Culture and Managerial Styles: A Study of Potential Managers in Malaysia

Multimedia University, (MMU) is the oldest and largest private university in Malaysia (a multiracial country). Its main campus in Cyberjaya, Selangor has four Faculties: Creative Multimedia (FCM), Information Technology (FIT), Engineering (FOE) and Management (FOM). English is the language of instruction. A questionnaire based on Basse (1982) was used and 931 usable responses obtained (about a quarter of the population). The independent variables were age, race (Malay, Chinese, Indian,’Others’), year of study and the Faculty. The dependent variables were the five managerial styles (Factual, Intuitive, Analytical, Normative and European) as measured by the questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha >0.9). Using One-way ANOVA etc. It was found that there were significant differences (at p<0.05) in managerial styles between races and academic years. FCM students were unique in that they preferred the Factual style, those from other Faculties preferred the Analytical style. Malay and Chinese students preferred the Analytical style, Indian students preferred the Factual style. Undergraduate courses at MMU are designed, inter alia, to produce managers for the students’ chosen profession. The implication of this and the results obtained are discussed in terms of national and individual needs and the possible desirable changes in the courses at MMU and other institutions of higher learning.