Strategic Pragmatism: The Culture of Singapore's Economic Development Board

by Edgar H. Schein, Lester Carl Thurow (Foreword)

Per capita income in Singapore has gone from $500 to more than $20,000 in a little over twenty-five years. Edgar Schein, a social psychologist with a long and celebrated research interest in organizational studies, examines the cultural history of the key institution that spawned this economic miracle. Through interviews and full access to Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB), Schein shows how economic development was successfully promoted. He delves into the individual relationships and the overall structure that contributed to the EDB's effectiveness in propelling Singapore, one of Asia's "little dragons" into the modern era. In his foreword, Lester Thurow locates Schein's organizational and case-specific account within a larger economic and comparative framework. Over a period of two years, Schein studied how the EDB was created, the kind of leadership it provided, the management structure it used, the human resource policies it pursued, and how it influenced other organizations within the Singapore government. Schein sat in on EDB meetings and extensively interviewed current and former members of the board, Singapore's leaders who created the board, and businesspeople who have dealt with the board. His book intertwines the perspective of the board's members and its investor clients in an analysis that uses both organization and cross-cultural theory. Although there are currently studies of comparable Japanese and Korean organizations, this is the first detailed analysis of the internal structure and functioning of the economic development body of Singapore, a key player in the Asian and world markets.

Genres: Sociology, Economics

310 pages, Hardcover

First published June 17, 1996

About the author

Edgar Henry Schein is the Society of Sloan Fellows Professor of Management Emeritus and a Professor Emeritus at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Schein investigates organizational culture, process consultation, research process, career dynamics, and organization learning and change. In Career Anchors, third edition (Wiley, 2006), he shows how individuals can diagnose their own career needs and how managers can diagnose the future of jobs. His research on culture shows how national, organizational, and occupational cultures influence organizational performance (Organizational Culture and Leadership, fourth edition, 2010). In Process Consultation Revisited (1999) and Helping (2009), he analyzes how consultants work on problems in human systems and the dynamics of the helping process. Schein has written two cultural case studies—“Strategic Pragmatism: The Culture of Singapore’s Economic Development Board” (MIT Press, 1996) and “DEC is Dead; Long Live DEC” (Berett-Kohler, 2003). His Corporate Culture Survival Guide, second edition (Jossey-Bass, 2009) tells managers how to deal with culture issues in their organizations.

Schein holds a BPhil from the University of Chicago, a BA and an MA in social psychology from Stanford University, and a PhD in social psychology from Harvard University.

From:http://mitsloan.mit.edu/faculty/detai...

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an economic development professional myself, I found this book to be very insightful, instructive, and inspirational. Singapore's rags-to-riches story in the space of a few decades is amazing, and the EDB (and the leaders who created and led the organization during its first few decades) is at the heart of that story.

Some key takeaways:
1. The "cultural imperatives" of EDB (Table 1.2, p. 16)
2. The characteristics/priorities of the early leaders (see p. 43 and elsewhere)
3. Singapore/EDB's major strategic eras (pp. 46-56)
4. "Total written documentation" (see p. 63 and elsewhere)
5. Legacy of the British Civil Service, incl. importance of written reports (pp. 67-68)
6. Concept of "float files" and enhanced communication techniques (pp. 102-104)
7. Building up a network and treating clients like friends/family (p. 105)
8. Creating a new vision and strategic planning (pp. 106-107)
9. Negotiation as "joint problem solving" (p. 128)
10. Contextual paradigm around EDB's "strategic pragmatism" (p. 161 onwards)
11. Project criteria (10 factors that determined EDB's priorities) (p. 177)
12. Summary of concept of "strategic pragmatism" (p. 178)
13. Cultural paradigm of EBD (i.e., operational culture); 5 factors that create a "learning organization" (p. 179 onwards)
14. Selection criteria for hiring senior EDB officers (p. 183)
15. HAIR criteria for talent (Lee Kuan Yew via Royal Dutch Shell) (p. 187)
16. "Best and the brightest" in EDB context (p. 188)
17. Role of political leadership in Singapore (p. 188)
18. Comprehensive cultural paradigm of EDB with 12 factors (Figure 11.3 on p. 202)
19. Current and future challenges of EDB/Singapore (Chapter 12, starting p. 205)
20. Current and future challenges of EDB operations/management (Chapter 13, p. 225)
21. Summary of EDB story (p. 236)
22. Theory Y leadership (pp. 238-240)
23. Power of a shared vision (pp. 240-241)

[Hala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended