Managerial problems in Korea ‐ Evidence from the nationalized industries Available to Purchase

The Korean economy has moved from being a role model, with various impediments to its future development now identified. Some of the problems concern its manufacturing nationalized industries with debate over their “efficiency”, with high costs of production, wastage of materials and human resources, combined with poor quality. At the same time, there is also a feeling that nationalized industries are not discharging their “responsibilities” to society. While the focus of this paper is a segment of Korean management and business, it has more general and wider relevance to other sectors and counties. The main purposes of this study are to highlight the environmental factors under which nationalized industries operate; draw attention to problems stemming from them that negatively affect efficiency and management; and make some tentative recommendations for possible reforms.