Abstract

All managers, regardless of where they work, must understand certain basic concepts such as the functions, roles, and skills associated with the managerial position; the different levels of managerial effectiveness and how they are measured; and the styles available to managers and the factors that determine which style might be preferred in a particular instance. However, context matters and it is essential that managers understand the role that culture plays in being effective in their positions. This book begins with a brief description of the history and evolution of “management studies,” a daunting topic given that it is generally recognized that economic and military activities have been raising issues of planning, directing, and control for thousands of years. The book continues with an overview of the scope and practice of comparative management studies and also describes the research that has been done on cross-cultural transfer of management theories, particularly attempts to transfer US management theories into other cultural contexts. In addition, the book includes materials on the search for, and analysis of, dimensions of management styles that can be used as a basis for creating models that can be used for comparison purposes. Among the dimensions of management styles discussed in the book are planning, organizing, staffing, leading, controlling, decision making, and motivating.

Keywords

management; cross-cultural management; management theories; comparative management; management in developing countries