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Chen Chunhua: Organizational Management Embraces Shifting Paradigm

Sep 01-2021   



Of late a slew of Chinese internet companies has abolished rules that require employees to work on alternate weekends. The ensuing controversies highlight the enormous changes and challenges for organizational management in the digital age, writes Prof. Chen Chunhua, Dean of the NSD’s BiMBA Business School, in her commentary for a management publication.

 

Organizational management centers on four pairs of relationship: that between individuals and their goals, individuals and organizations, organizations and environment, and organizations and changes. Nowadays, an organization needs to build abilities to cope with uncertainties and changes; at the same time, digital technology has brought about the rising preeminence of individual values, resulting in a fundamental shift in the relationships between individuals and their organizations.

 

The most significant change lies in the appearance of what Prof. Chen calls “the new individuals”, who have grown up alongside China’s years of rapid economic growth and are more into humanitarian care and personal values than previous generations. To retain such powerful individuals – who have digital technologies and social media at their disposal - organizations need to empower them and build symbiotic relationships with them.

 

As organizations lean more and more on individual members to provide creative push, organizational management has to encompass one more value: enable people to realize their meanings in the organization. Consequently, managers must prioritize four aspects of work: build the competence to outline corporate visions for staff, enable every individual employee to visualize greater things, continuously improve the cognitive level and ability of staff, and manage employee expectations.

 

Companies are constantly confronted by two questions: existence and growth. Internet firms such as Baidu, ByteDance, and Xiao Mi are no exceptions. Prof. Chen believes that organizational capabilities can be learned but cannot be fully copied or transplanted. She highlights some key areas that companies should focus on: prioritize customer value above all else, match human resources with corporate strategies, provide more opportunities and roles to employees, build efficient communication systems, and cultivate a powerful core value system. In short, as organizational management embraces a change in its underlying logic, companies must work hard to perfect their internal competences, says Prof. Chen.

Chen Chunhua: Organizational Management Embraces Shifting Paradigm

Sep 01-2021   



Of late a slew of Chinese internet companies has abolished rules that require employees to work on alternate weekends. The ensuing controversies highlight the enormous changes and challenges for organizational management in the digital age, writes Prof. Chen Chunhua, Dean of the NSD’s BiMBA Business School, in her commentary for a management publication.

 

Organizational management centers on four pairs of relationship: that between individuals and their goals, individuals and organizations, organizations and environment, and organizations and changes. Nowadays, an organization needs to build abilities to cope with uncertainties and changes; at the same time, digital technology has brought about the rising preeminence of individual values, resulting in a fundamental shift in the relationships between individuals and their organizations.

 

The most significant change lies in the appearance of what Prof. Chen calls “the new individuals”, who have grown up alongside China’s years of rapid economic growth and are more into humanitarian care and personal values than previous generations. To retain such powerful individuals – who have digital technologies and social media at their disposal - organizations need to empower them and build symbiotic relationships with them.

 

As organizations lean more and more on individual members to provide creative push, organizational management has to encompass one more value: enable people to realize their meanings in the organization. Consequently, managers must prioritize four aspects of work: build the competence to outline corporate visions for staff, enable every individual employee to visualize greater things, continuously improve the cognitive level and ability of staff, and manage employee expectations.

 

Companies are constantly confronted by two questions: existence and growth. Internet firms such as Baidu, ByteDance, and Xiao Mi are no exceptions. Prof. Chen believes that organizational capabilities can be learned but cannot be fully copied or transplanted. She highlights some key areas that companies should focus on: prioritize customer value above all else, match human resources with corporate strategies, provide more opportunities and roles to employees, build efficient communication systems, and cultivate a powerful core value system. In short, as organizational management embraces a change in its underlying logic, companies must work hard to perfect their internal competences, says Prof. Chen.