Culture Change in a High Power Distance Culture?

May 4, 2015 12:27 AM

I'm tasked with creating more career options for coworkers in an Asian establishment of a large European brand. I am having trouble attracting coworkers into these new roles despite competitive salaries and freely available training. I know it is because of cultural differences and would like to hear stories of others who may have worked with this kind of change.

The home country of the brand has one of the lowest scores (based on Hofstede Cultural Scores) for power distance. The country where I am working has a very high score and is generally and accurately viewed as very hierarchical. We are trying to translate global ways of working from the brand to this country. It is important to do so in order to promote international careers, and also because with very low regional unemployment rates, we need to provide a way for our coworkers to grow their careers in a non-linear way.

The new positions put emphasis on skills in managing projects rather than operational processes, and they require candidates to take a great deal of responsibility and be comfortable working directly with stakeholders who may be many steps above them, hierarchically speaking.

In Europe and the US, these positions are highly sought after and are correctly seen as a jumping off point for new managers and high potential talent. Here, I am reduced to begging people to apply. All the material we would normally use to make these roles seem fun and attractive is frankly only attracting other expats to apply.

The feedback I get is that the requirements are not clear enough in the new roles (project management, not fixed operational processes) and the career advancement line is not at all clear. (When you ask most people here what their next career step should be, they will invariably answer their boss' job. )

Does anyone here have any similar experience or suggestions they would like to share? I have many sources on cultural differences, so I don't need any links to Hofstede. I'm looking for practical stories from Europeans/Americans about translating European ways of working into cultures with a very different approach to hierarchy.

posted by frumiousb to Work & Money (9 answers total)

I have been in a similar situation. In my case it was integrating two product design and manufacturing groups (US and Shanghai). Short story, I feel your pain.

I found that the expectations of my Chinese staff were to be 'happy in their place'. It was not seen as appropriate to be placed above their peers or equal to their manager or boss in many ways. The US paradigm for success was quite different. Increased salaries and more responsibility weren't the true motivators.

After much anguish for all parties involved, I felt I had some empathy for what was going on. In a nutshell, it had more to do with social class than anything else. I saw the same thing when I worked in the UK. There was the executive and privileged class and then there was the working class. From the US perspective it seemed reasonable that the working class employees would be keen to work up the ladder and become supervisors, managers, and executives based on their initiative, upward mobility, and personal goals. This was not the case. Many working class professionals were proud of their status and did not want the world of the "upper" or "merchant" class. They and their friends, family, and social structures were deeply and keenly entwined with their place in life and work.

Of course, this is a broad brush comment, but it is common enough to warrant inclusion in your approach.

So, what worked for me? It was taking the people I wanted to move into more self-directed and professional roles and bringing them into the culture that supported it–namely the US. The new culture both rewarded and supported different perspectives and outcomes. Over time, the opportunity for being more individual-focused rather than group-focused led to a drastic change in behaviour. You may have also seen this with Asian students who study in US or European Universities that are predominately filled with western-culture students. They can start out as relatively shy, study by rote, and don't ask many questions in the beginning of their studies. By the time they graduate, they are as engaged and proactive as their peers.

You may need to "promote" people to international careers before they've shown the capacity in their current country/culture to allow them to grow in this way, not the other way around.

It's a complex issue and it's only becoming more common. I would also note that I do not think that western culture is the preferred culture and your organisation might do well to adopt some of your Asian colleagues cultural approaches to work. Empathy goes both ways. Your Asian colleagues are not a problem to be "fixed". They are an opportunity for the rest of your organisation to become culturally connected. Probably not what you want to hear, but there it is.
posted by qwip at 1:17 AM on May 4, 2015 [9 favorites]

Response by poster: I will not thread sit, but just to clarify and to avoid having the wrong question answered-- I do *not* see Asian culture as a problem to be fixed. I have nothing but the highest respect for my coworkers and have learned a ton from being here. This isn't about that-- this is about the practical reality of a European brand and a change around global processes which really doesn't translate well here, but which is necessary (pragmatically) all the same. Thanks!
posted by frumiousb at 1:29 AM on May 4, 2015

I used to work for one of those global companies that prided itself in its international outlook and culturally diverse workforce. When you looked closely, the non Westerners who were promoted to management roles were those who had the required cultural codes and fitted well within a Western-style working environment ("the look like us syndrome")

What worked overall was that the non Westerners with potential were sent abroad in droves and a lot of Westerners were also sent to non Western countries. It is expensive and may not be applicable in all circumstances.

However, you may be more successful if you frame it as a two way learning experience, where everyone is enriched by learning from other cultures' strengths. Also, the company will have to pick the people it wants rather than make it voluntary.

The second thing to do is to rewrite the job description in a way that is more easily understood by nationals of the said high power distance country. Even a complex project manager role can be described in terms of processes.

Finally, make it clear what the opportunities beyond those are, and how committed the company is to making it happen. "Special projects manager" positions are usually the first to go at times of downturn.
posted by Kwadeng at 2:16 AM on May 4, 2015 [3 favorites]

Best answer: No one wants that job because it makes them a bad fit for a local company with a local hierarchy and unliked by their local peers and they have to compete socially with people who have cultural knowledge they don't have. Think about the massive downsides to the job that seems so attractive to you.

Maybe you should offer a locally valued perk that expats or foreigners hold comparatively less value to - more leave, office space, job title, number of admin reporting to you, being able to schedule your day working hours, getting coverage in local press etc.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 3:34 AM on May 4, 2015 [7 favorites]

This isn't about that-- this is about the practical reality of a European brand and a change around global processes which really doesn't translate well here, but which is necessary (pragmatically) all the same. Thanks!

Um, yeah, this is what I was talking about not trying to fix. Go with it, rather than look for ways your Asian team need to accommodate your European organisation, is what I'm saying.

You don't have to agree or like that advice, just know that I'm not knocking you personally, just giving a potentially more helpful perspective on the issue. I totally get the pragmatic aspects of your desire to alter your Asian team's regard for your European organisation's sensibilities. I just think that might be the problem.

Carry on...
posted by qwip at 4:18 AM on May 4, 2015 [4 favorites]

Best answer: The new positions put emphasis on skills in managing projects rather than operational processes, and they require candidates to take a great deal of responsibility and be comfortable working directly with stakeholders who may be many steps above them, hierarchically speaking.

Is it possible that where you see a position that anyone with the right skills and abilities can perform, they see a position that would be untenable for any local who doesn't already have the right connections and kinds of social capital? Maybe expats can get away with being parachuted in, but locals would be held to a very different standard? (by stakeholders, colleagues, their own social network etc if not by your company?)

Could you try to identify candidates yourself, train them up and ease them into the new positions, while keeping open the possibility of dropping out without losing too much face if it doesn't work for them, instead of expecting them to jump straight in to this role and out of the positions they may be much more comfortable in?
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 5:07 AM on May 4, 2015 [4 favorites]

Whereas “exposure” may be perceived as desirable in your organization, for some people it simply isn’t. Family ties, spouse losing an income is s/he were to follow you, fear of the unknown, fear of falling behind those who stay at home, lack of appropriate schools for children, losing one's own support network … there are lots of valid reasons not to want to move abroad.

So rather than find ways to make it desirable for them to move abroad and since you live in a high power distance environment, just speak the language of authority and select the people you deem fit for international careers. They will go and learn while doing. Besides you provide ample learning opportunities. That and what I said previously about writing the job descriptions in a form closer to their cultural norms so they understand what they're going for.
posted by Kwadeng at 5:33 AM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I live and work in Japan and although I've never had to try to do what you describe I have seen situations that I think are similar. In my experience it's easier to find people who prefer a certain approach to work than make them, unless you're thinking long term training (and it doesn't sound like you are -- I know you say "training" but I'm talking years, preferably starting soon after college). I guarantee there are people where you are who hate hierarchies and formality and would love a job where they can move freely and be judged on results, but if your company hasn't offered such positions in the past, they probably don't work there.
posted by No-sword at 5:48 AM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks to all for the answers-- I think no-sword particularly has a point about recruitment and self selection and I like a lot of the ideas about choosing people rather than waiting for volunteers. And there's a lot of really good advice here about thinking how I word the job description. I appreciate it.
posted by frumiousb at 5:19 PM on May 4, 2015