This paper argues that attempts to transfer managerial practices directly from
one culture to another are likely to end in failure. The case of the transference
of quality circles (QCs) from Japan to the supposedly similar 'Oriental' and
'Confucian' culture of Hong Kong is taken as an illustration of this process.
Data on the relative failure of QCs in Hong Kong are presented and direct
and indirect cultural explanations offered. The paper concludes with a call
for the creation of culturally specific solutions to organizational problems and
issues rather than the more usual recourse to transference.
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