Cross-cultural business perspective

Koreans invest a lot abroad, though I have rumours that these are also smaller companies associated under the global Korean brands to make things easier.

Once they invest, like for example here in Poland, in Development Centers (Samsung) it is more or less cool, as engineers have jobs and nice things can be done.

But there are also manufacturing businesses located like LG or others.

The Polish - Korean romance in global business reaches 90's as Deawoo FSO was established to help the FSO save jobs and production. But as the Deawoo collapsed in 1997 during Korean crisis, Daewoo FSO was just quit and shut down despite of good revenues and nice cars produced and sold. Shit happens. Still Llanos is considered one of the better cars with optimal relation of the price to quality.

Later more businesses opened. And people employed started their dream jobs in many corners of Poland touched by unemployment. Soon several companies like Humax and Toshen, but also LG faced criminal charges for worker's rights abuse. Mostly women were forced to work up to 15 hours a day with a very limited payment and with no possibility to use a bathroom or eat a sandwich. If they raised their rights coded in EU law up, they were either beaten or shouted at and threatened to loose their jobs.

There are cross-cultural relations in behavior, attitude and aproach to work. I often advice on cross-cultural European- East Asian misperceptions and miscommunications. But this time I have a message to our Korean counterparts: Once in Rome, do as Romans do. If you enter our culture- adjust and learn as well, this saves trouble for both sides.

If you want to make a Polish person, wether a woman or a man, work efficiently, give flexibility and payrise. Appreciate and motivate. Shouting or yealing doesn't work on us.

Way of teaching

This is not very surprising to many people conscious about the world. However hearing about the thing is one, and seeing it with own eyes is another.

Here in Seoul, and in Korea in general, students are forbidden to ask questions if they don't sufficiently understand the issue once explained by the professor. It changes with time, as the more foreigners are employed the more they understand that one should be able to ask the question, yet I have many Korean friends who complain that they need to spend long hours self studying through the subject.

Currently I teach english one of my neighbours, and I had inquired if he could ask his tutor a question related to the study or write an email to one. The answer was: "Well, if I new one and there was any previous contact I could, but now...".

For my experience, only one person I know in Poland would not reply to an email from a stranger, and this is a man who genuinely hates internet or any other modern inventions.

Here in Korea, and I suppose in East Asia in general, position of an older person is unquestionable, despite of actual achievements or real knowledge. It is an offence to get in the elevator together with professor or to sit at the caffeteria too close to the one.

Is this issue related to eye contact? I don't know. I am not skilled in social research that much yet. I am only wondering if this might be the reason of such behaviour. In class, everyone watches the booklet instead of a teacher.

This is considered a lack of respect to the superior or to anyone if one avoids an eye contact in anglo-saxon, roman or slavic background. I don't look at you, means I have something to hide, I lie, either I don't like you at all. Here in Asia if I dare to look at someone older straight then it means I don't like him or don't respect him. This prooves that however universal some rules might be, they apply to just about one cultural background.

Yet, the question is, might this "watching, observing" issue be the reason for not asking for help during the class? I don't know...this is one to explore.

Copyright: Agnieszka Piasecka, Seoul, 26th August 2009

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