建國 - 行政重點和基礎設施 (其一) / Nation Building - Priorities and Infrastructure (Part 1)

『公欲善其事,必先利其器』
“You need good tools and people to do a good job.”

I drafted this article in early April 2008, when the rising of China中囯崛起, the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and other related issues were being hotly discussed among bloggers and mainstream media alike. Here is the formula I wrote down at the time, on the subject of nation building:

Nation Building建國 = A(1,2,3,..)+B(1,2,3,..)+C(1,2,3,..)+D(1,2,3,..)+E(1,2,3,..)+ etc....

where,

A=economics, B=education, C=governance, D=sports such as the Olympics, E=other priorities, ...

(Note: Obviously, each nation will have to determine what the priorities are at the national and regional levels at any given point in time and space.)

and,

1=transactional infrastructure changes
2=transformational infrastructure changes
3=other systemic changes, ...

(Note: All systemic changes must take into consideration both "hard" and "soft" winning conditions in order to achieve national priorities. For example: Physical installations such as water treatment plants are "hard" infrastructure, but their successful operation and maintenance will depend very much on the workers' knowledge and experience, or "soft" infrastructure. This concept applies to both transactional and transformational infrastructure changes.)

....... Next: Case Studies / to be continued 待續

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***** Updated 20140210 *****

Supplementary info re TRANSACTIONAL vs TRANSFORMATIONAL 

Let's look at the types of leadership that are associated with transactional and transformational changes. According to Wikipedia:

Transactional Leadership, also known as managerial leadership, focuses on the role of supervision, organization, and group performance; transactional leadership is a style of leadership in which the leader promotes compliance of his followers through both rewards and punishments. Unlike Transformational leadership, leaders using the transactional approach are not looking to change the future, they are looking to merely keep things the same. Leaders using transactional leadership as a model pay attention to followers' work in order to find faults and deviations. This type of leadership is effective in crisis and emergency situations, as well as when projects need to be carried out in a specific fashion.

"Adhering to the path-goal theory, transactional leaders are expected to do the following:

• "Set goals, articulate explicit agreements regarding what the leader expects from organizational members and how they will be rewarded for their efforts and commitment, and provide constructive feedback to keep everybody on task".
• Transactional leaders focus on increasing the efficiency of established routines and procedures and are more concerned with following existing rules than with making changes to the structure of the organization.
• Thus, they operate most effectively in organizations that have evolved beyond the chaotic, no-rules stage of entrepreneurial development that characterizes so many new companies.
• Transactional leadership establishes and standardizes practices that will help the organization reach maturity, emphasizing setting of goals, efficiency of operation, and increase of productivity. "

Transformational Leadership enhances the motivation, morale, and performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms. These include connecting the follower's sense of identity and self to the project and the collective identity of the organization; being a role model for followers that inspires them and makes them interested; challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of followers, so the leader can align followers with tasks that enhance their performance.

The full range of leadership introduces four elements of transformational leadership:

1. Individualized Consideration – the degree to which the leader attends to each follower's needs, acts as a mentor or coach to the follower and listens to the follower's concerns and needs. The leader gives empathy and support, keeps communication open and places challenges before the followers. This also encompasses the need for respect and celebrates the individual contribution that each follower can make to the team. The followers have a will and aspirations for self-development and have intrinsic motivation for their tasks.
2. Intellectual Stimulation – Such leaders encourage their followers to be innovative and creative. They encourage new ideas from their followers and never criticize them publicly for the mistakes committed by them. The leaders focus on the “what” in problems and do not focus on the blaming part of it. They have no hesitation in discarding an old practice set by them if it is found ineffective.
3. Inspirational Motivation – the degree to which the leader articulates a vision that is appealing and inspiring to followers. Leaders with inspirational motivation challenge followers to leave their comfort zones, communicate optimism about future goals, and provide meaning for the task at hand. Followers need to have a strong sense of purpose if they are to be motivated to act. Purpose and meaning provide the energy that drives a group forward. The visionary aspects of leadership are supported by communication skills that make the vision understandable, precise, powerful and engaging. The followers are willing to invest more effort in their tasks, they are encouraged and optimistic about the future and believe in their abilities.
4. Idealized Influence – the degree to which the leader acts as a role model for their followers. Transformational leaders must embody the values that the followers should be learning and mimicking back to others. If the leader gives respect and encourages others to be better, those influenced will then go to others and repeat the positive behavior, passing on the leadership qualities for other followers to learn. This will earn the leader more respect and admiration from the followers, putting them at a higher level of influence and importance. The foundation of transformational leadership is the promotion of consistent vision, mission, and a set of values to the members. Their vision is so compelling that they know what they want from every interaction. Transformational leaders guide followers by providing them with a sense of meaning and challenge. They work enthusiastically and optimistically to foster the spirit of teamwork and commitment.

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