The cultural basis of Turkish Business System and a proposal of a model inspired by Turkish proverbs

Abstract

Proverbs give instructions on how to behave in everyday life. They reflect common experiences of a society. Beliefs, thoughts and cultures of the past are crtically evaluated by them. Those proverbs that include reflections of the past generations on business life may provide today’s business people for guidance. Considering this fact, it is possible to get information about “business culture” by studying proverbs. National business systems embodying the values of “exclusive business cultures” of a society form the economic organizational structue of that society. This articles aims at identifying basic characteristics of Turkish business system through studying proverbs. Besides, it attemps to propose a working model for Turkish business system. In connection with this, it is observed that strategic planning and discipline are important in business processes, common reason is taken into account in business operations, and productivity is determined by methods production and procurement processes.