Use of Action Learning as a Vehicle for Capacity Building in China     

Lichia Yiu  Raymond Saner 《Performance Improvement Quarterly》1998,11(1):129-148

This article describes the use of action learning and action research in the development of management training institutions and management development experts in China. A case study is reported here which was based on a technical cooperation project between Switzerland and China which took place from 1994 to1996. The aim of this project was to build up the Chinese Government's institutional capacity in support of its policy to modernize its public administration and to strengthen its management of public enterprises. Conclusions from this case analysis illustrate that it is possible to operationalize action learning and action research methodologies successfully in China and to bring about organizational, managerial, professional, and personal development. It also illustrates needed adaptations of applying these management development strategies in the context of an international transfer of know-how. Learning took place at two related domains, i.e., at the domain of Chinese organizers, trainers, and managers who participated in the project and at the domain where the two partner institutions of the project interacted. More work is needed to better understand how to accelerate the development of facilitators and to manage structural and cultural constraints when one applies action learning and action research methodologies to large and complex systems in transitional economies within an Asian cultural environment.  相似文献   

Value dimensions in american counseling: A Taiwanese-American comparison     

Saner-Yiu Lichia  Saner-Yiu Raymond 《International journal for the advancement of counseling》1985,8(2):137-146

This paper is a discussion of prevailing American value dimensions in counseling theory and practice in general and a comparison of Taiwanese-Chinese and American counseling value dimensions in particular. Whereas most studies on cross-cultural issues to date have focused on American majority-minority value conflicts, this paper discusses a new level of value conflict, that between cultures, between nations.Part I discusses differences in cognition and affect between American and Taiwanese-Chinese. We have found that despite decades of American influence on Taiwanese culture, strong value differences persist between both countries, which leads us to believe that culture values are non-negotiable, structural elements of human existence. These basic differences in values influence perception, cognition, and behavior of American and Taiwanese culture bearers and result in predictable cross-culture conflicts.Part II presents a conceptualization of culture values and further discusses the American values embedded in counseling practices. To understand this influence we have identified (using Geert Hofstede's four culture value dimensions) cultural characteristics unique to Americans and Taiwanese-Chinese.Part III specifically discusses the impact of American individualism on counseling theory, and how the strong American belief of the universality of individualism can lead to an inability to validate collectivist cultures.We conclude by suggesting that more longitudinal and historic analysis could generate more in-depth information about culture values. This in turn could make a truly international and inter-cultural theory and practice of counseling a more likely possibility.  相似文献