Leadership Studies of Chinese and Chinese-Americans

Abstract

Chinese college students in Hong Kong and Chinese-American college students in Hawaii ranked a list of 9 issues of critical concern to them and their college in terms of their relative importance. These students then met in groups of 6 with a group leader who had been trained in authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire leadership atmospheres and who utilized one of these conditions. The group was required to discuss the 9 issues and arrive at a group ranking. Finally, all subjects ranked the same issues individually a second time. Intercorrelations between group and final individual rankings were made. With Chinese subjects, it was found that authoritarian leadership produced a greater degree of cohesiveness of judgment than laissez-faire or democratic. Male leaders produced greater cohesiveness of group judgment than females. Emergent male leaders appeared in the female laissez-faire conditions but not when the laissez-faire leader was male. With Chinese-Americans, both democratic and authoritarian leadership atmospheres produced a high level of group cohesion of judgment. Male leaders were more successful in this respect than females. No emergent leaders appeared in any of the conditions. Speculation concerning differences between Chinese and Chinese-Americans suggests that the latter have experienced both authoritarian as well as democratic leadership atmospheres and can adapt to either while Chinese in an authoritarian culture demonstrate more successful adaptation to authoritarian atmospheres.