The Learning Styles of Enterprise Manager in China
Wai-ming Mak, Department of Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Abstract: There has been a heated debate on the cultural difference of learners in different countries. This paper attempts to use a Western instrument to measure the learning styles of enterprise managers in China. Based on my Chinese version of Honey and Mumford's (1986) Learning Style Questionnaire, I find out the learning styles of over 200 enterprise managers in China. They are the students of the post-experience Higher Diploma in Enterprise Management offered by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University at the Hangzhou Outpost in the People's Republic of China. The findings will be used to compare with the counterparts in the United Kingdom in order to ascertain whether there is any cultural difference in the learning styles. The results will be very useful to the training practitioners in developing management development programmes for enterprise managers in China. Moreover, the paper compares and contrast Kolb's experiential learning cycle with the teachings of the Confucius who was regarded as the greatest teacher in ancient China. The paper also explores the concept of learning from a Chinese perspective. It concludes with a framework that can link knowledge and action.his study - abstract to follow shortly