Scott A. Hipsher. Business Practices in Southeast Asia: An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Theravada Buddhist Countries. London: Routledge, 2010, 207p. Juliane Schober. Modern Buddhist Conjunctures in Myanmar: Cultural Narratives, Colonial Legacies, and Civil Society. Honolulu: University of Hawai`i Press, 2011, 248p.

Abstract

Business Practices in Southeast Asia: An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Theravada Buddhist Countries Scott A. Hipsher London: Routledge, 2010, 207p.Modern Buddhist Conjunctures in Myanmar: Cultural Narratives, Colonial Legacies, and Civil Society Juliane Schober Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2011, 248p.An image come to mind when talking about Theravada Buddhist countries of Southeast Asia: devout monks who dwell in the remote wilderness or forest dwellings and care no more about the secular world. Business Practices in Southeast Asia by Scott A. Hipsher and Modern Buddhist Conjunctures in Myanmar by Juliane Schober succeed in re-examining something we think we know about the Theravada Buddhist countries of Southeast Asia (i.e., Cambodia. Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand), and providing readers with a better understanding of the four countries in which Theravada Buddhism has significant economic and political power.Business Practices in Southeast Asia explores the cultural features that are influenced by Theravada Buddhism in entrepreneurial behavior and business practice in these four countries. This book has 12 chapters. Chapters 1-2 overview Theravada Buddhists and the impact of Theravada Buddhism in the four countries. In Hipsher's words, Theravada Buddhism does bind the nations together in a way that makes this a distinctly recognizable region (Hipsher, p. 16). Chapters 3-6 successively examine the extent to which companies in the four countries are influenced by Theravada Buddhism. Chapters 7-10 explore features of companies in Theravada Buddhist countries of Southeast Asia, such as business strategies, tactical management, marketing, finance, labor relations, and so on. In the final two chapters, Hipsher stresses the interconnections that exist between secular politics and Theravada Buddhism, and then predicts future trends. In the words of Hipsher, companies in the four countries of Theravada Buddhism will continue to be influenced by Theravada Buddhist values, while increasingly use globally available technology (Hipsher, p. 179).The most significant contribution of this book is that it reveals five distinctive features in the Southeast Asian Theravada Buddhist societies: (1) they are hierarchical, but paternalistic; (2) flexible; (3) possess a low level of control; (4) practice moderation and pragmatism (taking the path); and (5) focus on the individual (Hipsher, p. 30).In the view of Hipsher, in contrast with impersonal strategic in the West (e.g., human resource and labor relations), many companies in the Theravada Buddhist countries of Southeast Asia are family owned; in other words, is no separation between ownership and management (Hipsher, p. 48). Hipsher concludes that these local companies are more personalized, relationship-oriented, and less bureaucratic, in contrast with those in the West. However, with non-core operational business practices (e.g., accounting, billing, and shipping), there is a higher level of convergence with international practices.Theravada Buddhists believe that souls transmigrate and kamma gained in precious determines the social order in the present. Therefore, Theravada Buddhists generally accept the legitimacy of rulers and employers, because they assumed the individuals earned a significant amount of kamma in previous lives (Hipsher, p. 151). So it's not surprising that companies in these societies are characterized by patron-client relations and values that follow a middle path.Patron-client relations are common throughout Theravada Buddhist countries of Southeast Asia. Within these relations, employees believing in kamma readily accept differences in power and wealth (Hipsher, p. 125). At the same time, the patron (employer) does provide both tangible and intangible benefits to one's clients in order to retain their respect and loyalty (Hipsher, p. 120), such as preferring personal relations in hiring and training employees. …