ABSTRACT
In past editions of Managing Cultural Differences , doing business in Asia was a single chapter, the same as all the other major world regions. Now, however, we have entered what has been called “The Century of Asia,” 2 as the twentieth century was that of America, and the nineteenth century that of Great Britain. Two Asian economic giants are poised to become the economic superpowers of the twenty-fi rst century. China is poised to pass the United States in economic might by either 2016 or 2020. India is predicted to pass both China and the United States by 2050. In future years, the Asian Development Bank has predicted that Asians will enjoy the same standards of living as will exist in the European Union. 3
We have chosen, therefore, to expand our coverage of Asia into two chapters. This chapter now considers South Asia (India), as well as Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam), and Australia. These are the strongest and most vibrant economies in the areas — the ones most interesting for international trade. Chapter 13 concerns East Asia — China, Japan, and South Korea.
