Culture and the Development of Management: An International Example

The great differences that exist among the nations of the world insofar as their economic development is concerned indubitably can be attributed to a variety of causal factors. To persons familiar with management, there is a tendency to equate the degree of development of management with a nation's culture. Investigation into the field of management revealed in the past that most of the analysis undertaken in the subject approached management as being impacted by the internal environmental factors-such as finance, production, etc.-within a given enterprise. The impact of cultural factors on management development, especially on an international basis, had not been treated adequately until the third quarter of the past century. The present work presents sufficient evidence to support the hypothesis that cultural factors exert a major influence on the development of management and a change in one or more of such factors causes changes in the development of management. About the Author: Dr. John Theodore holds a Ph. D. degree in Administration and Latin American Studies from the University of Kansas; a Ph. D. in Management from the Aristotelian University in Greece, European Union; and a D. B. A. in International Business from the University of South Africa. He has been teaching in higher education for four decades and has held several administrative positions. Dr. Theodore is also a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) by the Institute of Management Consultants in Washington, D. C., and president of JDT Management Consultants, specializing in management, organization, strategy, human resources, international business, and higher education. He has published two previous books dedicated to comparative and international management in countries with capitalist, socialist, and communist economy systems, and a large number of articles pivoting around education, management, organization, strategy, and international business.