I have a long history as a trusted advisor offering Korean business strategy and consulting services to firms across the globe. This includes major Korean groups, international brands, and government agencies.
Many see me as the “go-to” expert on all Korean business matters.
Have a Korea-facing question, issue, or project. Let’s talk.
Don Southerton
dsoutherton@bridgingculture.com
+1-310-866-3777
It’s common in Western meetings to first discuss issues as part of the work-through. As well as any potential repercussions and downsides. Then, after discussions sometimes at length, the team will discuss options and countermeasures.
In contrast, Korean teams, knowing of the issue, prefer to focus talks on the solution and immediate steps to mitigate—then report these plans and actions to leadership.
My recommendation when tackling an issue is for teams to clearly state the challenge and recognize potential downsides, but quickly move on and devote the meeting to actionable steps and solution-oriented discussion.
This can be streamlined by a PPT which clearly and concisely states: Point 1—the Issue and Point 2—any Downsides, versus rehashing the issue and downsides-repercussions.
More so limit or sidebar any deep discussions on either point… dedicating the meeting to Point 3—actionable and solution-oriented steps.
The final steps should be a tentative timeline for executing the steps and the outcome. This gives the Korean team key points they need for reporting to leadership.
Questions, comments, ask. I, too, am always open to new projects and opportunities.
Call 310-866-3777 or EM Dsoutherton@bridgingculture.com
It is no small effort to stay current on key issues with the many moving parts within a Korean Group and with Korea in general.
Knowing there are gaps in communications, I do my best to keep teams and leadership updated. I’d like to share some thoughts ….
From time to time, there are concerns in the overseas workplace over communications.
This can range from a perception of disconnect and being the last to know as global announcements are made or finding out important news second-hand.
This information gap can include working teams but is also felt by local leadership.
Team members may even feel that information was being deliberately withheld.
While there may be some truth in the disconnection, the feeling that Koreans are withholding information deliberately is most often not reality. What may be a surprise for Western overseas teams is that Korean staff in their home offices must make quite an effort to stay informed.
As one entry-level employee of a major Korean group lamented,
“If I did not spend an hour daily networking with fellow workers, I would be in the dark on issues major and minor that could have a significant impact on my work assignment and projects.”
For my work with Korea-based companies, nightly chats, frequent emails, and Kakao texts are required, or I too, would be “in the dark.” Still, I often find breaking news issues when checking my Kakao or running an early AM Google search. It is common when I ask a Korean colleague and even leadership on the news, their response is one of surprise—not in me asking, but this may be the first they had heard about, too.
This implies that silos within the company limit the sharing of information. More so, those not well connected are out of the loop or rarely given an advance heads up.
I find it interesting that colleagues within a company often remark and see me as well-connected—a very positive trait. As a caveat, teams try to keep their trusted friends, colleagues, and management well informed—even on sensitive and confidential issues. Savvy management continually seeks news on issues, projects, and forthcoming announcements from their colleagues and networks. This is not only to stay informed but to avoid being caught off guard or blindsided.
This network can play a critical role in one’s career and advancement. That said, for most Koreans facing international operations, the communication channel—informal and formal—between the Korean HQ and local subsidiaries is through expatriates.(The same goes for Western companies located in Korea, as Westerners there serve as expats.)
Roles vary within each company, but most frequently with Korean global business an expat’s primary role is to be the liaison between Korea and the local subsidiary.
Frankly, some expats are more open to sharing information than others.
Regardless, I feel this is less a deliberate withholding of news than a “filtering”—that is, a review of communications from the mother company and then a doling out of appropriate information. Filtering becomes an issue when information is withheld until the last moment, whether for clarity, to avoid confrontation, or to decide to best address a delicate situation.
Delaying communication often forces local operations to drop everything and deal with an issue that would have been less demanding and disruptive for the teams if conveyed promptly. In other situations, I found that information is often held back until a 100% certainty is reached on an outcome or upcoming event.
What appears to be silence on important news is often an attempt based on their years of experience working with the mother company to spare local teams from concerns that could and probably would change over time.
So instead of constantly having to return to the local team with a shift in plans, an expat may stay quiet until the last moment and have a firm confirmation.
This can mean little advance notification, as it is common for announcements first to need legal, PR, and then leadership’s “final” approval.
Workarounds
There are workarounds, and one needs to recognize that much is strongly rooted in a company’s culture. Culture matters.
For starters, my best practices include: 1) Building a strong professional network—including colleagues local and overseas. Have set times to chat even nightly with Korea… I suggest by Kakao.
2) Maintain a reputation as one who can share and be shared information—with a high degree of trust and confidentiality when appropriate
All said, outside issues deemed as private, sensitive, and confidential, few will dispute the need for strong internal communications and updates—shared across the organization. Here as always.
If you have a question or inquiry on this topic or another, let’s set a time to chat.
I’m also available by Kakao at 310-866-3777 and Don Southerton, so join me…
(Kakaotalk is free, and best to download the app on your phone and access it).
Don
I enjoy sharing Korean business insights. This insight is one of my most popular.
I often say “Similar brings us together…”
Global business requires colleagues of different cultures to work together daily.
How we perceive each other culturally is often based on differences, such as language, and similarities, like shared values such as family. I prefer to concentrate on the similarities, as differences can create distance while similarities unite us.
It is crucial for Western teams collaborating with Korean operations to gain a deep understanding of the workplace culture in Korea, including the 2024 norms, practices, and daily life. The workplace is under constant change, and we can easily fixate on things that may have been distorted by hearsay or a lack of understanding.
The same principle applies to Korean global teams assigned to support overseas operations. We all need to become learners, adept in local and overseas practices. Expecting global teams to conform to Korean business norms rarely works; it often leads to delays and stalled projects.
As I noted above, recognizing similarities is one of the most powerful cross-cultural bridges. In other words, how can you relate to the nuances in communications and day-to-day life? This requires identifying the local beliefs, values, expectations, traditions, and culture
The information provided helps us gain a deeper understanding of how our teams think and what they expect.
Outcomes
Although there is bound to be friction between home and host country cultural values, a successful model accomplishes…
1. Awareness and appreciation of the home and host country with the ability to gain insight into one’s personal traits, strengths, weaknesses, attitudes, and interests.
2. Realization of shared cross-cultural values, along with an awareness of and respect for cultural differences.
Call to Action
Are you dealing with Korea-facing issues, challenges, or impasses? I provide workarounds and solutions.
Don Southerton, Korean Business Thought Leader
As a trusted friend constantly reminds me, “Don, no one does what you do.”
I strive to ensure success and sustainability in dealing with Korea-facing business partnerships through well-communicated expectations and cross-cultural understanding.
It also requires a unique skill set—groomed over decades of working with an ever-changing Korea.
I like the story that shortly after an engineer retires, a machine at his former factory stops working. They try everything they can do to fix it, to no avail. Finally, the boss calls up the engineer and asks him to come in and fix it.
The engineer agrees to do so as a paid consultant. He comes in, walks around the machine, looks at a few things, takes out a hammer, and whacks the machine. It whirrs into life.
The engineer presents his former boss with a bill for $5,000. The boss says, “This is ridiculous! What did you even do? I need an itemized bill.”
The engineer provides a new invoice that states:
· Hitting machine with a hammer: $5.00
· Knowing where to hit the machine: $4,995
Nuff said…
My work is knowing when and where to use the ‘hammer’, catching issues early, and then as needed providing work-throughs as projects can so easily get sidetracked. Many assume when initial talks and progress seem smooth things will continue to move forward—which is rarely the case.
It’s one thing, too, for those well-experienced in global business who are now engaged in Korean projects to expect experience in the West will be enough to work through what can be escalating challenges—but in fact, what many will find out is that they are poorly suited to adapting and being flexible (a very Korea business approach and norm).
At the very least, working through issues can become a lengthy learning process. Both ways are time-consuming and costly.
My long-time approach when providing work-throughs is to step back and look for underlying concerns and nuances that are easily missed. Then knowing the Korean processes and mindset work for a resolution. Again, this is more art than science.
To summarize, impasses are common in all business—but what may work in the West to overcome issues will take a different approach in Korea.
The best model is to be constantly aware and sensitive to what may unfold. Use less direct and non-confrontational ways to gain deeper insights into any challenges and be open to alternative approaches at work-throughs.
As always, I look forward to discussing any challenges, and any questions you may have.
I’ll have my hammer ready, too. And here, ready for your call or email.
The Hyangwon Pavillion ( Photo BCW)
I recently posted a photo of the Hyangwon Pavillion and a number have asked to share on its origin and location. What I noted in the caption was its significance as the 1st building electrified in Korea and possibly Asia.
Early in my ground-breaking 2000s post-graduate academic research, I examined the long-standing technology exchanges between the United States and Korea. Much of this development began in the late 1800s when Korea looked to bring rail, trolley, electrification, telephone, waterworks, and hard-rock gold mining to the country. Some of these infrastructure projects were “a first” for Asia. Specifically, the 1st building electrified! It was fascinating reading the correspondence between Korea and Thomas Edison.
An excerpt from my 2012 publication– HENRY COLLBRAN AND THE ROOTS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ENTERPRISES IN KOREA
In 1884, King Gojong reached out and contracted the Edison Light Company to electrify Gyeongbok Palace starting with showcasing the Hyangwon Pavilion. The monarch intended to adopt and welcome new technologies from the West.
The 2-story Hyangwon Pavilion had been constructed on an artificial island in the center of the palace lake.
Technicians dispatched from Thomas Edison’s laboratory and installed a small DC water-powered generator on the stream that fed the lake. {The stream is long gone, curious I looked a few years ago].
To King Gojang and the court’s amazement, the building was illuminated.
Several years later, in 1893, a second electric plant was built for the Changdok Palace, and thereafter for the Sundok palace. Reports by Western diplomats of the time told that the incandescent lights were most often used for court meetings held during the evening hours.
It should come as no surprise that 140 years later a robust technological trend continues– today both the U.S. and South Korea’s equal tech partners.
Questions? Here as always.
Open Communications…
Checking emails at 2:30 AM.
Trying to not doze off and miss a late evening phone or Facebook Message call.
Responding early morning to a previous evening’s urgent Text.
This week we look at some of the new challenges as we’re finding more open and direct communications between Korean HQ and local teams. This is more and more commonly surfacing for teams.
Waking up to a rather lengthy request for revisions on a multi-page document that the Korean team needs to finalize as is due that day in Korea.
By its very nature, Korean facing business is the interaction of worldwide teams operating in different zones—with Korea and North America—their working days beginning as our ends and visa versa.
Beyond the different cultures globally working together on a daily basis, which I speak of often, we have seen the advancements in telecommunications as well as more open communications between working-level teams in the West and Korea.
(BTW I can recall a time when an international call between the US and Korea was not only costly but few Korean office landlines even had international access.)
That said, it’s now common for Staff in Korea to now pick up their mobile phone and reach out via an app for a one on one with a western team member. This contrasts with the old model where all communication between HQ and local subsidiaries went through and was screened by the local expatriate team.
The new model is not without its challenges.
For one, email requests often need clarification and even a message received in the AM in the West with hopes that by the end of day (morning in Korea) there will be substantial progress—without some clarity—little may have been accomplished.
More so, even if a request is made—local teams are often stretched thin—and any new workload can be seen as overwhelming.
Also common are End of Day requests—again sent at the beginning of the day in Korea—but received as the day is wrapping up in the West. In contrast for an expat team their “second day” often begins around 4-5 PM as the Korean HQ is back on-line and their work often running late into the evening—but for western employees working late is most often not an option.
I do have a number of work-arounds—most the result of nearly 20 years working directly with teams and leadership in Korea.
Here I share two among my long list many proven cross-culture approaches and solutions.
Hint 1
In the case of a last-minute request or a request that may require more clarity and/or substantial research….
As I learned from a senior Korean executive, in many cases Korea often requests local input so teams and leadership can finalize an important decision. They are aware of time restraints and that a comprehensive response could take days. Noting that they are looking for some input, even input limited in scope, that may help sway their decision—pro or con.
Hint 2
In the case of a request and not wishing to seem uncooperative—but unable to respond as requested due to commitments and workload….
Given my experience in dealing with urgent HQ request as noted in Hint 1, I suggest sharing with the Korean team that you’d be happy to assist but you’ll need additional time due to current deadlines, end of day, etc.
As a caveat, I always ask for their timeline and then share some options on when you may be able to assist. I have found what is assumed to be an urgent request often does have flexibility.
In closing, I feel the move to more open and direct communications between HQ and the local team is quite positive. It is not without its challenges as we learn to adapt, build relationships and work within the restraints in time difference, life balance and work hours.
I look forward to your thoughts and comments. Again, if needed I can share more regarding proven cross-culture approaches and solutions.
Don Southerton https://www.bridgingculture.com
As one delves deeper into Korea facing work what stands out is the “innerconnectiveness” of the workplace. This relationship impacts day to day business interactions such as decisions, timelines, and process.
Don Southerton
To share some background, Author Richard Nisbett describes the concept well in The Geography of Thought:
To the Westerner, it makes sense to speak of a person as having attributes that are independent of circumstances or particular personal relations.
This self— this bounded, impermeable free agent—can move from group to group and setting to setting without significant alteration.
But for the Easterner (and for many other peoples to one degree or another), the person is connected, fluid, and conditional…
The person participates in a set of relationships that make it possible to act and purely independent behavior is usually not possible or really even desirable.
Since all action is in concert with others, or at the very least affects others, harmony in relationships becomes a chief goal of social life.
As an example, in Korea, decisions must consider relationships both internal and external and the impact to the organization.
To share from a global project in which I was engaged, a meeting concluded following a high level presentation to division heads with the Korean leadership pleased, but deferring next steps until they “internally discussed.”
To the dismay of highly engaged Korean project team leads I was working within the days that followed assignments for key portions of the project were distributed to a number of other departments.
In private the project’s lead team was not pleased but accepted the mandate. There was no recourse since the parceling came from leadership. The lead team did not wish to create an issue despite knowing that the other teams with only domestic Korea experience were poorly equipped to handle the high profile global assignment.
Following the cultural norm, the lead team accepted the situation and sought to maintain organizational harmony above all—even knowing their project and even their own careers might suffer.
Again, the takeaway is in Korea facing work, many factors come into play…and one needs to take a cultural approach recognizing what may be a western norm and expectation can differ in other global markets.
As always I look to support you and your teams as issues’ surface. Situations vary and so do what may be the better approach.
Don
This is the second of many sneak previews of my latest work in progress Korea 2020. Comments welcome on the progressive workplace.
Author Don Southerton
Today we are witnessing increasing generational influences and a divide in the Korea workplace. Many firms are adapting to this change, as the workforce is increasingly a younger generation.
Much of the generational influences change is driven by an Old Guard mentality vs. the New Guard. The Old Guard, people in the 60s and 70s, holds to values and norms once common business practices in Korea. With the rise of the New Guard the older generation is increasingly marginalized as well as their influence.
This generational influences marginalization has accelerated with the latest round of Chaebol family succession well underway. As before with succession of the Chaebol Founders to a second generation of family control, which mostly occurred in the mid 1990s, all now is moving in to the third generation These heirs in the 40s are at the helm at Samsung, Hyundai Motor Group, and LG (as recent as this week), etc. In turn, management and trusted advisors surrounding these Chaebol heirs are now of the same generation, too.
In fact, as a prelude to the recent successions we’ve seen the exiting of older senior management, most stepping down and into retirement.
Between these groups we find a layer of managers and executives described by the term “sandwiched” — used to denote a generation now in their late 40s and into the 50s.
This age group has social, workplace and political views influenced by western education and work abroad that differ from those of the older generation of people in their 60s and 70s.
But in many ways their values, which emphasize the importance of collective organizations such as work, nation, and society, are still similar to those of the Old Guard generation.
As a result, the “sandwiched” group’s mentality often clashes with the younger generation whose top priority is individual freedom.
As one “sandwiched” executive shared “When I was a rookie, I didn’t have any choice but to be quiet when I had an issue or I disagreed with my superiors. But nowadays, the younger generation boldly express their opinions in the workplace.”
In turn, this younger generation now expects management to emulate this norm of open discussion and expression—a behavior that the Old Guard also find unacceptable and improper.
A Changing Workplace
The introduction of the “team system” and western norms by many Korean companies to address issues of a hierarchy system and to improve efficiency has increased the difficulty for the Old Guard to give direct orders to younger workers.
As noted a veteran manager, “Many young workers don’t recognize the authority of their seniors. They often say ‘we are all members of a team. No more, no less’.”
Other Concerns
Adding to the challenge, the younger generation sees many faults in both “sandwiched” managers and well as the Old Guard.
For example, the younger group argues that both older generations often erroneously blame others for problems. “They don’t realize the real problem. They are really stubborn and pigheaded. They are not ready to listen to younger workers.”
“They keep saying that we have to do this and that, but they never set a good example for us. Naturally, we don’t respect them at all,” said a young Seoul professional.
An Internal Challenge
Similar to today’s organizations in America, Korean organizations are presented with the internal challenge of creating harmony and cohesiveness among multi- generational employees.
Individuals from each generation (i.e. traditionalist, baby boomer, Generation X, or Generation Y) bring divergent values, beliefs, attitudes, and expectations based on their life experiences.
These multi-generational labels may not be used exactly the same in Korea, but the issues that Korean organizations face caused by the gap between different generations are the same.
Individuals of each generation group grew up in the same time period witnessing and participating in common historical events as well as political and economic changes.
Therefore, these individuals with similar frames of reference have an easier time building bonds and working together in harmony than working with individuals from other generation groups.
The particular characteristics of each generation deeply influence how employees think about many aspects of organizational behavior, such as motivation, satisfaction, creativity, innovation, loyalty, commitment, and teamwork.
This accentuates the importance of understanding the distinctive characteristics of each generation group in order to engender successful outcomes.
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