Management and business style of Chinese family firms is strongly influenced by the values Confusians, among them a management orientation tends to emphasize the common achievements, distrust the ability of managers to subordinates, the emergence of cooperation based on compliance and attach great importance to relations and harmony. Manager uphold the principle of orientation or interest groups together. Individual achievement is considered as a result of the group that led the Chinese managers adopt non-competitive management ethics.
In many Chinese family firms, managers do not fully trust the subordinate. This is partly for reasons of hierarchical values. They consider the company's organization as a system that puts families and treat subordinates as "children" who must depend and never can be fully trusted by the "parents". Managers are viewed as "parents" who must maintain and supervise "the children". Many Chinese companies are run by a strong father figure. Some managers consider their subordinates are not psychologically mature enough to shoulder the responsibility of managerial jobs, so that almost all the important decisions taken alone. The work environment tends to semi-authoritarian. Subordinates are expected to submit and run their superiors instructions seriously. Compromise and subordinate compliance is a fundamental value of Chinese culture that is sometimes considered unusual by the manager.
Theoretically, employee participation is an important thing in Chinese management system. Unfortunately, in most companies, the theory and practice are two separate things. They are usually only allowed to participate in decision making related to working conditions, rather than on strategic policy. Chinese middle managers submit important decisions to a higher manager, did not want to give advice or personal opinions, and are reluctant to assume responsibility for the performance of the company.
With the increasing need for professional knowledge in every field of work, many Chinese family firms realize that the delegation of decision-making authority must consider the knowledge, skills and abilities of subordinates. Although some attitudes have improved corporate organizations, senior managers of Chinese still use the authoritarian style of decision-making as far as the end of an important and strategic. The supervisors and middle managers do not have a significant power to influence final decisions.
The question of who makes decisions and who is responsible for corporate decision-making process in Chinese families containing two paradoxes, with sometimes are two different things.
The first paradox, which could be the reason the second paradox, that the joint decision making was just a formality and does not touch the substance, especially when the decision was made at the departmental level. Although no formal system that ensures the participation of leaders to make decisions collectively, many top managers of Chinese companies still prefer to make decisions unilaterally according to their special position in the hierarchy.
The first paradox, which could be the reason the second paradox, that the joint decision making was just a formality and does not touch the substance, especially when the decision was made at the departmental level. Although no formal system that ensures the participation of leaders to make decisions collectively, many top managers of Chinese companies still prefer to make decisions unilaterally according to their special position in the hierarchy.
The second paradox, managers act as if responsible, but in fact they were "not responsible" for the implementation of the decision. Most Chinese managers may be evasive of responsibility if unforeseen problems arise. Their culture conditioned to not make the final decision and tend not to implement the decision that they did not make. Fortunately for them because of shared decision-making procedures provide a safe way for managers to dodge responsibility. They can take advantage of the nature of togetherness as a pretext to avoid the managerial duties of individuals, because most decisions are made through several consultative meetings so most organizations resmi.Kendati Chinese companies began to change their management style. Authority managers are now dependent on the ability to perform and also how to apply professional knowledge, not on the basis of the position. The greater the power - the more knowledge managers, as well as the more support and cooperation given by subordinates in decision-making procedures.