Some Common & Important

Cultural Differences
The individual & self vrs the collective as the primary unit of value.
Emphasis on honesty & directness vrs harmony, indirectness & face.
Value on doing vrs being or belonging--implications for equality, status & age.
Emphasis on the quality of the deal vrs the quality of the relationship in making
decisions to do business--implications for ritual & the bargaining process.
Preference for high power distance in which bosses make all the decisions vrs low
power distance in which subordinates expect to participate.
Belief in control vrs fatalism--implications for uncertainty avoidance, planning,
decision making & training.
Belief in high vrs low work centrality.
Preference for monochronic vrs polychronic structuring of activities in time.

Some Common & Important

Cultural Differences (cont)
A past vrs present vrs future orientation--implications for valuing progress,
change, tradition & continuity.
Perception of people & nature as independent & competitive vrs interdependent
and in balance--implications for valuing technology.
Belief in universalism vrs particularism or rules vrs relationships.
Emphasis on analytic vrs holistic, relational or intuitive understanding-implications for research, education & training.
Different strategies for forming, maintaining & dissolving relationships--including
the value on individual attitudes vrs role performance.
Differences in verbal & nonverbal communication symbols.
Preference for high vrs low context communication.
Different conflict

resolution strategies and skills!!!

Traditional Indian Management in

Comparison
Management Practices

Employee Requirements

Leadership Style

Motivational Aspects and

Rewards

Human resource management

practices

Western Management

Traditional Indian Management

Task requirements and abilities

Family relation and caste memberships

of employees have to be considered

Participative management style

where input is solicited
Relationships remain impersonal

Organizational leaders display a high

level of personal involvement with
their subordinates. Leaders provide
nurturance contingent upon the
subordinate's task accomplishment

Work an end itself

Intrinsic rewards
Objective selection criteria
Downsizing, performance pay

Work is viewed as a means to an end

i.e. for the sake of satisfying family
needs. Little demand for changing work
tasks, only the compensation is relevant
Nepotism and caste considerations
affect selection and compensation.
Training less emphasized

Evolution of Indian Management

Management Practices

Traditional Indian Management

Contemporary Indian
Management

Employee Requirements

Family relation and caste

memberships of employees have to
be considered

Relevant educational background

and experience matching task
requirements

Leadership Style

Organizational leaders display a

high level of personal involvement
with their subordinates. Leaders
provide nurturance contingent upon
the subordinate's task
accomplishment

Increasingly participative
management style where
subordinates' opinions and input are
solicited. Personal relationship
between management and
employees reduced

Motivational Aspects and

Rewards

Work is viewed as a means to an

end i.e. for the sake of satisfying
family needs. Little demand for
changing work tasks, only the
compensation is relevant

Elements such as job rotation,

enrichment, autonomy, team work
and competitive salaries are
increasingly considered to motivate
employees

Human resource management

practices

Nepotism and caste considerations

affect selection and compensation.
Training less emphasized

Objective selection criteria.

Training programs and performance
related compensation applied

1 Transitions of Japanese-style management

1960s

1980s
High-growth period

Japanese-style management

1990s

2000

Economic bubbles
Lost decade

(Limitation of Japanese-style
governance)

New corporate governance

Era of Japanese-style corporate governance

Governance by management, bank and
economic agencies of state

Mutual dependence among

companies
Crossholding of shares,
main financing bank system,
company groups, etc.

Japanese-style employment
practice
Lifetime employment,
seniority system,
company union, etc.

Change of capital market

Reform of the board

of directors

Indirect financing Direct financing

Shift to borderless economy

Global economization

Introduction of
US-style
Independent
board members

Trade and capital liberalization

Big ban, IT revolution

System selectivity
Industrial policy
Administrative control,
public-private cooperation framework,
coordination in a industry group, etc.

Ambiguous corporate accounting

practice
Limited disclosure of corporate
information

Corporate scandal
Executive
officers

Enhancement
of auditor's
authority

Shareholder
value

Some Key Japanese/American

Cultural Differences

Emphasis on the individual or self (American) vs. the relationship or collective (Japanese)-implications for the value of individual freedom, independence, self-reliance, in-group vs. out-group
competition, collectivism & authority.
Value on honesty (American) vs. harmony (Japanese) in relationships--implications for
communication directness, indirectness & face (kao).
Emphasis on the quality of the immediate deal (American) vs. the longer-term relationship
(Japanese)--implications for the objectives of business meetings (e.g., decision making or
relationship testing).
High (Japanese) vs. medium (American) work centeredness--implications for the role of the
company vs the family or community in workers lives.
High (Japanese) vs. low (American) uncertainty avoidance--implications for planning, job
descriptions & job security.
High (Japanese) vs. lower (American) reliance on context in communication--implications for the
meaning of words (yes), gestures & silences.
Direct verbal expression of conflict by complainant (American) vs. indirect expression and
interpretation by target (Japanese).

Comparison of American, Japanese, and

Theory Z Management Styles