Exploration of Asian Business Systems

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A business system can be defined as an organized, yet complex combination of things that form a unitary whole. After deeply exploring the major business systems throughout Asia, it is apparent that the internal structure and practices of each of these economies hold both similarities and differences. From education and employment practices to finances and ownerships, as crucial as their differences may seem, each major business system in Asia shares practices with another.
While the industrialized nations of the West are known for advanced education levels and systems, such a concept is not commonly found within Asian countries. Literacy rates within Japan are at full capacity while India’s numbers reside much lower with literacy rates among adults at 61%. As for the wealthier Asian economies such as Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Singapore, the Philippines and China, rates are scattered among the 90th percentiles, as the ability to reach full literacy has not yet been attained. The opportunity to learn to read and write is not a guaranteed notion within the Asian countries, and not as heavily enforced as it is in the western civilizations. In fact, in regards to educational attainment, studies show a variety of numbers among Asian countries ranging from 0.45 in India to 0.883 in Japan.
In regards to acquiring skills for employment, in a majority of Asian economies the acquisition of professional skills is often left to private initiative. On the job training (OJT) refers to a form of training in a normal work setting. It has been found that OJT is most famously a Japanese concept, however it is still noted in Korean and Southeast Asian business practices. It is often found in various Asian countries that private employers attemp...

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...party or the state. As in many other categories, Japan serves as the exception to this as its business groups, also known as keiretsu, do not have a sole owner.
Family ownership has proven to be dominant in most Asian economies. In socialist economies, there is also an imperative aspect of state ownership, and only in Japan and Korea are the largest firms predominantly public. Along with ownership patterns, management control of firms usually rests in the hands of families or the state.
In conclusion, the institutional structures of business systems throughout Asia share their similarities and can be distinguished through their differences as well. Through this broad insight and comparison of the major business systems of Asia, we are able to see the parallel practices in terms of employment, education, finances, the workplace and other crucial business aspects.

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