ABSTRACT
South Asia, which we will compare with East Asia (and Southeast Asia in passing) in this chapter in terms of its management and culture, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises an emerging economic giant, India, Maldives with the highest GDP per capita in the region and a number of pre-emerging economies including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (The World Bank, 2011). With a population exceeding 1.6 billion, South Asia is home to approximately one fourth of the world’s population, making it one of the most densely populated regions in the world (The World Bank, 2011). It is also one of the most diverse regions in terms of the multiplicity of its languages and its rich culture (Ahmed et al., 2010). Collectively, the South Asian region has a growth rate of 8.9 per cent, thereby it is also considered to be one of the fastest growing regions in the world. Unfortunately, it is also home to 50 per cent of the world’s poorest (The World Bank, 2011). Economic development in the region remains sporadic and uneven, and overall human development is a low national priority (Ghani, 2011). Hence, South Asian countries display stark contrasts; dark slums in the shadows of palatial buildings, highly qualified talent with illiterates and jobless and world-class nimble organisations with an inefficient, bureaucratic public sector. By comparison, East Asia has witnessed systemic economic growth, which is attributed to consistent investment in human development (Tilak, 2002). East Asian growth has fascinated many in the West (Dunning, 1993; Hill, 2007; Singh, 1998) and has been used to draw lessons for leadership, strategy and organisations for many businesses in the West (Chen and Miller, 2011).
