Managing in the Québec Style: Originality and Vulnerability

The preponderant place that is accorded solely to economic matters has perhaps caused us to lose sight of the major contributions that the great institutions of Quebec have, in the recent past, brought to the development and very rapid consolidation of the modern cultural identity of the Quebecois people (Quebeckers). For those who have lived through this accelerated development, as well as for young people today, it can be difficult to assess the importance of the distance covered since the end of the regime of Premier Duplessis (1890-1959). The period of the Peaceful Revolution ("Revolution Tranquille," 1960-1970) and that of the years that followed constitute an example of exceptional social experimentation that can serve, because of certain similarities, as an inspiration to numerous developing countries that are still experiencing so many difficulties in succeeding in their entrance into the modern world. If Quebec is generally recognized as one of the places in this world that offer the good life, and if the Quebecois are feeling more and more at ease in their own society, this success is due to the combined effort of unusual personalities and institutions, belonging to different spheres, that have made this development possible and symbolized this renewal. The analysis of this social experimentation, carried out on both the macro and the micro levels, brings to light a management style that is specifically proper to the society of Quebec, whose originality is both rooted in traditional culture and integrated into the development of Western values. In order to understand the mutation that this society has known since 1960, and its effects on the cultural identity of its members, it is necessary to specify in advance the framework of analysis. Anthropology, whose mission is to record and give an account of the different societies that humanity has known in the course of its history, will serve as a backdrop. Behind an astonishing variety of social forms, it is possible, by utilizing the model of Lionel Vallee, to isolate those challenges that are common to all of them. This model presents three