The document compares and contrasts Eastern and Western management styles. It discusses key cultural differences like individualism vs collectivism, vertical vs horizontal hierarchy, harmony vs competition, and long-term vs short-term orientation. Eastern management emphasizes group decision-making, seniority, maintaining harmony, and long-term planning, while Western styles focus on individualism, equality, competition, and short-term goals. Ultimately, both have complementary aspects and understanding cultural similarities and differences is important for effective cross-cultural management.

1. EASTERN VS. WESTERN MANAGEMENT
!
C U LT U R A L D I V E R S I T Y
AND
LEADERSHIP
CURRENT ISSUES IN MANAGEMENT (MBA 235A)
18 FEBRUARY 2014
!
!
CALIMLIM, VORTRAN
DELA CALZADA, ZOLA

2. C U LT U R E
Traditions
Ethical
Values
Religion
SOCIETY
Science &
Technology
Politics
Philosophy
Art &
Literature
Age
Education
Social Class
Organization

3. C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T
WESTERN
EASTERN

4. ME
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

5. W AY O F L I F E
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

6. SELF-EXPRESSION
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

7. PUNCTUALITY
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

8. CONNECTIONS
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

9. ANGER
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

10. FA L L I N G I N L I N E
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

11. PA R T Y
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

12. T H R E E M E A L S A D AY
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

13. I N A R E S TA U R A N T
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

14. ON WEEKENDS
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

15. TRANSPORT
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

16. SHOWER TIME
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

17. W E AT H E R M O O D
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

18. NEW THINGS
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

19. T R AV E L
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

20. S E N I O R ’ S D A I LY L I F E
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

21. CHILD/BABY
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

22. BEAUTY
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

23. CONFRONTING A PROBLEM
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

24. BOSS
C U LT U R E : W E S T V S . E A S T

25. C U LT U R A L D I F F E R E N C E S *
West (US / Europe)
East (China / East Asia)
LOGIC Linear (direct associations) Spiral (roundabout)
COMMUNICATION Direct, verbal
IDENTITY Individual, independent
AGREEMENT / Argumentative, verbal
DISAGREEMENT
PUNCTUALITY Start and end on time
RESPECT Success, achievement
BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP Economics come first
DECISION MAKING Distributed, proactive
TIME HORIZON Short term (per quarter)
RISK / SPENDING Risk-takers, spend
Indirect, implied
Group orientated
Hard to say no, nonverbal
Appointments flexible
Seniority, wisdom
Relationship comes first
Manager has final say
Long term (years ahead)
Risk-avoiders, save
*THERE ARE STILL EXCEPTIONS OF COURSE

26. WESTERN VS. EASTERN
MANAGEMENT STYLE
• high standards,
decisiveness, and
innovation; seeks to inspire
people around a vision;
creates a passion among
them to perform; and does
so by firmly holding on to
core values.
• instills pride, loyalty,
and collaboration
among organizational
members; and highly
values team
cohesiveness and a
common purpose or
goals.
• encourages input from
others in decisionmaking and
implementation; and
emphasizes delegation
and equality.
Charismatique
Team
Participative
• stresses compassion
and generosity; and it is
patient, supportive, and
concerned with the
well-being of others.
• an independent,
individualistic, and selfcentric approach to
leadership.
• emphasizes procedural,
status-conscious, and
'face-saving' behaviors;
and focuses on the
safety and security of
the individual and the
group.
Human
Autonomous
Self-protective
T H E 6 S T Y L E S O F L E A D E R S H I P ( G L O B E S T U D Y, 2 0 0 4 )

27. MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
WESTERN
EASTERN
Relationship based on equality, merit
and individual ability
Relationship based on mutual benefit,
duty and group dynamics
Personal and professional contacts are
put in different categories
Contacts are regarded as being friends
once accepted in group
Be firm, stick to principles and deal with
problems immediately
Save 'face', seek harmony and avoid
conflicts at all costs
Opinions determined by debate,
individual thinking and input
Opinions predetermined by leaders
representing individuals in groups
Individual skills and knowledge define
status with personal rewards
Status and patronage where benefits are
shared with group
B R I D G I N G C U LT U R A L D I V I D E S , 2 0 1 3

28. WEST VS. EAST
MANAGEMENT
Fundamental differences in the East and West make it very
important to understand both management styles
!
Analysis of the different management styles in the East and
West are done on the basis of these concepts and values:
‣ Collectivism vs. Individualism
‣ Vertical Hierarchy vs. Horizontal Hierarchy
‣ Harmony vs. Competition
‣ Long-term vs. Short-term orientation

29. COLLECTIVISM VS.INDIVIDUALISM
In East-Asian countries group consciousness is very
important:
‣ conveys feeling of one-ness
‣ gives employees a strong sense of belonging
‣ believes that group decisions are more carefully
evaluated and are less risky
In the West, individualism is emphasized:
‣ private life and work are divided
‣ employees are given more responsibility
‣ decisions can be made faster and are not side-tracked
by emotions
WEST VS. EAST
MANAGEMENT

30. VERTICAL HIERARCHY VS.
H O R I Z O N TA L H I E R A R C H Y
Seniority is a very important concept in East-Asian countries.
‣ emphasizes vertical hierarchy
‣ promotion inside a company is based on how long one has
worked there
‣ results in more responsibility for older employees
!
In contrast to this, equality in the workplace is imperative in
the West.
‣ emphasizes horizontal hierarchy
‣ employees are promoted on merit-basis
‣ younger members of the company are given more responsibility
WEST VS. EAST
MANAGEMENT

31. !
HARMONY VS. COMPETITION
Harmony is an essential value in East-Asian countries.
‣ a harmonious work place leads to more efficiency and better
results
‣ negotiation skills are of great importance
‣ it is better not to stick out of the group; rather one should try
to maintain harmony at all costs
In the West competition is found everywhere
‣ and becomes a very strong motivational factor
‣ encourages the desire to succeed and thus results in
diligence
‣ possible to have ‘productive’ conflicts, which result in a
favorable outcome
WEST VS. EAST
MANAGEMENT

32. !
LONG-TERM VS. SHORT-TERM ORIENTATION
East-Asian companies tend to focus on long-term
projects
‣ gives competitive advantage
‣ possible to implement due to employees’ strong sense of
belonging to the company
‣ down-side of inflexibility
Western companies are said to be short-term oriented
‣ short-term projects are seen as time-efficient
‣ as employees constantly change work places, difficult to
implement long-term projects
‣ advantage of being more flexible
WEST VS. EAST
MANAGEMENT

33. I N T E R C U LT U R A L C O M P E T E N C E
Regional
Experience
Language
Proficiency
Openness
&
Tolerance

34. MANAGEMENT IN EAST AND WEST
CONCLUSION
Ultimately, the management styles of the East and the
West are complementary, rather than exclusive.
!
Therefore, it is very important to know the similarities and
differences in order to be able to understand and cope
with any situation that might arise in cross-cultural
management.
WEST VS. EAST
MANAGEMENT

35. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

36. “ A N AT I O N A L O N E M A K E S N O I S E ,
BUT TOGETHER WE MAKE MUSIC.”

37. END.