comparative value priorities of chinese and new zealand

Leader Questionnaire (MLQ) to be a validated instrument with a Chinese version (Bass
and Avolio, 1995; Singer and Singer, 1990). However, at the time, 1996-1997, using the
MLQ was prohibitively expensive. After seeking advice from Professor Selmer and
Professor Bond, I used the LBDQXII instrument to identify and compare preferred
leader behaviour of managers and supervisors in the hotel complex as a basis for a
training programme. From this practical application, I developed a research project to
study a group of expatriate managers in China, indigenous Chinese managers, and
Chinese supervisors in the hotel group (Littrell, 2002).
Subsequently, I conducted LBDQXII studies in other locations in China, in Hangzhou,
Guangzhou, Macau, and Zhengzhou (Littrell, Alon and Chen, 2006), and also in the UK
and Germany (Schneider and Littrell 2005), in Romania (Littrell and Valentin, 2005), in
Uganda (Littrell and Baguma, 2005), in South Africa (Littrell and Nkomo, 2005), and
values and leader behaviour studies in Mexico and Chile (Littrell, Cruz-Barba and
Liberman-Yaconi, 2009); Sub-Saharan Africa (Littrell, Wu and Nkomo, 2009), and in
Turkey (not yet published).
A need for extending the study to New Zealand stemmed from the New Zealand
Government and the Asia2000 Foundation (now NZ:Asia Foundation), in 2003,
identifying business with Asian countries as a priority, and sponsoring the “Seriously
Asia” project to raise awareness, educate, and encourage ties with Asian countries. A
statement about engaging in Asia on their website at the time said it (Asia) is part of our
daily lives - from our food and entertainment to the trade, tourism and investment that
underpin many New Zealand businesses. In addition, it is part of who we are, with one
in 15 New Zealanders now of Asian descent it is also seriously important to our future.
From the foundation’s website commentary concerning China, it:
� Outstrips other countries in terms of percent and absolute size of economic
growth,
� Has an expanding and increasingly wealthy workforce,
� Is New Zealand’s fourth-largest trading partner, accounting for 7.8% of New
Zealand’s international trade, and has dramatically increased trade in services
and investment since 1998 (MFAT, 2006),
� Exerts increasing cultural and political influence.
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