Managerial work roles in Asia: An empirical study of Mintzberg's role formulation in four Asian countries

In an increasingly competitive global environment, impacted by a myriad of social, economic and technological forces, managerial roles have, over the past two decades, undergone dramatic transformation. Indeed, managers around the world are struggling to redefine their roles and responsibilities against a backdrop of the classic ten roles of managers espoused by Mintzberg in the 1970s, which were based on research in the US context. Yet these traditional roles are still widely taught in universities and training programs, and particularly all over Asia with the spread of Western business education literature. The relevance of the Mintzberg formulation in the Asian context was the aim of this four country study. The study reports the importance and degree of use of the ten Mintzberg managerial roles in the contemporary Asian context. The findings suggest although the roles overlap considerably, they are acted out in a very different manner. Implications for the findings in an international market arena are discussed