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Comparative study of cognitive styles in Egypt, Greece, Hong Kong and the UK
Author(s) -
Savvas Michael,
ElKot Ghada,
SadlerSmith Eugene
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
international journal of training and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.558
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1468-2419
pISSN - 1360-3736
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2419.00122
Subject(s) - cognitive style , style (visual arts) , psychology , variety (cybernetics) , cognition , management styles , business management , social psychology , geography , political science , public relations , business administration , archaeology , neuroscience , artificial intelligence , computer science , business
Cognitive style has been described as consistent individual differences in the organising and processing of information. It is has been argued that it is an important factor in managerial learning and cognition. A number of authors have suggested that groups from different national cultures are likely to exhibit style differences and that this has important implications for management training and development. In the present study, which employed closely matched samples of business and management undergraduates from Egypt, Greece and the UK, there were no statistically significant differences in style. However, in post‐graduate samples from Egypt, Hong Kong and the UK that were less closely matched, statistically significant differences were observed. Comparison of these data with those from other studies suggests that amongst under‐graduates from a variety of national cultures there do not appear to be significant differences in style. Among post‐graduates and managers the picture that emerges was more equivocal and the extent to which any observed differences are artefacts of sampling and method remains unclear. The implications of the findings for style theory and management education, training and development are discussed.