Rethinking East and West management cultures: A perspective based on Bakhtin

Abstract

The objective of this article is to review the impact of cross-cultural models on the way HR personnel are made to think about local cultures of the host nation. It argues for a detour away from using cross-cultural comparisons as a basis for informing HR policies. This is in an attempt to problematise cross-national comparisons by showcasing that cross-cultural comparisons are predicated on assumptions of instrumental rationality and the cultural homogeneity of the self with social others.