LogoutWelcome guest
Article Information:
Title:
Short-termism, control, quick-fix and bottom line: Toward explaining the Western approach to management
Author(s):
Aminu Mamman, Kojo Saffu
Journal:
Journal of Managerial Psychology
Year:
1998
Volume:
Issue:
Page:
291 - 308
ISSN:
0268-3946
DOI:
10.1108/02683949810219864
Publisher:
MCB UP Ltd
Document Access:
Existing customers:
Please login above.
You do not have rights to view the article
Purchase this document:
Price payable:
GBP £13.00
plus handling charge of GBP £1.50
and VAT where applicable.
Purchase
Request this document:
Print or e-mail a document request to your librarian.
Request
Reprints & permissions:
Request
Abstract:
Western managers have been criticized for their obsession with profit maximization, concentration on short-term benefits, control of the work process and hastiness in adopting and abandoning new ideas. Why Western managers manage the way they do has not been addressed adequately in our view. This paper seeks to address this issue by presenting theoretical analysis that attempts to improve our understanding of why managers are preoccupied with pecuniary considerations, myopic decisions, work process control, hasty adoption and quick abandonment of novel ideas. This exploratory paper argues that without considering factors such as the managers’ national culture, the pressure from shareholders and the stock-market, the objectives of the organization, and the organization as a rational institution, the behaviour of Western managers may not be fully explained and the criticisms may therefore be unjustifiable.
Keywords:
Management development, Management styles, North America, Profit maximization, Short-termism, Western Europe
Article Type:
Conceptual Paper