Paternalistic Leadership Style

Today was our first day of class in Tianjin. I found Dr. Zhao's lecture on management and communications in China very intriguing, especially the paternalistic style adopted by many of China's successful corporations. The paternalistic leadership/management style is one that has a man and a woman leading the company, instead of one or two men, which is very common in America. This style of leadership combines strong discipline and authority with fatherly benevolence and moral integrity. It resembles sort of a "parenting" outlook on leadership. We all know that China is quickly emerging as a world superpower because of its economic success and innovation. That being said, I think that the United States should take a deeper look into these styles and consider adopting them. I found this lecture very fascinating and really enjoyed learning about this leadership style in particular.