Summary

The success of western business in the Asia Pacific region depends to a large degree on the capacity of western firms to learn new approaches to doing business in the region and to adopt new styles of management practice, business operations, and strategy. Business in Asia Pacific seeks to address this need by providing a useful insight into the international business opportunities and a guide to strategic management, decision-making, and business operations in the region in the wake of the economic crisis of 1997. El Kahal brings together an account of the Asia Pacific business environment with an analysis of management styles and decision-making techniques. The book begins with an analysis of the Asian economic miracle and of the crisis of the late 1990s, including a country by country review of all the region's major economies in the aftermath of the crisis. Part II then goes on to investigate the socio-cultural bases of the Asia Pacific management environment, focusing in particular on the cases of Japan, South Korea, and China. This is followed by an analysis of post-crisis strategies for companies doing business in Asia Pacific and of the most effective ways of establishing markets in the region. The book concludes with an entire section of detailed case studies illustrating the experiences of a number of major multinationals in doing business in the region, including Daewoo, Wal-Mart, Nike, Land Rover, and Samsung. Using a variety of learning aids, including case materials, end of chapter review questions, and group project materials, Business in Asia Pacific helps the student to take a more active approach to studying this popular and important topic and as such will be invaluable reading for all students of business and management with an interest in this fast-growing region of the world economy.