Management Styles in the Middle East: A Case Example

Introduction In the management literature there are numerous discussions of how managers may be affected by their cultural and social backgrounds as well as by behavioural and economic factors. The family structure and the relationship between family members, rate of acceptance of authority in the society, economic condition and overall standard of living, as well as personal and behavioural characteristics of managers contribute to differences in their management styles in different nations. Despite this general proposition about the factors which affect management styles, studies dealing with practices in developing countries are virtually non‐existent. Whatever is available for one country or one industry, specific studies demonstrate very little managerial orientation. The purpose of this article is to point out management styles prevailing among managers of both private and public sectors of the Middle Eastern countries, particularly Turkey. To this end, applicability of different management systems is discussed and managerial implications are suggested for orderly decision‐making purposes.