Interface between Western and Russian Management Attitudes: Implications for Organizational Change

The present paper outlines tentative observations and interpretations focusing
on management attitudes in a comparative Russian/western perspective. It identifies management attitudes and values as relevant factors in understanding,
designing, initiating and managing organizational change. The assumption is
that managerial behaviour is of key importance in the process of organizational
transformation. The paper analyzes a situation in which foreigners have been
assigned to work in the management group of a Russian organization after a
large Western European multinational company has acquired an interest in it.
The paper identifies several major, culturally specific attitudes towards the
general management approach adopted by the two subcultures within
management in the studied organization. The paper concentrates on the
dynamic interface between western and Russian management attitudes and their
implications for the processes of organizational change.