East and West, Past and Present: Rekindle Old Principles for New Management Practices

Introduction

In the time of crisis, it is good to reflect old and new wisdom to guide our path ahead. It is the intention of this paper to reflect the sayings and stories of ancient Chinese sages. These ancient texts are compared with the writings of respected Western management scholars. We find striking similarities in the thoughts and calls for action between ancient eastern and contemporary western thinkers across thousands years. We conclude that if these ancient and modern management thoughts had been put into practice more widely, the world may have had to deal with fewer corporate corruption scandals and dysfunctional state behaviours. Rather, we may have been witnesses to more productive populations, more effective organisations, more ethical governments and a more harmonious environment, with a consequent reduction in global human suffering. We note, en passant, that many of the ancient sayings to which we refer were directed to the proper way of ruling the state, and often addressed to kings and lords. Nonetheless, the principles contained in these sayings and stories have been passed on through generation after generation and now appear in contemporary Chinese organisational settings. Accordingly, we draw on these sayings in the same way the insights presented in Il Principe (The Prince) by Niccolò Machiavelli (Skinner & Price, 1988) have been used to inform discussions of various aspects of organisation and management.