Reflective Journal Entry 2

After going through 8 weeks of CDE, I have gained insight into what this subject is really about. In addition to Mr Karplus' lectures and explanations, the term presentations by my peers have also allowed me to see a different perspective of things. I agree that there is no right or wrong answer for this course as many of us have differing opinions and beliefs. It is important for us to come together and discuss and share our experiences so that we get a full picture of the situation.

The third tutorial touched on the Confucian principles of ideology which are ren, yi, li, zhi and xin which means compassion, justice, propiety, knowledge and integrity respectively. Confucius also emphasised on the requirement to rule the world is to first develop one’s character, raise a family, and then govern the country. These values have played a pivotal role in shaping the Chinese culture as the Chinese respect the government and think that they are always right and do not question their power.

In the fourth tutorial which was to understand the “Western Perceptions of Individual Rights and Liberties: Challenging the Chinese Notions of Society above Self”, the class engaged in a discussive mode to delve into how the Western ideology shaped the current economy of Western countries, in contrast to the Confucian ideology in the previous lesson.

The Western ideology of self was largely influenced by two major events in history, namely the French Revolution and the American War of Independence. The time period in which these happened was known as the Age of Enlightenment, which was a period of time where people sought for knowledge, freedom and equal rights. They realised that the power given to the government was too much, resulting in an authoritative government. People did not have individual rights and had no power to revolt against them, causing them to suffer in silence.

With the two revolutions, the people implemented ideals of “Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness”. The Americans freed themselves from British colonial rule and set up a government to bring forward the equality that every person deserves. Even though a democratic nation emerged which proclaimed the liberty of life, America was still not free from slavery. This was also the case for the French Revolution. Even though the people managed to overthrow the monarchy, the great French leader Napoleon who was born after the revolution proclaimed himself as the Emperor. This brought back monarchy to France.

With these two differing cultures in mind, it is time to look in the context of Singapore and examine how they affect our lives. Firstly, the Chinese value of  li or respect is practiced in most  Chinese families in Singapore. During meal times, the elders would have first priority in taking their share of the food as a form of respect. The younger members would have to wait patiently for all the elders to take their share before taking theirs. Furthermore, students would have to greet and bow to their teachers in school, and parents when they are back at home. This trains them from a young age to be courteous. In many Western countries, children do not have the habit of greeting their parents, and if they do, it is only an insincere “hi”.

Singaporean families not only inculcate Chinese values, but also some Western values, one of which would be the freedom of thought and speech. In school, students are encouraged to speak up and ask any relevant questions, They are also taught to be creative and innovative so as to survive in this competitive economy. Unlike the Chinese who only remember what they are taught, the Western value of liberty allows students to apply what they have learnt and develop new ideas stemming from what they have learnt in school.

Singapore has a blend of both Western and Chinese values, and I think that this combination is very beneficial as both cultures have their advantages. To make use of both is to create a near perfect process for the development of one’s character. The 8 weeks have taught me a lot of new and interesting facts, and I hope to continue to learn more so that I can have a better understanding of different cultures.

(710 words)

Reflective Journal Entry 1

When the two BSP classes were required to choose between AACS and CDE for IHE, I chose CDE as I was very interested in the cultural differences that separated the West from the East. I did not choose AACS as I was not very good at appreciating literature, and also thought that it may be quite difficult. Although I was quite apprehensive about the content and curriculum of CDE, and also the difficulty of the subject as I thought that it would be like PPE, I heard that the subject was not difficult to grasp. I must say I actually looked forward to the first lesson. Mr. Karplus told us that the mode of pedagogy would be mainly class discussions, and that there were no right or wrong answers. I felt quite relieved at that as I could freely express my views without any fear of being penalised.

I feel that the three tutorials Mr. Karplus has gone through with us were very enriching and thought-provoking. For the first lesson, we analyzed the “Google Way” of management and innovation. Google relies on external motivators like other companies, which refers to financial bonuses and rewards given to employees. However, it also relies heavily on intrinsic motivation, because the company recognizes that its employees are motivated by more than money. By doing so, Google follows well-known principles like those expressed by Bill Gates early in his career: “No great programmer is sitting there saying, “I’m going to make a bunch of money,” or “I’m going to sell a hundred thousand copies,” because that kind of thought gives you no guidance about the problems. This allowed Google to develop its 20 percent policy which allows employees to spend 80% of their time on assigned projects, the official source of their paycheck; with the remaining 20% dedicated to personal research of their own choosing.  

The 20 percent strategy is a boon for employees who have never had a moment to spare at previous jobs. This allows them to have better management of time and strike the right balance between work and personal time, which releases the full potential of employees to be creative and innovative. It is also gratifying to managers who can stop nagging employees about “soldiering on”. Furthermore, I also learnt that Google’s way which exemplifies the Western culture, contrasts with that of Apple, which secretive and somewhat authoritarian approach is more suited for Asian countries such as China.

For the second lesson, we took a Cultural Quotient (CQ) self-assessment to analyse how much we understand cultural differences, and also to emphasize the importance of cultural intelligence. With the knowledge of this, it can greatly prepare us when we enter the workforce which is becoming an increasingly competitive global market. After that, we analyzed the difficulties which Lenovo and other Chinese companies face when developing and expanding into the global market. Unlike more decentralized Western corporations, Chinese organizations are generally run by a powerful CEO who gives orders to a hierarchy of workers, who typically follow them to the letter without raising questions, as these would result in the sacking of the latter. Friction between Western and Chinese management styles also result in one being unable to cooperate with the other. For example, the Chinese have little trust in imparting Western systems of performance measurement or executive development, and frown on lower-level employees proposing ideas to their superiors. These Chinese companies also have a language barrier between them and foreign companies such as Western ones, which results in miscommunication, hindering their partnership with foreign firms. Furthermore, their products have not passed international standards and have yet been able to achieve U.S. quality levels or develop global distribution and branding strategies that a multinational requires.

Personally, I feel that the Google Way will never be implemented in China in the near future. This is due to the differing working habits and protocols of workers and employers. The Chinese like to listen to their bosses and work accordingly, which results in higher efficiency and productivity. For example, Toyota, a car company, implemented a stop button for workers to stop the assembly line to fix problems during production. This would affect the production quota but would result in the increase in reliability of each car. As such, Toyota became world-renowned for its reliability (only 1 in 1000 cars had problems). However, Western companies believe in giving freedom to their employees, which results in greater innovation and creativity. If China becomes more open to new ideas and accept creativity and innovation as part of its management strategy, then the Google Way might eventually be implemented.

The third lesson saw us analyzing the Confucian ideology and how it has impacted China today. Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. The core of Confucianism is humanism, the belief that human beings are teachable, improvable and perfectible through personal and communal endeavour especially including self-cultivation and self-creation. Confucianism focuses on the cultivation of virtue and maintenance of ethics, the most basic of which are ren, yi, and li. Ren is an obligation of altruism and humaneness for other individuals within a community, yi is the upholding of righteousness and the moral disposition to do good, and li is a system of norms and propriety that determines how a person should properly act within a community. Confucianism holds that one should give up one's life, if necessary, either passively or actively, for the sake of upholding the cardinal moral values of ren and yi.

 

The Chinese government embracing Confucianism in recent times has surprised me, after it was banned during Mao Zedong’s reign in China for a period of about 30 years. The only explanation I can come up with for this is that the government is trying to convince the nation to follow Confucianism and follow the social hierarchy, which treats the rulers as the highest. The government would then be able to control the people, as they would not rebel or raise suspicion and doubt against the former. This is similar to the brainwashing done by Hitler during World War II, where he spread propaganda all over Germany and also made parent teach their children to follow him and only him. This was to ensure the loyalty of the Germans towards him, similar to the Chinese government trying to develop the firm loyalty of all Chinese citizens and also proclaim their authority.

In conclusion, I feel that the CDE tutorials were interesting as they gave me a different perspective on why the West is so largely different from the East. They were also very detailed, and gave me both sides of the coin to reflect upon. However, one suggestion I would like to make is to give out notes summarizing the important points for that particular lesson. Having gone through the lessons so far, I would gladly give this course a 5-star rating, as the lesson pace is just right for us to grasp the various concepts and also to remember the facts.