By Azhari Karim                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
ONE of the concerns of Malaysian management today is to define                                                                                        
the ideals for managers. Against these ideals we can then                                                                                             
measure how successful our managers have been in managing the                                                                                         
changes they face in their enterprises.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
These ideals, however, can only be understood if we put them                                                                                          
in the context of the development of man in the whole                                                                                                 
management process that has evolved through the ages.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
It has been observed that man has been trying to pit himself                                                                                          
against all living and nonliving things, machines included.                                                                                           
This is to say that man should always place himself above all                                                                                         
created things since it has always been believed that man is                                                                                          
the noblest of all God's creations.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
There is thus a natural progression in the way that man has                                                                                           
managed himself on Earth. In the days of early man, we learned                                                                                        
to survive by our wits and strength.  We foraged for food and                                                                                         
fought for our space.                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
The Stone Age gave way to the Iron Age and man was able to add                                                                                        
simple technology to assist him in life. Religion, culture and                                                                                        
leisure followed to give man meaning to his life.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
The earliest concept of the "management man" could be defined                                                                               
in terms of how much of his mind and body was used to help him                                                                                        
survive.  To the Greeks and the man's triumphs against all                                                                                            
odds were ses became the ancient archetypes for man until the                                                                                         
flowering of Renaissance and English tenment thinking brought                                                                                         
man face to face with machines.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
From the status of the Noble Savage as defined by Rousseau,                                                                                           
man acquired the graces of the Renaissance Man as created by                                                                                          
Diderot. We were then catapulted through the centuries as a                                                                                           
result of the ensuing Industrial Age to become the Economic                                                                                           
Man.                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
For once we were given the right of free choice. Our superior                                                                                         
intellect gave us the extra abilities to control nature and                                                                                           
the world with the machines that we were able to fashion.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Management Man became a factor of the production process.                                                                                             
This growth later contributed to a golden age of scientific                                                                                           
discoveries, global commerce and industrialisation. Man's                                                                                             
mastery of the universe enabled us to overcome the mysteries                                                                                          
of physics and pushed us to land a man on the moon.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
The philosophies of the Economic Man carried civilisation to                                                                                          
all parts of the world. Colonies and empires grew. The                                                                                                
management of relations between countries became like a chess                                                                                         
game with zero sum outcomes.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Ideologies divided the world between the West and the East and                                                                                        
between the haves and the have-nots. As a consequence,                                                                                                
Economic Man became exploitative and, moved by greed and envy,                                                                                        
turned the world into theatres of conflicts which resulted in                                                                                         
suffering and destruction. What man made they could easily                                                                                            
destroy.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
When good sense prevailed, the interest of management then was                                                                                        
to improve man's lot. The age of the Economic Man came to pass                                                                                        
and it was substituted by the age of the Organisation Man.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Known also as the Corporate Man, the essential traits of this                                                                                         
character are the ability to organise the factors of                                                                                                  
production to better serve the new business organisations. Big                                                                                        
business became the craze of the day.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Among its symbol was the man in the grey-flannel suit and                                                                                             
pin-striped trousers. It was fashionable to be seen also with                                                                                         
an umbrella and even a copy of The Times under the arm.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Across the Atlantic, the business club seemed to decide the                                                                                           
style of life for these people.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
A whole new lifestyle was observed by the Corporate Man.  They                                                                                        
have been called Yuppies and Urbanites by others. Their                                                                                               
influence was worldwide.  With the mush-rooming of                                                                                                    
multinationals, the Organisation Man became dominant in most                                                                                          
countries, including Malaysia, for some time.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
There was one distinct difference, though. Whenever Malaysians                                                                                        
took on senior posi tions in these companies, their modes of                                                                                          
behaviour were very much like the people they replaced.  They                                                                                         
began to ape the lifestyles of the expatriates.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
Gradually, the Organisation Man in Malaysia came into his own.                                                                                        
As the economy flourished and business began to grow, more and                                                                                        
more of them started to become conscious of their roots.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
They began to imbibe the teachings of the classics from China                                                                                         
and Japan. Sun Tzu and the ways of Zen were seriously studied                                                                                         
for inspiration and guidance in their business dealings. The                                                                                          
management theories of the West were tempered with the softer                                                                                         
readings from the Eastern examples of business success.  The                                                                                          
Japannese and the Korean models became the new standard of                                                                                            
efficiency and achievement.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
There was a conscious effort to go on their own in many                                                                                               
things.  Their work culture and lifestyles hardly resemble                                                                                            
those of the Organisation or Corporate Man that we find in the                                                                                        
West.                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
The Asian version of the Organisation Man is not the                                                                                                  
stereotype that we know of. He is more interested in the                                                                                              
success of the companies that he is working with.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
As observed by Hamzah Sendut, John Madsen and Gregory Thong in                                                                                        
their book, Managing In A Plural Society (published by MIM),                                                                                          
culture became the basis of the behaviour patterns among                                                                                              
managers in the region.                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
NEW MANAGERIAL TYPE EVOLVING                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
The elements that decide their distinctiveness are those of                                                                                           
religion and moral values, a strong sense of cultural identity                                                                                        
and community, a strong group spirit that drives all                                                                                                  
collective decisions, and the common desire to maintain                                                                                               
harmony within the group.                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Among the Malays, it was noticed that there was a growing                                                                                             
feeling to relate their business practices to the universal                                                                                           
Islamic ideals as contained in the Quran and the Hadith. This                                                                                         
coin cided with the Governments moves to instil islamic values                                                                                        
in the public and private sectors.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
Most Islamic precepts of doing business have been introduced                                                                                          
in the country as an alter native to the -Western forms which                                                                                         
sometimes have been thought to be at variance with the tenets                                                                                         
of Islam and other universal principles. Slowly and surely,                                                                                           
there is a conscious effort to evolve a new archetype of                                                                                              
Management Man.                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
The Universe Man was thus created out of the heed to be more                                                                                          
relevant to the times. The main characteristic is the ability                                                                                         
to lead the change to a better future as envisioned in vision                                                                                         
2020.                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
The environment is defined as follows:                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
* Competition on a global scale.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
* Demand for better products and services.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
* Continuous drive for efficiency and effectiveness.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
* Enhanced leadership focus on visibility and communication,                                                                                          
sense of mission, quality and the needs of customers.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
In management terms, the age of the Universal Man will see a                                                                                          
greater movement of managers and executives across traditional                                                                                        
borders. Business will flourish away from one's-national                                                                                              
boundaries where these managers must become adept at managing                                                                                         
the changes to be found in these distant countries.  For the                                                                                          
Malaysian managers, we would have to strengthen our mental and                                                                                        
spiritual faculties.                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
One crucial test for the Universal Man will be the changes                                                                                            
brought about by globalisation. The technological dynamism                                                                                            
that will emerge from the process will demand the correct                                                                                             
strategy among our managers. Among the new skills would be                                                                                            
that of managing the new technology and IT competency. On top                                                                                         
of this is a requirement for networking in research and                                                                                               
development.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
The challenge for the Malaysian manager in the coming years is                                                                                        
how he will measure up to the ideals of the Universal Man. The                                                                                        
other archetypes are no longer applicable to him in these                                                                                             
changing times. Of significance to him is participation in the                                                                                        
process to transform himself to the changing needs of business                                                                                        
and its environment.                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
At the same time, business interests must converge with those                                                                                         
of the Government's, otherwise our nation may face                                                                                                    
difficulties in our quest for developed nation status by the                                                                                          
year 2020. At best, our success will become a novel                                                                                                   
contribution to the theory of management in the 2Ist century.