CONCLUSION

Harmony has traditionally been highly valued in China, but considering conflict as negative and avoiding conflict appear generally ineffective for promoting successful organizations in China.

Our studies in China suggest that conflict management is critical for modern development. Chinese employees who use their conflicts cooperatively have been found to improve the quality of products and services and reduce costs. They have used cooperative conflict to strengthen their relationships within their groups and organizations but also with alliance partners. Participative man­agement and democracy more generally requires that leaders be responsive and open; cooperative conflict contributes to open-minded, productive relationships between leaders and employees.

Yet our research is a beginning. More work is needed on how Chinese val­ues and settings affect the underlying dynamics of cooperation and competitive interdependence. We have not proceeded far in using studies in China to mod­ify the theory. We also need more experience in critical ways that the theory is operationalized, important antecedents to cooperative goals, the frequency of cooperative and competitive conflict, and how they can be used to characterize Chinese conflict management. However, our research does suggest possibilities and document that cooperative conflict is a viable, potentially highly construc­tive approach in China.