...Korean Vs Us Management Essay Compare and Contrast US managers with the Managers of the Rebublic of Korea – business Introduction We have chosen to compare and contrast U.S. managers withthe managers of The Republic of Korea (ROK). The ROK is a tinynation of 42,621,000 people residing precariously on the southernhalf of the Korean Peninsula (Cook l995). It has a very highpopulation density with 1.121 persons/ sq. mile. They areethnically homogenous with 99.9% being Korean and .01% Chinese. The age distribution is 30% under 15 years of age and 4.3% overage 65. They have a life expectancy of 73 years of age forfemales and 66 year of age for male. The primary religions are Confucianism, Mahayana Buddhism,Ancestor Worship, Shamanism and Ch’ondagyo which account for 66%of the population with another 28% practicing the Christianreligion. The Han’gul writing system is the official language of Koreawith English being widely taught in many schools. The governmentis made up of the executive and legislative branches. The Headof the State or the Executive President is elected by directpopular vote for a 5 year term. The Legislature is comprised ofa 299-member National Assembly which is elected on a 4 year termby universal adult suffrage. The economy is estimated to produce GDP of US $121,310million with a per capita income of US $4,045/ year. The totalnumber of persons active in the economy was 16,900,000 with a 3%unemployment rate and a literacy rate of over 90% (East 1990). Koreans are...
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...Asian Business Tutorial 7 Week 8 (m) How would you characterize and explain the process of decision making in Korean companies? (n) What changes have taken place in management in Korean companies since the crisis of 1997? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (m) Owing to the strong influences of family traditions, there is a tendency for Korean corporate leaders, especially founders, to manage on the basis of principles governing the family or clan system. In the traditional Korean family, the father is the unquestioned and respected head. He has almost absolute power to wield if he so wishes. The traditional Korean father also has full responsibility to feed the family and to decide the future of his children. One legacy of such a family tradition for business leadership in Korean companies is the strong authoritarian style of superiors in the managerial process. A top-down decision-making style is fairly typical among Korean companies. Usually, 80% of the authority lies in the upper management level, with middle or lower management having very limited authority. Authoritarian leadership has been a well-accepted managerial norm under the centralized structure of Korean companies. The passive attitude of the subordinates is further conducive to the authoritarian style. The traditional decision-making pummi style (proposal submitted for deliberations) was used more to diffuse...
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...of Korean HRM based on Confucian Values Jong-Tae Choi* College of Business Administration Seoul National University Abstract This study aims to find out the role of the Confucian family value in the process of the transformation of Korean HRM and IR in a hypercompetition period. I analyzed the characteristics and the transformation of Korean companies’ HRM as well as the core value system of Confucian familism. I suggest that a successful transformation of HRM in Korean companies requires an interplay between two factors. First is the genetic factor based on traditional Confucian culture of Korea (i.e., the DNA of Korean HRM), of which its advantages must be respected and preserved. Second factor is an adaptation ability, which modifies its own core competency and routine through an interaction with the environment. Korean HRM stands at a turning point now. The Korean economy is facing a hyper-competition in the global market. To survive, Korean companies have to improve their competitiveness. Also they must solve the problem of seniority-based HRM of Confucian values that hinders their competitiveness. To confront an inevitable transformation of the management system, Korean companies tried to solve the problem by bringing in a rapid growth process of North American HRM practices. But, unanticipated side effect has occurred in this process. As American HRM was uniformly adopted, traditional teamwork, organizational loyalty, and the advantages of traditional Korean companies...
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...Global Business Cultural Analysis of South Korea John Smith University of Rochester BUS 800 – INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Dr. Peterson March 6, 2015 Abstract Today, the United States conducts a substantial amount of business with South Korea. It is important that American managers, entrepreneurs, and businessmen understand the South Korean social, cultural, and religious dimensions of the nation. The South Korean culture and customs are uniquely different from those of the United States. The culture and customs of the United States are based on European traditions and religious Christian beliefs. The culture and customs of South Korea are based on Confucianism’s way of life, Buddhism’s individual salvation, and since the 1950’s Christianity’s redemption of the soul. American businesses that incorporate South Korean culture into American business practices will develop long lasting business relationships with their South Korean counterparts. American businessmen working in multinational corporations have adjusted well the collectivist culture of South Korea. Multinational enterprises considering cross border business in South Korea can feel safe investing in South Korea. Keywords: South Korea, United States, cultural dimensions, multinational business, Hofstede. Introduction South Korea is one of the United States most important strategic and economic partners in Asia. Members of Congress tend to be interested in South Korea for political purposes. South...
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...of the Korean economy? Answer Korea has a large and competitive manufacturing sector. Its industry is strongly specialized both horizontally (focus on specific products ) and vertically (focus on specific parts of the industrial value chain). Most Koreans work for small-and medium-sized companies. However, the country’s export industries are dominated by large firms. 2. Why did the Korean economy develop so fast since the 1960s? Answer The Korean economic development was initiated by strong government leadership in the 1960s and 1970s. It was supported by an excellent resource base in terms of human skills and education. Moreover, the country’s workforce was extremely diligent and committed to contribute to economic success. 3. What are chaebols? Why are the important in Korea? Answer Chaebols are large, diversified business groups which are mostly under family control and are hierarchically managed. They mover advantages in the early stage of industrialization and preferential treatment and nurturing by the government. However, they also did not recede from this position after the government ended its dis interference of the business sector and liberalized the economy appears that their structure and management style still fi nerally ? well with the Korean culture and business environment. 4. What is typical for Korean management? What are the implications of this management style for the competitive strategies of Korean firms? Answer Korean management is rooted...
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...INTRODUCTION Hankook Sarang, a Korean restaurant, is a famous name in Nepali hotel and restaurant scene. By adhering to its strict standards, Hankook Sarang has managed to earn an excellent reputation amongst food buffs for its mouth-watering delicacies served in an excellent ambience and at a reasonable price. The hard work and dedication put in by its founders, efficient management and well-trained staff work in concert to make Hankook Sarang outlets, family restaurants popular among a cross-section of patrons for authentic Korean delicacies, a huge success. It has been steadily building up its reputation for quality food and service since mid -2003, having carved a niche among its patrons it now plans to expand to other places and cities of Nepal. With the mission of providing the highest level of culinary and hospitality experience, Hankook Sarang is a delicious Korean getaway for a rumbling stomach. Whether you are celebrating a special occasion or simply enjoying a day out, a dining experience at Hankook Sarang will create memories you can never forget. The restaurant has great Korean traditional food, pleasant surroundings and reasonable prices unmatched to any other outlet. Ultra-hip ambience and authentic Korean menu with new age flavor assures you a sumptuous dining experience. OBJECTIVES The objectives for my research on Hankook Sarang Restaurant are as follows: * A key objective for Hankook restaurant is to offer a higher-than-usual level of customer...
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...Ellen Moore Living And Working In Korea Management Essay In recent years, globalization has accelerated the emergence of many global companies that operate across geographical borders and require high levels of cross-national interdependence and cross-border flow of products, technology, capital and people. Businesses are expanding internationally through alliances and joint ventures, as well as mergers and acquisitions. This driving force has resulted in a growing number of people seeking international careers outside of their home countries. Ellen Moore, an experienced systems consultant who worked for Systems Consulting Group (SCG), a unit of Western Systems Inc. (WSI), was sent to Korea to manage a project involving a team of North American and Korean consultants. WSI newly entered the Korean market in 1990 through forming a joint venture (JVI) with Korean Conglomerate Inc. (KCI). Ellen was selected based on her strong background in project management, her creativity and technical abilities. She also had successful international experience working in Bahrain before, which may be helpful to her journey working in Korea, a new different foreign country. Ellen Moore- the international manager For Ellen, an expatriate manager who has limited knowledge of Korea and did not obtain any training from SCG prior to her arrival in Korea, living in Korea produced constant and unexpected challenges to the ways of perceiving, acting and valuing things, making it difficult for her to...
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...Essay on the Importance of Cultural Understanding in Global Business Practice and Education S. J. Chang Illinois State University ABSTRACT As today’s business decisions and choices are increasingly influenced by the diverse cultural backgrounds and perspectives of various corporate stakeholders, it is critical for business managers to have multicultural understanding. This motivates us to refine our business perspectives and approaches in global arena as well as our educational philosophies on global business management. Based on casual yet experiential discussions, this essay presents some cohesive points on comparative cultural understanding and business implications thereof between the “West” and the “East,” which is presupposed by the cultural contrasts between America and Korea. It can hopefully serve as a practically meaningful guideline for business practice and education on multiculturalism. Keywords: multiculturalism, global business management, comparative cultural understanding Journal of International Business and Cultural Studies When East and West Meet, Page 2 INTRODUCTION Thanks to the rapid and continuous expansion of large global businesses, today people, capital, information, and technology travel more freely, rapidly, and widely than ever. The everexpanding scope and scale of large global firms over the recent decades have already been amply documented by numerous reports (See, among others, Barnet & Cavanagh, 1994; Korten, 1996; Karliner...
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...ethical environment, trade, investment, and foreign policy profile. Cultural Environment The cultural environment is one of the first things to consider when opening up a business in another country. Daniels mentions, “Most cultural variables are universal. Every society, for example, has its own daily routines and rules, codes or social relations, language, and the show of emotions—even concepts of luck” (Daniel, 2011). Therefore, some sort of study of the culture should be done. The Journal of Management & Marketing Research states, “Since the entry mode is crucial for the success of a new business in the overseas market, various studies should be made on the relationship between cultural distance and entry mode in the foreign market” (Cheong, 2011). Hence, we shall take a look at the cultural environment of South Korea. The primary language in Korea is Korean or Hangul. Jae Song from the University of Otago writes, “The correlation between Koreans and the Korean language is almost perfect:...
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...LGE Strategic Alliances and Human Resource Management Chaebols is defined by business structures that consist of firms operating a diverse number of industries, but the group is controlled by a dominant family. The business group accounts for a large percentage of the economy – LG Electronics (LGE) is an example of one of this corporate structure. We will discuss how LG has impacted the South Korean economy as well as outline the positive and negative characteristic of chaebols and the South Korean economy. We will identify LGE’s human resources strategy, and how they deal with diversity. I will also explain one of LGE’s strategic alliance and its global objective. The Organization and the Purpose of Chaebols LG Electronics was established in 1958 as GoldStar. They produced products like radios, TV’s, refrigerators, laundry units, and air conditioners. There advanced digital expertise and technological expertise has catapulted them to become one of the industry leaders in technology. LG continues to reinforce their vision of become a global leader in digital by creating innovative products and ensuring superior customer service. The company, continues to unveiled new products, new technologies that continues to reinforce their status as one of the global leaders. LGE is s the world’s second largest manufacturer of television sets with forty-five percent of sales coming from the home electronics division of the company. Twenty-two percent of sales come from the home...
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...successful home improvement model, the opportunities in the Asia market provide a unique untapped region. In Korea, recent political changes have opened its economy to foreign investors and businesses. Korea’s strong economic growth provides Lowe’s with the ideal situation of opening up stores before their competitors. Based on research I conducted, this assessment considers the potential of expanding Lowe’s into the Korean market. With any major investment, it is important to consider the monetary and non-monetary aspects including gaining an understanding of the culture, the ideal management approach, past and future trends, along with political roadblocks. In this paper, the following information provides a roadmap to the decision-making process. First, an assessment of the Lowe’s vision, mission, and promise are discussed and compared to the similarities and differences within Korea. Then, an analysis considers Korean trends that support the expansion of Lowe’s. Next, a culture assessment of Lowe’s base country (USA) is compared against Korea including management styles to consider for the local corporate office and stores. Lastly, a communication strategy is discussed based on the cultural assessment and offers best practices for the expansion of Lowe’s into Korea. This paper is intended to assist Lowe’s senior managers begin an assessment of expansion into the Asian market via Korea by highlighting key factors necessary for success. Company Overview Founded in 1946...
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...throughout the world are overseen by 13 US based ‘Management Board’ members. The company large number of layers between the Management Board and the local employees (hierarchical organization) doesn’t allow much room for empowerment. It is an ethnocentric company with a people oriented culture that provides all its local employees around the world with extensive training in order to socialize them to the Cobalt culture. Moreover, Cobalt Systems insists on fully owning its foreign subsidiaries as they are seen as “national assets” (where national refers to American). Therefore the company doesn’t trust its foreign subsidiaries and is paranoid about losing technological secrets to competitors. Silverlight Electronics is a Korean based company selling its high tech products in Korea and abroad. It is part of the SiverLight Chaebol; a family of firms held together by cross-ownership and close personal ties. The SilverLight Chaebol offers a horizontal multi-industry integration. Therefore, SilverLight’s products are mostly the result of the SilverLight Chaebol’s work rather than from SilverLight Electronics itself. The company has enjoyed the government’s help and national protectionism over the past 40 years which has mainly contributed to the success of the company and some of its competitors (Samsung Electronics, Daewoo Electronics…). The company is thus closely tied to the government and is seen by the majority of the population as a Korean pride. Its many rewards from the government...
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...Measuring and comparing business cultures South Korea Vs Spain Ivan Kuzevanov - Panagiotis Sarantidis – Jaime Carvajal Treschov Alexey – Maria Safarovic World Business Cultures [pic] Business culture in South Korea The Republic of Korea (South Korea) is a constitutional democracy, has a population of roughly 51 million people, occupies a land of 99,720 square kilometers, and its currency is called Won ($USD=1073,43KRW, 3/3/2014). About 50% of the population practices religion (10,7 mil. Buddhists, 8,6 mil. Protestants and 5,1 mil. Catholics). The country of Korea was occupied by Japan since 1910 and it was split up after the Japanese loss in 1945, under the agreement that the north part would be administered by the Soviet Union, while the southern part by the U.S.A., and is divided to North and South Korea to this day. Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Power distance At an intermediate score of 60, South Korea is a slightly hierarchical society. This means that people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification. Hierarchy in an organization is seen as reflecting inherent inequalities, centralization is popular, subordinates expect to be told what to do and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat. Individualism South Korea, with a score of 18 is considered a...
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...Global strategy of LG Electronics as a leading Korean company Tomikazu Hiraga Senior research Fellow NLI Research Institute Economic recovery in advanced countries including Japan is still sluggish, although corporate financial performance has been recovering gradually. And companies whose business activities in emerging countries experiencing an economic boom account for a larger proportion tend to show better financial performance. Leading Korean companies have a larger presence in the world market and attract considerable attention. I will focus on LG Electronics, Inc., a leading company ranking with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. in the world’s electrical and electronics industries, with the largest market share in home appliances markets in important emerging countries, such as India, Brazil, and Indonesia, and relatively advanced management methods including corporate governance, which are highly valued, and will discuss features or important points of its global management and personnel strategy in this article. (Reference: Exchange rates as of August 5, 2010 were as follows. The Japanese yen/Korean won foreign exchange rate was approximately ¥0.074 to the Korean won. The Japanese yen/Indian rupee rate was approximately ¥1.87 to the Indian rupee. ) Leading Korean zaibatsu—The LG group The Korean zaibatsu (chaebol), a unique large companies group, is very influential in Korea’s corporate sector. Top 28 companies by market capitalization other than public corporations account...
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...Recommendations ‘Overtime work culture’ in South Korean society has been documented and recorded for a long time. It is true that South Korea has developed and achieved the ‘Miracle of the Han River’ based on the faithful and diligent labor. However, the era of rapid growth in South Korean society has now ended and labor-intensive industries have transformed with the advances in technology, the overtime work culture has not yet changed. Long working hours do not benefit efficiency or the profits of an organization in this newly changed society; conversely they can have a negative effect. This study will present the evidences of this argument, and discuss how to reduce overtime and thereby improve efficiency and productivity in South Korean society. Problem Analysis Working Environment in South Korea Comparison with other OECD countries. According to an article in August 2014, South Koreans work 2,163 hours per year, the second highest among OECD countries. This is 30% more than the average at 1,770 hours per year (Appendix A). However, South Korean labor productivity and the work-life balance index are much lower than the OECD average. South Korean working productivity was US$ 29.75 per working hour, while the OECD average was US$ 44.56. Moreover, the Work-Life Balance Index indicates that South Korean employees score 5.4; 28th among the OECD countries (Appendix B). We can therefore conclude that South Korean employees work much longer hours than other countries...
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