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Western management philosophy and thought have been around for millennia; however, the supremacy of its concepts and writings has become a subject of criticisms in Africa. There is a huge gap in African management education which calls for redesigning of management curriculum to affirm African social orientation and self-determination that will enable new forms of learning and knowledge required to tackle complex global challenges. The objective of this chapter is to review Western management thought and practice vis-à-vis the existing management philosophy in Africa prior to her colonisation and advocate the need to redesign management curricula. To accomplish the aforementioned objective, this chapter took a historical, reflective and systematic approach of literature review to advance renewal of management curricula in Africa. The analysis began with a review of pre-colonial management philosophy and thought in Africa, followed by a discussion of how colonialism obstructed and promoted the universality of management. This was followed by a review of African traditional society and indigenous management philosophies. The chapter discussed topics that should feature in an African-oriented management curriculum and highlighted fundamental constructs that can be fused into management curriculum of business schools/teaching in Africa. The chapter also made a case for a flexible management curriculum structure that is broader than the conventional transmission-of-knowledge building which views students as passive learners’ by adopting suitable pedagogical tools that will be relevant for knowledge transmission and assessment and also enhance learning and management practices that is culturally fit and relevant to global practice.

In the face of external paradoxical requirements, the cognitive framework of managers and employees use to perceive, interpret and reconstruct information is important to ease anxiety and improve job performance. The Yin-Yang balancing of eastern philosophical thought is particularly good at explaining and predicting changes and conflict environments. For this reason, this study aims to propose the eastern construction of the paradoxical cognitive framework based on the Yin-Yang balancing theory and its antecedent framework.

This paper contrasts the similarity and differences between Chinese and Western philosophy’s thoughts on paradoxes. On this basis, the eastern construction of the paradoxical cognitive framework is proposed. Then, the paper puts forward the antecedent framework of managers’ cognitive framework and employees’ paradoxical cognitive framework.

This paper proposes the eastern construction of the paradoxical cognitive framework includes the following three dimensions: the unity-in-diversity of paradoxical elements, the asymmetric balance of paradoxical elements and mutual transformation of paradoxical elements. In addition, this paper proposes an antecedent framework of the eastern construction of the paradoxical cognitive framework – the paradoxical requirement of organizational environment exerts a direct impact on managers’ and employees’ paradoxical cognitive framework; managers’ paradoxical cognitive framework has a positive impact on paradoxical leadership; paradoxical leadership exerts an indirect impact on employees’ paradoxical cognitive framework through the collective paradoxical cognitive framework; paradoxical leadership directly affects employees’ paradoxical cognitive framework.

This paper focuses on comparing the similarities and differences of the individual paradoxical cognitive framework in Chinese and Western cultures and proposes the eastern construction of the paradoxical cognitive framework and its antecedent framework. Future research needs to further verify the theoretical framework proposed in this paper.

This paper makes a detailed comparison of the paradox views in Chinese and Western philosophy. It is the first to propose the eastern construction of the paradoxical cognitive framework and its antecedent framework, laying a theoretical foundation for future empirical research.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of the “Kyocera approach” to business, i.e. the relationship between the Kyocera philosophy, the amoeba management system (AMS) and the associated management accounting system.

Utilising a variety of secondary sources, including semi-autobiographical works written by Inamori, the architect of AMS, the authors examine in detail the links between the underlying Kyocera philosophy and the management and accounting principles derived therefrom. These sources are used to examine the historical origins of these principles, their influence on both the AMS and the management accounting system, and how these have developed over time.

Both the AMS and the associated management accounting system can be shown to contain a mixture of influences, including traditional Asian/Japanese factors, but also Inamori/Kyocera-specific factors linked to Inamori's underlying philosophical approach to life and specific life experiences encountered by him. This suggests that while the Kyocera approach may be applicable more widely in Japan or Asia, outside of this context, the conflicts between Western and Asian cultures, although not necessarily insurmountable, may provide barriers leading to incomplete applications of the Kyocera approach

This study adds to the understanding of the interrelationship between management philosophy and management accounting practices, and the ability of individuals to determine culture within organisations. It illustrates the importance of historical research in obtaining a detailed understanding of the philosophical, cultural and religious underpinnings of current management and accounting practices.

The role of managers is crucial to achieve holistic organizational goals to benefit the key stakeholders. However, a Western perspective is dominant as management literature where the work of Anglo-Arab philosophers is largely ignored. This paper aims to fill this knowledge gap and promulgate the writings of Ibn Khaldun (a fourteenth-century Muslim philosopher) to advance management knowledge.

This paper is primarily based on the review of Ibn Khaldun’s book Muqaddimah.

This study provides valuable insights to the leaders as well as management practitioners by offering some useful directions to the management researchers for further research. The analysis revealed five themes: Fikr (mindfulness), Ta’awun (cooperation), Ta’akhi (brotherhood), ethical leadership and Adal (justice).

This paper is an original contribution to the extant literature available on organization development and scant literature available on imparting employee welfare agenda in contemporary organization from the perspective of a Muslim philosopher Ibn Khaldun.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the historical trajectory of African management research and managerial thinking.

This paper draws from a review and synthesis of the literature from 1960

2012.

The analysis led to the identification of three distinct phases which reflect the difficult and uncertain beginning of a promising future. The historical pathway model also accounts for the evolution of management philosophies and thoughts and the current state of knowledge.

Although there is a burgeoning stream of African management research, a lack of comprehensive review and synthesis has obscured the enormous strides made. This paper advances a “novel” approach towards theory application and theory creation, building on the “convergence hypothesis” and “divergence hypothesis”. This analysis yielded a number of promising avenues for future research.

Among the major problems identified by Organisational Behaviour Scientists in Africa today are those of a highly organised formal and a highly centralised management of organisation crushing the Organisation‐Man under the dead weight of uniformity. Formal organisations have become large and complex and highly organised, and the basis of their organisation is production efficiency. In this system, an Organisation‐Man is essentially looked upon as a producer and, because the formal organisation in which he is carrying on his role is so vast and complicated, personal relations seem to have lost all meanings. Formal organisation is relatively affluent. The output of goods is enormous, but entrepreneurs, and sometimes management continues to exploit the situation in their own interest, and the Organisation‐Man is engaged all the time in nothing but the exacting task of trying to, or worrying in order to, improve his economic status. The Organisation‐Man has to remain so busy in the pursuit of his vocation that he hardly gets time to look within himself and think of the quality of his life pattern. Meeting each other in factory or workshop or a crowd, commuting or agitating, he finds himself more and more isolated and alienated from the formal organisation.

The purpose of this paper is to bridge the knowledge gap in designing MBA strategy between China and the West by examining the content, context and process of MBA delivery. This paper challenges the assumptions and pedagogical approach underpinning the current design and delivery of MBA programmes that were originally moulded with Western management history and development in the era of globalization. There is consensus that MBA was used to train business managers; however, nowadays, people are inclined to state that MBA is used to develop global business leaders or full-fledged global competitors. How can we develop global business leaders without a global vision when designing MBA strategy?

Based on extensive literature review and critical analyses through the strategic management approach, this paper examines the status quo of current MBA programmes in the West and in China. This paper presents a conceptual framework that draws on the current MBA literature and on-going debates around management education and development in the West and in China.

The designing strategy of MBA has been originally strongly influenced by Western ideology and ethos. Therefore, the difficulties of management knowledge transfer are often explained through culture acclimatization and emphasize has been on cultural divergence rather than convergence. With synthesis between Western and Eastern management identified, we argue that the appropriateness and effectiveness of the traditional philosophy of MBA designing strategy based on Western management history has been challenged in the 21st century. The perception has fuelled criticism of business schools in the post-recession. They have come under fire for allegedly failing in their obligations to educate socially responsible business leaders (Barker, 2010). This leads to rethinking of the philosophy and vision underpinning the MBA designing strategy. A new philosophical approach – integration of Western management with Eastern philosophy has been under scrutiny, which is necessary in business education to enable future business leaders to become full-fledged competitors in the global market.

The output of this discussion helps to establish a conceptual framework which will provide strategic insight in enabling business/management school and MBA providers to address the current deficiency in MBA teaching and learning strategy and develop more appropriate arrangement when considering the design and development of a successful MBA programme in the 21st century.

As the wine industry globally is pushed towards a marketing orientation, what does this mean for companies and their managers and owners? Distinction should be made between market orientation and marketing orientation. Market orientation places the customer at the top of the organisational chart, yet in the wine industry the customer can be very fickle. As such it does not encapsulate the marketing concept of the matching process – it is not a marketing orientation. The true marketing orientation has evolved from a realisation of the inadequacies of production and sales orientation. Marketing orientation should give equal weight to customer demands and to company requirements. It must choose its markets and manage its own productive capabilities in order to achieve its goals in pursuit of a strategic policy. In the wine industry in particular, it is imperative for management that customer and company needs and wants should be correctly balanced.

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the characteristics and evolution path of entrepreneurial university in China, through a case study of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) which has the reputation of “Chinese miniature of higher education” and in which entrepreneurial practice displays “Chinese characteristics”.

The paper has originated from the ongoing thinking after completion of the author's Doctoral thesis. So, a large number of materials collected during the dissertation research will be used in this case, much of which are first‐hand, from investigations, site visits and interviews. As in the Doctoral thesis, a case study approach is also adopted in this paper.

Through the inspection of HUST, it has been found that its entrepreneurial practice is in full compliance with the criteria of the entrepreneurial university. To some extent, the theory of entrepreneurial university is being revised by the practice of HUST. However, there are some “Chinese characteristics” which should be given special attention, such as university‐run enterprises, government‐pulled triple helix, the tradition of government‐run universities and so on.

The paper will help the policy makers clarify the development situation of entrepreneurial university in China, which involves choosing the transformation paths and future directions, and to achieve a good way of building entrepreneurial university in accordance with China's national conditions. At the same time, it will promote international understanding of the entrepreneurial university in China.

The purpose of this paper is exploratory. The author seeks to put forward propositions on how firms may best conceive business risks in an environment characterised by constant change and uncertainty. To construct such a reality, the author examines how the military manages its engagement with strategic risk and uncertainty.

The paper presents a summated examination of literature published over the last four decades covering three major areas of management literature; risk management, competitive strategy and military tactics are conducted.

The propositions which are put forward provide the foundation for the empirical development of an appropriate framework for strategic risk management.

The major contribution of the study is that it has focused readers on not only strategic risk and competition, but on how lessons can be drawn from the military's experience of dealing with irregular forms of competition.