For this topic we will take into account Japan and Korea, just two of the countries that belong to East Asia. Some of the similar aspects that these two countries share are: geography, religion( buddhism, confucianism, taoism, shinto), cultural beliefs and behaviors and have been victims from invasions. As a mayor topic I will introduce the management styles for each country. Showing simmilaryties and differences, which can be lead to convergence and divergence, two new topics that can simplify my explanation. Convergence shows how systems tend to assimilate as countries develope. While divergence shows exactly the opposite, systems will tend to differentiate due to national culture.
JAPAN:
- they use agressive pricing. (economies of scale)
- have close relation with suppliers. (cooperation)
- value their employees. (loyalty)
- connect product desighn with production.
- maximize value.
KOREA:
- big influence from Japan.
- individualistic. (flexible)
- authoritarian with employees.
- take own decisions, workers dont participate.
Convergence Aspects:
- in cultural terms.
- influence from Japanese management.
- business environment.
Divergence Aspects:
- importance to workers.
- flexibility from Koreans.
- japanese colectivism versus Koreas hierarchy.
Every country is in search of the most appropiate management style for their models, culture is a big influence when defining the process. Eventough flexibility, and acceptance for diversity are necessary as globalization spreads. An inevitable conclusion would be that both countries are facing a very competitive scene and as their cultures and styles can be alike, they need to work in differentiation to be able to step hard into business. Anyway the biggest challenge is confronting globalization in a competitive market, where they count with some advantages and disadvantages in a specific management style.
QUESTION:
1) In the case of Korean and Japanese management styles, do you think they tend to converge or diverge? are they likely to converge to each other or to another management style?
In my opinion both countries tend to converge between them because of their similar bases. We need to part from the history of the Korean management style, and this started as a influence ofrom the Japanese management style. Altough it has had modifications we need to take into consideration that both have passed trough similar changes. The two countries are preparing for a competitive globalized world where in spite of their cultural simmilarities and ptimization, their challenge is gain differentiation in the hole world in order to achieve high standards of competition. On the other hand, each of them could work in a similar way , because one management style can lead you to new forces and ideas that have not been inplemented in the market share. Even if the tendency shows that there is a higher probability of convergence among them, there is a last but not least point that influences the advantage for Japan. the advantage is in terms of time, because as you all know Japan has had a well stablished economy and a more ancient one. So in terms of time and experience which is unvaluable, Japan could have a slight preference over Korea, altough Koreas growth has been amazing, and a big influence in this period was Samsung. A huge company which has a special development in the electronic field. This company is defined as a ¨chaebol¨ in management terms, which works as a group of companies that manages almost everything in the country. And with this we go bak to convergence because the ¨chaebol model was taken originally from the Japanese system.
RFERENCES:
Photo taken from:
- Lee, Hangho, Thomas W. Roehl,& Soonkyoo Choe. 2000.What makes management style similar and distinct across borders? Growth, Experience and culture in Korean and Japanese firms. Journal of international business studies.
No comments:
Post a Comment