. A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON
I A 0F ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES I . I
f or MANAGERS: , ' ‘ (
' INDIA AND THE UNITED STATES I -
I
I, f Thesis for the Degree of PhD, ‘ -. ‘
1 5: . ,’ . MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY ' - ». I j I
i - . _. ' (PUTTI M- JOSEPH . j   ; : >
‘ ' ‘ ‘ w. . ,1971 “ . ~ ~ _

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This is to certify that the
thesis entitled

A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON OF ATTITUDES
AND PRACTICES OF MANAGERS: INDIA
AND THE UNITED STATES

presented by

Putti M. Joseph

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

_Bh‘.D_._ degree in __Ma.na.g.e.me.nt

Major professor

Date February 211 1972

0-7639

 

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' x I.

ABSTRACT

A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON OF ATTITUDES
AND PRACTICES OF MANAGERS: INDIA

AND THE UNITED STATES

BY

Putti M. Joseph

The current study is an attempt to contribute to the
field of Comparative Management which has already been
studied and developed to a certain extent by many re-
searchers. This study is focused on the attitudes and
practices of U.S. and Indian managers. From the analysis
it is proposed to establish whether the U.S. and the Indian
managers are similar or dissimilar in their attitudes and
managerial practices. In undertaking cross-cultural re—
search, one must also have a common classification scheme
which can be used for comparing the attitudes and manage—
ment practices. For the purpose of this study, the atti—
tudinal classification scheme includes sociological,
educational, political and economic variables. The manage—
ment practices classification scheme includes managerial
functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and
controlling. A number of practices under each of these

functions are selected for comparison.

Putti M. Joseph

A sample of 120 U.S. managers and 120 Indian man-
agers were selected for this study on the basis of the
writer's judgment. These managers were chosen from firms
that could be classified as being in the electrical and
electronic industries. The managers included in the sample
represented various levels of organizational hierarchies
and functional areas. Using the technique devised by
Likert, a survey questionnaire of 104 items was prepared
and submitted to these managers. In addition, 20 per cent
of the U.S. and 20 per cent of the Indian managers were
interviewed personally.

The areas of inquiry of this study are stated in
the form of questions. These questions are:

1. Are the U.S. and Indian managers similar or dis-
similar in their attitudes derived from sociological,
political, educational and economic variables?

2. Are the U.S. and Indian managers similar or dis—
similar in their management practices in the plan—
ning, organizing, staffing, directing and
controlling functions?

3. If there are differences in attitudes and management
practices, what causes can be inferred from the data
for these differences?

The following conclusions are drawn from the find—
ings of this study to answer the above questions:

“\

1. This study of managerial attitudes in India and in
the United States, nations with distinctly different
cultural heritage, reveals substantial similarity
between the two countries. The cross-cultural com~
parison shows that attitudes of managers as derived
from sociological, educational, political and
economic variables are similar on most items
surveyed.

Putti M. Joseph

General analysis shows a greater number of differences
in management practices than similarities, between
U.S. and Indian managerial samples.

More rigorous analysis shows that factors such as

the type of ownership, size of the company, educa—
tion and job training of the managers, and their
attitudes, seem to make some difference in the prac—
tices among Indian managers. Other differences in
management practices between U.S. and Indian managers
may be explained in terms of sociological, economic,
political and educational variables.

A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON OF ATTITUDES
AND PRACTICES OF MANAGERS: INDIA

AND THE UNITED STATES

BY

Putti M. Joseph

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Management

1971

To My Dear Parents

ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writer would like to express his thanks and
appreciation to the chairman of his dissertation committee,
Dr. Richard F. Gonzalez, and to the members, Dr. Robert V.
Penfield, Dr. Daniel H. Kruger and Dr. Anant R. Negandhi
for their advice and guidance. The writer is especially
indebted to the committee chairman, Dr. Gonzalez, who showed
great patience during the early stages of the research.

The writer owes deepest gratitude and appreciation
to Mr. Murray of Raytheon Company for his help in the col—
lection of data in the United States.

The writer wishes to express gratitude and thanks
to Bro. Ricardo, Bro. Jerome and other Brothers of St. John's
Prep. in Danvers, Massachusetts for their prayers and en-
couragement.

Sincere thanks also are expressed to Mr. John
Richards, Mr. Ralph Childs and Miss Lydia for their editor—
ial help, Mr. James Mullin for computer work and Mr. Leigh
Cohoe for handling correspondence during the writer's field
research in India.

The writer regrets the lack of cooperation which he
received from the International Programs of Michigan State

University.

iii

Appreciation is felt towards many friends at the
Owen Graduate Hall for their constant encouragement of

fellowship.

iv

 

CHAPTER

I.

II.

III.

IV.

CROSS-CULTURAL RESEARCH:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Purpose of the Research . . . . . . . . .
Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . .
Classification Scheme for Attitude

Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Classification scheme for the Comparison

of Management Practices . . . . . . . .
Definitions of Key Terms . . . . . . . . .

Limitations of the Study . . . . . .

Comparative Studies involving Managerial
Values, Attitudes, Idealogies, and Goals

Comparative Studies involving Management
Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
THE RESEARCH DESIGN . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Sample . . . . . . . . . . ._. . . . .
Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Questionnaire Survey . . . . . . . . . .
Personal Interview . . . . . . . . . . .

ANALYSIS OF THE ATTITUDES OF U.S. AND INDIAN
MANAGE RS 0 O O O O O O 0 O O O O O I O O O

Sociological Variables and Attitudes . .
Educational Attitudes . . . . . . . . .

Economic Attitudes . . . . . . . . . .
Political Attitudes . . . . . . . . .

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MANAGERIAL PRACTICES

Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Organizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Staffing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Directing . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Controlling . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A LITERATURE REVIEW.

PAGE

00H

M0003

14

15

23
27

3O

30
31
33
36

38

38
51
56
63

68

68
73
79
85
88

PAGE
VI 0 CONCLUS IONS O O O 0 O O O C O O O O O O O 0 O O 9 3
THE U 0 S 0 MODEL 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O I O 0 9 5

Comparison of Indian Management Practices
With U.S. MOdel O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 99

IMPLICATIONS OF THIS STUDY FOR INDIAN MANAGEMENT 116
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

APPENDIX 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 135

vi

 

10.

11.

LIST OF TABLES

Comparison of Sociological Attitudes of U.S.
and Indian Managers . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Comparison of Educational Attitudes of U.S.
and Indian Managers . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Comparison of Economic Attitudes of U.S. and
Indian Managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Comparison of Political Attitudes of U.S. and
Indian Managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Planning Practices of U.S. and Indian Managers.
Organizing Practices of U.S. and Indian Managers

Selection and Recruitment Practices of U.S. and
Indian Managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Comparison of Managerial Training of U.S. and
Indian Managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Comparison of Performance Appraisal and Job
Description methods of U.S. and Indian Managers

Comparison of Management Practices in Performing
the Direction Funtion . . . . . , , . , , , ,

Comparison of Practices of the Control Function
of U.S. and Indian Managers . . . . . . . . .

vii

PAGE

47

54

6O

66

'70

75

81

82

84

86

91

 

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Purpose of the Research

 

The current study is an attempt to contribute to
the field of Comparative Management which has already been
studied and developed to a certain extent by many re-
searchers. Comparative Management involves the study of
managerial problems in different countries. "This field is
of very recent origin; it emerged as a distinctive entity
around 1960 and has since then experienced a very rapid
development."1 Some of the researchers who contributed to
this field in its inception are: Haire, Ghiselli and
Porter, Kerr and Dunlop, Harbison and Myers, Gonzalez and

McMillan, and McClelland.2

 

lHans Schollhammer, "The Comparative Management
Theory Jungle," Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 12,
No. 1, (March, 1969), p. 82.

 

2Mason Haire, Edwin E. Ghiselli, and Lyman W. Porter,
Managerial Thinking (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
1966); Clark Kerr, John T. Dunlop, et. al., Industrialism
and Industrial Man (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University
Press, 1960); Frederick Harbison and Charles Myers,
Management in the Industrial World (New York: McGraw-Hill
Book Company, 1959); Richard F. Gonzalez and Claude
McMillan, Jr., "The Universality of American Management
Philosophy," Journal of Academy of Management, Vol. 4, No. 1
(April, 1961), pp. 33-41; David C. McClelland, The Achieving
Society (Princeton, N.J.: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1958).

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

"The comparative management theory now commands
the attention of an increasing number of scholars; many of
them are attempting to build a conceptual foundation for
the new field by providing a framework for the detection,
identification, and evaluation of uniformities and differ—
ences of managerial problems in different countries or
regions."3 Some of the researchers who attempted to build
such a conceptual foundation for the field of comparative
management are: Farmer and Richman, Negandhi and Estafen,

and Schollhammer.4

The cross-cultural approach is one way of studying
comparative management. The cross-cultural study of man—
agement involves the study of cultural variables which tend
to have an impact on management practices in different
cultures. Farmer and Richman identify these variables as
sociological, educational, political and economic.5

The cross—cultural approach is used in the current

study to compare the attitudes and management practices of

 

3Hans Schollhammer, op. cit., p. 82.

4Richard Farmer and Barry Richman, Comparative
Management and Economic Progress (Homewood, Illinois:
Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1965); Anant R. Negandhi and Bernard
D. Estafen, "A Research Model to determine the applicability
of American Management Know—How in differing Cultures and/or
Environments," Academy of Management Journal (December,
1965), pp. 309-318; Hans Schollhammer, "The Comparative
Management Theory Jungle," Academy of Management Journal,
Vol. 12, No. 1, (March, 19697} PP. 81-97. '

 

 

 

 

5Richard Farmer and Barry Richman, op. cit.,
pp. 29—30.

U.S. and Indian managers. In undertaking cross-cultural
research, one must also have a common classification scheme
which can be used for comparing the attitudes and management
practices. For the purposes of this study, the attitudinal
classification scheme includes sociological, educational,
political and economic variables. The management classifi-
cation scheme includes managerial functions--p1anning, organ-
izing, staffing, directing and controlling. IA number of
practices under each of these functions are selected for

comparison.

Statement of the Problem

 

The study is focused on the attitudes and management
practices of U.S. and Indian managers. From the analysis it
is proposed to establish whether the U.S. and Indian managers
are similar or dissimilar in their attitudes derived from
sociological, educational, political and economic variables,
and in their management practices. Further, the study is
designed to investigate the causes for differences, if any,
in the attitudes and management practices of these managers.

The research study is designed to answer the
following questions: (1) Are the U.S. managers and Indian
managers similar or dissimilar in their attitudes derived
from sociological, educational, political and economic
variables? (2) Are the U.S. managers and Indian managers

similar or dissimilar in their management practices in

planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling
functions? (3) If there are differences in attitudes and
management practices, what causes can be inferred from the

data for these differences?

Classification Scheme for Attitude Comparison

 

For the purposes of the current study, it is as-
sumed that the attitudes derived from sociological, edu-
cational, political and economic variables constitute one's
culture. The same view was expressed by the experts of the
International Labor Organization. These experts indicate
that culture is a reflection of the society and to under-
stand one's culture,"it is necessary to have information
of how the society maintains itself--the economy; how it
distributes and organizes power-—the political system; how
it distributes status, prestige, position and wealth--the
social system; and how it passes on the knowledge-~the

educational system."6

 

6International Labor Organization Experts, "Social
and Cultural factors in Management Development: Extracts
from the conclusions of a meeting of Experts," International
Labor Review (August, 1966), p. l81.--This article is
based on the conclusions of a meeting of experts convened
by the I.L.O. in November, 1965.

 

 

The attitudes used for comparison between the U.S.

and Indian managers under each of these variables are:

The Sociological variables.--The attitudes included

 

under this variable are derived from sources such as re-
ligion, family, and social institutions. These are the
attitudes toward success, change, the basic concept of work,
risk taking, scientific methods, competition, achievement
motivation, time utility, authority, family considerations

and luxury of life.

The Educational variable.--The attitudes included

 

under this variable are the attitudes toward higher edu-
cation, authoritarian and participative type of education,

professional management and training programs.

The Political variable.--The attitudes compared

 

under this variable are the attitudes toward the role of
government in shaping competition, and exercising control
over business, political participation of business leaders,
social responsibility of business, the role of unions and

the role of 'influence' with the government.

The Economic variable.--The attitudes included under

 

this variable are the attitudes toward private ownership,
socialized planning, the free-enterprise system, automa-

tion, labor disputes, labor unions, and corporate plans.

 

 

Classification Scheme for the Comparison
of Management PractiCes

A comparison is also made in the management prac—
tices of the U.S. managers and Indian managers. The man—
agement practices included for comparison under each of

the managerial functions are as follows:

Planning function.-—This function is defined as,

 

"the analysis of relevant information from the present and
the past and an assessment of probable future developments
so that a course of action may be determined that enables
the organization to meet its stated objectives."7 As such,
this function involves the setting up of objectives,
policies and programs, as well as the setting up of methods
to accomplish these. In this study, the following elements
of the planning function are compared between the U.S. and
Indian managers:

Types of plans made

Time horizon of plans

Flexible nature of plans

Techniques and methods used in planning

Communication of plans
Participation in planning

ONU'lanNI-J

Organizing function.--This function involves the

 

structuring of the parts of the organization according to
its activities necessary to accomplish the stated goals

and the establishment of the authority--responsibility

 

7Henry L. Sisk, Principles of Management (Cincinnati,
Ohio: Southwestern Publishing Co., 1969), p. 82.

 

relationships. A comparison of the following elements of
this function is made between the U.S. and Indian managers:

1. Extent of centralization and decentralization of
authority

Spans of management

Role of committees

Nature of departmentation

Nature of organization structure

. Role of staff specialists

ONU'IDWN
O 0

Staffing function.--The staffing function includes

 

recruitment, selection, transfers, promotions, and train-
ing. The following practices under this function are
selected for comparison between the U.S. and Indian
managers:

1. Selection and recruitment methods

2. Training methods and types

2

Job descriptions
Performance appraisal techniques

Direction function.--This function includes all

 

those activities which are designed to make employees work
effectively and efficiently in the short and long run.

The practices selected for comparison under this function
are the following:

Extent of authoritarian vs.participative management
Type of supervision

Communication techniques

Motivation techniques
Labor relations

U'lubUJNH
0

Control function.--This function involves the

 

measurement of progress toward objectives in accordance

with the established plan. Under this function, the

following practices are compared between the U.S. and
Indian managers:

Setting of standards of performance

Expectations of performance

Feedback of deviations in standards of performance
Cost accounting techniques

Motion and time study techniques

(Hob-LUMP“
0

Definitions of Keererms

The following terms employed in this research study
are operationally defined or identified as follows:

Culture.--A variety of definitions of the term
Culture have been offered by anthropologists, psychologists,
sociologists, historians and others. Tylor was the first
one to define and make extensive use of the term. Accord—
ing to Tylor culture is a, "complex whole which includes
knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom and other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of

8 This definition emphasizes that culture is a

society."
social heritage. Culture is defined by Linton as "the
configuration of learned behavior and results of behavior
whose component elements are shared and transmitted by the

9

members of a particular society." Ruth Benedict says,

"culture consists essentially of the ideas and standards

 

8Edward B. Tylor, Primitive Culture (New York:
Henry Holt & Co., 1873), Vol. 1, p. 1.

9Ralph Linton, The Cultural Background of Person-
ality (New York: Appleton-Century Co., 1954), p. 32.

 

which men have in common."10 To synthesize, culture is the

set of values, beliefs, norms, attitudes, habits, and
generally the way of life of a group of people, ranging
from a tribe to a nation. This set of attributes is der-
ived from sociological, educational, political and economic
variables. The term culture is used extensively in this
study and in all contexts the foregoing description is

to be understood.

Attitudes and Values.--"An attitude is an organi-

 

zation of concepts, beliefs, habits and motives associated
with a particular object."ll Rokeach defines an attitude
as, "an organization of several beliefs focused on a spe-
cific object (physical or social, concrete or abstract) or
situation, predisposing one to respond in some preferential
"12
manner.
The distinction between an attitude and a value is

unclear and still being debated today. Sometimes it is

maintained that values have to do with modes of conduct and

 

10Ruth Benedict, Patterns of Culture (Boston, Mass:
Houghton & Mifflin, 1934), p. 16.

11W. J. McKeachie and Charlotte L. Doyle, Psycholggy
(Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.,
1966), p. 38.

12Milton Rokeach, "A Theory of Organization and
Change within Value and Attitude Systems," Presidential
address to the society for the psychological study of
Social Issues, The American Psychological Association,
Sept. 2, 1967, Michigan State University, Dept. of Psy-
chology, reprint, pp. 2-3.

 

 

 

10

end-states of existence. To say that a person "has a value"
is to say that he has a strong belief that a specific mode
of conduct is personally and socially preferable for him to
the available alternative modes of conduct. Rokeach dis-
tinguishes an attitude from a value by saying, "While an
attitude represents several beliefs, focused on a specific
object or situation, a value is a single belief which
transcendentally guides action and judgements across spe-
cific objects and situations, and even beyond immediate
goals to more ultimate end-states of existence."13
For the purposes of this study we will consider an
attitude as an organization of beliefs or views focused on
a specific variable or situation or object, predisposing
one to respond in a preferential manner. We Will also
consider that attitudes and values are synonymous. The
study of managerial attitudes is gaining importance
because:
The manager's efforts to properly plan, organize,

and control are_directed and conditioned by his whole

way of life--his attitudes toward the political organiza—

tion of his state, toward the members of his family or

associates, and toward the church in which he worships.
All of these condition his managerial activities."l4

 

l31bid., p. 6.

14Tony H. Bonaparte, "Management in the Cultural
Setting," Advanced Management Journal (October, 1966)
p. 38.

 

11

In this study a comparison is made between the at-
titudes of the U.S. and Indian managers. The comparison
includes the attitudes derived from sociological, educa-

tional, political and economic variables\

Managerial Practice and Effectiveness.--The man-

 

agerial practice is defined here as the way in which the
manager carries out his functions of planning, organizing,
staffing, directing and controlling. Although these
functions are common to all business organizations, the way
they are carried out differs from organization to organi-
zation and from manager to manager. One of the purposes
of this study is to identify the causes for such differ-
ences. Some researchers argue that these differences are
due to effect on managers by the restrictions imposed by
the environment in which an organization functions.
Managerial effectiveness is dependent upon various
factors. It is ascertained from factors such as: net
gross profit, percentage increase in profit, market share,
percentage increase or decrease in market price of a com-
pany's stock, percentage increase in sales, employee morale
and turnover, and evaluation of the company by consumers,

employees and the general public.

 

 

 

12

Limitations of the Study

 

Although important in determining managerial be-
havior, values, norms and other cultural factors are nebu-
lous to the point that they cannot be categorically defined
or identified. This poses the difficulty of identifying
causal relationships.

The study is, of course, also subject to the fa—'
miliar limitations of the survey questionnaire type of
research. These include the lack of opportunity to probe
the respondent beyond the given answer in order to clarify
an ambiguous one or to overcome unwillingness to answer a
particular question or to appraise the validity of what a
respondent said in the light of hgw_he said it.

This study might have also suffered from the limi-
tation that is generally attributed to inferential analysis.
What the respondents stated they were doing might be dif-
ferent from what they were actually doing. The findings
are based on what the respondents stated that they were
doing.

In a developing country like India, it is difficult
to get cooperation from managers in obtaining responses to
the survey questionnaires or to secure appointments for

personal interviews.

13

The subjective element of the researcher who makes
the comparison is also a limitation of this study. "It will
be seen that in all comparative processes, the subjective
element of the comparator plays a leading role. Therefore,
all purposeful management comparison will be in relation
to the management-system of the person performing this

comparison.

 

15Narendra K. Sethi, "International Management of
Tomorrow: A New Frontier of Administrative Thought,"
Advanced Management Journal (July, 1970), p. 40.

 

CHAPTER II

CROSS CULTURAL RESEARCH: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Many scholars consider that the field of management
must be viewed in a broad perspective because of the in-
fluence of social, educational, economic and political
variables on management practices.1

This recognition has led to a number of cross-
cultural studies. In spite of the recency of this field
of research, there is already a considerable diversity in
the approaches taken by scholars in studying management in
various cultures and countries and comparing one with the
other. Schollhammer2 labels these approaches as, the
socio-economic, the ecological, the behavioral and the
eclectic-empirical. Scholars engaged in cross-cultural
research are attempting to build a conceptual foundation by

synthesizing various approaches to provide a framework for

 

1See for example, Barry M. Richman, "Significance of
Cultural Variables," Academy of Management Journal (Dec.,
1965), PP. 292—308.

 

2Hans Schollhammer, "The Comparative Management
Theory Jungle," Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 12,
No. 1 (March, 1969), pp. 81-97.

 

14

15

identification and evaluation of similarities and differ—
ences in the attitudes and practices of managers and in the
managerial problems in different countries and cultures.

In this chapter it is the intention of the writer
to review some of the research studies and views of scholars
in the field of comparative management that bear a signifi—
cant relationship to the scope of this study. The studies
are reviewed under the following titles:

1. Comparative studies involving values, attitudes,
ideologies, and goals of managers.

2. Comparative studies involving management practices.

Comparative Studies Involving Managerial Values,
Attitudes, Ideologies, and Goals

 

 

The study by McCann involves a comparison of atti—
tudes held by U.S. and Mexican managers. "The attitudes
of managers toward such a basic concept as work vary from
culture to culture. The Anglo-American culture has wrought
attitudes toward work which are quite different from those
developed in the Mexican culture."3 The attitude of Anglo-
Americans toward work is that work is an important end in
itself, that is, work can be and should be a psychologically
satisfying experience. The attitude of Mexicans toward work

is that it is a means one utilizes simply to provide the

funds necessary for achieving a desired level of living.

 

3Eugene C. McCann, "Anglo—American and Mexican
Management Philosophies," M.S.U. Business Topics (Summer,
1970), p. 29.

 

16

Mexican and American managers also differ in their
attitude toward the scientific approach in decision making,
authority, participation, communication, change and con—
formity. The scientific approach is the most valuable and
the most frequently used tool in the U.S. management de—
cisions, whereas Mexican managers do not have such a high
regard for the scientific approach. The U.S. managers'
attitude toward authority emphasizes decentralization,
whereas, relatively speaking, the Mexican managers tend
more towards centralization. The U.S. managers encourage
their subordinates to participate in decision making while
Mexican managers View participative management as a threat
to their role and image. The directness and frankness
found in communication in the United States is lacking in
the Mexican method of communication. The Mexican manager
is highly individualistic, on the other hand, while the
American manager conforms to the group or team norms. The
U.S. manager is not satisfied with the status quo and at—
tempts to improve performance, whereas the Mexican manager
desires to perpetuate present practices.

Carlisle4 examined the differences in attitudes
toward institutions such as government, labor unions, the

community and its customs, education, the church and the

 

4Arthur E. Carlisle, Cultures in Collision (Ann
Arbor, Michigan: The University of Michigan, 1967).

 

17

family of Canadian managers as compared to those of their
American counterparts. The Canadian managers are more
concerned with government at the provincial level than they
are with the federal government; the U.S. managers, on the
other hand, are more concerned with federal rather than
state government. Labor unions in Canada are more inter-
ested in social change and participation in management than
are their counterparts. In the U.S., the prime interest of
the labor movement is still in job security. Needs require
that Canadian and U.S. managers deal differently with unions
in their respective countries.

Carlisle states that the church does not exert di-
rect influence on business operations in Canada or in the
U.S. Many of the jobs that are filled by college graduates
in the U.S. are held by high school graduates in Canada.
Secondary and college education is highly regarded by
Canadians for its vocational preparation.

Nowotny compares the values of the U.S. and
European managers.

Most of the top executives develop and practice their
own management philosophy. Obviously, then, there is
nothing so clear—cut as a single managerial style which
is uniformly adhered to by all American or all European
business leaders. Yet underlying the behavior and at—
titudes of these two different groups of executives are

certain general characteristics or common denominators
which can be identified.5

 

j 5Otto H. Nowotny, "American vs. European Management
Philosophy," Harvard Business Review (March—April, 1964),
p. 101.

 

18

The most striking difference between the outlooks of
Europeans and Americans lies in their orientation toward
time. It is as if they were standing back to back, with
the European inclined to look at the past and present
and the American seeing the present and future.6
This attitude of the European toward time is due to his re—
spect for such characteristics as wisdom, stability, conven—
tion, necessity, quality, and diversity. The futuristic
attitude of the American manager leads him to respect vital—
ity, mobility, informality, abundance, quantity and organ—
ization.
Haire, Ghiselli and Porter investigated the cultural
patterns in the role of the manager. The purpose of their
study was to find an empirical answer to the question of
similarities and differences in managers' attitudes. Their
study covered fourteen countries and involved 3,500 managers.
They conclude from their study:
. . . it seems very clear from the data reported here
that there is a very high degree of similarity among
managers' attitudes in all countries studied. On the
other hand, of all the differences observed among man—
agers, about twenty-five per cent of the variations
were associated with national differences, so that there
is an identifiable determinant of attitudes within each
country. Furthermore, these national differences do
tend to group themselves into intelligible parterns.

On the basis of differences observed, the researchers group

the countries studied into the Anglo-Saxon (The U.S. and

England), Continental Europe (France, Spain, Belgium and

 

61bid., p. 102.

7Mason Haire, Edwin E. Ghiselli and Lyman W. Porter,
Managerial Thinking: An International Study (New York:
John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1966), p. 1.

19
Italy), Northern Europe (Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Ger-
many), and Japan all by itself in one group. One of the
differences the researchers observed was that the attitude
toward leadership ranged from unilateral command (Japan) to
participative management (the U.S.) and they suggest that
cultural traditions, values and beliefs determine managers'
attitude toward the type of leadership.

In his study, McClelland investigated the attitude
of managers in several countries toward recognition of sub-
ordinate's achievement. McClelland found that the U.S.
executives were more inclined to favor promoting deserving
subordinates than were the Turks, Poles and Italians. The
Turks and Poles were hesitant to promote subordinates be-
cause "it would destroy the respect for authority which the
workers must have toward management."8 The U.S. managers
had a more unfavorable attitude toward seniority, education
and family upbringing as determinants of workers' standing
than did the Italians, Turks and Poles.

Kast in his comparative study of the U.S. and
European management concepts and practices, found that
rigidity of social class structure appeared to be a com—
ponent of managerial attitude toward subordinates. Many
European managers have a high regard for their workers'
interests and devote both time and money in their interest.

But this relationship often has a strong paternalistic

 

8David C. McClelland, The Achieving Society (New
York: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., 1961), p. 291.

 

20

flavor and a wide social distance remains between manage—
ment and subordinate levels. On the other hand, the U.S.
managers favor a more participative attitude in their deal—
ings with subordinates.

European businessmen are more conservative in their
attitude and show more restraint in instituting change than
the U.S. businessmen. In his comparison of attitude toward
leisure, Kast found that the European appeared to have the
ability to relax and enjoy his leisure activities to a much
greater extent than the U.S. manager. "European values
concerning leisure may be one of our most valuable imports."9

In his comparison of the ideologies of the U.S. and
European managers, Grosset says,

The greatest differences between Europe and the U.S.
are found in ideologies. If the ideas of European
technocrats can be taken at face value, they look upon
their firms' business and their work as public service.
On the other hand, European managers owning their own
enterprises tend to be considerably closer to the 19th
century ideals of 1aissez~faire, but they are on the
defensive. In the U.S., managers still predominantly
believe that the first purpose of an enterprise, and
consequently their first duty, is to produce a profit,
but, contrary to 19th century beliefs, they agree that
the firm should serve the national interests providing

that the responsibility to stockholders is first ful-
filled.10

 

9Fremont E. Kast, "Management Concepts and Prac-
tices-—European Style," Business Horizons, Vol. 7, No. 4
(Winter, 1964), p. 30.

10Serge Grosset, Management:_ American and European
Styles (Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company,
Inc., 1970), pp. 143—144.

 

 

 

21

The European managers willingly accept the increas—
ing role of the State, particularly state planning, whereas
the U.S. managers pride themselves in their dedication to
the profit motive as the attitude most suitable for in—
creasing the welfare of all.

Dwivedi conducted a study to compare personality
traits in terms of their importance to Indian, U.S. and
Brithish managers. The study was carried out by means of
a thirteen item questionnaire, originally developed by
Heller and Porter. The managers were asked to rank the
following personality traits in order of importance: in-
telligence, cooperativeness, flexibility, energy, perse—
verence, originality, self—control, aggressiveness, poise,
sociability, independence, conformity and dominance.

A cross—cultural comparison of findings revealed
close similarities in Views on the importance of person—
ality traits among Indian, American and British managers.
Dwivedi attributed the results of his findings to common—
ality of English language of the managers in three coun-
tries. "Moreover, a plethora of literature which deals with
management theories and practices, has been written in the
English language as a result of which there is commonality

of thinking in the field of management."11

 

11R. S. Dwivedi, "Perceptions of Personality Traits
Among Managers," Journal of Management Education (January,
1971), p. 53.

 

 

22

Sirota and Greenwood studied a large electrical
manufacturing company, having branches or subsidiaries in
46 countries. A questionnaire consisting of 200 multiple—
choice items was administered to about 13,000 of this com—
pany's employees working in 46 countries. The opinions
were elicited from three different occupational sectors:
sales, technical and service personnel. The purpose of
this study was to see whether there is similarity in the
work goals of sales, technical and service personnel in
different nations.

The evidence provided by this study offers objective,
verifiable information to those executives seeking to adapt
management practices to the cultural environment of overseas
operations, and it contradicts some common stereotypes that
often dictate attempts to motivate employees of differing
national origins. The main findings are:

The most important goals of these workers are all con—
cerned with opportunity for individual achievement.

Occupational and national comparisons reveal remarkable
similarity in the goals of workers around the world.

Although differences among nations are relatively small,
it is possible to identify country "clusters" within
which goals are nearly identical. 2

 

12David Sirota and Michael J. Greenwood, "Understand
Your Overseas Work Force," Harvard Business Review (January,
1971), p. 54.

23

Though the study is made at the sales, technical
and service personnel level, it is worth reviewing mainly
for the reason that it draws a comparison between the U.S.

and India.

Comparative Studies Involving Management Practices

 

Lauter made a comparative study of management prac—
tices in the United States and Turkey. This researcher
examined how the U.S. and Turkish managers performed some
of the critical elements of the basic management functions
such as planning, organizing, staffing, directing and con—
trolling.

Lauter found that Turkish managers were authori—
tarian in executing their functions and authority was
centralized in most of the Turkish companies. On the other
hand, the U.S. managers believed to a certain extent in
participative management and authority was delegated ex-
tensively. As a result of the general lack of delegation
of authority in Turkey, span of control was broad, com—
mittees were rarely used and there were no full time staff
specialists to advise management. The supervisory and
communication techniques were shaped by the highly authori-
tarian atmosphere. The labor laws in Turkey were paterna—
listic and gave prime consideration to job security and

seniority. The Turkish managers used rather poor planning

24

methods and techniques due to the lack of good external
information for the development of planning premises, and
due to various import regulations which created uncertainty.
On the other hand, "American managers attempted to perform
critical elements of the planning function more in accord—
ance with the recommendations of management theorists in
the U.S."l3

Lauter points out that the authoritarian attitude
of the managers is one of the main reasons for these dif—
ferences in management practices in Turkey.

Mehta,l4 in comparing the human relations approach
to management in India and in the United States, writes
that in the American culture, where freedom of choice is
an important social value, the human relations approach has
a built—in emphasis on participation. In India, freedom of
choice is not a value of most of the people. The job op—
portunities in India are scarce and hence those who work in
the firms are chiefly concerned with job security. Due to
job scarcity supervisors or foremen have very effective

control over their subordinates. Negative incentives of

 

13G. P. Lauter, An Investigation of the Applica—
bility of Modern Management Processes. Unpublished dis—
sertation (1968), pp. 198-199.

l4Dhawal Mehta, "The Scope for Human Relations in
India," The Human Side of Management, ed. by Rustom S.
Davar (Bombay, India: Progressive Corporation Ltd., 1969),
p. 271.

 

25

being fired, laid—off, or subject to other disciplinary
action have greater efficacy in India than they would have
in the United States.

In India, it is the owner of the business who takes
the active part in the management of the business. The
owner does not wish to delegate authority to his subordi-
nates. He personally deals with every detail of the day-to-
day matters and insists that no matter of importance should
be decided without his prior permission.

McCann in his comparative study of management
philosophies and practices of the U.S. and Mexican managers,
finds a number of differences. The U.S. managers consider
the scientific approach as an invaluable tool to their de—
cision making, whereas, the Mexican managers hold no such
regard for the scientific approach and rely more on intui-
tion in making decisions. Managers in the U.S. generally
tend toward a pattern of decentralization, and, therefore,
delegation. "Authoritarian characteristics are accepted
as an element of a manager's role in Mexico. The Mexican
manager accepts and expects them from his boss and assumes
the same characteristics when dealing with his own subor-
dinates.

Participation of subordinates in the decision
making process has become a commonly utilized approach to

decisions among U.S. managers. The Mexican manager does

26

not confer with his subordinates in making decisions.
"Participative management embodies a threat to the Mexican
manager's role and image as others see it and is incom-
patible with his role as he himself perceives it."15

In U.S. organizations, the object of business
communication is to transmit the message, regardless of
whether the message contains favorable or unfavorable in-
formation. In Mexican organizations, emphasis is on main—
taining cordial relations.

Kast made a study of management practices between
U.S. and European managers. His findings reveal a sub—
stantial difference in their management practices. Kast
noticed differences in the utilization of specialists and
staff personnel in the organizations. "The European company
usually has a streamlined organization with a clean line
authority from top management down, in contrast to the
American firm with many more management specialists and
staff departments that influence and have functional au—
thority over specific activities."16

There is also a fundamental difference in the ap—
proach of the European and American executives in the use
of committees. The European executive does not see the
need for this type of participation nor the need to com—

municate his reasoning back down the line.

 

15Eugene C. McCann, op. cit., p. 32.

16Fremont E. Kast, op. cit., p. 28.

27

Grosset, in his comparative study of American and
European management styles, found that the European managers
were more autocratic than their American counterparts in
executing managerial functions.

Although his powers in many areas were more restricted
than the American manager's, the European manager had
unrestricted power over what he did control because
traditionally authority was regarded as a divine right.
A divine right cannot be shared; so decision making
tended to be concentrated in the hands of a very few

and frequently in those of one man. When divine right
is replaced by natural rights, as in America a different
attitude develops toward co—workers. No longer is there
an unbreachable gap between the chief executive and
lower echelons.

The European managers and American managers differ
in their concept of managerial responsibility. The Ameri—
can manager thinks that his main responsibility is to
promote the financial success of his firm. The European
manager, on the other hand, feels that a good manager

should be a statesman, one who is able to see the national

interest as well as the interests of his firm.

Conclusion

Studies by McCann, Carlisle, McClelland, Kast,
Grosset and Haire et. al. reviewed in the preceding sections
of this chapter, reveal that a comparison of attitudes in
two or more cultures shows vast differences in general

characteristics and tendencies of managers operating in

 

l7Serge Grosset, op. cit., p. 96.

28

different cultures. McCann examined the differences in
attitudes between the U.S. and Mexican managers. Carlisle
studied the differences in attitudes between Canadian and
U.S. managers. McClelland investigated the attitudes of
managers in several countries toward recognition of sub—
ordinate's achievement. Kast made a comparative study of
managerial attitudes toward subordinates of the U.S. and
European managers. Grosset's study reveals differences in
ideologies of,European and American managers. Haire et. al.,
observed differences in the attitudes of managers toward
leadership in fourteen countries.

On the other hand, studies by Dwivedi and Sirota
and Greenwood reveal that there are more similarities than
differences in the attitudes of managers operating in two
different cultures. Dwivedi, in his comparative study of
personality traits among Indian, American and British man—
agers, found a similarity; Sirota and Greenwood found that
the goals of workers around the world were similar.

Nowotny's study between the U.S. and European man—
agers reveals that there are similarities as well as dif—
ferences in the attitudes of these two groups of managers.

Studies by Lauter, Mehta, McCann, Kast and Grosset
reveal that there are more differences in the practices of

managers in two cultures than similarities. These studies

29

attribute the differences to the sociological, educational,
economic and political variables present in the respective
environments.

On the basis of the findings of these studies some
conclusions can be drawn:

1. There are similarities and differences in the at—
titudes of managers operating in different cultures.

2. There are more differences than similarities in
the practices of managers operating in different
cultures.

3. These differences in attitudes and management prac—
tices can be attributed to sociological, educational,
political and economic variables.

The current study is undertaken to examine more
systematically the similarities and differences in the at—

titudes and practices of managers operating in two cul-

tures, namely those of the United States and India.

CHAPTER III

THE RESEARCH DESIGN

The purpose of this chapter is to explain the gen-
eral procedures utilized in setting up the study and gath-
ering the data. As stated in Chapter I, this study is
designed to examine the similarities and differences in the
attitudes and practices of the U.S. and Indian managers.

The population and sample from which information
was collected is discussed. The section dealing with the
sample is followed by a discussion of methodology, the
type of questionnaire used, and the system of data col-

lection.

The Sample

 

The universe for this survey consisted of the U.S.
and Indian managers in the private sector of the respective
economies belonging to various levels of management. These
managers were chosen from firms that could be classified
as being in the electrical and electronics industries. A
sample of 120 U.S. managers and 120 Indian managers were
selected on the basis of the writer's judgement. This

selection technique may be called "judgement sampling",

3O

31

which according to Deming is a means wherein "an expert
makes a selection of representatives, or typical counties
or other areas or business establishments."1

The U.S. and Indian managers included in the sample
represent the lower, middle and top levels of their organi-
zational hierarchies, and various functional areas of mar—
keting, production, finance, industrial relations, research
and development and general management. The samples were
so drawn as to represent various geographic regions of the
countries studied. In India, the regions of North (Delhi),
South (Madras), East (West Bengal) and West (Maharashtra)
were chosen. The reason for this selection procedure was
that the culture differs distinctly from one geographic
region to another in India. In the United States, however,
predominantly Eastern andeid+Western geographic regions
were chosen for study. It was felt that the U.S. cultural
patterns are relatively more uniform than Indian cultural

patterns.

Methodology

 

Numerous approaches to the quantification of re-
sponses to a survey questionnaire have been developed over
the years. The Likert-scale approach appears to be one of

the least complex methods, and "yet the technique stands up

 

lEdwards Deming, Sample Design In Business Research
(New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1960), p. 31.

 

32

remarkably well compared to more sophisticated approaches;
indeed it yields virtually identical results."2 The tech-
nique may be outlined as follows:

1. For each scale of dimension of attitude being
tested, opinion statements are framed and classi-
fied as "favorable" or "unfavorable."

2. Five categories of responses are listed for each
statement (strongly agree, agree, undecided,
disagree, strongly disagree).

Using the technique devised by Likert, a survey
questionnaire of 104 items was prepared and submitted to
120 U.S. and 120 Indian managers of privately owned elec-
trical and electronics corporations. Those corporations
studied in the U.S. were located in the States of Rhode
Island, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. Comparable
corporations studied in India were located in the States
of Delhi, West Bengal, Madras and Maharashtra. The elec-
trical and electronics industries are predominantly located
in these Indian States. Also, these states differ one from
another in their distinctive languages, religions, and
social customs and beliefs.

Following receipt of the replies from the U.S.

managers, personal interviews were held with approximately

 

2Bernard S. Phillips, Social Research: Strategy
and Tactics, (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1966), p.
269.

 

 

33

20 per cent of the respondents of the questionnaire survey
to determine the reasoning behind some of the responses.
The respondents interviewed were selected at random. Be-
tween December 22, 1970, and March 26, 1971, similar inter-
views were held with approximately 20 per cent of the Indian
managers during the writer's visit to India.

An extensive literature search on the social, edu-
cational, political and economic variables and management
practices, both in the United States and in India was
undertaken prior to the start of this study.

Relevant literature, the questionnaire survey, and
personal interviews of respondents to the questionnaire,

are discussed in detail below.

Questionnaire Survey

 

The survey instrument consisting of a three-part
questionnaire was sent to managerial respondents in the
U.S. and in India. The questionnaire is shown in one of
the appendices. The first phase of the questionnaire is
designed to secure some personal data from the U.S. and
Indian managers. The personal data includes information
as to age, religion, marital status, family size, educa-
tional background, level of management (lower, middle or
top), functional area (personnel, marketing, production,
finance or research and development), and years of service

with the present company.

34

The second part of the questionnaire contained
statements with Likert five-point scales. These statements
are designed to secure information on the attitudes which
managers inherit from their family, religious, educational,
political and economic backgrounds. The third part of the
questionnaire consisted of statements and questions per-
taining to management practices in the areas of planning,
organizing, staffing, directing and controlling.

A psychologist's assistance was sought to test the
readability of the statements used in the questionnaire,
as well as to determine attitudinal inferences implicit
in them. The questionnaire was pre-tested on ten American
students and ten Indian students who had recently arrived
on the campus of Michigan State University to pursue their
studies in various fields. As a result of this pilot study,
items to be included and to be deleted from the final ques-
tionnaire were determined.

The questionnaires were then mailed to 120 U.S. man—
agers and 120 Indian managers. The researcher was person-
ally present in India and followed up the mailing of the
questionnaires. The majority of the participating firms in
India preferred that the questionnaires be sent through com-
pany channels, although the questionnaires were sent through
company channels, the respondents were permitted by the
company top executives to mail the questionnaires directly

to the researcher. For this purpose, stamped and addressed

35

envelopes were provided to the participants along with the
questionnaires. In India, to expedite the research, help
and cooperation from government officials who have control
over private corporations, and other influential persons
were sought. One such government official used for this
purpose was the Inspector of Factories.

The questionnaires administered in India were not
translated into various native languages spoken in the var—
ious geographic regions. The translations were not under—
taken because all the Indian managers studied were well—
versed in the English language. Initially the writer
doubted that the Indian managers understood the management
terminology used in the questionnaire. However, upon in-
terviewing these managers, the writer discovered that there
was no difficulty in their understanding of the management
terminology. This probably resulted from the fact that most
Indian managers attended or were attending seminars, pro-
grams and other courses in management at the time of this
study. These programs, courses and seminars were conducted
by the National Productivity Council, Universities and
other Institutes of management such as, the Indian Institute
of Management at Ahmedabad and Calcutta and the Administra-
tive Staff College at Hyderabad. Most of the managers
were also regular readers of Journals of management, mar-

keting, and finance.

36

In order to insure cooperation and to safeguard the
possible competitive information of the respondents, as-
surance of confidentiality and anonimity were given by the
writer. The questionnaire did not contain any questions
relating to the name and address of the corporation selected
for the study or the name and address of the managers se-
lected for the study. About 87 per cent of the U.S. man—
agers and 58 per cent of the Indian managers responded to

the questionnaire survey.

Personal Interview

 

In addition to the administration of the standard—
ized questionnaire, personal interviews were conducted by
the writer, both in the U.S. and in India. Approximately
20 per cent of the U.S. managers and 20 per cent of the
Indian managers were selected for personal interviews and
were subsequently interviewed by the writer. Structured
as well as informal interviews were used to conduct this
phase of research.

These interviews ranged from one to one and one—
half hours. Managers from various levels and functional
areas such as marketing, personnel, production, finance and
general management were selected for the personal interviews.
The purpose of the interview was to seek clarification on
the views the U.S. and Indian managers expressed by select-

ing answers to the questions or statements in the

37

questionnaire already supplied and to find out what these

managers felt were some of the obstacles in executing man—
agerial activities in the planning, organizing, staffing,

directing and controlling functions. The objective behind
this phase of research was to identify the causes for dif-
ferences, if any, in the management practices of the U.S.

and Indian managers when analysis of their management

practices is made.

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS OF THE ATTITUDES OF THE U.S.

AND INDIAN MANAGERS

As an individual grows and develops he derives from
his family and secondary groups, religious or ethical, edu—
cational, political and economic attitudes. Study of these
attitudes of various cultures has become essential as
national corporations establish branches and subsidiaries
in foreign countries. An examination of attitudes of the
U.S. and Indian managers is thus relevant to an understand-

ing of important similarities and disparities.

Sociological Variables and Attitudes

 

Religion
The sample data reveals that 80 per cent of the
Indian managers are Hindus, and that a majority of the U.S.
managers are Protestants. Hence, it is appropriate to com—
pare the attitudes derived from these two religions.
Approximately 80 per cent of the Indian people are

Hindu. Hinduism is difficult to define, because it is more

38

39

of a way of life than a formal religious doctrine. Impor—
tant concepts of this religion are:

l. Dharma: Acceptance of the ethics, customs, duties
and morality, that make up a Hindu's life.

2. Karma: Belief in the inevitability and overall
justice of the good or evil which comes as a con—
sequence of One's fate.

3. Samsara: Belief in the transmigration of souls in
a process of continuous rebirth wherein good per—
formance in this life will be rewarded in the next
and, a bad life with a punishment.1
As a result of the teachings of Hinduism, the av—

erage Indian tends to manifest certain attitudes. Hindus
believe in luck and fate as elements of success. Though
tantamount to superstition, this Viewpoint is nevertheless
important. They believe that success in life depends more
on luck than on real ability. The Hindu does not stress
individual progress or success. He accepts unquestioningly
whatever his position in life may be. If he is poor, he
believes that poverty is God-given and he accepts poverty
as his lot in life. Similarly all other positions in life
enjoyed or suffered by an individual are accepted as they
are, and he feels that any effort made to change this po—
sition in life is futile. In Hinduism there is contentment

in whatever a man is able to achieve because he feels it is

his destiny. The Hindu is content even with small things

 

1U. 8., Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Law and
Practice in India, Report No. 303 (1966), p. 11.

 

40

and feels that he should not try to attain the unreachable.
Thus, we can see the reason for his lack of competitive
spirit. Competition does not make much sense to him, be-
cause everything in this world is planned by God. He feels
that he cannot undermine his own God—planned destiny by his
own merit or effort. He does not believe in risk taking
because of his belief in fatalism. It does not serve any
purpose to take risks because one gets what he is destined
to get. For a Hindu, time is not very important.

Time is measured by natural events-—the movement of

the sun, the phases of the moon, the seasons, life

and death. Measurement tends to be gross; minutes

and hours have no meaning. If the present is wasted,

it will come around again.

Naturally this idea makes an average Indian slow in
his movements and actions. A typical Hindu bases his de-
cision on intuition. He depends much and sometimes entirely
on the superstition of good times and bad times.

On the other hand, as a result of the teachings of
Christianity, the average Christian tends to manifest cer—
tain attitudes. As Weber3 saw it, before the Protestant
Reformation, the ideal of the businessman was to conduct

his business in a traditional way, do the traditional amount

 

2Ross A. Webber, Culture and Management (Homewood,
Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1969), p. 13.

3Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism, translated by Talcott Parsons, (London, George
Allen & Unwin, Ltd., 1930).

 

41

of work, and make the traditional rate of profit. The idea
that he should increase his rate of profit by adopting rad—
ically new methods or by clever competition would have ap—
peared immoral to him. The Protestant Reformation,
according to Weber, gave rise to the idea that ambition

to make money was not only permissible but laudable. The
attitudes a Christian derives from his religious background
are distinctly different from those of a Hindu.

A Christian is more likely to believe in hard work.
A man who works hard will never be in want, whereas one who
is lazy in everything, even if he is rich, becomes poor.
Perseverance and resourcefulness are necessary for success
in life. The Christian has faith in individual progress.
He believes in the utilization of opportunities afforded to
him and the use he makes of them. The world is progressing
and man is bound to progress along with it, if he is wil—
ling to put forth his best effort.

A Christian takes a morally positive attitude to-
wards competition. A spirit of competition exists because
he believes that he works with a moral ideal before him.
The seed of competitive spirit planted by the Protestant
Ethic in American business appears on the surface to have
made the United States the most advanced country in the

world. Whyte4 is of the opinion that the Protestant Ethic

 

4William H. Whyte, Jr., The Organization Man (New
York: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1956).

 

42

are the ideas of individualism and freedom to start a busi-
ness and conduct it as he sees fit. A Christian idealist
believes in the efficacy of taking risks. It is worth
taking risks because it will strengthen one's physical,
mental and moral faculties. While taking risks there is a
possibility of failure that gives strength and fortitude
for bigger trials.

For a Christian, time is of the essence. Mumford5
points out that time becomes less associated with natural
phenomena, more with the artificial movement of a mechanical
clock. Time becomes measured; times are not ranges but

precise points. So life may appear cluttered and hectic as

one responds to time's demands. The importance of time is

reflected in the old American homilies: "Waste of time is
the worst of sins." "Time is money."
Family

Family is another important sociological variable
from which an individual derives certain attitudes. In
Hindu society there is the system of joint-family. This
means that members of more than one nuclear family live
together. The head of the family is responsible for and

has authority over its other members. The authoritarian

 

5Lewis Mumford, Technics and Civilization (New York:
Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1962).

 

43

attitude and the attitude of subordination get their roots
from the joint—family system. This type of relationship
leads to an attitude of dependency.

In many Hindu families, family considerations play
an important role in job requirements. When a person takes
up a job he gives prime consideration to his family. He
may even forego some of the best opportunities and privi-
leges if they do not fit his family considerations. In
other words, family is first and foremost in all his de-

cisions.

Caste

Caste is another feature of Hindu society. It
consists of the many exclusive social groups into which all
Hindu society is divided and subdivided, and each group has
its varying degrees of respectability and circles of social
intercourse. The joint-family system and the caste system
have fostered nepotism in Indian business. The owner of a
business considers it a simple matter to provide a job for
his fellow caste and family members in his firm.

Business in India begins with the private individual
and his immediate family, and it is only when it grows
in size beyond the capacity of the family to provide
enough management that it looks outside. It then looks
among people of one's own community and, after that,
people in the same region. A father will employ his
sons, brothers, nephews and distant relatives, in that

order, and it is only when there are none left that he
turns to people of his own caste and then to his

44
community. The reason is impeccable. Whom can I trust
more than my sons and people who are related and known
to me?6

Those lacking job or promotion opportunities charge
that nepotism is a hinderance to them.. The system of re—
cruitment on the basis of potential ability, competence, and
skill has not yet found wide acceptance in Indian private
industry.

The authority system, the superior-subordinate re-
lationship, centralized control system, paternalism and
dependency attitudes all appear to be the products of joint—
family and caste systems. When nepotism is practiced in
business, these attitudes and practices are carried to the
work place and put into practice. The owner of the business
does not like to make any change in the existing system. He
feels that any change will dilute his authority. The em—
ployee does not like to undertake any action that would dis-
rupt his relationship with the boss who has assured his job.
He feels that he is morally obligated to his employer.

Unlike the joint-family system of India, the Ameri-
can family is nuclear in structure. A nuclear family con-
sists of husband, wife, and children. This nuclear family
structure has resulted in a number of advantages to the
members of the American culture: freedom, initiative and

independency for children.

 

6T. S. Rajan, "The Indian Executive of Tomorrow,"
Integrated Management (July, 1968), p. 64.

 

45

A very strong cultural force was the changing parent—
child relationships there. Overindulgence with the
child is a rare phenomenon. A child is brought up in
such a way that he learns the value of independence
and freedom very quickly. He is encouraged to think
on his own and this habit of independent thinking and
living sticks to him when he grows up and joins the
firm as an executive or an operator.

A child is brought up in such a way that he learns
the value of independence and freedom very quickly. As
the child grows, he develops initiative and the will to
survive and to be successful on his own. He is born and
brought up in a democratic environment and he expects to
function in a similar environment.
As the society developed into an urban industrial
economy, the family had to be adapted to complex modern
conditions, and this came about through permutation of
its functions, altered members'roles, reduced family,
and democratization of its ethos.
Child-rearing practices, too, have quite obviously
come into the service of fundamental values of American
individualism. Their doctrine and techniques are in-
tended to establish secure, democratic personality in
children so that they can live effectively in the
society.
The degree of attachment of an individual to his
nuclear family is not as great as the degree of attachment

of an individual to his joint—family. This is because the

male members in the nuclear families

 

7Dhawal Mehta, op. cit., p. 268.

8John Sirjamaki, The American Family in the
Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
1953), p. 52.

 

91bid., p. 132.

46

. . . are active in many institutions in addition to
the family, and must necessarily spread their partici-
pation and loyalty somewhat thinly among them. This
involves some amount of neglect of the family, which
is abetted by their inveterate tendency to think of
themselves as individuals first and as family members
second.10

The following table compares sociological attitudes
of the U.S. and Indian managers from the data obtained col-
lected for this study.

As can be seen from the Table 1, all the U.S. man-
agers who responded to the questionnaire are achievement
oriented. Many secondarysourcesll of information reveal
that Indian managers are not achievement oriented. But it
is surprising to note from the results that 90 per cent of
the Indian managers are similar to the U.S. managers in
their attitude toward achievement. It was expected that
the Indian managers would say that they do not care to know
how well they are doing in their jobs as long as they keep
their superiors happy. On the contrary, the results of
this study reveal that most of them do care about their
performance and are eager to achieve more and more. Results
also reveal that among the Indian managers those who are

not achievement motivation oriented are mostly high school

attended and elderly.

 

lOIbid., p. 53.

11David C. McClelland, The Achieving Society (New
York: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., 1961)

 

47

Table 1. Comparison of Sociological attitudes of U.S. and

Indian Managers.

(Figures are in percentages)

 

 

 

 

Attitude toward Favorable
U.S. 15315

Achievementa 100 90
Competition 99 79
Enjoyment of life 99 69
Risk taking - 97 93
Change 95 85
Success 95 79
Scientific approachb 95 83
Time utility 93 93
Work 86 72
Permissive attitude

of child rearing 74 87
Peer group 34 86
Family centerednessC 25 65

 

a . .
Drive or enthu51asm for progress

bRational analytical approach

CExtent to which consideration of family welfare
is important in arriving at business decisions

48

Nearly 99 per cent of the U.S. managers have a
favorable attitude toward competition. On the other hand,
four out of five Indian managers hold a favorable attitude
toward competition, while one out of every five Indian
managers feels that everything works out according to God's
plan, so competition does not make much sense.

The percentage of the U.S. managers who have an
unfavorable attitude toward luxury and enjoyment of life is
negligible. On the other hand, one out of every three
Indian managers feels that luxury and enjoyment of life are
not desirable because these attributes appear to them to
lead to a sinful life. Results also reveal that the Indian
managers who hold a favorable attitude toward luxury and
enjoyment are mostly young and college educated.

About 97 per cent of the U.S. and 93 per cent of
Indian managers have favorable attitudes toward risk-taking.
They feel that it is worthwhile taking risks by investing
money in a business. I

As expected, most U.S. managers favor change. They
believe in change rather than accepting the status quo.
About 85 per cent of the Indian managers also favor change.
Results reveal that Indian managers who have an unfavorable
attitude toward change are elderly and had only a high

school education.

 

 

49

About 95 per cent of the U.S. managers believe that
hard work alone can help them achieve success. It is sur—
prising to note that nearly four out of five Indian managers
also believe in hard work rather than luck in attaining
success in life. They have not inherited the cultural
value of the general population or must have undergone a
change of attitude.

Ninety—five per cent of the U.S. managers have a
favorable attitude toward the usage of scientific methods
in business. About 83 per cent of Indian managers also feel
the same. The Indian managers who hold an unfavorable at—
titude toward the use of scientific methods in business
practices believe that scientific methods are no better
than one's own intuition.

Ninety—three per cent of the U.S. and Indian man—
agers have a favorable attitude toward time utility. For
most of them, time is money.

The basic concept of work can be viewed in two ways.
Work is an end in and of itself. Work is a means to the
enjoyment of life. About 86 per cent of the U.S. and 72
per cent of Indian managers consider work as a means to the
enjoyment of life rather than an end in and of itself.

About 74 per cent of the U.S. managers felt that
they did not lose the respect of their children when their

children were given freedom. It is surprising to learn

50

that 87 per cent of the Indian managers also felt that
children should be given freedom. This seems to contradict
others who claim that the authoritarian attitudes are de—
rived from the joint-family system.

Eighty—six per cent of the Indian managers have a
favorable attitude toward their peer group. They feel that
in the successful performance of tasks, it is very important
to develop positive social relationships with co-managers.
This seems consistent with the View of scholars who claim
that Indians acquire considerable familiarity, practice,
and skill in dealing with peer relationships since they are
brought up in large joint families. On the other hand,
only one out of three U.S. managers holds a favorable at-
titude toward his peer group.

Family centeredness is defined here as the extent
to which consideration of family welfare is important in
arriving at business decisions. About 65 per cent of
Indian managers seem to be family-centered. They felt that
a man must sacrifice everything for his family, and thus
the family is the main consideration in making decisions.
They also believe that happiness at home leads to happiness
at the work place rather than the reverse. On the other
hand, only one out of every four U.S. managers have a

favorable attitude toward family—centeredness.

51

Educational Attitudes

 

Farmer and Richman state that if a country suffers
from poor educational standards, the entire productive or-
ganization of the country will be sadly deficient. In
their words:

The quality and efficiency of any organization depends
largely upon the overall quality of the persons in the
organization. Hence, the nature and quality of the
educational process within a country are critical fac—
tors in determining the level of managerial competence.
If a manager has to staff only from illiterate, super-
stition-ridden peasants, he will have a much different
organization than the man who has a choice among skilled
workers and university graduates.12

The Indian secondary school system and the higher
educational system are patterned after the British system.
The university system gives greater weight to the humanities
and is not geared to the industrial needs of the nation.
Most of the college graduates are only qualified to enter
the civil service. The educational institutions are bound
by traditions which impede the introduction of changes in
the curricula and methods of instruction. The traditional
approach in the field of education has resulted in critical
shortages of technically trained personnel of all types.
There is a wide gap between the quality of college graduates

and the actual requirements of industry. The educational

system has failed to play its role in the development of

 

12Richard Farmer and Barry Richman, "A Model for
Research in Comparative Management," in Management-~Inter-
national Perspective, by (ed.) Benjamin Prasad (New York:
Appleton Century Crofts, Inc., 1967), p. 235.

 

 

52

business leadership. Business leaders also share the blame
for the slow progress in the field of education. They have
failed to appreciate the usefulness of formal managerial
training.

The type of authoritarian system seen in the family
is also seen in the educational system. The teacher-student
relationship is one of superior-subordinate relationship.
The student feels that questioning the teacher in class is
impolite, and that it is better to approach him after the
class is over. This type of relationship built on fear
does not foster the learning process. The educational
system in India totally neglects the socializing process.
There are not many opportunities for the students to par-
ticipate in social activities. Education is viewed only in
a narrow sense. The Indian views education vocationally—-
education is preparation for a job.

In India the attitude of the general public toward
managers is not favorable. Managers are seen as cynical
exploiters of society concerned only with a profit motive.
Of course management is undergoing a revolution in India.
The traditional type of manager is being replaced by a
professional. The attitude of the people toward managers
is also slowly changing, and many young college graduates

are beginning to work in private industry.

53

On the other hand, there is a broad outlook in the
educational system of the United States. The educational
system is geared to the needs of the industry and continues
to change its curricula according to changes in the voca—
tional environment. In such an environment, a college
graduate more easily fits into his career field. The stan-
dard of education at the secondary level is very high in
comparison to that of India. Most teachers in the secondary
school system are college graduates. The learning process
is informal and questioning the teacher in the class is
considered as a sign of intelligence and mental activity.

The research is designed to find out whether man-
agers in these two cultures hold the same attitudes as
those of the general population or differ in their attitudes.
Table 2 compares educational attitudes of the U.S. and
Indian managers.

About 96 per cent of the U.S. managers have a
favorable attitude toward higher education. On the other
hand, 28 per cent of the Indian managers feel that they
can learn more by working four years than by going to col-
lege. In their opinion, the educational system at the col—
lege level only produces generalists. Most of these Indian
managers who expressed an unfavorable attitude toward higher
education have only a high school education and belong to

an age group of 50 years and over.

54

Table 2. Educational attitudes of the U.S.
managers (Figures are in percentages).

and Indian

 

 

 

 

Attitude toward Favorable
U.S. India

Higher education 96 72
Authoritarian type

of education 8 31
Broad and participative

type of education 96 79
Training 91 92
Professional management 100 92

 

 

 

55

About thirty per cent of the Indian managers favor
an authoritarian type of educational system. They contend
that effective learning can occur only in such a system and
that pupils are disciplined more effectively. When pupils
are given freedom, they lose respect for the teacher. In
the opinion of Indian managers questioning the teacher in
class is impolite and it is better to approach him after
class is over. Most of these managers agree that as
students, though they had good ideas, they were afraid to
express them in the class since it was not considered proper
to do so. All those managers who expressed a favorable
attitude toward an authoritarian type of education have
only a high school education and are elderly persons. On
the other hand, only a very small percentage of the U.S.
managers favored an authoritarian type of educational system.

While ninety-six per cent of the U.S. managers
favored a broad and participative type of education, about
seventy-nine per cent of the Indian managers favored such
an educational system. In their opinion, students should
be given freedom and encouragement to express their opinions
in the class without fear. They argue that a participative
type of educational system would foster learning much
better than an authoritarian type of educational system.
They also contend that colleges should provide more op-

portunities for the students to participate in social

56

activities. About 21 per cent of the Indian managers do
not favor a broad and participative type of education.
These men felt that such a system would create discipline
problems, and that the pupils would lose respect for their
elders.

One hundred per cent of the U.S. managers expressed
a favorable attitude toward professional management. They
felt that a manager contributes as much as a technician or
an engineer toward national economic growth. About 92 per
cent of the Indian managers also felt the same way as did
the U.S. managers. In their opinion money is not the only
requisite to run a business. A certain amount of profes—

sionalism is also required.

Economic Attitudes

 

In the literature of economics, countries of the
world are classified either as underdeveloped or developed.
Viner provides a comprehensive definition of an underde-
veloped country:

A country which has good potential prospects for using
more capital or more labor or more available resources,
or all of these, to support its present population on
a higher level of living, or if its per capita income
level is already fairly high, to support a larger
population on a not lower level of living.13

 

l3Jacob Viner, "The Economics of Development," in
Approaches to the Problem of Under-Develgpment, ed. by A.
N. Agarwal and S. P. Singh, Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1958, p. 12. '

 

57

India is included in the category of underdeveloped

countries. The basic characteristics of the Indian economy
are low per capita income, a very high proportion of working
population engaged in agriculture, heavy population pressure,
chronic unemployment and under—employment, lack of capital
and low capital formation, and poor quality of human re-
sources, technology and financial institutions.

Prior to 1947 there was virtually no "public
sector" in the Indian economy. After independence in 1947,
a combination planned development and private enterprise
characterized the Indian economy. Public sector projects
penetrated into many areas such as manufacturing, trade,
transportation, construction, and banking. In a country
following a policy of democratic socialism and planned
economic development, there is always pressure from vari-
ous quarters for nationalization of industries. This
pressure can be seen operating in all underdeveloped and
developing countries. In such an environment there is a
tendency to neglect private enterprises. It is the opinion
of a majority of the people that the good of society super-
cedes the interest of individual business owners. There
is consequently ever increasing government control over
private enterprise. The labor sector opposes any type of
automation and strongly feels that strikes are essential
in getting higher wages, improved work conditions, and job

security from the management.

58

The job Opportunities in India are scarce and hence

those who work in the firms are chiefly concerned

with the job security.14

The aim of the Indian government is to achieve by
the democratic process a socialistic society in which the
means of production will be owned and managed by the society.
Small private enterprises will be permitted to coexist with
public enterprises.
The American economic system, on the other hand, is

a capitalistic system. "Capitalism is a system of economic
organization featured by the private ownership and the use
of private profit of man-made and nature-made capital."15
According to Loucks,individuals in the capitalist system
act as "economic men“. They have a right to own property
and to inherit property, can exercise freedom of individual
initiative, and are influenced by competition and by the
profit motive. The Capitalistic system in the U.S. has
resulted in a number of advantages, besides profit. It
has brought into use enterprising ability, technological
progress, maximum utilization of productive resources

(human, capital and natural), and a favorable attitude

toward initiative in the individuals.

 

l4Dhawal Mehta, "The Scope for Human Relations in
India," in The Human Side of Management, ed. Rustum S.
Davar, (Progressive Corporation, 1969), p. 27.

15William N. Loucks, Comparative Economic Systems
(New York: Harper & Brothers, 1957), p. 17.

 

 

59

The values and attitudes derived from the free-enter—
prise system in the U.S. are many. The system has taught
individual initiative, hardwork, and individualism. It is
believed that under this system private ownership is es-
sential for efficient functioning of the economy and will
not lead to the exploitation of workers and consumers as
many communists and socialists think. It is also believed
that if individual interests are preserved then society
progresses. People operating under this system consider
that men would not do their best if the government owned
all of the big industries and businesses. They believe
that society can achieve much progress without socialized
planning and allocation of resources.

Verification that differences exist between the
cultures of the U.S. and India in the values and attitudes
derived from their respective economic systems, can be seen
from an analysis of secondary sources. While these differ-
ences are true of the general population, it does not neces-
sarily mean that they are accepted by the managerial
personnel operating in these two economic systems. The
research is designed to shed some light on these issues.

Table 3, compares economic attitudes of the U.S.
and Indian managers.

About 92 per cent of the U.S. and 88 per cent of
the Indian managers favor private ownership. They contend

that private ownership of business is essential for economic

 

Table 3. Comparison of economic attitudes of U.S.

60

and

Indian managers (Figures are in percentages).

 

 

 

 

Attitudes toward Favorable
U.S. India

Automation 99 80
Labor unions 99 92
Free-enterprise system 94 73
Corporate plans 94 33
Private ownership 92 88
Socialized planning 32 86
Labor disputes and strikes 12 22

 

61

progress. When the U.S. and Indian managers were asked
whether men would do their best if the government owned all
of the big businesses, about 77 per cent of the U.S. man-
agers and 90 per cent of the Indian managers responded
negatively. The higher percentage among the Indian managers
is due to the fact that in India most of the public enter-
prises are not run efficiently.

About 27 per cent of the Indian managers believed
that the free-enterprise system usually leads to the ex-
ploitation of workers and consumers. On the other hand,
only 6 per cent of the U.S. managers agreed with the Indian
managers. Most of the managers who expressed a negative
attitude toward free—enterprise were young and had attended
college. It was found during the interviews with some of
those managers, that those who expressed an unfavorable
attitude were technically trained and oriented managers,
and lacked knowledge in Economics and Commerce.

There is a remarkable difference in the attitudes
of the U.S. and the Indian managers toward socialized
planning. About 86 per cent of the Indian managers and 32
per cent of the U.S. managers favored socialized planning.
In their opinion, socialized planning and allocation of

resources are essential in a complex society. They also

 

agreed that such planning should not endanger the func-

tioning of private enterprises, and private enterprises in

62

turn, should take state planning into consideration in de-
vising their corporate plans. About 68 per cent of the U.S.
managers did not favor socialized planning at all. They
felt such planning would end the free-enterprise system.
Among the U.S. managers, most of them who favored socialized
planning are young and had attended college.

When the U.S. and the Indian mamagers were asked
whether automation and modern technology created more prob-
lems than benefits from their use, 99 per cent of the U.S.
and 80 per cent of the Indian managers said no. Though
there is widespread discontent among the Indian population
regarding automation, discontent was not evident at the
managerial level. Only one out of five Indian managers
felt there are more problems created by automation than
benefits. These managers are mostly young and had attended
college.

About 22 per cent of the Indian managers and 12 per
cent of the U.S. managers are of the opinion that strikes
are essential in getting higher wages, improved work condi—
tions and job security. Most of the managers in both
countries agree that employees should be allowed to join
unions.

Nearly 67 per cent of the Indian managers expressed
an unfavorable attitude toward making corporate plans, com—
pared to 6 per cent of the U.S. managers. These managers
contend that there is no point in making long range plans

due to uncertainties in their economic and political systems.

63

Political Attitudes

 

Both the United States and India have democratic
forms of government, but they differ in the extent of the
influence of their political systems upon their economic
systems. The U.S. relies solely upon a free-enterprise
approach, while the Indian approach is a mixture of free—
enterprise and central planning.

Governments in modern societies exercise a measure

of formal and legal control over their constituents

not only in their economic, but also in their political,
social, moral, and intellectual ways of life.16

Hence, there is government control over business
even in free-enterprise systems. But the degree of control
by the government in the U.S. is not the same as it is in
India. Being a democratic socialist society, the Indian
government exercises too much control on business as com-
pared to the amount of government control of U.S. business.

The common attitude of the people in a democratic
socialist society is that the good of society supercedes the
interests of individuals. The interests of many are weighed
against the interests of a few. It appears in the United
States, the attitude of the people is that individual in-

terests must be protected and preserved for the efficient

functioning of the society.

 

l6Reuben E. Slesinger and Asher Isaacs, Business,
Government and Public Policy (New York: Van Nostrand Co.,
T968) I p. 80

 

64

In India, the problem of labor unrest is constantly
increasing. The labor unions are controlled by various
political parties. These parties make use of labor unions
for their own advantage. The workers View their union mem-
bership as a mark of prestige by which they can take revenge
on the management at any time, for anything.

The labor movement in the United States is rela-
tively more orderly and not influenced by the political
parties as it is in India. Labor unions are considered an
integral part of the business system. The labor unions are
led by the professional labor leaders.

Various malpractices such as influence peddling,
red-tape, delay and pressure are imbedded in the Indian
political system. It is a common belief that one cannot
operate or own a business if he does not have some influence
with the government. On the other hand, in the U.S., the
industry-government dealings are carried on in a straight
forward manner.

In India, the general attitude of people toward
business is unfavorable. People tend to View business with
suspicion and favor the interference of government in shap-
ing competition and providing guidelines for it. On the
other hand, in the United States, people do not favor in-

terference by the government in business.

65

Table 4 constitutes a comparison of five attitudes
derived from the political variable which are characteristic
of both the U.S. and the Indian managers.

As can be seen from the following table, there is
a remarkable difference in the attitude of the U.S. and the
Indian managers toward 'patronage'. About 71 per cent of
the Indian managers feel that one cannot operate or own a
business if one does not have some influence with the
government. This practice is so ingrained in the political
system that many Indian managers do not consider this at-
titude as undesirable, but rather an effective way of
getting things done within a short period of time. As an
example of the importance of political influence, securing
a license to operate a business takes normally several
months. But if it is supported by someone who is able to
exercise political influence, a license can be secured in
a matter of days. On the other hand, only 5 per cent of
the U.S. managers agree with the Indian managers in their
attitude toward patronage.

About 92 per cent of the U.S. and 87 per cent of
the Indian managers do not desire government interference
in shaping competition. They contend that the government
should interfere as little as possible in competitive busi-
ness matters. Business competition should be shaped solely

by the operation of the market place. The U.S. managerial

Table 4. Comparison of political attitudes of U.S.

66

and

Indian managers (Figures are in percentages).

 

 

Attitudes toward

 

 

Role of patronage

Government's role in
shaping competition

Government control on
business

Political participation
of business leaders

Social responsibility of
business

Favorable
U.S. India
5 71
8 13
9 5
56 55
90 74

 

67

attitude parallels the age-old Adam Smith's concept of
free-market competition. In practice the U.S. managers
actively seek government aid particularly in terms of tariff
legislation, government contracts, legislation promoting
various business practices and in cases of bankruptcy.

Most of the U.S. and the Indian managers see an increase in
government's control of business.

Both U.S. and Indian managers are equally divided
in their attitude toward political participation of the
businessmen in politics. About 56 per cent of the U.S. and
55 per cent of the Indian managers believe that businessmen
should be active in politics in order to shape the compe-
titive climate and protect the interests of private industry.
Nearly an equal percentage of the U.S. and the Indian man-
agers disagree. They would like to see business and poli-
tics kept apart for the healthy functioning of business and
politics.

About 90 per cent of the U.S. and 74 per cent of '
Indian managers think that business should help the govern-
ment in solving social problems. They believe that it is
the responsibility of business to share this task. On the
other hand, 10 per cent of the U.S. and 26 per cent of the
Indian managers contend that taking part in solving social
problems of the country is inviting more restrictions on
business. The main responsibility of the business is to

its stockholders.

CHAPTER v
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MANAGERIAL PRACTICES

Planning

"Planning is a pervasive and continuous executive
function involving complex processes of perception, analysis,
conceptual thought, communication, decision and action."1
Briefly stated, planning is the actual designing of a course
of action or strategy to reach intended goals. It is an
important managerial function. To get things done through
his subordinates, a manager must plan ahead.

Many have the opinion that planning is done only by
big bureaucratic organizations. This is not so. An indi-
vidual may plan tasks. He has to decide in advance what,
how, and when to do a certain thing. In an industrial
situation, managers may do general planning, production
planning, financial planning, market planning, manpower
planning and development planning.

The effectiveness of a plan in reaching stated goals
depends upon the reliability and validity of information

about the environment in which an organization functions.

 

lDalton E. McFarland, Management Principles and
Practices (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1964), p. 72.

 

 

68

69

Various techniques are used in gathering information and in
implementing the final plans. The degree to which these
techniques are used distinguishes a successful from an un-
successful firm.

Coordination is essential if a plan is going to be
successful. Koontz and O'Donnell2 have referred to a
"planning gap," wherein top management formulates the plans
and expects the lower echelon to operate according to them,
while ignoring middle management personnel.

The current research focuses on the similarities
and dissimilarities in the attitude toward planning, tech-
niques, and methods used in implementation of the plan by
the U.S. and Indian managers.

Table 5 compares practices of the U.S. and Indian

managers in performing the planning function.

Types of Plans

 

As can be seen from observing Table 5, the U. S.
managers engaged in corporate (overall), production, mar-
keting, financial and manpower planning, while the Indian
managers were concerned only with corporate, production
and financial plans. Only a small percentage of the Indian

managers did some kind of market planning. These managers

 

2Harold Koontz and Cyril O'Donnell, The Principles
of Management (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1968)

 

 

Table 5.

70

Planning practices of U.S. and Indian managers.

 

 

 

Management Practices U.S. India

Types of plans Corporate Corporate
Production Production
Finance Finance
Marketing
Manpower

Time horizon of plans 3-5 years One year

Flexibility of plans

Participation in
planning
Techniques used in

planning

Communication of plans

Flexible

TOp and
middle manage-
ment

Statistical
techniques,
budgeting,
cash and sales
forecasting

Through com-
pany annual
committee
meetings

Very flexible

Top and upper
middle manage-
ment

Statistical
techniques,
budgeting,

cash forecasting

Through commit-
tee meetings

 

71

were mostly employed in the Indian subsidiaries of foreign
corporations. This limited planning did not include the
development of a marketing strategy in terms of product,
price, promotion and distribution techniques. None of the
Indian managers were aware of manpower planning methods or
their importance. The only systematic planning done by
Indian managers was in the area of production.

Time Horizon of Plans.--A remarkable difference in

 

the planning function between the U.S. and the Indian man-
agers is found in the time horizon of the plans. While the
U.S. managers engaged in short and long range planning, the
Indian managers were concerned only with short range plans,
covering a period of one year. The Indian managers were
concerned only with day-to-day operations and thus had no
time to look into the future and devise long range plans.
Most of them felt that there was no point in making long
range plans due to uncertainties in the economic and polit-
ical systems.

Flexibility of Plans.--The plans developed by the

 

U.S. managers were thorough enough to accommodate sporadic
change. Short range plans developed by the Indian managers
were flexible enough to provide for alternative courses of
action affected by changes taking place within and outside
of the corporation. The Indian managers felt that they
should not commit their firms to any definite course of

action, because they were not sure of their forecasts.

72

Planning Techniques.--The U.S. managers developed

 

detailed budgets and schedules for production, sales and
finance. Their forecasting techniques, both in sales and
finance, were very sophisticated and modern. Computer fa-
cilities were used very extensively. On the other hand,

the Indian managers developed detailed budgets and schedules
for production and finance. Their forecasting was done only
in finance. Only a small percentage of them did some kind
of sales forecasting. These managers worked for foreign
subsidiaries in India. Computer facilities were generally
not accessible to the Indian managers. Most of them were
not aware of the planning techniques such as: PERT (Program
Evaluation Review Techniques), CPM (Critical Path Method) or
PPBS (Program Planning Budgeting System).

Participation in Planning.--In the United States,

 

corporate plans were developed as a result of participation
by top and middle management personnel. Though the final
decisions were made by top management, the middle level
managers were encouraged to offer their suggestions. It
was more of a group approach. On the other hand, in India,
top management and upper middle management personnel were
responsible in developing plans. Most of the U.S. and the
Indian Managers expressed the view that they often invited
their subordinates to participate in departmental planning.

In the U.S., the corporate plans were communicated to the

 

 

73

members of the organization by means of committee meetings
and company reports. In India, plans were communicated
through committee meetings at the departmental and corporate

level.

Organizing

 

To attain the stated goals and objectives, certain
functions and activities have to be performed. Organization
is the grouping of functions and activities necessary to
attain the goals and objectives of an enterprise. Once the
activities are grouped, the next step is to establish au-
thority relationships to show who has to report to whom,
and thus a chain of command is established. This gives a
vertical dimension to an organization structure. "The
existence of levels is always characteristic of organized
and coordinated group effort."3

The horizontal dimension is given to an organization
by departmentalizing the organization. Departmentalization
is grouping of both people and functions or tasks within
an organization. Gulick4 set up four bases for departmen-

talizing an organization. They are departmentalization by

function, process, geographical location and product.

 

3James D. Mooney and Alan C. Reiley, The Principles
of Organization (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1939), p. 14.

 

 

4Luther Gulick, Papers on the Science of Adminis—
tration (New York: Institute of Public Administration,

1927).

 

74

The degree to which an organization is departmen-
talized and given autonomy to make decisions, is distin-
guished by the terms centralization and decentralization.
In a centralized organization, authority rests only in a
few hands and most of the decisions are made by these few.
In a decentralized organization, authority is dispersed
throughout. In the past, the general trend has been to
shift from centralization to decentralization in large or-
ganizations, due to the advantages to be gained from de-
centralization of certain important functions.

A great deal of research has been done to determine
the number of people an individual can competently super-
vise and direct. Classical theorists stress that this
number may range from three to eight. The present trend is
to consider the situation in which men are being supervised
in order to determine the number of subordinates. In deter—
mining the number of subordinates, the ability of the sub-
ordinates, the availability of communication techniques,
the amount of time spent with subordinates, and the capa-
bility of the supervisor, etc., must be considered.

The current study focuses on similarities and
dissimilarities in the above management practices of the
U.S. and the Indian managers. The following table compares
practices of the U.S. and Indian managers in performing the

organizing function.

75

Table 6. Organizing practices of U.S. and Indian managers.

 

 

 

Management practices U.S. India
Organization chart common not common
Centralization vs decentralized decentralized

decentralization

Span of control

Use of committees

Use of staff
specialists

Nature of
departmentation

both in prin—
ciple and
practice

narrow
often--
advisory,
planning and
coordinative

extensive

functional

only in prin-
ciple, not in
practice
broad
sometimes--

advisory and
coordinative

limited

functional

 

 

76

Organization Chart.--An organization chart is a

 

graphical representation of the hierarchy of positions and
their authority structure. In the U.S. most of the managers
surveyed stated that both departmental and corporate organi-
zation charts exist. On the other hand, many Indian managers
were not familiar with organization charts. Only the man-
agers who worked for foreign subsidiaries in India were
familiar with them.

Centralization vs Decentralization.--About 96 per

 

cent of the U.S. and 92 per cent of the Indian managers
said that they delegate authority and responsibility to
subordinates extensively, and the subordinates effectively
execute delegated authority and responsibility. Nearly 85
per cent of both the U.S. and the Indian managers were sure
of how much authority they had. While 21 per cent of the
U.S. managers felt that they had to break a rule or policy
in order to carry out an assignment, 35 per cent of the
Indian managers felt the same way. Only 6 per cent of the
U.S. and 10 per cent of the Indian managers stated that they
had to approach their superiors for permission to get some
special work done. All of these responses appear to indi-
cate the extent of decentralization and centralization of
authority. In India, only in large corporations (800 or
more employees) was authority formally decentralized and
and in small and medium corporations (200 to 800 employees)

authority appeared to be greatly centralized. The

77

subordinates had to get signatures from top managers before
any action could be taken. This high degree of centraliza-
tion did not seem to disturb subordinates. The subordinate
felt that if he did not go to his superior to get permission,
there was no way for the superior to know how well the sub—
ordinate was doing. Thus the analysis of written responses
and interview observations tended to reveal that authority
appeared to be decentralized in U.S. corporations, while in
India, decentralization of authority seemed most common in
large corporations. In small and medium corporations in
India, authority seemed to be centralized.

Span of Control.--About 75 per cent of the U.S. and

 

66 per cent of the Indian managers indicated that they had
from 5 to 10 subordinates to supervise. Nearly 34 per cent
of the Indian managers had 15 to 20 subordinates to super-
vise, as compared to 25 per cent of the U.S. managers.
During the interviews and plant visits, the researcher ob-
served that in small and medium size corporations managers
had to supervise more than 20 subordinates. In a small
electrical company employing 350 workers, the writer found
one manager in charge of production, personnel, and finance.
He had about 40 subordinates directly under him. Thus the
analysis indicates that the U.S. managers had a narrower
span of control compared to those of their counterparts in

India.

78

Use of Committees.-—A committee is a group of people

 

which makes decisions or presents suggestions. A majority
of the U.S. managers indicated that they often use commit-
tees for advisory, planning and coordinative purposes.’ On
the other hand, the Indian managers indicated that commit-
tees are only occasionally used for advisory and coordina-
tive purposes. Thus the analysis indicates that the U.S.
managers used committees extensively for advisory, planning
and coordinative purposes whereas, the use of committees by
the Indian managers had limited advisory and coordinative
purposes.

Use of Staff Specialists.-—Staff specialists were

 

employed both in the U.S. and in Indian organizations, but
the use of staff by the U. S. managers was more extensive
than that of their Indian counterparts. Whereas the U.S.
managers are most likely to hire expert staff personnel,
Indian managers tend to hire clerks for the performance of
what are considered to be redundant tasks. For instance,
sales forecasts normally developed by staff specialists
are assigned to clerks.

In the U.S. and in the Indian organizations, acti—
vities are grouped on a functional basis. The U.S. com-
panies developed major departments around the functions
of production, finance, personnel, and marketing. The large

Indian organizations also organized their activities around

79

the functions of production, finance and personnel, but they
had no marketing department. Some Indian companies had
sales departments which performed most of the marketing
functions. The term "marketing" was not familiar to many
Indian managers. In India, the personnel manager was often
considered as a combination of social worker, grievance ar—
bitrator and record-keeper. He is often known as the

"Labor Welfare Officer". The personnel managers are mostly

law graduates.

Staffing

The staffing function of a manager involves recruit-
ment, selection, compensation, training, promotion and lay—
off.

Every manager, including the president of the com-
pany, must handle some phase of staffing, even though the
personnel department may provide technical help. The degree
of importance given to the staffing function depends upon
the size of the organization. In small organizations, the
plant manager or the president of the company performs this
function, as well as other duties. In a large organization,
a separate department is likely to be established to perform
the staffing function.

Psychological aspects of this function have been
well recognized in economically developed nations, but

largely ignored in the developing and underdeveloped countries.

 

 

 

80

For instance, the administration of psychological tests in
personnel selection is a common practice in developed coun-
tries. These tests are not at all used in developing and
underdeveloped countries.

The current study focuses on similarities and dis-
similarities in performing staffing function by the U.S.
and Indian managers. The following table compares practices
of the U.S. and Indian managers in performing staffing
function.

Table 7 compares the selection and recruitment
practices of the U.S. and Indian managers. The U.S. man-
agers developed and used systematic recruitment methods and
selection criteria. The recruitment methods and selection
criteria used by the Indian managers of large corporations
were haphazard. There appear to be no specific selection
programs in small and medium size corporations. The smaller
and medium size firms did not have any personnel departments.
They employed a few clerks to handle the administrative
problems of hiring and firing. The U.S. managers stated
that the basis for their personnel selection program was
manpower planning and the Indian managers indicated that
they selected personnel when a vacancy occurred.

The U.S. managers stated that the main source for
managerial recruitment was college placement bureaus. The

Indian managers sought candidates mostly through newspaper

 

 

81

Table 7. Selection and recruitment practices of U.S. and

Indian managers.

 

 

Management practices

 

Turnover rate among
managersa

Recruitment methods
Basis for selection
procedure

Main source for
recruitment

Main criteria for
selection

less than 5%

systematic

manpower
planning

college
placement

1.
2.

experience
education

less than 5%

haphazard to
none

when vacancy
occurred

newspaper
advertisements

1. experience
2. education
3. family ties

 

a . .
The percentage of managers who quit, get fired, or
are otherwise separated from the payroll in a given period.

82

advertisements. None of the colleges in India maintained

a placement service nor are there any employment agencies
in existence. When the U.S. managers recruited employees
from non-campus sources, they used the criteria of experi—
ence, and education, in that order of importance. In India
the criteria include: experience, education and family
ties in that order of value to management.

Table 8. Comparison of managerial training of U.S. and
Indian managers (Figures are in percentages).

 

 

 

Type of training U.S. India
Management - general 52 16
Management - specializeda 14 25
Technical b 7 24
Human relations 3 0
Computer 5 0
No training 19 35

#L__

a O I I I I I "
This includes training in functional areas such
as marketing, personnel, finance, etc..

bThis includes sensitivity training, T-group
sessions, supervisory training, etc..

The preceding table compares the type of training
the U.S. and Indian managers received. While 52 per cent
of the U.S. managers were trained in the general adminis-
trative area, only 16 per cent of the Indian managers were
thus trained. About 35 per cent of the Indian managers did
not have any training to adapt to their job. Among the U.S.

managers, 19 per cent did not receive any such training.

83

The data indicates that 49 per cent of the Indian
managers received specialized management and technical
training. These managers were trained on the job by their
superiors, and by representatives of the National Produc-
tivity Council, and other training institutes in the areas
of personnel, finance and manufacturing. Only 21 per cent
of the U.S. managers appear to have had similar job prepara—
tion. While none of the Indian managers were trained in
computer operation and human relations techniques, approx-
imately 5 per cent of the U.S. managers appeared to have
had some training in computer operation and 3 per cent had
exposure to human relations techniques. Thus the analysis
indicates that the emphasis among the Indian managers ap—
pears to be on the technical and specialized aspects of
training, while among the U.S. managers, the emphasis seems
to be on general management practices.

Table 9 compares the communication of job descrip-
tions to newcomers, and performance appraisal techniques of
the U.S. and Indian managers. The U.S. managers stated
that the job desoriptions were made known to the individual
by written manuals. In contrast, the Indian managers said
that the job descriptions were made known to the individual
verbally by the superior. Most of the Indian managers
were not aware of job description and job classification
manuals, nor were they apparently aware of the principles
involved in the development and implementation of these

concepts.

 

84

Table 9. Comparison of performance appraisal and job de—
scription methods (figures are in percentages).

 

 

 

Management practices U.S. India
Communication of job written verbally by
descriptions manuals superior

Performance appraisal
techniques used:

1. Filling out specific 56 33
forms once a year

2. Periodic reports of 36 47
superiors

3. No specific system 8 20

 

About 56 per cent of the U.S. managers stated that
they appraised the performance of their subordinates by
filling out specific forms once per year. Thirty-six per
cent of the U.S. managers said that they evaluated the
performance of their subordinates by more frequent reports.
Eight per cent of the U.S. managers said that they did not
have a specific procedure in evaluating their subordinate's
performance, as compared with approximately 20 per cent of
the Indian managers. About 47 per cent of the Indian man-
agers favored periodic reports in evaluating subordinate's
performance. Completion of specific forms for evaluation
of subordinate's performance was favored by 33 per cent of

the Indian managers.

 

85

Directing

 

Directing includes all those activities designed
to encourage subordinates to work effectively and efficiently
in both the short and long run. Different managers use
different styles in performing this function. Some may
encourage their subordinates and some may compel their
subordinates to perform their allotted duties. A great deal
of research has been done to determine the effectiveness
of both approaches.

Managers sometimes use various devices to obtain
compliance with managerial orders. These devices may range
from monetary rewards to promotional considerations. Some
management theorists question the effectiveness of monetary
incentives, while others consider them useful.

The effectiveness of the directive function depends
upon various factors such as the culture from which an in-
dividual emerges, the type of leadership under which he
functions, and the immediate environment. Table 10 compares
practices of the U.S. and Indian managers in performing the
directive function.

As can be seen from table 10, there is a remarkable
difference between the U.S. and the Indian managers in their
attitude toward their directive function. While 69 per cent
of the Indian managers stated that the average human being

wants to be directed and wishes to avoid responsibility,

86

Table 10. Comparison of management practices in performing
the directing function.

 

 

 

Management practices U.S. India
Degree of authori— Ranges from Ranges from
tarian vs. partici— somewhat author— highly authori-
pative management itarian to tarian to some-
participative what participative
Types of super- General Somewhat close to
vision general
Paternalistic Non paternal— Paternalistic
management istic
Motivational Financial Status and job
factors security
Communication Good Fair to poor
techniques

 

68 per cent of the U.S. managers disagreed. The U.S. man-
agers felt that the average human being "will exercise
self-direction in the service of objectives to which he is

5 Though a majority of the Indian managers

committed."
statedxthat the average human being wants to be directed,
they disagreed with the statement that the average human
being has relatively little ambition, as did 92 per cent
of the U.S. managers. As compared to 96 per cent of the
U.S. managers, about 65 per cent of the Indian managers

disagreed with the statement that if subordinates are al-

lowed to participate in decision-making in the areas where

5Douglas McGregor, The Human Side of Enterprise
(New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1960), p. 47.

 

87

their interests are involved, it is likely that productivity
would decline. About 35 per cent of the Indian managers

and A per cent.of the U. S. managers still felt that the
participative approach would result in decreased produc-
tivity.

While sixty-three per cent of the Indian managers
stated that in general employees perform better under highly
paternalistic management, 82 per cent of the U.S. managers
disagreed. The "Give me a fair day's wages and leave me
alone" attitude of the U.S. managers does not appear to be
very common among the Indian managers. According to these
Indian managers, management has the right to safeguard the
interests of its employees and knows what is good for its
employees. Whereas 65 per cent of the Indian managers be-
lieved that the average worker wants to be directed, 63
per cent of the Indian managerial sample concluded that
employees perform more satisfactorily under paternalistic
management, which shows a consistency in their attitude.

About 92 per cent of the U.S. and 87 per cent of
the Indian managers felt that the subordinates tend to per-
form well under general supervision rather than under close
and tight supervision. One out of every three Indian man-
agers Stated that they thought that control and supervision
are identical functions. During the interviews and plant
visits in India, the researcher observed somewhat closer

supervision in small and medium size corporations than in

88

the large corporations. Managers in small corporations were
convinced that they personally had to follow up every in-
struction issued, otherwise, they feared it would be carried
out in an unsatisfactory manner, or perhaps not at all.

At the managerial level, the U.S. managers favored
financial incentives as the best motivator, while Indian
managers favored status and security of job.

While 5 per cent of the U.S. managers felt that a
superior should give his subordinates only that information
which is necessary for them to do their immediate tasks,

45 per cent of the Indian managers held the same View.

About 89 per cent of the U.S. and 71 per cent of the Indian
managers stated that management informs employees about
company plans and developments to maintain good communica-
tion. During the interview and plant visits, in India, the
writer observed that the flow of information in most Indian
corporations was usually from the top down, and it consisted
mainly of instructions. Much of the communication was done
on paper and most managers were careful to keep duplicates
of written instructions. There was little apparent upward

communication.

Controlling

 

Control is the determination or measurement of pro-
gress toward objectives in accordance with the established
plan. It concerns the attainment of the planning, organe

izing, and directing objectives.

89

Some people confuse the term 'control' with 'super-
vision'. Control includes supervision to see that employees
perform what they are supposed to perform and measurement
of deviation from established standards of performance, as
well as corrective action. Supervision to an extent, mini-
mizes the control function by reducing deviations from the
established standards of performance.

The modern concept of control envisages a system that
not only provides a historical record of what has hap-
pened to the business as a whole but pinpoints the
reasons why it has happened, and provides data that
enable the chief executive or the department head to
take corrective steps if he finds he is on the wrong
track. Also, it enables managers to identify trends
in costs, in markets, in all aspects of the business,
and so affords a guide for future action.6
The above quote provides a comprehensive description of the
function of control. For the detection and correction of
deviations in the established standards of performance, some
tools are used. Among the tools of control are budgets,
ratio analysis, standard costs, administrative expense
analysis, performance appraisal reports, production control,
quality control and so on.

Comparison of performance against budget is one of

the best procedures of determining whether or not the com-

pany is spending more or less than it had planned to and of

tracing the reasons for overages and underages and making

 

6Ernest Dale, Management: Theory and Practice
(New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1965), p. 482.

90

any corrective actions. The value of the budget as a con-
trol tool depends to a large extent on how quickly actual
expenditures can be reported to those responsible for them.

It is a common notion that control means only fi-
nancial control. There are many other areas of business
that do not lend themselves to financial control, and in
these areas controls of other types are used. For instance,
production control, which is needed to ensure that produc-
tion plans are being carried out as expected. Appraisals
of managerial performance may be regarded as a control
technique. In fact, any procedure or technique used for
determining deviations from plans is a control procedure or
control technique.

"Control is the function whereby every manager,
from president to foreman, should make sure that what is
done is what is intended."7 This concept of control was
well understood by about 91 per cent of the U.S. managers,
whereas only 35 per cent of the Indian managers thought that
control meant supervision.

About 87 per cent of the U.S. and Indian managers
stated that time studies were conducted to set the work
pace in their organizations. Eighty-eight per cent of the
U.S. managers said that cost accounting was done for all

their products, as compared to the replies of 76 per cent

 

7Harold Koontz and Cyril O'Donnel, op. cit., p. 639.

Table 11.

91

of U.S. and Indian managers.

Comparison of practices of the control function

 

 

Management practices

U.S.

India

 

ConCept of control

Time studies

Cost accounting done

Standards of per—
formance are set by

Expected achievement
of performance

Deviations in per—
formance are checked
by

Well understood

Conducted by
time study
department

For all
products

Superior and
subordinate
together

95—100%
Superior and

subordinate
together

Somewhat under-
stood

Conducted by time
study department

or engineer

For all products

Superior only

75%

Superior only

 

92

of the Indian managers. The Indian managers stated that
detailed budgetory control systems were reinforced by a
multitude of reports. These reports were submitted to
management through the formal upward channels of communi-
cation and had to be approved at every level of authority
all the way up to the chief executives. To confirm that
the reports followed the established procedures, all man-
agers involved had to sign the same. Thus these tight
procedures left very little room for independent action.
While 63 per cent of the U.S. managers stated that
standards of performance for their subordinates are set by
both superior and subordinates collectively, only 38 per
cent of the Indian managers followed a similar practice.
About 56 per cent of the Indian managers said that standards
of performance were set by the superior only. Fifty-six
per cent of the U.S. managers expected subordinates to
meet 95 to 100 per cent of the established performance
standards, while Indian managers were satisfied if their
employees achieved 75 per cent of the established perform-
ance standards. The U.S. managers tended to counsel their
workers with regard to their expected performance, whereas
this cooperative approach to improve work standards is

ignored in India.

CHAPTER VI

CONCLUSIONS

 

The present research was undertaken to determine
whether the attitudes and practices of the U.S. and Indian
managers are similar or dissimilar. The empirical data re-
lated to the attitudes and management practices of these
managers is presented in the preceding chapters. In this
chapter, the researcher attempts to draw some conclusions by
setting up a model based on the practices of the U.S. managers
and comparing the practices of Indian managers against this
model. Such a comparison would reveal where and how the
practices of Indian managers are dissimilar. Once the dis-
similarities are identified, the writer intends to examine
the causes that can be inferred from the empirical data for
these dissimilarities.

The model thus set up should not be considered as
perfect. It is the belief of the writer that management
practices in the United States are modern, effective, and
have contributed to the economic growth of the United States
to a great extent. Many of the developing countries like

India, are investing heavily in industrialization to achieve

93

94

progress. If the management practices in these underdeveloped
countries can be deVeloped adequately and effectively, then
the profitsgained from industrialization will be enormous.

In developing suitable and effective management practices, it
appears desirable to examine the management practices of a

developed country like the United States.

THE U.S. MODEL

 

The following assumptions are made regarding the U.S.
model of management practices:

1. The model based on U.S. management practices is closer
to an ideal model.

2. The model is widely used in the United States.

3. It's effectiveness can be inferred from the economic
growth of the United States.

The model is built on the data obtained from an em-
pirical study of management practices of U.S. managers in
performing the planning, organizing, staffing, directing and
controlling functions.

In performing planning function, the U.S. managers
took short and long range approaches. Plans were made at the
corporate level as well as departmental levels such as, market
planning, production planning and manpower planning. They
developed and used effective planning techniques, i.e., de—
tailed budgets and schedules for production, sales and

finance. Computer facilities were used very extensively.

95

The plans developed by the U.S. managers were thorough enough
to accomodate sporadic changes. Participative approaches
were used in developing corporate and departmental plans.

The decentralized approach was used in performing the
organizing function. Authority was delegated extensively
and participation was encouraged in the decision making pro~
cess. The span of contrOl was narrow, and there were several
hierarchical layers in U.S. organizations. U.S. managers
made extensive use of committees for advisory, planning, and
coordinative purposes. The use of staff specialists was a
common phenomenon in U.S. corporations. All the U.S. corpo-
rations studied, had elaborate corporate and departmental
organization charts. Activities in U.S. corporations were
grouped on a functional basis and major departments were de—
veloped around the functions of production, finance, personnel
and marketing.

In performing staffing function, systematic and ob—
jective selection and recruitment procedures were followed.
Selection and recruitment was based on manpower planning.
College placement officers were the main sources for recruit—
ment of managerial and technical personnel. Experience and
education were considered as main criteria for selection.
Formal training and development methods were found to be
common among the companies studied. General management

training was preferred to that of specialized management

 

 

96

training. The performance of individual manager or worker
was appraised by objeCtive methods. The main goal of per-
formance evaluation was the development of the individual,
rather than of reward or of punishment.

The U.S. managers followed a democratic style of
leadership in performing directive functions. Participation
in the decision making process was encouraged at all levels.
Various upward and downward communication techniques were
used in getting feedback, i.e., suggestions and sending in-
formation from top to bottom level. The superiors perceived
their subordinates as trustworthy and confident. They felt
that the average human being will exercise self-direction in
the service of objectives to which he is committed. The
type of supervision was liberal rather than constrictive.
Though much has been written in theory about the effect of
non-financial incentives of motivation on U.S. managers, a
majority of them felt money was the best motivator at all
levels of management.

In performing the control functiOn, the U.S. managers
used systematic quality control, as well as cost and budgetory
control techniques. The concept of control was well under-
stood by the U.S. managers. Standards of performance for
subordinates were established by superior and subordinate
together. The superior in consultation with the subordinate

check deviations in set standards of performance.

97

The attitudes of the managers practicing under this
model were favorable to achievement motivation, risk taking,
time utility, scientific approach, work, parental permissive-
ness, success, competition, higher education, participation,
professional management, job training, private ownership,
free—enterprise system and political participation of business
leaders. They had unfavorable attitudes toward government
control of business and government's role in Shaping compe-
tition.

The findings of some studies on U.S. management prac-
tices support the above model. For instance, Holden, Pederson
and Germanel in their study of management practices of some
manufacturing corporations state that long range planning is
accepted practice today in many industrial enterprises. The
men in top management have a keen awareness of their corporate
obligation to plan for the future. The involvement of line
management from top to bottom in the planning process is
general practice. Plans are made in various areas such as,
marketing, finance, production and manpower. The organiza—
tion structures are flexible enough to incorporate any im—
portant change. A decentralized approach is the general

pattern in many corporations. Committees are used for both

 

1Paul E. Holden, Carlton A. Pederson and Gayton E.
Germane, Top Management: A Research Study of the Management
Policies and Practices of Leading Industrial Corporations
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968.

 

 

55h

98

advisory and decision making purposes. Variables such as
similarity or dissimilarity of duties supervised, capacity of
superior and subordinates, degree of decentralization and
stability of the business are considered important in deter—
mining span of control. Top management is significantly
involved in the selection and development of executives.

Most of the corporations utilized formal programs in selecting
and developing executives. More attention is paid to the
development of middle and upper level management personnel
through various training programs. Practical and effective
appraisal and evaluation programs are used. The budget in
its various applications was the most widely used control
mechanism.

The findings of Anant R. Negandhi2 in his study of
management practices of U.S. subsidiaries and comparable lo—
cal firms in Argentina, Brazil, India, Uruguay and Philli-
pines, show that modern management practices were used by
the U.S. subsidiaries. These practices are similar to those
mentioned in the above model. The findings show that the
U.S. subsidiaries were engaged in long range planning. The
decentralized approach to decision making was common among
these organizations. The employees were encouraged to par-

ticipate in planning and decision making processes. The

 

2Anant R. Negandhi, Comparative Management (New York:
Appleton-Century-Crofts and Company, 1971).

 

 

99

selection and recruitment procedures received much attention,
and objectivity was emphasized in these procedures. The
control techniques were systematic. The democratic style of
leadership received greater attention in these organizations
than in the local firms. Thus other findings support the
model of the researcher.

G. P. Lauter,3 in his comparative study of U.S. and
Turkish management practices, found that in some of the criti-
cal elements of the basic management functions such as
planning, organizing, staffing, controlling and directing,
that U.S. managers attempted to perform critical elements of
these functions more in accordance with modern theories.
Their emphasis was on long range planning, the decentralized
approach, participative management, a democratic style of
leadership, systematic selection and recruitment procedures
and better control techniques. The findings of Lauter also

support the model designed by the researcher.

Comparison of Indian Management
Practices with U.S. Model

 

 

Comparison of Indian management practices with the
U.S. model reveals some significant differences in the Indian
management practices. Indian managers were concerned only

with short range plans. They neglected market and manpower

 

3G. P. Lauter, An Investigation of the Applicability
of Modern Management Processes, Unpublished dissertation
(1968).

 

 

 

100

plans and were not familiar with modern techniques of plan-
ning. Participation in the planning process was limited most—
ly to the top management. Indian managers were not familiar
with organization charts. In most of the Indian corporations
studied, authority was centralized and the span of control
of supervisors and managers was broad. The use of committees
and staff specialists was uncommon. Most of the corporations
surveyed, did not utilize systematic selection and recruit—
ment procedures. Family ties seemed to be one of the criteria
for selection. Job descriptions were communicated orally to
the new employees. Specialization was emphasized in training
the managers. The subordinate was not consulted in perform—
ance appraisal. The leadership style ranged from highly
authoritarian to somewhat participative. A paternalistic
style of management was favored both by the manager and the
worker. The type of supervision ranged from close to some-
what more liberal. Hardly any upward communication was
evident. The concept of control was not well understood by
the managers. For many, control meant tight supervision.
The standards of performance of subordinates were set and
checked only by their superior. The participative approach
of U.S. model in this area was absent in Indian management
practices.

In contrast to the managers of the U.S. model, Indian
managers favored peer relationships, family centeredness,

political patronage and socialized planning.

 

101

A general analysis of the data showed differences in
the practices and attitudes of U.S. and Indian managers.
When generalizations are made about the practices and atti—
tudes of Indian managers, reference is made to the average
Indian manager. However, when the data were subjected to
intensive analysis, it appears that the practices and atti-
tudes of some Indian managers were similar to those of the
U.S. managers. The variables which cause such differences
within the country are discussed below.

Influence of Size of the Company.—-Large companies

 

seem to modify the traditional outlook and modes of behavior
of managerial personnel, resulting in a change in their
practices. In large organizations managers are better edu—
cated, well trained and have fairly extensive contacts with
foreign managers and technicians than their counterparts in
small corporations. Small corporations working for limited
local markets have little contact with foreigners or even with
managers from other parts of the country.

Managers working for large organizations did some
kind of market planning. This limited planning did not in-
clude the development of a strategy in terms of product,
price, promotion and distribution techniques. The findings
of this study show that about 16 per cent of the Indian
managers studied, engaged in both short and long range plan-
ning. These managers worked for large organizations. Most

of them had an opportunity to attend seminars and courses

 

 

102

conducted by the Administrative Staff College in Hyderabad,
India. This background helped them in utilizing modern
techniques in planning and control practices. Besides lack
of interest, small companies financially could not afford to
send their managers for such seminars and courses. Compared
with small companies, authority was formally decentralized

in large organizations and divisional and departmental man-
agers were given freedom and authority to make decisions
concerning their areas. Committees and staff specialists
were used for advisory, planning and coordinative purposes.
The large organizations grouped their activities around the
functions of production, finance, personnel and sales.

Though they did not have marketing departments, the sales
departments performed most of the marketing functions. While
there were no specific selection and training programs in
small and medium size companies, large organizations had

some kind of selection and training programs. The researcher
observed somewhat closer supervision in small and medium size
corporations than in large corporations.

Type of Ownership.--The type of ownership seems to

 

be another variable which distinguishes the Indian managers
from their U.S. counterparts. The Indian managers employed
in the American subsidiaries in India were familiar with
modern management practices. About 75 per cent of these
managers did long range planning and encouraged the partici-

pation of subordinates in the planning processes. They also

 

103

utilized various statistical techniques in the planning
processes. Nearly 63 per cent of these managers delegated
authority and sought the help of staff specialists and com-
mittees. They followed objective criteria in their selection
and recruitment procedures. Family ties were not at all con—
sidered. Their training programs were similar to those found
in the United States. This may be due to the fact that most
of the top managers were exposed to modern training techniques
during their training or visit abroad. These managers, in
turn, acted as agents of change.

On the other hand, managers in the family-owned com-
panies did not have much freedom, and delegated little or no
authority to their subordinates. As the emphasis was on
short range profit maximization, they ignored long range
planning. Due to financial limitations these companies could
not send their managerial personnel for outside seminars or
courses. The family—owned business has fostered nepotism in
Indian business. The system of recruitment on the basis of
potential ability, competence, and skill has not yet found
wide acceptance in family—owned business in India. Members
of the 'family' continue to think that they have all the
managerial skill necessary to operate their business. An
authoritarian centralized system of management seems to be
a common pattern in these type of organizations.

Attitudes.--Analysis of the attitudes of U.S. and

 

Indian managers revealed that about 15 to 20 per cent of

104

Indian managers were similar to U.S. managers in their socio-
logical, political, economic and educational attitudes. This
similarity seems to make some difference in their managerial
practices. The managers who expressed favorable attitudes
toward risk taking, scientific approach, competition, change,
success, work, participative approach and free enterprise
system tend to delegate authority extensively, engage in

long range planning, encourage participation of subordinates
in planning and decision making process and exercise demo—
cratic style of leadership. These managers utilized objec-
tive measures in the selection and recruitment procedures.
Most of these managers were young, had attended college and
had an opportunity to receive training abroad or had contacts
with managers and technicians from foreign countries. Thus
their attitudes seemed to have been modified by educational
and occupational influences.

On the other hand, we cannot generalize that a change
in attitude will automatically lead to changes in management
practices. The data shows that 30 to 40 per cent of Indian
managers who were similar to U.S. managers in their attitudes,
had different management practices. This may be due to the
fact that, though these managers have changed attitudinally,
still they face other limitations imposed by economic, po-
litical and other cultural variables. The impact of these
variables on management practices are discussed in the

following pages.

 

 

105

Education and Training.——The Indian managers who have

 

college degrees seem to accept change more readily than the
managers with only high school education. Of all the cultural
variables, education exerts strong influence in modifying
traditional practices. A young Hindu for example, with,
a strong traditional background, will absorb modern concepts
during four years of college attendance. At work he is ready
to apply sincerely and rationally the concepts that he learned
at college. A high caste Hindu, after his medical degree, is
ready to deal with patients of all castes. This does not
mean that there is total change in his attitudes and behavior.
Still, he may retain his faith in fate. Due to educational
and job training influence, he changes his attitudes at the
work place. Managers with college education and exposure to
seminars and training in and outside the company appear to
have a different set of management practices than the managers
who lack college education and training. The managers with
college education and job training trust their subordinates
and delegate authority to them. They have a long range out—
look and somewhat more objective view in selecting and
evaluating the performance of their subordinates. They also
have the potential to absorb modern techniques of control,
direction and decision making.

On the other hand, managers with high school educa-
tion tend to learn and perform their functions mostly by

trial and error. They consider change as a threat to their

 

106

job security. They fear that by hiring well—qualified people
they may lose authority and their weaknesses will be exposed
to the top management. The only area where they consider
well-qualified people for jobs is production, due to the
emphasis on production—oriented approaches.

As mentioned earlier, giving managerial personnel
education and job training or changing their attitudes alone,
will not lead them to change their management practices.
These serve as catalytic agents. They set the ground for
changing or improving the management practices. There are
other variables, economic, political and sociological which
impede the utilization of modern management practices. The
impact of these variables is discussed in the following pages.

Impact of Economic Variable.--This economic variable

 

causes some differences in the practices of Indian managers.
Indian managers neglect market and manpower planning. They
operate in a sellers' market and thus most of the time had
little difficulty selling all they produced as long as their
products met a minimum quality standard and were reasonably
priced. In India there is little demand creation. Lack

of capital and difficulties involved in mass advertising due
to differences in languages, restrict the manufacturer's
demand creation activities. Due to non-market orientation,
marketing is probably the least developed aspect of the Indian
economy. It is considered a wasteful activity. The govern-

ment is concerned only with price and distribution controls

 

107

and has failed to develop a whole marketing system. Failure
to allocate resources for marketing functions, both at the
government level and firm level has resulted in wrong pro-
duction patterns, poor distribution of capital and consumer
goods, artificial shortages and blockages, and wastages of
various types. This type of environment does not provide the
manufacturer with very reliable information for planning
marketing activities. Thus the failure to understand the role
of the marketing function in the economy has resulted in
these chain of reactions. Manpower planning is another area
which has been inadequately treated by Indian managers. They
operate in an unskilled and skilled labor intensive environ—
ment. They could get a large supply of unskilled and skilled
labor at any time. They do not see the benefits which they
could derive from such planning even in a labor intensive
environment.

Indian managers engage in short range plans, no longer
than one year in duration. They are so much occupied with
the daily routine manufacturing and labor problems, that they
do not seem to find time to go deeply into the question of
future growth and expansion. Besides this attitude, the
relative scarcity of capital and the lack of organized capi-
tal markets impose restrictions on the long range planning
of Indian managers. The restriction of flow of funds into
the capital market is due to the fact that a large proportion

of well-to-do Indian people choose to hold their savings in

 

108

the form of tangible assets. The government is unable to
provide funds for private enterprises in the form of loans
because it has to support its own enterprises. The unavail-
ability of specific planning information such as reliable
socio-economic stfidies, places further limitation on long
range planning. In the United States there are many govern~
mental agencies and private organizations engaged in the col—
lection, storage and dissemination of such information and
make them available to various organizations on request. In
India no such service is available. Lack of knowledge in
survey techniques and the lack of computer facilities impose
restrictions in providing such services. Lack of competition
for most manufacturing goods and a belief that this would
hold true in the future provide no incentive for long range
planning. Due to neglect of long range planning and inex-
perience in its use, Indian managers have failed to develop
some effective planning techniques.

The labor intensive environment also determined the
type of motivators and motivational practices. Both at the
managerial and non-managerial levels, Indian managers be-
lieved in the role of job security as a motivator. The
negative incentives of layoff or firing have more effect in
India than in the United States. Since Indian managers
operated in a labor intensive environment, they felt that
they need not engage in a widespread search for suitable em-

ployees. This attitude resulted in the lack of systematic

 

 

109

approach in the selection and recruitment procedures of
Indian managers. The recruitment procedures consisted of
filling out an application form combined with a short inter-
view. Candidates for jobs are not provided with travel ex-
penses to and from the interview place. Therefore many of
the poor but qualified applicants were unable to reach the
place of interview.

The emphasis among the Indian managers appears to
be concerned with only the specialization and technical as-
pect of training rather than the general managerial aspect.
This emphasis is due to their production-oriented approach.
Hence, there is a great demand for the technically qualified
person. A person who knows the art and science of manufac-
turing is likely to be in greater demand and valued more
than a person competent in the managerial arts and sciences.4
This attitude of Indian managers is reflected not only in
their hiring practices but also in their training practices.
There is a lack of knowledge on the part of Indian managers
in the training techniques and methods. Many of these man-
agers learned their jobs by trial and error. 80 they show
no interest in training their subordinates. Further, top
management is hesitant to invest money in setting up suitable

training programs for their corporations. Since they enjoy

 

4Anant R. Negandhi and Benjamin Prasad, "Transmitting
Advanced Management Know-How to Underdeveloped Countries,"
Management International, (1967), p. 77.

 

 

110

the advantages of a labor intensive environment, the value and
proper utilization of human resources is not recognized well
by the Indian managers.

Impact of Political Variable.—-The political variable
operating in Indian culture has some impact on the practices
of the Indian managers. The findings of Phatak's5 study of
Indian pharmaceutical and engineering industries reveal that
government rules, policies and controls were considered by
Indian executives as the most significant factors that have
impact on internal firm operations. Negandhi,6 points out
that in many underdeveloped countries the main obstacle in
transmitting advanced management know—how is excessive gov—
ernment control and restrictions. Being a democratic social-
istic country, the Indian government exercises too much
control upon private business. In most cases, the motive
behind this type of control is political, rather than eco—
nomic development. Removal of these controls may be inter-
preted by the public as government's favoritism toward
private business. Hence the ruling party which controls the
government does not want to take any action that would jeop-
ardize public support. The socialistic attitude of the

government has created a poor image for private business

 

5Arvind Phatak, "Environmental Constraints and Man-

agerial Problems in a Developing Economy," Management Inter—
national Review (February-March 1968), pp. 137-146.

6Anant R. Negandhi and Benjamin Prasad, op. cit.

 

 

111

in India. People tend to View private business with suspi-

cion.
The present mood of the public, because of its long dis—
regard by business and its systematic solicitation by
anti-free enterprise forces, seems to be getting suspi-
cious of businessmen's intentions, and has perhaps
started welcoming increasing regulation of private enter-
prise.7

In this environment of anti-private business, the
Indian manager has to play a crucial role between public
relations and profit maximization. In all his decisions he
has to ask himself, 'What will the public think of this de-
cision?’ rather than "How much profit can I make by this
decision?‘ This philosophical attitude may impede effective
decision making.

Excessive government controls restrict the freedom
of action of private enterprises. Managers have to operate
in an environment where many of their decisions are taken
away from them and others imposed upon them. Choice about
plant and industry locations, expansion and sometimes even
a particular process is determined by government and not by
the manager. Very often managers have to delay their im—
portant and urgent decisions till they get a green signal

from the government. Many firms depend on the government

for the imports of raw materials, spare parts and machinery.

 

7A. N. Agarwala, The Emerging Dimensions of Indian
Management, (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1970), p. 28.

 

 

 

112

The import quota system created resource uncertainty for

most of these firms. Unless they knew someone in the politi-
cal machinery they could not secure an import license without
much delay. Otherwise, they had to wait for a long time.
This may be one of the reasons shy the Indian managers did
not engage in long range planning.

The relationship between the private business and
the government lacks understanding and mutual trust. The
private businesses contribute the largest share to the
productivity of the nation. About 90% of goods and services
produced and distributed by private sector in India. Often
plans are made for the development of private sector without
the consultation of the private enterpreneur on whom the
responsibility for expansion rests.

Indian managers are often subjected to governmental
pressure to a great extent. They complain that the govern—
mental correspondence consumed a considerable amount of their
time. Sometimes they had to postpone their assignments to
answer governmental correspondence. This type of interference
affected their departmental planning. Excessive government
control and interference also affected selection of indi-
viduals for managerial, especially the top management posi—
tions in private industry. The government officials and
politicians who render favors to the private businesses in

securing licenses expect favors from them. The businessmen

 

113

are thus obligated to consider the individuals recommended
by government officials and politicians for higher management
positions.

The purpose of control will be effective when it is
exercised within limits. The excessive control by the govern-
ment results only in inefficiency and blocks the progress of
the private sector and thus economy.

Impact of Sociological Variable.-—The impact of the

 

sociological variable on the practices of Indian managers is
very significant. The sociological attitudes which operate
in the Indian environment dictate a different set of manage—
ment practices. Some of these attitudes impose constraints on
the economic variable. 'For instance, a large portion of the
well-to-do people in India choose to hold their savings in
the form of gold, jewelry and real estate.‘ This attitude
restricts the flow of funds into the capital markets. Hence
the capital markets are poorly organized and this poor or-
ganization imposes restrictions on the long range planning
of Indian managers.

The Indian manager's affinity for informal and per—
sonal relationships within the corporate structure caused
them to avoid the use of organization charts. They felt
that the charts symbolized formality and impersonality. The
dependent attitude nurtured by the family and educational
systems are carried over to the work place. The dependent

attitude of the subordinate is interpreted by the superior

114

as the lack of initiative and competency on the part of sub-
ordinate. The superior loses confidence in the decision
making ability of his subordinate. The subordinate feels

that if he does not go to his superior to get permission or
instructions there is no way for the superior to know how
well the subordinate is doing. This attitude of the superior
and subordinate eliminates any chance for decentralizing
authority. The dependent attitude is also seen in the use

of committees. Indian managers used ad hoc committees.

Such committees did not have decision making authority.
Whenever committees were used, subordinates expected superiors
to state the problems and solutions. The subordinates limited
their participation to a very careful way of pointing out the
possible problem areas without, however, directly contradic-
ting their superiors. This attitude also leads to distortion
of upward communication. The subordinate filters the contents
that would show his ignorance or cause dissatisfaction to his
superior from the original message before sending it to his
superior. Decisions based on this type of information do not
produce good results.

The favorable attitude of Indian managers toward
nepotism resulted in the lack of a systematic approach in the
selection and recruitment practices. The joint-family system
and the caste system have fostered nepotism in Indian busi-
ness for decades. The system of recruitment on the basis of

potential ability, competence, and skill has not yet found

115

wide acceptance in Indian private industry. The nepotism
fostered by caste and family is slowly being replaced by
another type. Many government officials and politicians
exert pressure on businessmen and executives in getting jobs
for their children and relatives. The Indian manager has to
put up with incompetence when nepotism is practiced. He will
not be able to fire his relative or the person recommended by
a government official or politician for incompetence. If he
does, he has to face a number of consequences. His family
relationships will be affected. He may find problems in his
dealings with the government. However, the evidence suggests
that nepotism is slowly being replaced by merit.

The sociological variable also explains the authori—
tarian style of leadership of Indian managers. The culture
in India is not permissive, but highly authoritarian in char-
acter. The superior always tends to think that the subordi—
nate is incompetent and needs instruction at every stage.

In Indian society power connotes exercise of authority. The
Indian manager, instead of relating authority to responsi-
bility, relates power to authority. He thinks that there is
no use of having authority (power) if he cannot make a show

of it. This attitude restricts him from delegating authority.
He fears that if he delegates authority he would lose his
power over,and respect from,his subordinates. Indian managers
are not receptive to upward communication. They believe that

the ideas of subordinates are not worth considering.

116

Sometimes they consider the ideas and suggestions if they

come from very aged and experienced individuals.

IMPLICATIONS OF THIS STUDY FOR INDIAN MANAGEMENT

 

The conclusions drawn from this study have shown that
size of the company, type of ownership, attitudes, education
and training and cultural variables i.e., economic, political
and sociological, have an impact on management practices.
These variables have created some problems and difficulties
in the utilization of better management practices. The con-
clusions of this study can help to improve the quality of
Indian management. They imply that any effort to improve the
Indian management practices must take these variables into
consideration. While the barriers created or imposed by some
of these variables in the utilization of effective management
practices cannot be overcome, others can be eliminated or
modified.

Many governmental agencies, business organizations,
international institutes and foundations are involved in the
development of a new and efficient managerial elite in India,
by importing modern and effective techniques and practices
from advanced countries, by bringing efficient managerial
personnel and be sending Indian managers abroad for higher
training. On the basis of conclusions drawn from this study,
the writer suggests that these agencies and institutions

should probably concentrate their efforts first of all on

117

a clear understanding of the environmental and organizational
variables which impede the utilization of better management
practices.

Any attempt to eliminate or modify the barriers cre-
ated by cultural variables should start with the educational
variable. There must be a drastic change in the educational
system in India. It should gain full autonomy, without po—
litical interference. The present system fosters the de—
pendency attitude on the part of the individual which is
nurtured by the family system. While the Indian managers
see a growing need for a participative and broad educational
system, they also see increasing discipline problems among
the college students. They indicate that students are being
used as tools to the advantage of political leaders. They are
not sure whether providing opportunities for participative
education would result in any improvement in the educational
system. Bearing the needs of the country in mind, the aca-
demic scholars and administrators must decide a new course
for the educational system. The system should be able to
develop initiative and self—thinking on the part of the in-
dividual. This would help to break some of the traditional
practices which may hinder individual progress. For instance,
the submissive attitude restrains an individual from making
objective evaluations. Once he breaks away from this tra-
ditional cultural attitude, he would be able to view things
more objectively and make better decisions. A progressive

educational setting alone can effect this change.

 

118

At the college level, the present system emphasizes
arts and sciences. There should be a balance among arts,
sciences and business studies. The need for managerial skills
which economize the scarce resources of production is more
urgent in India. It is the opinion of the writer that what
India needs today is not only technicians to man the machines
but also professional managers who are capable of developing
the economy at the firm and national level. In the Indian
economy the manager has to play a crucial role in converting
an agrarian structure into an industrial one and moulding the
self-employed agricultural worker into an industrial worker.
Thus his role becomes one of change agent. This process
requires great skills from the manager. There is a heavy
demand for managerial skills. The educational system must
take this urgent need into consideration and provide oppor-
tunities to develop such skills. The gap between the type of
education and the needs of industry can be filled to a certain
extent if the corporations provide good training programs.
There must be change in the attitude of top management toward
training programs. No longer Can the training programs be
considered waste. While introducing changes in the educa-
tional system can be considered as a long range approach,
training programs can be adopted without much difficulty.

The job training plays an important role in the transition
of the individual from the educational institution to the

work place.

 

 

119

Once the value of management education and training
programs is recognized and viewed in their proper perspec—
tives, many other barriers to the utilization of effective
practices can be easily eliminated or modified. Lack of
knowledge in planning techniques, selection and recruitment
procedures, organizational skills, supervisory methods and
control techniques can be remedied through education in
management studies and training. Hence universities must
start offering instruction in the field of management. Know-
ledge in the field of management studies would enable the
individual to make the transition from educational institution
to managerial position without much difficulty. Thus the gap
between the quality of education and job requirements can be
reduced to a great extent. The pressure on the corporations
to provide training for their employees can be reduced and
the training programs can be made more effective by providing
management education at the college level.. The college grad-
uate, a product of the present educational system, learns by
trial and error when he is placed in a managerial position.
He cannot make use of the knowledge gained from his college
education. This type of learning results in inefficiency at
the individual and corporate level. Costs incurred by this
type of learning are very high. Some background in manage-
ment education would certainly be helpful in saving these
costs. In an environment of scarce resources, a manager

cannot afford to learn by trial and error. He must have

 

120

knowledge to economize these scarce resourCes. Management
studies can provide suCh knowledge. Hence universities must
start offering instruction in management studies. Moreover,
should the universities offer management education, this in
itself would create a trained manpower pool. This would be
an invaluable asset in implementing more vigorously the
country's Five Year Plans.

The writer sees some cultural change taking place in
India. Many family-owned corporations have started to demar-
cate clearly between ownership and management. This means
more freedom of action for managers and delegation of au-
thority. Some progress has been made in the past few years
over the emphasis of management education in India. The
government, the industrialists and businessmen have recog—
nized the importance of management education and the need
for the establishment of institutes of management. A sepa-
rate board has been set up by the government for the purposes
of organizing, coordinating and maintaining programs of man-
agement studies in the country. A number of institutes such
as, the Administrative Staff College at Hyderabad, and the
institutes of management at Ahmedabad and Calcutta conduct a
wide range of short term management raining and development
programs for both middle and top level executives and thus
provide an infra-structure for the modernization of management

cadres in India. Besides these, management associations, the

 

121

National Productivity Council and its local units in many
cities also provide training programs for executives and
technicians.

There is no way of knowing the effectiveness of the
programs offered by these institutes and councils. There are
a number of questions that still remain unanswered. Are.the
programs and training offered by these institutes and coun-
cils realistic and built around the practical needs of the par—
ticipantS'Or do they ConSiSt of only theoretical concepts? Do
these programs develop the individual's ability to analyse,
choose from a set of alternatives and to decide or just fill
them with more knowledge? The Board of Management Studies
established for the purposes of organizing and coordinating
various management programs must have the responsibility to
evaluate the effectiveness of these programs to see whether
the desired course of action is achieved. Studies must be
undertaken by this Board to see whether there is any marked
difference in the performance of the managers who have gained
knowledge in the field of management through these institu-
tions and councils. Such studies may reveal the weaknesses
of the programs and approaches of these institutes.

All these efforts have introduced the concept of
professional management in India. But the rate of growth of
this concept depends on how fast these programs and approaches
move in right direction. The new breed of professional man—

agers would be able to form a link between old traditions

 

122

and the new industrial culture. Their loyalty is first to
the organization, even when they belong to a family business.

The economic variable can be modified which in turn
would improve Indian management practices. For example, long
range planning does not take place because of the scarcity of
capital and the unavailability of information necessary to
develop planning premises. Yet long range planning must be
encouraged. ‘A clear understanding of the economy and of the
industry concerned, gives a useful perspective to business
executives so that they can make current decisions in the
light of emerging trends. They can plan for production in-
crease or plant expansion if they expect future market con-
ditions to be favorable. All these can happen only when
things are planned on the long range basis. Without such
plans, management might possibly become a hit or miss affair.
Long range planning could lead to decisions which prove
profitable in the long run and to the discounting of short—
sighted, though immediately profitable measures.

In an underdeveloped country like India, where re-
sources are scarce, growth has to be planned to see that the
resources are utilized in such order of priorities as will
be conducive to maximum growth. This is not only true at
the national level but also at the firm level. The barriers
therefore must be removed or modified. The flow of funds
into the capital market is restricted by the traditional

custom of holding savings in the form of gold, jewelry and

123

real estate. The government should encourage the well—to-

do segment of the population to invest their savings in
securities and stocks by providing some tax incentive. The
main reason for these peOple not inVeSting money in busi-
ness ventures is due to lack of faith in the government poli-
cies. The policies of the government are so vague that they
create doubt in the minds of these people that at any time
the government might nationalize all private businesses. It
is not the business risk they are worried about but the risk
due to governmental policies. Hence the government should
state the policies clearly and give assurances to these people
that their interests will be safeguarded. Regarding the in-
formation necessary for planning premises, the government in
cooperation with educational institutions, private research
institutes and the National Productivity Council, should
construct information banks. Information pertaining to
socio-economic studies must be made readily available to
businesses for planning purposes. Lack of information neces-
sary for planning is mainly due to the absence of appropriate
institutions, electronic data processing system and skilled
personnel to undertake such studies. The Indian Statistical
Institute-is engaged in collecting information of various
types. But how far this information is relevant to private
business planning or how far the managers have knowledge

about this type of information is not known.

 

124

In a developing country like India, the problem of
marketing of goods of mass consumption can no longer be ig—
nored. A good and free marketing system eliminates malad-
justments between production and supply or production and
demand. Instead of exercising rigid and detailed controls
over marketing area of private sector, the government should
create an environment in which the market may be encouraged
to develop sensitivity to changing conditions and become
adaptable to the needs of a growing economy. Marketing
function starts with market planning. It should be recog-
nized that market planning is as important as production
planning. Sales departments should be enlarged into marketing
departments with much wider functions of planning and demand
creation activities.‘ All these can be done only when neces-
sary information is made available. While the statistical
institutes help the managers by providing necessary infor—
mation for planning purposes, the management institutes can
educate these managers in using the information.

A manager should not lose sight of manpower planning
simply because a large supply of skilled and unskilled labor
is available. An organization should project its future
requirements of manpower both qualitatively and quantitatively
at different levels on a systematic basis so as to match
production level with optimum utilization of human resources.

Such planning could easily avoid instability, uncertainty and

 

125

frustration within the organization and improve morale and
efficiency of personnel. Thus nepotism can easily be re-
duced.

The lack of foreign exchange and importation of con—
sumer and durable goods has protected the Indian economy from
competition from abroad. Internally there is a lack of
competition due to a fewer number of entrants into given
product markets. This is due to unavailability of capital
funds for investment. Those who operate in this environment
concentrate on the profit maximization at the expense of long
range considerations. This attitude has led to production-
oriented approach. The owner of a firm thinks that he would
be able to increase production by hiring a few technicians.
Thus there is a great demand for engineers and technicians
than for professional managers. Management education does
not create an environment where the professional manager is
recognized, but it only equips the manager with professional
skill. Only a competitive market situation would pave the
way for his recognition. A competitive market situation can
be created by the removal of existing excessive government
controls and restrictions.

As far as the political variable, communication be-
tween the private business and the government must be im-
proved. The government should seek the cooperation of private
business in solving social problems rather than blaming the

private sector for every misfortune in the country. Since

126

private ownership contributes the largest share to the pro—
ductivity of the nation it should be given an adequate role
at the goal setting and policy making level of the planned
economy. The experience and knowledge of industrialists,
traders, bankers and the executives could be utilized for
developing the entire economy. If the plans for the devel-
opment of private business are made in consultation with
private business leaders, they would produce better results.
The solution of problems in advanced countries like the
United States requires the utilization of talent wherever it
can be found. Successful businessmen are often offered po—
sitions in the government and consulted in solving economic
and social problems. The National Alliance of Businessmen,
for example, which was formed under President Johnson has
pledged its support to solve some economic and social problems.
India could well follow the example of the United States by
utilizing more effectively the limited managerial resource
available to help resolve social and economic problems. One
of the greatest problems India faces today is the unemploy-
ment problem. The unemployment rate is very high among the
educated and uneducated. It would be wiser on the part of
the government to secure the cooperation of private business
in solving this problem. Cooperation with the government in
solving these problems would earn a good image for private
business which is looked down by the public. Political

leaders, belonging to various political parties, are always

 

127

critical of the conduct of private business. Cooperation
with the government in solving some of its social problems
might change their attitude toward private business. A
harmonious relationship between government and the private
business is essential for nation's rapid economic progress.
The government should take every effort to remove the genuine
difficulties of the private business so that private sector
would expand rapidly and can contribute substantially to
nation's progress. The removal of excessive controls may
speed up industrial expansion, encourage investment in in—
dustrial ventures, and make the capital market active. Rigid
and inflexible government policies in some instances impede
long range planning and economic growth. The importance of
governmental control is recognized, because a free scramble
can mean chaos and poor growth. But to plan and control when
it is not necessary, can only affect economic growth. Con-
versely the government has the responsibility to create a
political environment in which the private business can ex—
pand markets, thus contributing to economic expansion.
Businessmen are also held responsible for the in-
crease of government control because of their unethical
practices. They must adopt more objective approaches to
various problems. They should realize that their business
will not survive unless the economy survives. So they should
keep the survival and growth of economy as their final goal

and operate their businesses accordingly.

 

 

128

The sociological variable is perhaps the most diffi-
cult to modify. This variable includes self—perception,
family ties, the caste system, the tug and pull of the re-
ligious values and social customs. As the elimination of
their impacts is impossible, it is suggested that they can
be used constructively. This study revealed that Indian
managers favor family centeredness and peer relationships.
These attitudes can be used constructively for motivational
and communicational purposes. 'Studies must be undertaken to
find the ways of utilizing these attitudes constructively
for motivational purposes. Indian managers should realize
that an average individual has responsibility and initiative,
and delegate authority to their subordinates rather than
simply punishing or rewarding them. The top management must
set an example and encourage their subordinates to delegate
authority extensively wherever and whenever possible. The
subordinates must be motivated to speak out their minds and
give opinions without fear of offending or contradicting
their superiors. Suitable performance appraisal methods
must be set up. These methods should give weight to manager's
effort in developing his subordinates. An approach such as
management by objectives can be tried. Such an approach
would be helpful in breaking the authoritarian attitude of
Indian managers.

Indian managers should recognize that a firm is an

educational and training institution. The business firm in

 

129

its effort to manufacture and distribute goods and services,
trains its personnel also. For example, it trains its em-
ployees in safety while creating a safe environment to work
in; teaches industrial skills while manufacturing products
and in maintaining the necessary financial and business
records it teaches commercial skills and practices. Thus a
firm in a wide variety of ways can and does teach and train
employees. The value of human resource must be recognized.

The need for effective and efficient operations of
the firm in a competitive world will dilute the traditional
impacts of the Indian culture. These customs and traditions
belong to a rural society and do not readily fit in with a
democratic and industrial society. If progress is to be
achieved, it is time to break some of these customs, habits
and traditions. Indian manager has to play the role of a
change agent. His role is crucial in changing agrarian so—
ciety into industrial society. As a change agent, he must
be able to mould the behavior of his subordinates suitable
to democratic and industrial society. Since he and his sub-
ordinate belong to the same culture, it would be much easier
for him to play this role than for an outsider. When they
share common meanings, attitudes and beliefs, and a mutual
language, communication between them is likely to be more
effective.

When priority in setting objectives is given to

profit, everything else becomes secondary. This is a modern

 

130

trend among the owners and managers of private business in
India. They started to realize that as long as they cling to
old social customs and beliefs, they will not be able to make
much progress. They believe that these customs and beliefs
must be restricted to family life and not carried over to

the work place. This change in the managerial behavior and
attitude would necessitate changes in the prevailing authori-
tarian atmosphere and would enable them to look at things
more objectively in making decisions. The social practices
such as nepotism, paternalism and submissiveness affect ob-
jective decision making. These factors reduce the effec-
tiveness of decisions. Once the managers tend to ignore
these factors then their decisions will be effective. Only
then using effective modern techniques in decision making
would be useful.

The conclusions drawn from this study may be useful
for those who are contemplating the establishment of manu-
facturing facilities in India. Before these conclusions are
confirmed, similar studies must be carried out in other
cultures of developing countries. The results of such a
series of studies may reveal whether there exists any definite
pattern in the management practices in developing countries

and whether the problems faced by managers are the same.

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

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Benedict, Ruth. Patterns of Culture, Boston, Mass.:
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Carlisle, B. Arthur. Cultures in Collision, Ann Arbor,
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Dale, Ernest. Management: Theory and Practice, New York:
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Deming, Edwards. Sample Design in Business Research,
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Farmer, Richard with Barry Richman. Comparative Management
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Grosset, Serge. Management: American and European Styles,
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Gulick, Luther. Papers on the Science of Administration,
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Haire, Mason, Edwin Ghiselli and Lyman W. Porter. Mana-
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Harbison, Frederick and Charles Myers. Manggement in the
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Company, 1959.

 

 

Holden, Paul E., Carlton A. Pederson and Gayton E. Germane.
Top Management: A Research Study of the Management
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131

 

132

Kerr, Clark, John T. Dunlop and others. Industrialism and
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Koontz, Harold and Cyril O'Donnell. The Principles of
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1968.

 

 

Lauter, G. P. An Investigation of the Applicability of
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Linton, Ralph. The Cultural Background of Personality,
New York: Appleton-Century Company, 1954.

 

Loucks, William N. Comparative Economic Systems, New York:
Harper & Brothers, 1957.

 

McClelland, David C. The Achievinngociety, Princeton,
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McFarland, Dalton E. Management Principles and Practices,
New York: McMillan Company, 1964.

 

McGregor, Douglas. The Human Side of Enterppise, New York:
McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1960.

 

McKeachie, W. J. and Charlotte L. Doyle. Psychology,
Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company,
Inc., 1966.

 

Mooney, James D. and Alan C. Reiley. The Principles of
Organization, New York: Harper & Brothers, I939.

 

 

Mumford, Lewis. Technics and Civilization, New York:
Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1962.

 

Negandhi, Anant R. Comparative Management, New York:
Appleton-Century-Crofts and Company, 1971.

 

Phillips, Bernard S. Social Research: Strategy and Tactics,
New York: The McMillan Company, 1966.

 

Sirjamaki, John. The American Family in the Twentieth
Century, Cambfidge, Mass.: Harvard University
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Sisk, Henry L. Principles of Management, Cincinnati, Ohio:
South-Western PubliShing Company, 1969.

 

Slesinger, Reuben E. and Asher Isaacs. Business, Government
and Public Policy, New York: Van Nostrand Co., 1968.

 

 

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Tylor, Edward B. Primitive Culture, New York: Henry Holt
& Co., 1873.

 

United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Law and
Practice in India, Report No. 303 (1966) 11.

 

Viner, Jacob. "The Economics of Development," Approaches
to the Problem of Under-Development, ed.
Agarwala, A. N. and S. P. Singh. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1958.

 

Webber, Ross A. Culture and Management, Homewood, 111.:
Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1969.

 

Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism, translated by Talcott Parsons,
London: George Allen & Irwin, Ltd., 1930.

 

Whyte, William H., Jr. The Organization Man, New York:
Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1956.

 

Periodicals and other Publications

 

Bonaparte, Tony H. "Management in the Cultural Setting,"
Advanced Management Journal (October, 1966) 38.

 

Chowdhary, Kapur K. "Social and Cultural Factors in Man—
agement Development in India," International
Labor Review, Vol. 94, No. 2 (August, 1966).

 

Dwivedi, R. S. "Perceptions of Personality Traits Among
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1971) 53.

Gonzalez, Richard F. and Claude McMillan, Jr. "The Univer—

sality of American Management Philosophy,"
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(April, 1961) 33—41.

 

International Labor Organization Experts. "Social and
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experts," International Labor Review (August, 1966)
181.

Kast, Fremont E. "Management Concepts and Practices:
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134

 

McCann, Eugene C. "Anglo—American and Mexican Management
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Mehta, Dhawal. "The Scope for Human Relations in India,

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Model to Determine the Applicability of American
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and Benjamin Prasad. "Transmitting Advanced Man-
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Management International, (1967) 77.

 

 

Nowotny, Otto H. "American vs European Management Philos—
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101.

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Phatak, Arvind. "Environmental Constraints and Managerial
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Schollhammer, Hans. "The Comparative Theory Jungle,"
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Sirota, David and Michael J. Greenwood. "Understand Your
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(January, 1971) 54.

 

 

 

APPENDIX

 

 

 

APPENDIX

Personal Data:

1. Title of your present position

 

2. Department you represent

 

3. Levels of supervision below your position

4. Your level in the hierarchy of a) Top

 

management: (Please check one) b) Middle
c) Lower

5. Age: (Please check one) a) 20-24 g) 50—54
b) 25-29 ___ h) 55—59 _——
c) 30—34 ___ i) 60-64 —_—
d) 35—39 ___ j) 65 and—__

___ above __

e) 40-44

American Questionnaire: f) 45—49 :::

6. Religion: Conservative-—Moderate——Liberal

(Please check one)
a) Protestant
b) Catholic
c) Jewish

 

d) Other
e) None
7. Marital Status: a) Married

b) Single ___
c) Divorced——
d) Separated__—
e) Widow or Widswer
No. of children __—

8. Education: (Please circle number of years completed)

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
5 6

a) Grammar and High School: 1 2 3
College: 1 2 3
Graduate School: 1 2 3

b) Major at College
(such as Management, Chemistry, etc.)
Major at Graduate School

 

 

c) Special Training Programs Attended

 

(Name)

135

 

 

10.

11.

136

Years of Service with the Present Company

Main product line of your company
or division

 

 

No. of employees in your company
or division

 

 

 

 

137

QUESTIONNAIRE

Please read each item and then decide whether you Strongly
Agree, Agree, Undecided, Disagree or Strongly Disagree with
the statement by circling SA, A, U, D or SD. Some questions
are asked in different ways so you should read each item
carefully. An example is given below:

 

 

c
>1 0) <1) >10)
H to m PIC
00) -H H (PM
a m a) o tn at»
0:4 m a) m c>m
urn H T) m rim
+J¢ tn G -H +LH
m e :3 D 019
Ex: I am contributing to managerial
knowledge by filling out this
questionnaire. (SA) A U D SD
1. Success is more dependent on
luck than on real ability. SA A U D SD
2. Family considerations and job
requirements should be sepa-
rated in a person's life. SA A U D SD
3. Poverty is God-given so we
accept it. SA A U D SD
4. I do not care to know how well
I am doing as long as I keep
my superior happy. SA A U D SD
5. Work is an end in and of it—
self rather than as a means to
the enjoyment of life. SA A U D SD
6. Everything works out according
to God's plan, so fierce com-
petition does not make much
sense. SA A U D SD
7. It is worthwhile to take risk
by investing money in a busi-
ness. SA A U D SD

8. Before making a decision or
performing an important action,
it is better to find the proper
time and day as there are good
and bad days. SA A U D SD

 

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

138

'Time is money.’

The application of the Scien-
tific Method in doing things
is no better than using one's
own—intuiEiOn.

 

One ought to discuss important
plans with members of his
family.

My college education enabled
me to learn faster in the
training program.

A man must be willing to sac-
rifice everything for his
family.

 

I pursued my college education
with the aim of obtaining a
managerial position.

I can easily adjust my family
affairs according to the re-
quirements of my job.

My college education greatly
helps me to perform my present
job satisfactorily.

If you are happy at work, you
will be happy at home and not
the other way around.

A man can learn more by working
four years than by going to
college.

Children do not lose their re-
spect for their parents when
they are given freedom.

 

'U
m a) m >em
H U a) r4m
CHI) «4 34 015-4
CG) 0) 0 CW GO
0 H a) m to O o
no: H “U 01 Ht!)
+I¢ In a «4 #-H
m e :3 Q 010
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD

 

 

139

 

m '8 m >1m
H w: m H o
Cum we H DIM
c:m m C) m s m
0:: m a) m 046
H o u T3 m Lam
4Jv<£ CW 5: -r-I 4J-o-I
U) <1 D Q mm
20. My family has contributed
little to my success at work. SA A U D SD
21. My children do well in their
studies when they are kept
under constant supervision
and attention. SA A U D SD
22. The formal training which I
received helps me to perform
my job satisfactorily. SA A U D SD
23. Luxury and enjoyment are not
desirable since they lead to
a sinful life most of the time. SA A U D SD
24. Questioning the teacher in
class is impolite. It is better
to approach the teacher after
class is over. SA A U D SD
25. Though I had good ideas most
of the time, I was afraid to
express them in class since it
was unusual to do so. SA A U D SD
26. While at college, there were
not many opportunities to par-
ticipate in social activities. SA A U D SD

27. How often do you do the following things? Please
show your response by circling the appropriate letter.

 

 

>1

H m
% r4 r4 m
H H l m 44 m
m C «so I s m
> H ()0 did 3
m m (we LID H
z m C>m Eta d
a) Read newspapers and magaZines. N R O F A

b) Go on picnics or travel during
the week-ends or on holidays. N R O F A

140

 

 

 

>‘I
I—I >1
% PI H m
H H I w .u w
m o m a I c w
> H o o o o 3
o m 0-H n o H
z m o m m a H
c) Converse with your family or
relatives. N R O F A
d) Go to church, temple or a
place of worship. N R O F A
e) Do odd jobs at home such as
fixing doors, furniture, etc. N R O F A
f) Help your children with their
homework. N R O F A
9) Prepare for the following
week's work. N R O F A
c
h m w >10
H t o H o
m -H n 054
a w o o m a m
o m w w m o o
H H H o m n m
u o m o H D.H
03¢ m D Q UJD
28. Men would not do their best
if the government owned all
of the big industries. SA A U D SD
29. Socialized planning and
allocation of resources are
essential in a complex
society. SA A U D SD
30. Private ownership of business
is essential for economic
progress SA A U D SD
31. The greater the number of
children, the greater the
Grace of God and the strength
of a country. SA A U D SD

32. The free—enterprise system
usually leads to exploitation
of workers and consumers. SA A U D SD

 

 

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

141

There are more problems created
by automation and modern tech-
nology than there are benefits
from their use.

Strikes are essential in
getting a fair deal.

To take part in solving social
problems of the country is in-
viting more restrictions on
business.

A manager does not contribute
as much as a technician or an
engineer does toward economic
growth.

Nowadays, we see an increase
in government's control of
business.

To run a business you need not
be a professional, the only
requisite is money.

You cannot make much profit in
business if you want to be
honest.

The good of society supercedes
the interest of individuals.

The government should interfere
as little as possible in com-
petitive business matters.

You cannot run or own a busi—
ness if you do not have some
influence with the government.

Employees should not be allowed
to join unions.

 

'0
>1 (1) (1) >1 (D
H 'U 0) H (U
0‘ -r-I I-I U1 H
I: (D (I) O 0" C: C1
O (D (D (D rd 0 f6
H H H "d U) H U)
-IJ O 0" £1 --| 4J-H
U) Kt: <2 D Q U) Q
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD
SA A U D SD

 

   

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

142

Businessmen should be active
in politics in order to shape
the competitive climate.

Job requirements in our
department are:
(Please check one)

The degree of difficulty in
accomplishing the job as
assigned (such as developing
a product, manufacturing,
selling, etc.,) to our de-

partment:

(Please check one) a)
—b)
___ c)
___ d)
:8)

The length of time involved
before feedback is available
to our department concerning
the success of our perform—
ance is:

(Please check one) a)
b)
C)
d)
e)
f)

The extent to which our de—
partment is able to define
its job objectives and to
make changes in its activi-
ties on its own: a)
(Please check one) b)
C)
d)
e)
f)
g)

 

Strongly
Agree
Undecided
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree

Agree

 

SA A U D SD

a) Very clear

b) Clear

c) Somewhat clear
d) Slightly clear
e) Not at all clear

Little or no difficulty
Slightly difficult
Somewhat difficult
Considerably difficult
Extremely difficult

One day

One week

One month

Six months

One year

Three years or more

To an extreme extent

To a very great extent
To a considerable extent
To some extent

To a small extent

To very little extent
Not at all

 

49.

50.

51.

52.

53.

143

The extent to which the per-
formance of our department
task is influenced by other
departments such as manufac-
turing, marketing, Research
and Development etc.:

(Please check one or more
answers and give the names
of departments) a)
b)
C)
d)
e)
f)
9)

The time span of review of
our departmental perform-
ance is: a)
(Please check one) b)
C)
d)
e)

Specificity of review of
departmental performance:
(Please check one) a)
__—'b)
C)

d)

Specificity of criteria

for evaluation of members

of our department: a)
(Please check one) b)

C)

d)

What per cent of your time
is devoted to working on
matters which will show up
in the division profit and
loss statement within each
of the periods indicated.
Your answers should total
100%. a)
b)
C)
d)

Extreme extent (
Very great extent (
Considerable extent (
Some extent (

Small extent (

Very little extent (
Not at all (

VVVVVVV

Less than once each month
Monthly

Weekly

Daily

No specific time span

General oral review
General written review
One or more general
statistics

Detailed statistics

No formal evaluation
Formal evaluation-no
criteria

Formal evaluation with
less than five (5) credits
Formal evaluation with
detailed criteria (more
than five (5) credits)

One month or less

One month to one quarter
One quarter to one year
One year to five years

54.

55.

56.

57.

58.

59.

144

In the successful perform—
ance of my task, it is very
important to develop posi—
tive social relationships
with co—workers rather than
task—oriented relationships:
(Please check one) a)

To what extent do the plans
spell out the operation of
the enterprise?

(Please circle one)

Strongly agree
Agree

Undecided
Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Very much——Quite a bit--

Slightly—-Not at all

Company plans are made for
the duration of: a)

(Please check one) b)
C)
d)
Company plans are spelled
out in: a)
(Please check one) b)
C)
d)

The extent to which mem—
bers of the organization
participate in the cor—
porate planning: a)

(Please check one) b)
_ C)
__ d)
What is your role in the
planning process?
(Please check one) a)
b)
C)
d)

 

One year
2—3 years
5 years
10 years

Committee meetings
Company reports

Informal ways (telephone
talk)

Confidential memos

Only top level executives
Top and upper middle
managers

Top and middle management
Top, middle and lower
management

Originating the plan
Reviewing the plan al-
ready originated by
superiors

Providing guidelines for
its implementation
Interpreting the plan

 

 

60.

61.

62.

63.

64.

65.

14

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The extent to which I invite
my subordinates to partici-
pate in the departmental
planning: a)

(Please check one) b)
C)
d)

How often are corporate

plans revised? a)

(Please check one) b)

C)
d)

Planning is mainly done on

the basis of: a)
(Please check one)
b)
C)

d)

The extent to which we
behind the plans:
(Please check one)

a)
b)
C)
d)

HI
(J)

H
I...I

There is no point in making
long-range plans due to un-
certainties in our economic
and political systems: a)
(Please check one) b)
C)
d)

I delegate authority and re-
sponsibility to subordinates
extensively.

Always

Often
Occasionally
Never

As necessity arises
Once in 12 months
Once in 6 months
Once in 3 months

Intuition and past ex—
perience

Reports of subordinates
Information provided by
the outside agency (con—
sultants)

Using scientific and
statistical techniques

Always
Often
Rarely
Never

Strongly agree
Agree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

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66.

67.

68.

69.

70.

71.

72.

73.

74.

75.

76.

146

 

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My subordinates accept and

effectively execute delegated

authority and responsibility. DT T NT DNT

I feel certain about how much
authority I have. DT T NT DNT

I receive an assignment with-
out adequate resources and
materials to execute it. DT T NT DNT

I have to break a rule or
policy in order to carry out
an assignment. DT T NT DNT

I spend considerable time in
solving the problems between
line and staff men. ‘ DT T NT DNT

The authority of the staff in
our organization is clearly
defined. DT T NT DNT

The extent to which Committees
are used in our organization:
(Please circle one) Always--Often--Sometimes--Never

What authority do committees
have in your organization?
(Please circle one) Advisory--P1anning--Executive—-

Coordinating

Have you been able to use in-

formal groups to the benefit

of the organization?

(Please circle one) Yes--No--None-—Do not know

The number of subordinates
who report to me are:
(Please circle one) 1—5 6-10 11-15 16-20

I have to approach my superior

to get his permission to get

work done:

(Please check one) Always-—Often--Rarely--Never

77.

78.

79.

80.

81.

82.

147

There has not been much change

in our organizational structure

for the past:
(Please check one)

a)
b)
C)
d)

The conflicts in our organi-

zation are due to improper

grouping of various functions:

(Please check one)

Individuals for management
positions are selected:
(Please check one)

The main source for re-
cruiting junior or middle
level manager is:

(Please check one)

V

a
b)
C)

d)

a)

_b>

H.
”ll

The main criteria used
selecting individuals for
management positions are:
(Please check one)

llll

d)

The type of training program
you were in to obtain the job
with the present company was:

(Please check one)

a)
b)
C)

d)

One year

Two years
Five years
Ten years

Definitely true
True

Not true

Definitely not true

When there is a vacant
position

In anticipation of the
need

When recommended by an
influential person
When sales increase

Relatives of company
personnel

College placement service
Newspaper advertisements
Those who voluntarily
apply

Education
Age
Experience
Family ties

No training?

On the job training
Formal training outside
job

Classroom lectures

 

83.

84.

85.

86.

87.

The job descriptions are made
known to the individual:
(Please check one) a

v

b)
C)
d)

Ill

What is your turnover rate
among junior or middle
management level? a)
(Please check one) :::
The techniques used for per—
formance appraisal is/are:
(Please rank if there is more
than one answer. Otherwise,
check one) ___ a)

b)

C)
d)

Unions interfere too much in
recruiting personnel at
supervisory and below super—

visory levels: a)

(Please check one) b)
C)
d)

I am impressed with my

subordinate when he:

(Please check one) a)
b)
C)
d)

Verbally by the inter-
viewer

Verbally by the superior

Written manual
Picks up as he gains
experience

Less than 5%
Between 5 and 10%
Between 10 and 15%
15% and over

Periodic reports from
superior

Filling specific forms
by superior

No specific system
When the employee
requests

Always
Often
Rarely
Never

Obeys implicitly

Performs well in his own

way

Does not approach me
often

Tries his best

 

 

88.

89.

90.

91.

92.

93.

94.

95.

96.

97.

98.

149

Employees perform better under
highly paternalistic management.

a) The average human being wants
to be directed and wishes to
avoid responsibility

b) The average human being has
relatively little ambition.

If subordinates are allowed to
participate in decision—making
in the areas where their
interests are involved, it is
likely that productivity would
decline.

The use of rewards and punish—
ments is not the best way to
get subordinates to do their
work.

Allowing subordinates to express
their feelings on issues only
creates confusion.

My subordinates tend to perform
well only under close and tight
supervision.

A superior should give his sub—
ordinates only that information
which is necessary for them to
do their immediate tasks.

The "suggestion box" will not
work in our company because em-
ployees think that their sug—
gestions will not be given much
attention.

Management tells employees about
company plans and development.

Management does everything to
prevent accidents in our work.

Control and close supervision
are identical functions.

 

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99.

100.

101.

102.

103.

104.

Time and motion study is done
in our company by:
(Please check one) ___ a)
b)
___ c)
: d)
Cost accounting is done:
(Please check one) a)
— b)
___.C)
: d)
I would be happy if sub-
ordinates achieve the
established standards of
their performance:
(Please check one) a)
— b)
___ c)
: 61)

Deviation in standards of

performance is checked by:

(Please check one)

Standards of performance
are set by:
(Please check one)

a)
b)
C)

d)

a)

__b)

C)

d)

The main purpose of control
is to increase productivity
rather than the development

of employee:
(Please check one)

a)
b)
C)
d)

Time and motion study
department

Outside consultants
Foreman

Not done

For all products
For major products
Randomly

Never

50%
65%
75%
95-100%

Staff

Superior only

Superior and subordinates
together

None

Superior

Individual who performs
the task

Superior and subordinate
together

Unions or outside
consultant

Strongly agree
Agree

Strongly disagree
Disagree

 

 

 

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