comparative value priorities of chinese and new zealand

of employees, as these labels tend to have similar meanings within countries, while the
actual numbers of employees for the categories varies between countries.
Figure 5.25. Distribution of Self-Reported Size of Businesses from Which
Participants were Drawn
Size of Business GZ GZ
NZ NZ
Frequency Valid Percent Frequency Valid Percent
Large 69 30.8% 25 11.6%
Medium 76 33.9 92 42.6
Small 79 35.3 99 45.8
Total 224 216
Missing 25 6
Total 249 222
Age, job level, and education have been found to influence values (Littrell, 2002), and
require investigation. These variables are considered individually and in combination in
the following sections.
Age Relationships in the Samples
Opinions, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours tend to change to some degree as individuals
age. Events in societies affect these changes. I compare below the generational and age
characteristics of China and New Zealand.
The two samples are not matched as to age, see Figure 5.26. One reason is that higher
level management is much more difficult to access for research in China than in New
Zealand. Also, higher levels of management in China at this time have not been exposed
to and are not oriented to the need for academic management research. Some anecdotal
reports from students in China generally reflected comments from businesspeople in
Guangzhou that, “You can’t learn business at university.” Additionally, due to the
effects on demographics of education and age due to The Great Cultural Revolution,
New Zealand businesspeople will more likely be dealing with Chinese businesspeople
50 years of age and under. The U.S. Census Bureau (2008) provides information that
the legal retirement age in China is 60 for men and 55 for most women, and many
employees of state-owned enterprises have been allowed to retire in their 40s or 50s to
make openings for new graduates and others. Urban areas in China, such as Guangzhou,
have a smaller elderly cohort than in rural areas. The truncated age sample in
Guangzhou can effect inter-correlations amongst the samples and age demographic
243