ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the role of religion, religiosity, and ethics in managing employees in East Asian countries. Ethical behaviors are influenced by a number of factors ranging from individual attributes to organizational and social factors. There are many religions and philosophies that have induced differing levels of religiosity amongst the various nations and societies of East Asia but the most influential ones are Confucianism and Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. The chapter discusses how the key common virtues of religiosity and spirituality might have contributed to the contemporary characteristics of human resource management (HRM) in Asian countries. Human resource development in Asian countries is inspired by a tradition of learning and self-development. Asian employee relations are influenced by the state in power rather than by religion or philosophy because the state is the largest employer, the regulator, the policy-maker, and the decision-maker.
