THE debate to evolve a Malaysian management identity has                                                                                              
begun. In his speech at a gathering of entrepreneurs last                                                                                             
month, Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Mustapha                                                                                               
Mohamed urged those present to cultivate a Malaysian                                                                                                  
management culture. The need for our own management style has                                                                                         
been created, according to the minister, by the country's                                                                                             
growing role in the global economy. It was also thought that a                                                                                        
distinct Malaysian style which he said could be drawn from the                                                                                        
various sources Western Japanese and taking the best from                                                                                             
Islamic values could hold the key to the country continued                                                                                            
success.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
To contribute to this on going debate in a positive way, the                                                                                          
Malaysian Institute of Management has started bringing people                                                                                         
together to talk about it. Further efforts will be carried out                                                                                        
in a proposed colloquium to be held in early November where                                                                                           
the best management minds in the country will deliberate on                                                                                           
the topic. It is expected that the colloquium will pave the                                                                                           
way for evolving a Malaysian management ethos. In general,                                                                                            
however, giving shape to this set of beliefs in Malaysian                                                                                             
management will involve making initial decisions on such                                                                                              
questions as which part of the management spectrum are we                                                                                             
looking at, what will form the bases of this core of beliefs,                                                                                         
and since Malaysia is a multi cultural multi ethnic and multi                                                                                         
religions country, which of the three main cultures are we                                                                                            
talking about when we refer to a Malaysian style of                                                                                                   
management. Will there be a need to find a common denominator                                                                                         
first in the various strands of management styles prevalent in                                                                                        
the country? What follows is an attempt to clarify some of the                                                                                        
issues raised.                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Management as we understand it, has gone full circle.  In the                                                                                         
early days, it used to be concerned with the organisation of                                                                                          
huge numbers of People to do certain things.  The results                                                                                             
could be seen in the Seven Wonders of the World which could                                                                                           
not have been built without proper and efficient handling of                                                                                          
the people engaged in the projects. But things changed during                                                                                         
the war years. The need to rush supplies to the fronts                                                                                                
prompted people to think of mass production. Instead of                                                                                               
people, the product became the most important consideration.                                                                                          
Ingenious ways were found to transport these large quantities                                                                                         
of weapons and armaments across land borders and seas.                                                                                                
Product management grew in importance as a result. People                                                                                             
began to get used to seeing more of the same things. The                                                                                              
Germans brought out the Beetle and Ford invented the assembly                                                                                         
line. The Americans finally came out with the ultimate                                                                                                
product, the bomb, to try and end the war in their favor. When                                                                                        
peace prevailed, the human mind became more relaxed and                                                                                               
started to look at the processes of managing their lives.                                                                                             
Thinking about the processes became the rage in management                                                                                            
theorising then. It was popularised by the Japanese.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
WE are familiar, for example, just in time and zero Japanese                                                                                          
started a revolution in major processes in the line and                                                                                               
reorganised management to suit the new mands Present versions                                                                                         
of this concern for processes are to be found in such                                                                                                 
movements for restructuring re invention and re engineering.                                                                                          
Today, howev er, we are once again concerned with people hist                                                                                         
like OUFi forefathers. We are looking at ways to motivate                                                                                             
people, get them to work as teams and obtain a partnership                                                                                            
commitment from them. Partly, the shift has occurred because                                                                                          
of the changing paradigms in managing the world of work today.                                                                                        
The basic assumptions of the workforce, the workplace and work                                                                                        
relationships have to be redefined. The thinking was provided                                                                                         
by Stephen Covey, for instance. He would like us to strip away                                                                                        
the Isyers of conditioning that we have aLlowed ourselves to                                                                                          
endure all these years.                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
He feels we could be free to choose and apply our human                                                                                               
endowments of self awareness, imagination, conscience and                                                                                             
independent will in all our undertakings. Therefore, under the                                                                                        
emerging paradigms, the inner experiences of individuals                                                                                              
including intuition, emotions, creativity and spirit are                                                                                              
certainly n ore important.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
The people factor will become more significant for Malaysians                                                                                         
as we move into the 21st century and start to steer ourselves                                                                                         
towards achieving Vision 2020. A new relevance must be found                                                                                          
for getting people to be trained with the skills needed for                                                                                           
the coming century.  With an eye on defining the Malaysian                                                                                            
managemerit identity, we could consider the people factor as a                                                                                        
starting point. Because of the multi racial and multi cultural                                                                                        
background of our people Malaysians will find it much the new                                                                                         
demands of the chance . We are also sensitive and aware of the                                                                                        
problems and difficulties king in a multicultural setting.  As                                                                                        
a result we are of course ready to take on the challenges of                                                                                          
the globalisation of our economy.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
Owing to this special quality that we Malaysians have, we are                                                                                         
much sought after to manage the multinational companies in the                                                                                        
region. We must therefore use this strength and make it the                                                                                           
hallmark of our management style. Another aspect of our                                                                                               
strength that could pass as one other characteristic of the                                                                                           
management identity that is essentially recognisable as being                                                                                         
truly Malaysian is the ability to take on work on the basis of                                                                                        
teams. We are familiar with the national habit of gotong                                                                                              
royong. Malaysians would not hesitate to do their bit for                                                                                             
society given the right atmosphere. Witness the celebrations                                                                                          
that were organised for every special occasion. The art of                                                                                            
berkampong, berkhatan, berkorban is practised even in the                                                                                             
urban areas.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Team work is, therefore, nothing new to Malaysians. It is one                                                                                         
of the important elements of the Malaysian management                                                                                                 
identity. We could also try to place the practice of reaching                                                                                         
decisions by consensus as a further element in our style of                                                                                           
management. This is being used widely at all levels of the                                                                                            
leadership.  In many ways it represents the practice which is                                                                                         
commonly found in our neighbouring countries like Indonesia                                                                                           
and Thailand. It is known also as mushawarah and muafakat.                                                                                            
This art of decision making is as old as our civilisation                                                                                             
having been applied even during the of the Sultanate of                                                                                               
Malacca. It is now a powerful tool in the decision making                                                                                             
process of Asean. Every single step is decided based on this                                                                                          
principle of consensus. Asean has proven that it is a secret                                                                                          
of the success of the organisation all these years.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
There are other areas that need to be considered when we wish                                                                                         
to define the Malaysian management identity. If we place our                                                                                          
Malaysian cultural tradition within the context of the larger                                                                                         
Asian cultural traditions, we will come across such things as                                                                                         
family values kinship, the role of the father and tie fear of                                                                                         
losing face which could be included into this definition of                                                                                           
the identity. This short expose of some of the areas that will                                                                                        
concern people when they talk about the Malaysian management                                                                                          
identity, will further contribute towards making the task                                                                                             
easier for those attempting to define it.