Asian versus Western Management Thinking

'Navigating paradigm changes is a critical element of businessleadership: analog to digital; brand to retailer to consumer; reasonto emotion; West to East. Anything that illuminates thesepowershifts is valuable for the fast-moving decision-maker, andin this respect Asian versus Western Management Thinking is afirst-rate inquiry into cultural business behaviors. Insular frameworksof thinking and action matter less by the second. I'm anAnd/And practitioner and my experience of bridging businessbetween East and West, and vice versa, suggests we need toknow the human distinctions that matter and the harmoniesthat will matter even more. Between the covers of this book byKimio Kase and colleagues, business moves forward.'Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, Lovemarks Company'Having lived and worked my entire life in various countriesaround the world, I agree with the authors' premise that Asiansand Westerners often approach business problems from differentangles. Rather than focusing on differences, I welcome thestrength that comes from diversity. As my experience atRenault and Nissan has demonstrated, the richest solutionscome when ideas are challenged or questioned by people whohave a different perspective. This book illustrates the value ofaccepting diverging ideas as a fact of life that can be used toenhance the world in which we all live and work.'Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Renault-Nissan Alliance'A most welcome addition to the unbalanced managementliterature about the 'analytical' West and the 'synthetic' East.For too long the field has been dominated by comparisons ofcultural value systems which paradoxically tell us precious littleabout how habits of mind influence management thinking andpractice in different parts of the world over time. At a timewhen the world's economic centre of gravity is visibly shiftingto Asia, this really is a most timely book.'Nigel Holden, Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for International Business at the University of Leeds, UK

'Navigating paradigm changes is a critical element of businessleadership: analog to digital; brand to retailer to consumer; reasonto emotion; West to East. Anything that illuminates thesepowershifts is valuable for the fast-moving decision-maker, andin this respect Asian versus Western Management Thinking is afirst-rate inquiry into cultural business behaviors. Insular frameworksof thinking and action matter less by the second. I'm anAnd/And practitioner and my experience of bridging businessbetween East and West, and vice versa, suggests we need toknow the human distinctions that matter and the harmoniesthat will matter even more. Between the covers of this book byKimio Kase and colleagues, business moves forward.' Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, Lovemarks Company 'Having lived and worked my entire life in various countriesaround the world, I agree with the authors' premise that Asiansand Westerners often approach business problems from differentangles. Rather than focusing on differences, I welcome thestrength that comes from diversity. As my experience atRenault and Nissan has demonstrated, the richest solutionscome when ideas are challenged or questioned by people whohave a different perspective. This book illustrates the value ofaccepting diverging ideas as a fact of life that can be used toenhance the world in which we all live and work.' Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Renault-Nissan Alliance 'A most welcome addition to the unbalanced managementliterature about the 'analytical' West and the 'synthetic' East. For too long the field has been dominated by comparisons ofcultural value systems which paradoxically tell us precious littleabout how habits of mind influence management thinking andpractice in different parts of the world over time. At a timewhen the world's economic centre of gravity is visibly shiftingto Asia, this really is a most timely book.' Nigel Holden, Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for International Business at the University of Leeds, UK

Introduction Philosophical perspectives on knowledge and cognition Epistemological perspective Cognitive science perspective Cross-cultural management perspective Theoretical framework Conclusions and Discussions