Background to Business in Singapore

Background to Business in Singapore

Singapore is probably the most heavily Western influenced of all the Asian economies with regard to approach to business.

The legacy of its colonial past, combined with its status as the number one destination for US and European organisations to locate their Asian Head Offices has resulted in many Western attitudes and processes being adopted. This apparent willingness to assimilate some Western business practices does not, however, preclude Singapore from being a thoroughly Asian City State. Scratch the surface and many of the inherent beliefs and practices reflect the mainly Confucian ethics of the majority Chinese population.

Indeed the Singaporean government, which is known for its pragmatic approach to governing, places tremendous importance on the maintenance and promotion of what it views as being solidly Asian virtues. Thus, the excesses of western liberalism (including totally inclusive democracy) are expensive luxuries which should be resisted in order to further the corporate good of Singapore Inc. This autocratic style (redolent of Confucian thought) has resulted in tremendous economic benefits for the country as well as the social benefits of low rates of crime and lack of poverty.

It is this constant balancing act between benefiting from Western-style business practices, whilst at the same time holding on fervently to traditional Asian values, which is at the heart of the fascination of Singapore and which will be analysed further in the rest of this piece.

Do not be fooled by the veneer of Anglo-Saxon business ethics – relationships still come very firmly before business and, therefore, as in the whole of Asia it is imperative to understand the necessity of relationship-building and maintenance.

Author

This country-specific business culture profile was written by Keith Warburton who is the founder of the cultural awareness training consultancy Global Business Culture. 

Global Business culture is a leading training provider in the fields of cross-cultural communication and global virtual team working.  We provide training to global corporations in live classroom-based formats, through webinars and also through our cultural awareness digital learning hub, Global Business Compass.

This World Business Culture profile is designed as an introduction to business culture in Singapore only and a more detailed understanding needs a more in-depth exploration which we can provide through our training and consultancy services.