The Legalistic Way: Lessons From Xun Zi and Han Fei Zi

The Legalistic Way is written based on the works of Xunzi (also known as "Hsun-tze) and Han Fei Zi who advocated that man's nature is naturally evil. Thus, strict rules and severe punishments must be used to circumscribe human behavior (a control orientation). To them, men are born bad with a natural self-interest and greed. If this nature is not corrected, it will cause harm to the society. At the national level, a country should have an effective legal system with penal codes. At the organizational level, no company can operate and function well without some degrees of formal structure and hierarchy, lines of authority and accountability, rules and regulations, a code of conduct as well as sytems, processes and procedures.