LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT STYLES

The following summary is based on the article ¨What Makes Management Style Similar and Distinct Across Borders? Growth, Experience and Culture in Korean and Japanese Firms¨. By Lee, Jangho, Thomas W. Roehl, & Soonkyoo Choe. 2000. . Journal of International Business Studies, 31(4): 631-52.

In order to be able to define the leadership and management styles, we will focus the definition within the East Asia style, alluding to the Japanese and Korean way of doing business.

Depending on the management style of a leader the approach in the organisational's environment within countries can be of:

• Convergence: As countries develop, management styles will converge to a model found in developed countries. This convergence can be cause by two different forces.

1. Domestic pressure: In which people retain culturally determined forms of management.

2. International pressure: To conform to conventional norms in the international marketplace.

• Differentiation: A wider set of cultural norms in each society is a powerful force for differentiation across borders.

• Isomorphism: Adaptation to the environment.

Image:Leadership street sign, took from;http://leadershiptheoryandpractice.com/images/leadership-street-sign.jpg

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES OF JAPANESE AND KOREAN MANAGEMENT STYLES

The Japanese management style:

*Is based on market shares and growth strategies.

*Has a very aggressive pricing strategy, by using economies of scale.

*Seeks for value maximization.

*Sees the relationship with the suppliers within an inter-organisational perspective, of cooperation and coordination, looking for fast and flexible development of products.

*The input greater incentives into the participation of workers and middle management positions in building group loyalty.

*Flexible manufacturing: Connecting product, design and productions.

* Corporate value: To carry organisations through a change.

*Zaibatsu:Family enterprises that gained a position in the Japanese economy with no exact parallel elesewhere, the receive subsidies and favorable tax policies by the government. Their power over society can be so big, that the normally own Banks.

The Korean management style:

*It is influenced by the Japanese style, since they used to be a Japanese colony from1910 until 1945.

*There is a lot of government intervention, in matters, such as;Credit, foreign exchange and export growth.

*Chaebol: It is much alike the Zaibatsu, but with the difference that families do not own banks.

Differences between Japanese and Korean management style:

* The divergence in the hierarchy orientation and in the economic environment.

* The technology development and manufacturing area. Korea believes that technology is an important tool to develop economies of scale, while Japan emphasized more on flexible manufacturing, seeking to adapt easy and fast to market changes.

*There is few internventionism in Japan.

*The Chaebol families cannot own Banks, The Ziabatsu families can.

DO YOU THINK JAPANESE AND KOREAN MANAGEMENT STYLES, TEND TO CONVERGE OR DIVERG?

I believe they tend to converge, and not only them but all the countries. The globalization, communication technologies and the free market around the world, have allowed the society interact within different cultures that not only have taught them new things but have created personal and organisational necessities that can only be supply by external environments with international boudaries.

Korea has already the influence of Japan, since it used to be a Japanese colony, Although it was during times of war, where the economies weren't doing well and the society was not focused on sustaining the organisations, but seeking for survival, the behavioral practices still started to permeate the Korean management styles.

Today Korea is an independent country, that keeps growing along with other developing countries. I would say that the western or American style is the dominant style that it is prevailing among nations, but being Japan and Korea, nations with such strong believes in their religions and traditions, I wouldn't be sure if they could adopt a completely different management style from the one already existing. but for sure, they have and will adopt more global styles, that could help them be more close to their most important commercial partner as it is the United States.

IS JAPANESE-STYLE. MANAGEMENT ANYTHING NEW? A COMPARISON OF JAPANESE-STYLE MANAGEMENT WITH U.S. PARTICIPATIVE MODELS. By: Hall, James L.; Leidecker, Joel K.. Human Resource Management, Winter81, Vol. 20 Issue 4, p14-21, 8p; (AN 12617239).
URL:http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.eafit.edu.co/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=10&hid=108&sid=873131ec-f214-49b5-b4f4-063ab246d9c4%40sessionmgr114