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Strategies & Market Trends : Asia Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (1210)	1/19/1998 11:14:00 PM
From: Zeev Hed	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9980

Yiwu, you point to a very interesting cultural difference between western and eastern societies, you make a judgment call that one behavioral pattern leads to economic success. I would just as logically point out that this lack of of individual initiative is one of the reasons that the eastern curltures have created very few major new entreprises, I believe that SONY is probably the only major Japanese mega company that was not operating in Japan during WWII, while in the US I would guess that a good 20% if not more of the mega companies are the result of new entrepreneurs creating new wealth (MSFT, INTC, AMAT, Genentech, AMGN, and the list goes on). The current malaise could be traced to such concentration and stonification of Asian corporate entreprise, due, at least to some extent, to the sacrifice of individual interest for the good of the collective. I also think that this "trait" is being exploited by the "higher" classes in some of the asian countries to control the masses. Unfortunately, times march on, and the explosion of the telecommunication age is showing the Asian Masses that individuality has its price and its rewards. Hopefully, more and more will come to exercise their individual rights and better their individual interest. In doing so they will (through a different route) quite possibly, better the lot of all. Zeev

To: RealMuLan who wrote (1210)	1/19/1998 11:16:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9980

Yiwu, A glaring example,perhaphs, of the clash between 'individualism' and 'socialism'?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (1210)	1/19/1998 11:18:00 PM
From: DLS	Respond to of 9980

I saw a report on CNN last week. They said that because of their recent troubles, many S. Koreans now find it unpatriotic to use foreign brands. They are smoking Korean cigarets and using other brands made in their own country because they perceive it is in the national best interest. Sounds like the kind of cooperation that US citizens had during WWII. I was impressed with their acknowledgement of the problem but I was concerned that this may be an indication of just how serious this problem really is. I just wonder whether or not everyone else in the world is taking it as seriously and how big the back lash may be from anti-US consumer habits.

To: RealMuLan who wrote (1210)	1/20/1998 4:20:00 AM
From: Esvida	Respond to of 9980

Yiwu, If I were in your position, I would have a different explanation for the observation you made as a tour guide in China. I would attribute the ease with leading a big group of Koreans/Japaneses to the fact that they were conditioned all their life to do what they were told by others. I would use some kind of measure as what are the most complex things a group of people can do together to judge the cohesiveness of a group. Being all of the same may mean being cohesive, but IMO I don't think the reserve needs to be true necessarily. I also have great admiration for what Korea and Japan have achieved so far, but I think the systems employed there impose ceilings to what the countries will be able to achieve. This is a sincere question to you and the thread: Am I wrong in having the feeling that the economies there are being run with a strong belief that the world economy is a zero-sum game? Thanks. -Al