West Meets East: A Literature Review of Oriental Management Research

Abstract

The emergence of the Western Scientific Management theory brings new possibilities and opportunities for enterprise, it plays a very important role in improving management level and operating efficiency. Since Western Management” is deeply popular and impressive over the world, the concept of Oriental Management” has been criticized and questioned since it was put forward. Based on this issue, this paper aims to systematically combs the history of the Oriental Management theory and conducts in-depth analysis, concept, theory boundary, research method and cultural origin are elaborated to demonstrate the legitimacy and necessity of the Oriental Management theory.Origin, Boundary and MethodologyIn early 1970s, the wisdom and experiences of eastern management have been widely explored and appreciated by scholars at home and abroad. The rise of the concept of Oriental Management” means that the research about eastern management practice and ideas began to enter a new stage of school development and system construction. Based on the previous literature, this paper believes that Oriental Management is rooted in the eastern culture and essence of eastern management ideas and refined to form a set of theoretical system. The research boundary of Oriental Management should be an area based on oriental culture and wisdom that can explain management issues and provide effective suggestions for management practices. From the perspective of methodology, the research methods of Oriental Management have developed from humanism to scientific positivism, and both qualitative research and empirical research are used, showing the feature of scientificity and diversity.Culture and Oriental ManagementThrough the in-depth analysis of cultural differences, it is found that the eastern management ideas which come from eastern culture and philosophy, attaches great importance to ethics and morality, emphasizes balance and unity, and presents the characteristics of integrity and harmony which are obviously different from Western Management.The quintessence of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Mohism and military thought of Sun Tzu in ancient China deeply influenced the values and behavior mode of eastern society, provided good reference for theory and practice of Oriental Management. At the same time, it is showed that the ideas of Oriental Management conform to the rule and tendency of modern enterprise development. The Oriental Management theory has distinguished itself from the Western in timeness and practicality. Therefore, the legitimacy of Oriental Management is reasonable and incontrovertible.Future DirectionsSince 1970s, Oriental Management researchers have made some achievements in theory construction, discipline development and talent cultivation. However, Oriental Management research is still in the initial stage, the theoretical system has not been completely constructed, and there is little important breakthrough in paradigm and methodology. All the above shortages make Oriental Management have a weak impact on the international core management theory. Therefore, this paper suggests that future research in the Oriental Management field should be based on the eastern social and cultural situation, the similarities and differences between Oriental and Western Management theories should be analyzed, the theory and practice rules under the eastern culture should be explored, and an integrated theoretical system should be constructed.