Deutsch 's theory of cooperative and competitive conflicttmay be usefully extended to Chinese people. Results of LISREL and other analyses of data collectedfrom interviews of Chinese immigrants indicate that those who developed cooperative goals in a conflict were able to discuss issues open-mindedly, and this constructive interaction helped them make progress on the task, work efficiently, and strengthen their work relationship and their confidence in future collaboration. These results do not argue that Chinese and North Americans handle conflict similarly, for how these groups operationalize the theory may differ significantly. Goal interdependence may have the potential to be a framework for promoting conflict management between Chinese and North Americans.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abrahamson, N. R. , & Lane, H. W. (1990, September). A frameworkfor investigating the impact of culture on managerial interaction: An exploratory study of American, Canadian and Swedish managers. Paper presented at the conference of the Academy of International Business, Toronto.
2.
Adler, N. J. (1983). Cross-cultural management research: The ostrich and the trend. Academy of Management Review, 8, 226-232.
3.
Adler, N. J. , Doktor, R., & Redding, S. G. (1986). From the Atlantic to the Pacific century: Cross-cultural management reviewed. Journal of Management, 12, 295-318.
4.
Adler, N. J. , & Graham, J. L. (1987). Business negotiations: Canadians are not just like Americans. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 4, 211-238.
5.
Bond, M. H. (1988). Finding universal dimensions of individual variation in multicultural studies of values: The Rokeach and Chinese values surveys. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 1009-1015.
6.
Bond, M. H. , Wan, K. C., Leung, K., & Giacalone, R. A. (1985). How are responses to verbal insult related to cultural collectivism and power distance?Joumal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 16, 111-127.
7.
Bond, M. H. , & Wang, S. H. (1983). China: Aggressive behavior and the problem of maintaining order and harmony. In A. P. Goldstein & M. H. Segall (Eds.), Global perspectives on aggression (pp. 58-74). New York: Pergamon.
8.
Chiao, C. (1981, November-December). Chinese strategic behavior: Some general principles. Paper presented at a conference in honor of Professor John M. Roberts, Claremont, CA.
9.
Contractor, F. J. , & Lorange, P. (1988). Why should firms cooperate? The strategy and economic basis for cooperative ventures. In F. J. Contractor & P. Lorange (Eds.), Cooperative strategies in international business (pp. 3-30). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
10.
Copeland, L. (1988). Valuing diversity: Making the most of cultural differences at the workplace. Personnel, 65(6), 52-60.
11.
Cox, T. , & Blake, S. (1991). Managing cultural diversity: Implications for organizational competitiveness. Academy of Management Executive, 5, 45-56.
12.
Deutsch, M. (1949). A theory of cooperation and competition. Human Relations, 2, 129-152.
13.
Deutsch, M. (1973). The resolution of conflict. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
14.
Deutsch, M. (1980). Fifty years of conflict. In L. Festinger (Ed.), Retrospections on social psychology (pp. 46-77). New York: Oxford University Press.
15.
Dowling, P. J. , & Nagel, T. W. (1986). Nationality and work attitudes: A study of Australian and American business majors. Journal of Management, 12, 121-128.
16.
Earley, P. C. (1987). Intercultural training for managers: A comparison of documentary and interpersonal methods. Academy of Management Journal, 3, 685-698.
17.
Earley, P. C. (1989). Social loafing and collectivism: A comparison of the United States and the People's Republic of China. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34, 565-581.
18.
Farnham, A. (1989, March 13). Holding firm on affirmative action. Fortune, pp. 87-88.
19.
Flanagan, J. C. (1951). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 54, 327-358.
20.
Funder, D. C. , & Dobroth, K. M. (1987). Differences between traits: Properties associated with intergroup agreement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 409-418.
21.
Graham, J. L. (1983). Brazilian, Japanese, and American business negotiations. Journal of International Business Studies, 14(1), 47-61.
22.
Harrigan, K. (1985). Strategies for joint ventures. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
23.
Hayduk, L. A. (1987). A structural equation modeling with UISREL. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.
24.
Ho, D.Y.F. (1980). Chinese patterns of socialization: A critical review. Unpublished manuscript, University of Hong Kong.
25.
Ho, D.Y.F. , & Kang, T. K. (1984). Intergenerational comparisons of child-rearing attitudes and practices in Hong Kong. Developmental Psychology, 20, 1004-1016.
26.
Holton, R. H. (1981). Making international joint ventures work. In L. Otterbeck (Ed.), The management of headquarters subsidiary relations in multinational corporations (pp. 255-267). London: Grower.
27.
Huang, L. C. , & Harris, M. B. (1973). Conformity in Chinese and Americans: A field experiment. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 4, 427-434.
28.
Johnston, W. B. , & Packer, A. (1987). Workforce 2000: Work and workers for the 21st century. Indianapolis, IN: Hudson Institute.
29.
Joreskog, K. G. , & Sorbom, D. (1984). LISREL VI user's guide. Mooresville, IN: Scientific Software.
30.
Leung, K. , & Park, H. J. (1986). Effects of interaction goal on choice of allocation rule: A cross-national study. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 37, 111-120.
31.
Li, M. C. , Chueng, S. F., & Kau, S. M. (1979). Competitive and cooperative behavior of Chinese children in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Acta Psychologica Taiwanica, 21, 27-33.
32.
Parish, W. L. , & Whyte, M. K. (1978). Village andfamily in contemporary China. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
33.
Podsakoff, P. M. , & Organ, D. W. (1986). Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management, 12, 531-544.
34.
Redding, S. G. (1980). Cognition as an aspect of culture and its relation to management process: An exploratory view of the Chinese case. Journal of Management Studies, 17, 127-148.
35.
Redding, S. G. , & Wong, G.Y.Y. (1986). The social psychology of Chinese organizational behavior. In M. H. Bond (Ed.), The psychology of the Chinese people (pp. 267-295). New York: Oxford University Press.
36.
Ryback, D. , Sanders, A. L., Lorentz, J., & Koestenblatt, M. (1980). Child-rearing practices reported by students in six cultures. Journal of Social Psychology, 110, 153-162.
37.
Shekar, O. , & Zeira, Y. (1987). Human resources management in international joint ventures: Directions for research. Academy of Management Review, 12, 546-557.
38.
Shekar, O. , & Zeira, Y. (1990, January). International joint ventures: A tough test for HR. Personnel, pp. 26-31.
39.
Sollenberger, R. T. (1968). Chinese-American child-rearing practices and juvenile delinquency. Journal of Social Psychology, 74, 13-23.
40.
Spector, P. E. (1987). Method variance as an artifact in self-reported affect and perceptions at work: Myth or significant problem. Journal of Applied Psychology, 72, 438-443.
41.
Tang, S.F.Y. , & Kirkbridge, P. S. (1986). Developing conflict managing skills in Hong Kong: An analysis of some cross-cultural implications. Management Education and Development, 17, 287-301.
42.
Thomas, K. W. , & Schmidt, W. H. (1976). A survey of managerial interests with respect to conflict. Academy of Management Joumal, 19, 315-318.
43.
Tjosvold, D. (1984). Cooperation theory and organizations. Human Relations, 37, 743-767.
44.
Tjosvold, D. (1985). Implications of controversy research for management. Journal of Management, 11, 21-37.
45.
Tjosvold, D. (1986a). Dynamics of interdependence in organizations. Human Relations, 39, 517-540.
46.
Tjosvold, D. (1986b). Working together to get things done: Managing for organizational productivity. Lexington, MA: Heath.
47.
Tjosvold, D. (1989). Interdependence approach to conflict management in organizations. In M. Afzalur Rahim (Ed.), Managing conflict: An interdisciplinary approach (pp. 41-50). New York: Praeger.
48.
Tjosvold, D. (1991). The conflict-positive organization: Stimulate diversity and create unity. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
49.
Tjosvold, D. , & Field, R.H.G. (1984). Managers' structuring cooperative and competitive controversy in group decision making. International Journal of Management, 1, 26-32.
50.
Tjosvold, D. , & Johnson, D. W. (1989). Productive conflict management: Perspectives for organizations. Minneapolis, MN: Team Media.
51.
Tjosvold, D. ,& McNeely, L. T. (1988). Innovation through communication in aneducational bureaucracy. Communication Research, 15, 568-581.
52.
Unterman, I. (1988, August). National negotiating style: Mexicans. Paper presented at the meetings of the Academy of Management, Anaheim, CA.
53.
Wheeler, L. , Reis, H. T., & Bond, M. H. (1989). Collectivism-individualism in everyday social life: The middle kingdom and the melting pot. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 79-86.
