Korea
If we take a look at Korea's current situation, we can compare it to what the Cold War was. Korea passed from a civil war to a "technical war" environment where, even though there is no actual war, high tensions still linger reminding koreans the danger of a dormant war.
Basically, the korean war began after the japanese occupation during the Cold War when Russia and the United States were in constant competition to impose their economic and political rules on the rest of the world through actions different from the direct clash of military forces. One of these actions was the use of buffer zones which they used to confront with each other.
Once the koreans were ready to be an independent and unified country, the bipolar forces temporaryly divided the territory to exercise their own influence while the elections took place.
Kim Il Sung was a communist politician and one of the candidates for the korean PM and supported by Russia. The U.S' desires to put off the elections only generated more tensions that ended up on the armed confrontation between the newly communist influenced north Korea (NK) and the highly militarised south Korea (SK) supported by the U.S.
The temporary division became a permanent division that would lead both countries through extremely different paths.
While SK is the 12th economy of the world, NK is one of the poorest and least free countries.
SK has been integrating from 1960 into the high-tech modern world economy achieving incrdible records of growth. Initially, this success was achieved by a system of close government/business ties including directed credit, import restrictions, sponsorship of specific industries, and a strohng labor effort. The government promoted the import of raw materials and technology at the expense of consumer goods and encouraged savings and investment over consumption. And finally all this gave the country a huge leap into what it is right now.
On the complete opposite hand we can see NK in the bottom of the development of social values. Under the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) headed by Kim Il Sung, NK adopted a policy of "self-reliance" to avoid under all circumstances outside influence; The DPRK demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda, and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. Currently, and after decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the DPRK since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population. But definately, the biggest concern all around the world are their constant provocations with the proliferation of long-range missiles and nuclear weaponry.
The Korean Management Model
It is basically a blend of western and eastern management practices with a high influence of what the Confusionism has to offer: self-motivation, self-control, loyalty, responsibility, a harmonious society and respect for the ancestors and the elders.
The Chaebols
Formation of family-owned companies that are more like economic groups that invested in different sectors of the korean economy, turning into big growth engines. They created very strong bonds with the government becoming state-business coordination companies. And to give an idea of what Chaebols are, these are four of the most representative ones:
- Samsung
- Hyundai
- Lucky Goldstar (LG)
- Daewoo
The main features seen in the Chabols' management are:
- Authority and Paternalistic Leadership
- Flexible Lifetime Employment and ‘All-Round Person’ Management Training
References:
- Class notes: "Estudios de Area: Asia"
- Class Presentation
- The CIA World Factbook: Korea, South; Korea, North.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario