective. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether subordinate perceptions of role clarity in their job role influence the relationship between ethical leadership and subordinate work behaviors. Drawing on both social exchange and social learning theories, the authors predict that in contexts where subordinates perceive low levels of role clarity, the relationship between ethical leadership behavior and subordinate helping and deviant behaviors will be weaker. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 239 employees in the Chinese public sector completed surveys across three separate time points. Confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Findings – Analyses provided support for the hypothesized relationships. When subordinates perceived higher levels of role clarity the positive relationship between ethical leadership and helping behavior was stronger, and the negative relationship between ethical leadership and deviant behavior was stronger. Research limitations/implications – As with all research the findings of this study need to be viewed in light of its limitations. First, the use of data from a single set of respondents opens up the possibility of common method bias. Second, given the study used of a sample of public sector employees from one part of China, there would be value in future research examining whether the findings from the present study are generalizable to other industrial and cultural contexts. Practical implications – This research has a number of practical implications. Given that the authors found a significant positive relationship between ethical leadership and helping behavior, and a significant negative relationship between ethical leadership and deviant behavior, it is crucial for organizations to include ethical training as an essential part of leadership development programs. However, the findings also suggest at the same time as facilitating the development of ethical leadership behaviors amongst supervisory employees, it is important for organizations to also provide employees with clarity over what is expected of them in their jobs, and the means they should employ to facilitate goal achievement. Originality/value – This study responds to recent calls for more research to identify factors which may strengthen or mitigate the influence of ethical leadership in the workplace.

How servant leadership influences organizational citizenship behavior: the roles of LMX, empowerment, and proactive personality

© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht While the link between servant leadership and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has been established, the individual-level mechanisms underlying this relationship and its boundary conditions remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigate the salience of the mediating mechanisms of leader–member exchange (LMX) and psychological empowerment in explaining the process by which servant leaders elicit discretionary OCB among followers. We also examine the role of followers’ proactive personality in moderating the indirect effects of servant leadership on OCB through LMX and psychological empowerment. Analysis of survey data collected from 446 supervisor–subordinate dyads in a large Chinese state-owned enterprise suggests that while servant leadership is positively related to subordinate OCB through LMX, psychological empowerment does not explain any additional variance in OCB above that accounted for by LMX. Moderated mediation tests confirm the moderating effect of proactive personality through LMX. By providing a nuanced understanding of how and when servant leadership leads followers to go above and beyond their job role, our study assists organizations in deciding how to develop and utilize servant leaders in their organizations.

Examining the cognitive and affective trust-based mechanisms underlying the relationship between ethical leadership and organisational citizenship: A case of the head leading the heart?

In this paper, we investigate the trust-based mechanisms underlying the relationship between ethical leadership and followers' organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs). Based on three-wave survey data obtained from 184 employees and their supervisors, we find that ethical leadership leads to higher levels of both affective and cognitive trust. In addition, we find support for a three-path mediational model, where cognitive trust and affective trust, in turn, mediate the relationship between ethical leadership and follower OCBs. That is to say, we found that ethical leadership leads to the development of cognitive trust, which subsequently influences the development of affective trust. Affective trust, in turn, induces followers to exhibit OCBs as a means of reciprocating the leader's favourable behaviour. Our findings suggest that both affective and cognitive trust plays an important role in the social exchange processes that underlie the relationship between ethical leadership and the discretionary behaviour of followers. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

The influence of follower cultural orientation on attitudinal responses towards transformational leadership: evidence from the Chinese hospitality industry

In addition to extending the empirical investigation of the relationship between transformational leadership and follower affective commitment to the Chinese hospitality industry, this study makes a theoretical contribution by investigating the influence of individually held cultural values on this relationship. Building on previous research which has examined whether collectivism moderates the transformational leadership/affective commitment relationship, this study investigates the moderating effects of two additional cultural value orientations, namely power distance and uncertainty avoidance. Hierarchical regression analysis was utilized to analyse survey data from 398 employees of four Chinese hotels in Zhejiang Province. In addition to finding a positive relationship between transformational leadership and affective commitment, data analysis revealed that followers low in power distance exhibited higher levels of affective commitment when working under a transformational leader than those high in power distance. In addition, followers high in uncertainty avoidance and collectivism exhibited greater commitment when working under a transformational leader than those low in uncertainty avoidance and collectivism. These findings clearly indicate the importance of within-country cultural differences to the effectiveness of leaders in the workplace. © 2014 © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

The impact of participative leadership on job performance and organizational citizenship behavior: distinguishing between the mediating effects of affective and cognitive trust

This study examines the mediating effects of cognitive trust and affective trust on the relationship between supervisors' participative leadership behavior and subordinate work outcomes, using data obtained from 247 dyads in a manufacturing organization located in mainland China. Structural equation modeling revealed that while affective trust fully mediated the relationships between participative leadership of supervisor and subordinate job performance and organizational citizenship behavior, cognitive trust had non-significant effects. These findings underscore the importance of interpersonal interactions between the supervisor and subordinate for engendering subordinate work outcomes. They also lend support to the exchange (relationship)-based explanation as to how trust enhances the response of subordinates to the participative leadership behavior of their immediate supervisor, given that affective trust involves a process of social exchange between both parties over an extended period of time. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis.