Cross-Cultural Differences - Japanese and German Management Styles from the German Perspective

Master's Thesis from the year 2000 in the subject Business economics - Personnel and Organisation, grade: 1,3, LMU Munich (unbekannt), language: English, abstract: Inhaltsangabe:Abstract:§As the idea of Japan as a leader in management styles and the mythos 'collectivism' as a key to high quality performance and productivity is still in mind of German managers, this work tries to compare actual leadership styles of Japanese and German managers on the level of cultural dimensions.§In the study the sample consisted of 119 persons in middle management positions (82 male and 37 female), 60 persons with work experience in Japan and 59 without experience. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding 52 leadership characteristics (e.g. the ability to assert oneself, to cooperate or to delegate) within five cultural dimensions. Participants then rated the importance of this characteristic for the specific category. Findings of the study showed significant differences in experienced and estimated management styles between the countries as well as significances regarding management traits of the german culture after working in Japan.§Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents:§CHAPTER ONE9§1.1INTRODUCTION9§1.2STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM11§1.3RESEARCH QUESTION14§CHAPTER TWO15§2.1INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND ITS CULTURAL CONTEXT15§2.1.1Culture15§2.1.2Cross-cultural Communication22§2.2.2Cross-cultural Management25§2.2.3Significance for Organization29§2.3SUCCESS FACTORS OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS31§2.4CULTURALLY COMPARATIVE MANAGEMENT RESEARCH35§2.4.1Management-oriented Cultural Research36§2.4.2Cultural Dimensions according to Hofstede40§2.4.2.1Dimension of power distance41§2.4.2.2Dimension of collectivism versus individualism43§2.4.2.3Dimension of masculinity versus femininity44§2.4.2.4Dimension of uncertainty avoidance46§2.4.3The Dimension of the Confucian Dynamic47§2.4.4Further Dimensions of Culture51§2.4.4.1Basic dimensions of culture according to Adler52§2.4.4.2Dimensions of culture according to Trompenaars54§2.5THE SOCIO-CULTURAL BACKGROUND OF JAPANESE MANAGERS57§2.5.1Japanese Confucianism58§2.5.2Corporate collectivism: The uchi mentality60§2.5.3Consensus and participation in management63§2.6THE PRESENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GERMANY AND JAPAN63§2.6.1General and political relationships63§2.6.2The Economic Relationships65§2.6.2.1Relationships to the European Union (EU)65§2.6.2.2Foreign Trade between Germany and Japan66§2.6.2.3Special Features67§2.6.3Cultural Contacts69§2.7LEADERSHIP STYLES70§2.7.1Definition and aspects of leadership70§2.7.2Differencies in the leadership beliefs of managers across countries75§2.7.2.1Short review of literature75§2.7.2.2Leadership and cultural dimenions76§2.7.3Female Managers79§2.7.3.1Management and Masculinity79§2.7.3.2The preference of male and female characteristics79§2.7.4Female managers in Japan83§CHAPTER THREE84§3.1OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY84§3.2SAMPLE86§3.3INSTRUMENTATION87§3.3.1Management features88§3.3.2Reliability and Dimensions of the CDLI90§3.3.3Implementation91§3.4ANALYSIS PROCEDURES91§CHAPTER FOUR92§RESULTS92§4.1HYPOTHESIS 192§4.2HYPOTHESIS 297§4.3HYPOTHESIS 3101§4.4HYPOTHESIS 4104§4.5HYPOTHESIS 5108§4.6HYPOTHESIS 6111§CHAPTER FIVE116§5.1QUALITY CRITERIA116§5.2ANALYSIS OF RESULTS118§5.2.1Hypothesis 1 CDLI-I118§5.2.2Hypothesis 2 CDLI-P119§5.2.3Hypothesis 3 CDLI-U120§5.2.4Hypothesis 4 CDLI-M120§5.2.5Hypothesis 5 CDLI-C121§5.2.6Hypothesis 6122§5.3Implications and Limitations of the Study122§5.4Suggestion for Future Research123§REFERENCES125