Holistic management – some thoughts on the possibilities of it’s implementation in the West

Sa？etak This paper addresses holistic management process and the idea of holism, pertained in certain aspects of Western management through the ideas of green marketing and sustainable agriculture. The idea of holism, i.e. consideration for how and in what ways, the sum of all the parts in the company impacts the environment plays especially important role in the companies from the Eastern hemisphere, especially Japan. Since the concept of holistic management is grounded in the Eastern philosophical theories, with profound influence of Buddhism on it, we believe that there might be obstacles in trying to translate it in the so called Western rational management based on the premise of Homo economicus. By outlining the historical development of the Western management thought and the philosophical origins of the holistic management process in the Japanese business, this paper presents some thoughts on the paradigm shift necessary for holism to take full part in the West