Transferring Management Practices

Abstract

Transferring ‘good practices’ and management ‘tools’ is a recurring challenge for companies working internationally, particularly in emerging and developing countries. As regards management tools, distinguishing what is part of universal rationality from what should be adapted to the local universe of meaning is particularly tricky. This chapter discusses two cases of Total Quality implementations which highlight the key influence of cultural contexts. In the first case, a Japanese company failed in transferring their methods in the United States, in the second one, a French multinational company succeeded in transforming the Moroccan subsidiary’s management. Drawing lessons from both examples, the third part provides some clues to significantly improve management practice transfers. While companies are concerned with ‘knowledge management’, they lack an operational method for dealing with cultures. However, scrutinizing successful local practices will reveal the characteristics of the local culture and provide replicable solutions.