1

The Eastern Asian Ethics and Values:

Observing from General to Specific Levels
Alice Chang and Seana Kim

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Abstract
1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Literature Review Part A: Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory
I.

Asia with High Power Distance

II.

Asia with Low Individualism

III.

Asia with High Masculinity

IV.

Asia with Low Uncertainty Avoidance

V.

Asia with High Long-Term Orientation

4. Literature Review Part B: Study of Dr. Rosalie L. Tung

I.

International Business Negotiations

II.

Comparative Management

III.

International Human Resource Management

5. Conclusion
6. Suggestion
7. Works Cited

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Introduction
The United States have already done numerous researches on East Asia by a
number of scientists in recent history. Such multi-national studies are necessary and
momentous especially today in order to guarantee successful international business. This
paper can additionally assist potential workers to be more cooperative and more
employable while keeping pace with globalization.
The following literature reviews will aid its readers to obtain better understandings
from the different level of culture acknowledgement. One approach used to analyze East
Asia was Hofstedes cultural dimensions theory, which took general views on the
countries. The other used to examine East Asia was various studies of Dr. Rosalie L.
Tung, which closely looked into China, Japan, and Korea.
It provides practical abilities by perceptions of diverse culture, history, norms,
traditions, orientations, etc. As the axis of power shifts from Western to Eastern Asian
norm, leaders must be well-advised and learn new ways of working in the worldwide
marketplace. These researches eventually explain the gap between Asia and America in
terms of management style and organizational structure. (Shafer, W., Fukukawa, K., &
Lee, G. 2007)

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Literature Review Part A: Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory
Asia with High Power Distance
Many individuals in Eastern Asia tend to believe that a leader should be different
from others. Most of them would expect that a superior acts as a protector, thinks an
extraordinary stuff, and dictatorially leads subordinates. People acknowledge their own
organizational status, and accordingly embrace a man who is the best one in the field.
Thus, they are efficient in terms of speed because men concentrate on their given tasks
with clearly specified levels. (Daniels, M., & Greguras, G. 2014)
Workers in Eastern Asia take conventional roles in order to maintain current
situations. Yet, the higher power distance negatively affected to the development of
country including welfare, security, advantage, and so on. (Daniels, M., & Greguras, G.
2014)
One who exhibits ones dominant emotions such as anger and ego seems to hold
a higher social status. It is commonly tolerable that a superior conveys anger toward
subordinates in the country with a high power distance. On the contrary, one who
expresses ones submissive emotions such as sad and worry appears to take a lower
power position. The employees with less authority do not have the feelings of resistance
since they have already seen the power is unequally distributed to each class. (Hofstede,
G. 1980) Employees in Eastern Asia depend on strong leadership and prefer to keep
status quo. Hence, a superior is not anticipated to sympathize with subordinates since
the understanding about emotions of others is not essentially required. (Daniels, M., &
Greguras, G. 2014)

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The East Asians see a leader as a person who influences on them, encourages
organized exchange, and possesses a unique technique. (Hofstede, G. 1980) A superior
is supposed to manage and motivate subordinates in order to centralize discipline among
them. They also suppose that a leader could interact with followers in the responsible
manner, but should avoid to seek for an advice too frequently. So, the East Asians
assume that a leader would have different levels of job satisfaction and represent
confidence and competence all the times. (Daniels, M., & Greguras, G. 2014)
Asia with Low Individualism
Individuals in Eastern Asia are related to have intensely high collectivism.
Collectivism are also known as a tendency to be more coordinated and more sacrificial
for a group which one belongs to. One with high collectivism tends to think oneself as a
member of an entire group and see it as ours rather than mine.
(Hofstede, G. 1980) The group discussed here can be in any kind of a form such as a
family, relative, neighbor, community, organization, society, and even country. (Koch, B.,
& Koch, P. 2007)
The East Asians in a collectivism society give priority to unity, purpose, and
agreement of their groups. (Hofstede, G. 1980) Such bonds are deep, warm, and longlasting since they recognize themselves in their groups. Accordingly, cooperation will be
worth in Eastern Asia because most of them are spiritually simulated by team cohesion.
It might be hugely valuable to act in the way of showing identity, conformity, sympathy,
and participation. (Koch, B., & Koch, P. 2007)
Eastern Asia has lengthy history that targeted on public advantages and shared
activities. It had depreciated private objective and egoistic attainment, and reiterated

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egalitarianism which adds equal inputs to a society in mutual relationships. Consequently,
those conditions with high collectivism left individuals to magnify popular necessity
instead of personal fulfillment. (Hofstede, G. 1980) The East Asians have naturally
evolved to serve themselves for groups with openness and unification. (Earley, C. 1989)
Employers in Eastern Asia also guide their groups by acting in advance and trust
followers to work in return. Employees sense homogeneity when they see enthusiastic
coworkers, so every team member is influenced by each other. On top of it, individuals
with high collectivism sort out a person who is not in their circles, and draw up a line
between in and out of their groups. (Hofstede, G. 1980) Most of them have adverse
reaction toward a person who is not in their circles due to their strong team cohesion.
(Earley, C. 1989)
Individuals with high collectivism acquire honors and happiness from positive
consequences of their groups. Such motivations make the East Asians rank group goals
at the first place and individual objectives at the second place. In addition to it, Individuals
in Eastern Asia deem themselves as someone who makes meaningful impacts and
substantial components for a prosperous group. Most of them desire to be in a successful
group, so they are more likely to maximize their outputs despite of missing their own
choices. (Earley, C. 1989)
The ideology had suggested by several social psychologists that working in a
group are less productive than executing ones own duties by oneself. The East Asians
are not applied in this case since they function better in their groups than they control all
alone. Individuals with high collectivism realize themselves as a vital part for a continuity

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of their groups, so most of them take all responsibilities together. Social loafing barely
occurs in Eastern Asia even with lack of affection for the job itself.
(Earley, C. 1989)
Asia with High Masculinity
The masculine trends have enormously changed over time, and the feminine tides
became more acceptable compared with the old days. However, Eastern Asia still have
masculinity within the country. Sex roles are partially distinguishable among their nations
at the society level like many other countries. (Hofstede, G. 1980) Men should be
aggressive, obstinate, and profitable while women should be caring, delicate, and
supporting. (Christie, M., Kwon, I., Stoeberl, P., & Baumhart, R. 2003)
Managers in a society with high masculinity could be associated with some routine
practices in operating a firm. They would probably forget threats or weaknesses to obtain
desirable gains by any means that cause dangerous products. (Hofstede, G. 1980) Two
countries are fortunately scored moderately higher on masculinity, which means they are
slightly above on the average. Nevertheless, both of them are perhaps engaged in
creating unethical environments while running a business. (Christie, M., Kwon, I., Stoeberl,
P., & Baumhart, R. 2003)
A supervisor with high masculinity are prone to solve problems with an
unscrupulous demeanor. It is harmful administration in contrast to an organization is
driven by a supervisor with high femininity. (Christie, M., Kwon, I., Stoeberl, P., &
Baumhart, R. 2003)
First, managers with high masculinity make no scruple to damage to ecosystems
if it for business-related sake. Eastern Asia disregard the matter that they abuse natural

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resources for industrial well-being. Second, managers with high masculinity have no
hesitation in doing an exaggerated advertisement. Eastern Asia overlook that an
embellish commercial can be hurtful to buyers who are naive about the merchandise.
Third, managers with high masculinity do not concern too much about manufacturing
detrimental goods. Eastern Asia are notorious for using hazardous materials to produce
cheap things. Fourth, managers with high masculinity are free from care of firing seniors
if the deal is an alternative. Eastern Asia take an immediate action as it is recommended
for fiscal issues. (Christie, M., Kwon, I., Stoeberl, P., & Baumhart, R. 2003)
All of the drawbacks mentioned earlier sound heartless, but it is not that bad idea
for a business if one perceives masculinity in the other way. Eastern Asia favor to employ
males over females or masculine workers rather than feminine workers. It has balanced
to get little more femininity because being excessively fond of hiring men over women
raised negative repercussion on their image. Nonetheless, masculinity continued in two
countries since it had delivered an overall healthy state to business itself. (Garca, M.,
Posthuma, R., & Roehling, M. 2009)
According to Maria F. Garcia, Richard A. Posthumaa, and Mark V. Roehling, the
study implies that masculinity immensely aids prosperity of a business. They set
hypothesis that the more a country adapts itself to masculinity, the more its nations
becomes domestic, and it turned out a true. One can infer from their hypothesis that
individuals with high masculinity bend toward the groups which they are involved in. Most
of them with high masculinity can be helpful and trustworthy, which are traditional
characteristics of femininity, in order to succeed in work. It is surprise to predict that a
masculine person undertakes his or her jobs with sense of belonging. The masculine

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person conducts himself or herself loyally, demonstrates willingness on jobs, and
becomes more valuable to the business. (Garca, M., Posthuma, R., & Roehling, M. 2009)
Asia with Low Uncertainty Avoidance
Uncertainty will prevail when surroundings are unclear, unstable, and complicated,
and then individuals gets more anxious about their overall states. (Hofstede, G. 1980)
Each person has a different extent of fortitude for uncertainty as well as his or her
response to obscure states. Ones own culture and characteristic can be critical factors
which conclude his or her personal limit of patience for uncertainty. Some people may be
able to resist in a situation with uncertainty, and figure out how to decrease uncertainty.
(Vishwanath, A. 2003)
Individuals in Eastern Asia do not fear to undergo the worst case. They are ready
to suffer from taking some risks, and always hold youth with excellent prospects.
Nonetheless, they are unlikely to serve job security, set up strict regulation, and obey their
social orders as much as other countries with high uncertainty avoidance. The East
Asians can be witnessed as cursory, relaxed, and patient people around the world.
(Hofstede, G. 1980)
Eastern Asia has decision making environments with low uncertainty avoidance.
Two countries are attracted by chance games and risky choices instead of adhering to
monotonous managerial path. (Hofstede, G. 1980) For instance, both countries often
participate in auctions which take high level of vagueness because both of them enjoy it.
They certainly require full amount of data on the auctions and utilize appropriate
information in order to guarantee agreeable events. (Vishwanath, A. 2003)
Asia with High Long-Term Orientation

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First, companies in a country with long-term orientation carry typical features as
putting an organizational step. Individuals in Eastern Asia underline that one should live
with zeal, so there is no an exact border between virtue and vice which are sometimes
mingled with. People with long-term orientation chiefly value education, flexibility, and
candidness for themselves at work. Superiors and subordinates target on settling their
higher places in the market with eagerness while sacrificing their free time. (Hofstede, G.,
& Minkov, M. 2010)
Second, consumers in a country with long-term orientation had their own
assessment on selecting products and services. Many long-term oriented individuals are
financially reliable because they intend to save incomes and curtail consumption as their
lifelong preparation. Most of them have relatively more loyal personality traits, so they
hope to build a deep-rooted relationship with the specific company. Besides, they view
that it is prudent to buy high-cost goods which are expensive but have a longer product
life cycle. This is why individuals in Eastern Asia deliberate that it will be warrantable to
go for premium brand products and services. People with long-term orientation are also
not tempted to purchase hedonistic goods although their circumstances allow them to do
so. Instead, they wish to spend money on buying pragmatic goods with reasonable prices
in order to reach their lifelong purposes. (Sharma, P. 2011)
Third, children in a country with long-term orientation encounter society entrance
with their family life style. They are obligated to find out why one should be thrifty and why
one should not indulge ones own desires. Most of them are also compelled to be diligent
to chase their ambition and not to be self-conceited anywhere. Those persistence in

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modesty and frugality make their senior age comfortable due to utilitarian endeavor.
(Hofstede, G., & Minkov, M. 2010)

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Literature Review Part B: Study of Dr. Rosalie L. Tung
International Business Negotiations
As Tung emerged from her doctoral studies, she proceeded to study the topic of
cross-cultural business negotiations as well as comparative management (which we will
discuss later). Additionally, she readily applies her deep knowledge of Asian cultural
works to the business world. With her various studies and papers on the subject, Dr. Tung
has contributed significantly to our understanding of East Asian business practices.

Negotiation
In her paper Negotiating with East Asians (1999), Tung demonstrates her drive

to build upon prior research. The paper studies Chinese, Japanese, and Korean styles of
negotiation. Tung also suggests many practical ways to negotiate with these three
cultures from an American point of view. Dr. Tungs thorough and detailed description
makes this a very useful work to study, for anyone planning to do business in East Asia.
Additionally, Tungs work breaks new ground by looking at Korean negotiation techniques.
Previous researchers mostly focused on the Chinese and Japanese, leaving a dearth of
research on this distinctly different East Asian culture.
Starting out with questionnaires from previous US-Asian studies, Tung surveyed
and then interviewed twelve executives who were involved in their companies US-Asian
negotiations.
Notably, American negotiation teams often consisted of one or two people. In
contrast, Asian negotiation teams were often much larger. Korean teams were often
smaller, but overall, Asian businesses tended to collect large groups to negotiate a deal.

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Japanese teams were often quite large, perhaps to gather people from various
levels of the company, or to train younger managers in the field. However, it was also
hypothesized that large teams reflected how seriously the company took the negotiation,
which could make it seem that the small American team was trying to disrespect the
Japanese team. In contrast, Chinese teams generally operated with a leader advised by
several experts in each relevant area of interest. The practice reflected the Chinese
affinity for large power distance as according to Hofstede. Similarly to the Japanese, the
small American team size could be seen as a sign of disrespect. As previously stated,
Korean teams were smaller, but they were structured very hierarchically and were much
attuned to each members status. Additionally, like the Japanese, Korean teams would
reach a group consensus when making each decision.
More generally, Tung (1999) found that all three East Asian teams would gather
as much background information as possible, in an effort to follow Lao Tzus advice to
know your opponent. In fact, the Japanese will often engage in a lot of casual
conversation at the beginning of negotiations, right when Americans are getting impatient
and trying to get down to business. This can lead to friction if the Americans try to cut this
crucial stage short.
Additionally, East Asians will try to build meaningful relationships with the other
parties, which puts Americans at a disadvantage. Since long-term orientation is important
to the Chinese/Japanese/Koreans, often the Asian party will remain the same, while the
American partys members will have changed. This leads to the Asian party having
greater familiarity than the American party, which is a distinct disadvantage on the
American side.

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Culture also impacts how each party makes decisions. As a shorter-term oriented
culture, Americans often take much less time to make a decision on a deal. This confuses
them when Asian teams take weeks to make the same decisions. Japanese negotiators
have to take the time to reach a complete consensus across the entire company. Of
course, this makes them very inflexible when it comes to changes in the plan. In contrast,
Korean teams will often see even a final contract as a flexible document. Chinese teams
also have a similarly long-winded process. They require large time investments for
socialization and dinners, but once a proposal is reached, the Chinese team has to go to
the true decision-maker (sitting at the office). The back-and-forth process takes a long
time to finish. In contrast, Koreans have smaller teams, so it takes them less time to get
to a decision.

Guanxi
Tung also spends time explaining an interesting concept specific to Confucian

cultures known as guanxi. In a previous article (1996), Tung defined guanxi as a

relationship which will advance bilateral flow of future undertakings. Indeed, those
companies with strong and right guanxi networks performed much better than
companies without such relationships. She noted six cultural factors contributing to the
importance of guanxi: 1) Confucian emphasis on relationships, 2) Confucian principle of
repaying favors, 3) East Asian tendency towards long-term orientation, 4) duty of the
strong to benefit the weak, 5) tendency to ignore statutory law in favor of personal law,
6) negative effects of losing face. All of these reasons affect Confucian societies
fundamentally and are hard to uproot. For instance, Tung notes that in China, the Cultural

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Revolutions attempts to assault Confucianism only made people depend even more
heavily upon their personal networks (guanxi).
In her study, Tung noted that prior research only focused on establishing the
existence and nature of guanxi relationships. Thus, her research on the role of guanxi in
business relationships was novel and quite necessary (1996). She accomplished this by
interviewing Chinese executives on the influence of guanxi in their operations.
Interestingly enough, the importance of guanxi is not constant among all companies.
Similar to the importance of networking for college students, guanxi is most important for
smaller, newer companies.
Additionally, exporting companies are more concerned about guanxi than
manufacturing companies. Basically, the less established a company is, the more urgent
it is that the company expand and establish their guanxi network. Relationships are crucial
in the set-up phase of a companys life-cycle.
To bring it back to negotiations, for the Chinese and Koreans, the
guanxi/relationship between two parties is foremost. Guanxi even takes precedence
before a signed paper contract. For them, the contract is merely a symbol of their
relationship. Thus, Korean and Chinese teams readily change and cancel contracts if the
situation changes. In contrast, American and Japanese teams put much more stock into
the finality of a signed contract. In an interesting extension of this concept, Koreans are
most often concerned with emotional kwankye (similar to guanxi) in all matters. Thus,
they will often ask for small boons (e.g. a discount, favors) in order to cement a positive
memory of the opposing team.
Comparative Management

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East Asian Culture

Several seminal classics inform East Asian culture and affect business on a

fundamental level as well. In a 1994 paper, Tung identifies four major works of this nature:
Sun Tzus Art of War, Five Rings, Musashis The Three Kingdoms, and The Thirty-Six
Stratagems.
Art of War: Written about 2,500 years ago in ancient China, Art of War has gone
above and beyond its initial intended audience. It has become a classic in East Asia,
especially for commerce and business purposes. Sun Tzu posits six necessities for a
leader to follow in battle: a higher (moral) purpose, leadership, environmental conditions
(#3 and #4 combined), disciplined troops, and espionage. All of these are of course
fundamental to leading a team at work. Managers must lead their teams for a genuine
purpose and with proper motivation; they also must continually keep track of their
opponents plans and activities. For instance, Samsung jumped at the opportunity when
Apples iPhone 6 debuted among allegations of flimsy construction. By noticing when
social media trends indicated a negative change in opinion about Apple, Samsung was
able to quickly craft an opposing marketing campaign to appeal to their audiences worries.
The advertising campaign for Samsungs Galaxy Note 4 showed video of a machine
designed to simulate a human sitting down on the phone, and the Note 4 survived
hundreds of such stress tests. In the same way, leaders in business and battle must
continually scan the environment and other factors for any weaknesses they can exploit
(whether through espionage, other information techniques, etc).
Five Rings: Similar to Sun Tzu, The Book of Five Rings was written by a Japanese
military man as well. The author, a samurai and devotee of Zen philosophy, noted nine

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principles to follow for success. They are as follows: seeking multiple perspectives,
knowledge, patience, discipline, hiding your true intentions, being flexible, scattering your
enemies to conquer them easily, and scanning the environment.
Three Kingdoms: To sum up this epic account of the power vacuum created by the
fall of the Han dynasty, Three Kingdoms details military strategy, the nature of humanity,
and the importance of kinship in daily life.
Thirty-Six Stratagems: Derived from the I Ching, Stratagems almost seems like a
book of fortune cookie advice focused on military/business strategies.
To put it all together, these fundamental works guide East Asian businesses and thus
must be understood by foreign negotiators. However, one must not drape a generic East
Asian flag across every Asian culture. Tung notes that one major pitfall is to assume that
conclusions about one culture will apply to another culture.

China (80s)
During her brief visits to China in 1979 and 1980, Tung interviewed several

business owners and observed as much as she could about the current state of business
in China. Of course, during that time period, China was still transitioning from its planned
economy to a more open mixed economy. As Lippit notes in his 1983 review, after Maos
death in 1976 and the arrests of the Gang of Four, China instituted selective introduction
of the market and many other reforms. At the time, however, Chinas economy was still
more rigid and planned than now. Today the country differs greatly from the China that
Tung visited.
Upon her return from China, Tung busied herself writing two books: Management
Practices in China (1980) and Chinese Industrial Society After Mao (1982). Although

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Tung could not gain much scientific data, she still managed to glean an anecdotal
understanding of how Chinese manufacturing companies worked.
In Chinese Industrial Society After Mao, Tung provides an overview of the Four
Modernizations - the goal of modernizing industry, agriculture, science and technology,
and national defence by 2000 (Lippit, 1983). Lippit also notes that Tung relies rather
heavily upon Chinas official news source Beijing Review. However, she does gather an
impressive amount of information that should prove useful to the businessperson who
wishes to set up manufacturing operations in China.
In her 1981 Academy of Management paper, Tung expounds on the specific topic
of motivation for workers in China (specifically in industrial businesses). Tung analyzed
workers motivations according to Katz and Kahns 1978 model. This divides the topic into
three categories: rule enforcement, external rewards, and internalized motivation (Tung
1981).

Japan (80s)
From 1984-1986, Tung published three books focused on Japan. Business

Negotiations with the Japanese (1984) and Strategic Management in the United States
and Japan (1986) were both translated into Japanese as well, providing a resource for
both Japanese and American negotiators. An additional book, Key to Japan's Economic
Strength: Human Power (1984) studied the Japanese approach to human resources
management. The book describes in detail how Japanese companies deal with sending
expatriates abroad, the hierarchy of managers in a Japanese company, and various other
topics relevant to one who wishes to learn about Japanese business culture.

Korea (90s)

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In a rather more rigorous process than her study on China, Tung published a 1991
article about negotiations with South Koreans. She interviewed executives in charge of
US-Korean relations in various industries. Interestingly, several executives rated Korea
as the most stressful country to move to, even more so than Japan and China. Tung
examines a few reasons why this could be the case.
According to Tung, the greatest stumbling blocks in most US-Korean negotiations
involve spats over equity and management. Both partners will attempt to gain at least 51
percent ownership in joint ventures. Tung mentions an interviewees hypothesis that
Koreans are especially defensive due to their long history of domination by neighboring
powers (1991).
However, it seems like a weak attempt to ascribe a Korean-specific explanation to
something that all companies aspire to. There is no reason to make an excuse out of thin
air. The greater control that comes with a majority stake (<50%) is something that any
reasonable company would try to gain. When consulting the American firms on this topic,
Tung merely notes that the majority stake gives us the extra clout when it comes to
future plans and business. We can apply the same reasoning to Korean firms. Similarly,
Tung attempts a similar analysis on the topic of staffing higher-level management
positions in US-Korean ventures. Her analysis on these two issues seems to rely a little
heavily on what the managers on each side say, and not the deeper-seated motivations
behind their so-called reasoning.
In contrast, one finds that Tungs discussion of Korean business practices is much
more useful. This is especially true because most literature about East Asian business
focuses on Japan and China.

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In the same 1991 article, Tung notes that Koreans may be a bit faster to make
decisions than Chinese or Japanese teams. However, socializing with the decision
makers can help one avoid any delays or miscommunications with the initial (often more
junior) negotiating team. Additionally, Koreans may act illogically (from a Western
standpoint) and fail to respond to logical reasoning. Unlike the Japanese or Chinese,
Koreans are commonly very emotional and make decisions based on personal
convictions. In the same vein, status symbols titles, company car, personal chauffeur
and others may prove more effective than simply throwing an equivalent amount of money
at Korean employees.
Another frustrating issue is the Korean viewpoint on contracts. As mentioned
previously, US parties regard a signed contract as a final step in negotiations, but Koreans
will often regard a contract as a temporary record that can be changed anytime.
Additionally, this disregard for written agreements also extends to the matter of bribery.
While an American may refuse to offer bribes on principle, in Korea it is expected to oil
the machine with bribes, gifts, parties, and other attractions. In fact, Korean parties will
often cite lack of such entertainment and bribes as the reason why the American party
failed to seal the deal. However, the American executives in turn will note that the Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act (1977) ties their hands and firmly outlaws any tomfoolery of such
kind.
Finally, Tung notes that the importance of relationships in Korea cannot be
overstated. American expatriates are already at a disadvantage here, because they tend
to get come in on short-term assignments. However, such a short period of time is simply
not enough to develop the relationships needed to accomplish anything in Korea. As one

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interviewee put it, subtle, invisible rules govern Korean businesses. Additionally, as a
long-term orientation culture, Koreans regard negotiations like raising a child - a process
that can take years, but when both parties reach a final and pleasing agreement, the
payoff is all worth it.
International Human Resource Management
International HR management extends human resources to the global stage.
However, as Tung noted in her 1998 paper on IHRM, international and merely domestic
HR management are becoming less and less distinct.

Training Multinationals
Tung visited the topic of assigning expatriates in a 1981 paper presented at the

Academy of Management. Along with another article, her work culminated in a book titled
The New Expatriates: Managing Human Resources Abroad (1988).
According to her 2005 retrospective, Tungs work on this topic shifted focus in the
mid-90s. Where she had previously focused on the business-level ramifications of
multinationals, she began to look into how the experience affected the expatriates
themselves. She noted that this was in order to reconcile the gap between international
and intra-national diversity (Tung 2005). Thus, one can note a distinct divide between her
articles on expatriation in the 80s and her articles on the same subject in the 90s.

Expatriation Failures
One of the most important concerns for expatriates is the worry that they will fail to

perform successfully in the countries they are sent to. In a 1987 Academy of Management
Executive paper about expatriation, Tung noted that family situation ranked highest
among reasons for such failure. Although to some extent expatriates worried about being

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left behind in the rat race at home, uprooting their lives could potentially affect their
immediate family most greatly. To relate this to recent pop culture, Lane Pryce (British
expatriate and the business side of the ad agency in Mad Men) often struggles with the
agencys unexpected demands. Sudden requirements often wreak havoc with his family.
For instance, moving would mean uprooting his son at yet another school. It is quite easy
to see that expatriates with families add exponential amounts of complication with each
family member. It is no surprise that this is one of expatriations most intractable issues.
Despite such concerns, Tung stated that the vast majority of expatriates see their
assignments as a fast track to even greater career heights (1998). In contrast, only 4%
of expatriates in a 1987 survey thought their experience would advance their careers.

Female Expatriates
In her 1999 study on female expatriates, Tung also conducted research on how

women fare in the international arena. She collected questionnaires from female
expatriates as well as their supervisors. They covered several measures derived from
Hofstedes work: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism/collectivism and
masculinity/femininity (Caligiuri and Tung, 1999). Additionally, the questionnaires asked
the women 1) how much they wished to leave, 2) how well they felt they adjusted.
Separate questionnaires collected supervisor ratings of the expatriates performances
abroad. Tung found that while female expatriates rated themselves slightly lower than
their male counterparts, this had little to no effect on their actual performance.

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Conclusion
There have been a multitude of cross-cultural researches regarding business
ethics and values based on similarities and differences. It is a very crucial issue to realize
that individuals cannot hold same viewpoints since they have diverse history, culture,
norms, traditions, orientations, etc. This study likewise shed light on multi-national
characteristics, which is essential and significant to global companies facing with
international relationships. Leaders are able to exercise business transactions with
mutual respect as long as they become aware of the background of nations. It incurs them
to concrete more improved decision making environments, and to implement some useful
tactics for the future. (Gift, M., Gift, P., & Zheng, Q. 2013)

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Suggestion
According to Tung (2014), businesses need to make sure their people adopt a
global mind-set, but the problem is that there simply arent enough leaders that
understand this. In her paper, Dr. Tung outlines five steps to combat this issue.
Of course, the first step is to recognize that there even is a problem. Leaders need
to see that they are not thinking globally. Only then can they strive to reach beyond their
comfort zones and expand their viewpoints to include other cultures perspectives as well.
Secondly, they need experiment with new ideas. Dr. Tung cites the hit movie
Crocodile Dundees eponymous protagonist as her model for such a leader. Dundees
charismatic personality hinges on his adventurous, friendly, and adaptable spirit, which
is key to accepting new ideas and philosophies.
Dr. Tungs third point is, characteristically, rooted in the teachings of Lao Tzu. As
a researcher often concerned with East Asian businesspeople, Dr. Tung often references
his teachings in her papers. It is handy to note that Lao Tzu is central to the study of any
East Asian society, due to the deep-rooted hold his writings have on Asian cultures. Thus,
Dr. Tung fittingly outlines the third rule of this brave globalized world in terms of Lao Tzu,
noting that the only constant is change itself.
Fourth (and perhaps most fundamentally), Dr. Tung exhorts leaders to understand
and respect other cultures. Although this might seem quite obvious, she notes that there
is a difference between respect and mere tolerance of a culture.
Additionally, the best way to do so is to expose oneself to the most alien culture
possible. Drawing upon her previous study of Hofstedes famous dimensions and the
GLOBE studies, Dr. Tung notes that though such studies may be flawed, they do reflect

25
reality. Businesses need to accept that all societies are different, and know what the
differences may be. She cites Barack Obamas 100k Strong Foundation as an example
of what American businesses need experiences that will drop their leaders into
culturally distant lands.

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