Options
Humour and its Effects for Leaders in the East and in the West
Type
book section
Author(s)
Editor(s)
DeCremer, David
Research Team
Eugenia Bajet Mestre (PhD student), Mihwa Seong (Post-Doc), Nicole Alonso (Former Post-Doc) - CCDI, FIM-HSG, Eugenia Bajet Mestre (PhD Student, CCDI)
Professor Dr. Gudrun Sander (PRIMA Host & CCDI Director)
Professor D, CCDI)
Professor Dr. Gudrun Sander (
Professor Dr. Gudrun Sander (PRIMA Host & CCDI Director)
Professor D, CCDI)
Professor Dr. Gudrun Sander (
Abstract (De)
In 2008, a journalist threw a shoe at George W. Bush, former United States (U.S.) President. Bush quickly fended off the incident with a joke, “if you want the facts,” he laughed, “it is a size 10.” (Myers & Rubin, 2008). A few months later, something eerily similar happened in China when a student threw a shoe at Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. The Prime Minister’s reaction to this incident, however, was distinctively different from President Bush’s reaction, denouncing it as “despicable behavior” (Burns, 2009). These examples juxtapose two prominent world leaders–one from the West and one from the East–who, when faced with very similar situations, responded with polar reactions. These events illustrate a divergent understanding of humour across cultures: while the U.S. President responded with light-heartedness and humour, the Chinese Prime Minister responded with utter seriousness. In this chapter, we highlight these culturally embedded attitudes toward humour, including how they can facilitate–or falter–effective global leadership.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SoM - Responsible Corporate Competitiveness (RoCC)
Book title
On the Emergence and Understanding of Asian Global Leadership
Publisher
De Gruyter
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
268267