| Unfortunately life in the Far East is not that simple. Just think of the difference in attitudes and business methods between say Wall Street and Solana Beach, not to mention Tokyo and Jakarta! It seems that even President Bill Clinton, who you would assume to have the best possible research resources available to him on overseas trips, caused some diplomatic red faces during his trip to Korea. One newspaper reported that “In a series of protocol missteps, Clinton embarrassed Korean officials, confused his translator, baffled some dinner guests and delayed dinner briefly.” It appears that the worst of his strings of “faux pas” was unexpectedly inviting a translator to stand between himself and Korean President Kim Young-sam. In Korea it is an insult for anyone to stand between two heads of state. Sharpening your sensitivity to cultural slurs and taboos is essential to avoid such cultural gaffes. It is easy to be deterred from trying to establish business links with several different Asian countries when the particular customs and business practices of just one country seem so unfamiliar and new. But despite seemingly enormous superficial differences, many Asian cultures share very deep similarities. Unfortunately, many of these traits are in themselves often at odds with traditional western thinking. For example, in America it is usual to look at the person you are talking to (although the average length of eye contact is in fact only one second); however, if someone appears to be deliberately avoiding your eyes they may be considered rather shifty and unreliable. In Asia quite the opposite is true where diverting one’s gaze communicates respect and a desire not to be intrusive. |
Asian values are essentially traditional, with much of daily life guided by ancient customs and beliefs. In the United States, for example, a job is usually thought of as little more than a business contract; in Asia a job is much more of a personal relationship between the employer and the employees. Hence interpersonal skills are of tremendous importance and it becomes essential to understand the minds of the people you are dealing with to be really effective. The yielding to a company’s hierarchy, even by a high ranking executive often can be surprising. Recently I heard of a situation where the ground staff of a U.S. carrier flying to Japan were amazed when a Japanese businessman repeatedly refused their offer to upgrade him to business class. After some minutes of trying to assure the gentleman that there was no extra charge and nobody would need to be moved, he finally became quite agitated and explained that he could not possibly accept the upgrade offer because his boss already was in business class! Deference to one’s superiors and elders is an integral part the Asian culture. The family also is a dominant social and spiritual force in Asia and often caring for one’s family is the biggest motivation for the work force. The importance of family over self cannot be emphasized too strongly. Have you ever realized that English is one of the few languages in which the word “I” is capitalized? Similarly, there are many ancient beliefs, based on religion or long observed custom which still have a tremendous influence on modern day thinking. (continued on next page) Page 2 of 4 Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
