Page 81 - Crossing Cultural Boundaries - Cees den Teuling

unambiguous description of Russian culture, concerning “group orientation” and “collectivism” is not available. Combinations of collectivistic and individualistic attitudes are found frequently. In small groups (e.g. the nucleus family) there is a tendency to collectivistic attitude. However, having left the “inner circle”, a more individualistic behaviour is demonstrated (Andreeva & Ikhilchik, 2011).
Under the previous regimes in the FSU and the connected CEE countries, bound in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA), organised, directed and controlled by the FSU, “management” in the Western connotation rarely existed. Preparation for a “management” position was, and still is in many occasions, a university degree in a technical oriented, administrative or economical direction. Education was (and is) traditional, classically organised, with a very high level of emphasis to theoretical issues, didactic and ex cathedra. Practical orientation (learning by doing), workshops and projects by students are really rare and not a part of the curriculum. The options for use of intern and traineeships for students in companies, is not utilised. The overall result is that graduated students, fresh from university, are not prepared for a management development trajectory in a free-market environment. The entry qualifications for a staff position were and still are high, with a Master degree in a relevant field. The material taught, for either sort of degree was and is very different. Much of it was and is irrelevant to daily practice. In the 1990’s the curriculum was broadened with many of the subjects, associated with preparation for work in a market economy, but no radical re-structuring took place and the system of education, didactic and ex cathedra, was kept in place. The assumption that “management is a skill” is still not widely accepted. Even though it is surprisingly more a practice than a theory, participation rather than passive absorption are relatively new ideas in the post- command economies and their management education, only implemented in a few, mainly MBA and EMBA programs (Bedward, Jankowicz & Rexworthy, 2010).
As noted by Puffer and Shekshinia (1994, p. 172) “In Russia about 1.5 million managers and professionals are in need of education and training in market oriented methods and mentality”. Nowadays, the widespread need for education on commerce is mainly fulfilled by Russian institutions. A new generation of market oriented managers who are in or leaving the education system at the moment or recently, have grasped the essentials of free-market methods. But there is still a gap, which cannot be closed by Western educators alone. Commercial education and the transfer of commercial knowledge by Russian educators are conditional for establishing a sufficient SVC. The Russian environment needs both flexibility and focus.
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