Different Corporate Culture

8/22/2019 Different Corporate Culture

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France, German, Korean & Japanese

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Most senior management in most French companies wereeducated at the Grandes Ecoles,which are the eliteschools of France. These colleges champion an intellectualrigour in their students, which is rarely matched elsewhere

in the world. This produces a highly educated managementpopulation, which approaches leadership with an unusualdegree of academic precision. 'Intellectualism' issomething to be cherished rather than sneered at and acomment once attributed to French management was that

'this idea seems alright in practice but will it work intheory?'

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Thus, management is an intellectual task to be masteredand thought about in terms of detailed analysis, thecomplete mastery of complex concepts and informationand the eventual application of rational decisions. Morepragmatic issues of buy-in, motivating staff etc. (in the

Anglo-Saxon understanding of these terms) are not asprominent in French management thinking.

Decisions, once taken at senior levels, will be passed downthe chain to lower management for implementation. Thisdirective approach can be seen, especially by those from aconsensus oriented, non-hierarchical background, as beingoverly authoritative and lacking in the necessary team-building elements.

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Managers in Germany are expected to be technicallycapable in their respective areas and to show strong, clearleadership. Although disagreement with a superior willrarely be seen in public this does not mean that Germansare 'Yes' men. Subordinates tend to respect the technicalabilities of their superiors and this will impact on their

willingness to implement instructions. (The interestingcorollary of this is that when less technically proficientnon-Germans are asked to manage a team of Germans, the

non-German can sometimes be seen as lacking the keyprerequisite for developing the team's respect.)

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Responsibility is expected to be delegated by the managerto the member of the team who is technically competent tocarry out a particular task. The team member then expectsto be left to perform the task without undue interference orsupervision. Thus instructions need to be clear, precise and

above all unambiguous.People from cultures where managers are expected todevelop a closer, more intimate ambience can see theGerman manager-subordinate relationship as distant andcold. The higher up the organization people rise the more asense of the 'dignity of the position' becomes apparent.Socializing tends to be at peer group level rather than upand down a hierarchy.

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Managers expect that their instructions will be obeyedand this expectation of obedience is usually fulfilled.Confucianism stresses obedience and loyalty and thismanifests itself strongly in the manager/subordinaterelationship. It is useful to think of the manager as a father

who, in return for loyalty, respect and obedience, gives thesubordinate support and help at all times.

Although leadership is hierarchical and paternalistic, it isalso infused with the Korean concept of inwha, whichemphasizes the harmony necessary between people ofequal rank and standing. Thus, it is important that groupsituations are characterized by lack of confrontation andblame. The good manager spends a great deal of time andeffort ensuring that his team has a good workingrelationship and that all members feel fully integrated.

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The Koreans also employ a process of consensus decision-making in certain situations, which is similar to the systemof nemawashi found in Japan. This system ensures that thegroup feels involved in the decision, whilst ensuring that

the manager can still maintain an influence over theoutcome.

Managers are expected to take a holistic interest in theirsubordinates and this necessitates greater involvement in

much more personal areas of life than would be expectedin Anglo-Saxon countries, where work and private are verystrongly separated.

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Japanese management emphasises the need for information flow fromthe bottom of the company to the top. This results in senior managementhaving a largely supervisory rather than 'hands-on' approach. As a result,it has been noted that policy is often originated at the middle-levels of acompany before being passed upwards for ratification. The strength of

this approach is obviously that those tasked with the implementation ofdecisions have been actively involved in the shaping of policy.

The key task for a Japanese manager is to provide the environment inwhich the group can flourish. In order to achieve this he must be

accessible at all times and willing to share knowledge within the group. Inreturn for this open approach, he expects team members to keep him fullyinformed of developments. This reciprocity of relationship forms the basisof good management and teamwork.

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Instructions from managers can seem extremely vague towestern ears and this often causes confusion andfrustration. This difficulty is caused, in no short measure,by problems around styles of communication. As users of

coded-speech (where what one says does not necessarilycorrespond to what one actually means), direct, clearinstructions are not needed. The Japanese subordinate willsecond-guess the boss 'wishes' to happen and react

accordingly. It is, therefore, often necessary to ask forclarification if tasks seem vague or unclear. It is better toseek clear understanding at the outset that to allowmisunderstandings to produce poor results or tensions inthe relationship.

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Different Corporate Culture

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