The Changing Face of Korean Management

Chris Rowley, Yongsun Paik

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9780415774000
• eBook ISBN: 9781135277703
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Part of the successful Routledge 'Working in Asia' series, The Changing Face of Korean Management focuses on a country that is predicted by some experts to become the world's third richest by 2025. South Korea, with its thriving telecommunications and automotive industries, and increasing trade links with China, survived the 1997 Asian Economic Crisis better than most. This important textbook explores the key areas of management in this pivotal country in the region, including:

• Human Resource Management
• Marketing
• Operations
• Finance
• Strategy
• Overseas affiliates
• Small firms and entrepreneurship
• Women

Including case studies and interviews with front-line Korean managers to enable a real 'voice' to emerge, and written by native academics, this is a complete analysis of the current state of management structures in South Korea. It is important reading for all students of business and management interested in Asia.

1
Setting the scene for the changing face of South Korean management

Chris Rowley and Yongsun Paik

Structure overview

Overview of recent literature on Korean management

Key context for Korean management

Overview of chapters: areas, issues and cases

Conclusion

Introduction

This book continues in the vein of recent texts in the innovative and unusual book series ‘Working in Asia’ by developing in some fresh ways the original purpose and conceptualisation of the series. The intention of the series was to provide accessible, easy to read and useful books written by experts, many local, which gave ‘voice’ especially to local managers within organisations, such as via illustrative case studies or vignettes, to examine and illustrate the changing practice and ‘face’ of management in Asia. These aims and format in turn require a commensurate down-playing of the type of content commonly found in research monographs. Given the ongoing widespread interest in Asia the time is ripe for books using such a focus and format.

This particular book follows this generic rubric and is focused on the broad area of management in South Korea (hereafter ‘Korea’) set within its traditional context and in light of contemporary changes. The aim of this book is to examine a range of key management practices and issues in the framework of the local political, economic and social traditions and the global economy and challenges, and to give ‘voice’ to local managers by presenting illustrative organisational case studies and vignettes.

The book is useful and important for several reasons. Often, much that is written in the field comes from non-Koreans, uses Western perspectives, models and theories, and concentrates on only a single or a few issues or areas. Moreover, much of what we know about Korean management is more commonly drawn from studies conducted at the macro level. Less is known of Korean managers and specific issues at work. This book is more holistic. Furthermore, its stance is different —the aim is to allow the ‘voice’ of local managers and practitioners to come through.

Korea experienced rapid growth to become a large world economy and an increasingly important overseas investor and producer and seemed to be the next Asian ‘Tiger’ or ‘Dragon’ economy following behind Japan, with even the possibility of a Korean version of ‘Japanese management practices’ and the ‘Japanisation of industry’ spreading out around the globe. These developments contributed to increasing interest in studying Korea. However, given the rapid changes after 1997’s Asian Financial Crisis, much of what we know about Korea needs updating and refreshing. In short, this book examines the opportunities and challenges for Korean managers and presents a timely update on management developments using many experts with a high level of Korean experience.

This book is also important because the area has relevance to many different types and levels of qualifications and subjects, researchers and readers. These include business and management, such as international business, cross-cultural management and functional areas of management covering human resources (HR), marketing, operations, finance and strategy, and also the management issues of small firms and entrepreneurship, overseas affiliates and expatriates, and women and gender. As such, our broad coverage and content will also be of use in areas such as Asian studies, sociology, amongst many others. Additionally, the diverse range of organisational and management cases can be used in a variety of ways, including in teaching and education.

Therefore, many levels and types of programmes would benefit from this text. The book has both country-specific and international appeal, especially for other parts of Asia, Australia and North America and among English-speaking and Western-educated managers from Asia and those with an interest in this fascinating country. The secondary market includes practising managers, both expatriates and locals, of companies that are operating, or will operate, in business activities in Korea or host its foreign direct investment (FDI). Furthermore, the chapter readings and bibliographies are important as many students and teachers in the area often find it difficult to locate up-to-date sources of information for topics and issues covered in this book, and particularly easily accessible texts written by locals.

The rest of this chapter takes the following format. We provide details of the book’s structure, recent literature in the area and the key context within which management and business operate. We also provide overviews of the contributions and cases.

Structure overview

Sequence

Chapter 1 is the introductory chapter. This reiterates the aims and objectives of the series and book and locates it within the wider area and context. An overview of the sequence, structure and content of the remainder of the volume is also provided. Chapters 2 to 9 are the substantive chapters. These are either area- (Chapters 2 to 6) or issue- (Chapters 7 to 9) based and written by experts, many of them locals. These chapters cover the functional areas of HR, marketing, operations, finance and strategy, and the issues of small firms and entrepreneurship, overseas management and affiliates, and women and gender. Chapter 10 is the conclusion, which summarises the main findings and themes of the collection, assesses the recent situation in Korea and discusses the prospects for the future.

Each chapter focuses on its specific management area or issue using a common format and content. By doing this the main contours of Korean management are traced in a common, similar manner, producing integration, compatibility and consistency throughout the book. This structure not only makes reading easier, with a more consistent and even flow, but also assists explicit cross-chapter area and issue comparisons. For example, contexts, challenges, cases and so on can be quickly identified and even compared as ‘stand alone’ aspects. The main sections used in each chapter are:

• Introduction

• Key issues and new developments—context

• Case studies

• Challenges

• Conclusion

Case studies and ‘voice’

Each chapter incorporates illustrations via case studies and vignettes of indigenous organisations to provide more specific, empirical and ‘real life’ information on management. In addition, chapters include examples of individual managers who have succeeded in plotting exceptional management styles in their organisations. These sections are important and unusual aspects of the book and the series to which it belongs. The ‘voice’ element comes out clearly in these cases and vignettes. Data for these illustrations was collected and compiled in a variety of ways to exemplify their experiences and expectations. Some cases highlight enduring constraints and emerging opportunities in practices and developments. Thus, a key purpose and differentiator of this book (and series)—to elicit practitioner ‘voices’ that readers might identify with and feel inspired, or warned, by—clearly emerges. This focus differs from more traditionally empirical or theoretical dense and heavy research monograph-type books.

In sum, this book fills a void by analysing a range of current key strategic as well as functional areas and issues for Korean managers competing in the global market. In addition, the ‘voices’ of managers will be heard.

Overview of recent literature on Korean management

Some of the more recent related literature on Korea includes the following. A broad range of aspects, topics and issues in respect to Korea have been covered directly, in both focused and broad treatments. Examples of the former include studies of e-marketplaces (Yang et al., 2008), commitment (Rowley and Kim, 2005; 2006), team working (Kang et al., 2006) and HR development (Rowley and Bae, 2004c). Examples of the latter include works on the public sector (Kim and Rowley, 2001), women in management (Kang and Rowley, 2005; Lee and Rowley, 2009), employee relations and HRM (Bae et al., 1997; Rowley and Bae, 2004a; 2004b; Rowley, 2005; Lansbury et al., 2007), business (Rowley and Bae, 1998; 2004d; Rowley et al., 2002), culture (Rowley, 2002; Rowley and Bae, 2003) and globalisation (Bae and Rowley, 2001). Also, Korea has been covered in macro-level comparisons, such as with other Asian countries (Rowley and Benson, 2002; Rowley et al., 2004; Rowley and Abdul-Rahman, 2007; Zhu et al., 2007).

Other literature on Korea includes that on the transformation of the chaebol (Choe and Roehl, 2007), corporate governance and restructuring (Park and Kim, 2008). Additionally, regionalisation (Rugman and Oh, 2008), diversification (Lee and Lee, 2007; K.Lee et al., 2008), compensation and host country workforces (Paik et al., 2007), real options investment (K.Lee et al., 2008), cross-border acquisitions (Froese et al., 2008), social capital (Kim and Cannella, 2008) and expatriate assignments (Kim and Slocum, 2008) have been covered.

Key context for Korean management

Placing Korean management in its context is important for several reasons. Management does not exist in a vacuum and variability stems from its operating context and background. This perspective is in contrast to that of the universalism of convergence, as underpinnings from, and interactions with, culture and institutions remain crucial to understanding management policy and practice. Yet cultures and institutions can be portrayed as ingrained, deep and slow moving, whereas some management may be less so. These differences may produce incongruence between norms and practice.

We examine this key operating environment in the three main areas of historical/political, economic and social/cultural contexts.

Historical/political context

This North East Asian country, once known as ‘the Hermit Kingdom’, occupies almost 100,000 square kilometres of the southern Korean peninsula. Korea’s very homogeneous ethnic population rapidly urbanised and grew after the 1960s. The population in 2006 was 48.3 million, with Seoul accounting for over 10 million of these (Financial Times, 2007).

Korea’s very long history is marked by recent turbulence. The ‘Three Kingdoms’ (existing from 39 bc onwards) were united under the Shilla Dynasty (from 668), which was replaced by the Koryo Dynasty (935 to 1392). The subsequent Yi Dynasty ended with annexation by Japan in 1910. This colonisation led to the forced introduction of the Japanese language and names, and locals were restricted to lower organisational positions and excluded from management. Other later Japanese influences included infrastructure developments, industrial policy imitation, technology application and operations management (Morden and Bowles, 1998).

After 1945 came partition, with US military governance until the South’s independent government in 1948 and then further widespread devastation with the 1950–3 Korean War. A large US military presence and tensions with the North remain. The American management system was studied by many Koreans, especially as most overseas students went to the US. This impacted on managerial, business and academic outlooks, views, perspect...

Table of contents

• Working in Asia
• Contents
• Figures
• Tables
• Boxes
• Contributors
• General acknowledgement
• Map of East Asia
• 1 Setting the scene for the changing face of South Korean management
• 2 The changing face of Korean human resource management
• 3 The changing face of Korean marketing management
• 4 The changing face of operations management in Korea
• 5 The changing face of Korean finance management
• 6 The changing face of Korean strategic management
• 7 The changing face of Korean small and medium-sized enterprises management
• 8 The changing face of Korean management of overseas affiliates
• 9 The changing face of Korean women in management
• 10 The changing face of Korean management revisited
• Index