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Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 32, No. 2, 100-111 (1994)
DOI: 10.1177/103841119403200208

From Kyoto to Kowloon

Cultural Barriers to the Transference of Quality Circles from Japan to Hong Kong

Paul S. Kirkbride

Ashridge Management College, UK

Sara F.Y. Tang

Mass Transit Railway Corporation, Hong Kong

This paper argues that attempts to transfer managerial practices directly from one culture to another are likely to end in failure. The case of the transference of quality circles (QCs) from Japan to the supposedly similar 'Oriental' and 'Confucian' culture of Hong Kong is taken as an illustration of this process. Data on the relative failure of QCs in Hong Kong are presented and direct and indirect cultural explanations offered. The paper concludes with a call for the creation of culturally specific solutions to organizational problems and issues rather than the more usual recourse to transference.


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