Australian versus Canadian Managerial Styles

Although Australian and Canadian industrial relations have been influenced by such issues as global economic change and increased competition, domestic factors are just as important to help account for dominant styles of management and workplace behavior. The primary domestic aspect is the Anglo-Celtic cultural influence and its divergent impact on Australia and Canada. Management positions in both countries tended to be held, at least until recent decades, by middle- and upper-class English and Scottish immigrants and their descendants who were accustomed to a privileged status in British colonial society. Reflecting the assertive liberal spirit of the nineteenth century, managers therefore retained a strong element of individualism.