This thesis examines the traditional Chinese and Western values. The presence of PRC is increasingly felt and this cannot be in denial. The dominance of Western values and the resilience of traditional Chinese values have been hotly debated topic, most of the work which have been done focused on either sets of values. For this reason, in order to build on the existing body of knowledge and to contribute to it, four hypotheses have been critically developed after the literature review has been done. Given the nature of this research, the interpretive paradigm was deemed more ideal with interview technique applied. Data collection was done by interview with 20 managers from PRC and Singapore SMEs Construction industry.
The data gathered was then analysed in a case study format for simpler comparison between both countries. PRC represented a country with strong existence of traditional Chinese values while commanding low presence of Western values, with Singapore being influenced by both sets of values for extensive period of time. The case study has been enormously successful in assisting to identify what the differences and similarities might be. The four hypotheses have been successfully verified.
This study has made several contributions to the body of knowledge in the field of traditional Chinese and Western values, with particular focus on the PRC and Singaporean construction industries. The scope of the research is unique in its own sense as the research looks at the existence of traditional Chinese values, the dominance of Western values and whether the two sets of values might be compatible. The role of Guan Xi has also been defined here and changes that are taking place within traditional Chinese and Western values have also been explored.