http:\/\/www.koreaherald.com\/view.php?ud=20130408000691<\/a><\/p>\nNo Two Chaebol Are Alike, Author says<\/p>\n
By Elaine Ramirez
\nWhile Koreans’ rising presence on the global stage is hard to
\nignore, how to do business with them as a non-Korean is an
\nincreasingly tricky area little covered in English-language
\nliterature. Don Southerton explores the niche with his recently
\npublished book “Korea Facing: Secrets for Success in Korean Global
\nBusiness,” which picks apart how to work with a Korean conglomerate
\nfrom the ground up, for non-Koreans working in Korean branches
\noverseas.<\/p>\n
“Over the years I witnessed firsthand cross-cultural issues that
\nsurfaced as Korean companies expanded globally. My role has been to
\naddress these issues such as poor trust among the Korean and
\nWestern teams, lack of communication, local employee turnover and
\nmanaging expectations,” Southerton said in an email interview with
\nThe Korea Herald.<\/p>\n
Although he has long been aware and exposed to the cultural
\ndifferences in Western and Korean business settings, he said, it
\nwas when he began working at a Korean subsidiary in the U.S. in the
\nearly 2000s that he witnessed the differences between how U.S. and
\nKorean teams managed the company.<\/p>\n
He noted that the differences in decision-making processes, for
\nexample, had been a particular source of friction between Korean
\nand Western teams: Key decisions were always deferred to the parent
\nheadquarters in Korea, and Koreans in the overseas branches needed
\nto scrutinize and approve even the most mundane matters, regardless
\nof the Western team’s experience in the field.<\/p>\n
He discovered, as he writes in “Korea Facing,” that all too many
\nfrustrations were rooted in not knowing how to do things “Korean
\nstyle” \u2015 or, for the Korean side, not knowing any other way.<\/p>\n
In “Korea Facing” he shares his personal experiences from working
\nparticularly for Hyundai-Kia overseas branches as a coach,
\nconsultant and trainer with those Korean and Western teams, and
\noffers experience-based advice for overcoming those workplace
\nchallenges.<\/p>\n
His chapters explore basic business culture lessons, from the
\nlevels of the Korean managerial hierarchy, to nuances on the right
\ntiming for getting approvals, meeting protocol \u2015 upon meeting
\nforeign teams, Koreans line up their business cards on the table to
\nmatch their seating order, and he advises doing the same \u2015
\nidentifying and resolving conflicting expectations and ambitions of
\nKorean and Western teams, and insight on just how much the Korean
\nchairman’s wife might influence the direction of the company.<\/p>\n
But Korean companies are gradually loosening their neckties and
\nadapting to Western business practices, he notes.<\/p>\n
“I feel the Korean groups have seen the need to be flexible and
\nadapt quickly to changes in global economic fluctuations,” he said.
\n“For example, in the recent global recession they saw an
\nopportunity to expand when others pulled back in production, R&D
\nand marketing. They capitalized on this opportunity to leapfrog
\nahead of the competition.”<\/p>\n
Additionally, young Korean employees sent overseas have often
\nattended school or lived abroad, and increasingly more Korean
\nexecutives have worked overseas as expats. And as the overseas
\nbusinesses are increasingly using English to communicate, so, too,
\ndo they adapt more casual Western business norms and practices, he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Beyond all the differences between Korean and non-Korean working
\ncultures, Southerton noted, Korean companies deal with many of the
\nsame challenges: How quickly projects can be approved and executed
\ndepends on the individual company; Korean and Western companies
\nboth struggle with generational gaps when trying to create harmony
\nand cohesiveness within their ranks; and no two Koreans or Korean
\ncompanies are alike, nor should they be approached as such.<\/p>\n
The last is a theme he drives throughout his book \u2015 affiliates
\nunder the same chaebol and even sub-divisions of affiliates have
\nentirely different business cultures, and it is important not to
\nwork on assumptions based on experiences with other companies, he
\nemphasizes.<\/p>\n
“One common mistake by Western teams outside Korea is assuming that
\nbecause they might have worked for other global companies such as a
\nJapanese firm that they will have few challenges adapting to a
\nKorean company,” he said. “Norms, expectations and mindset differ,
\neven with Korean groups.<\/p>\n
“Many Western overseas teams have stereotyped Koreans, often based
\non their interactions with the early expats dispatched to the local
\noperation. Like Westerners, experience, training and skills vary \u2015
\nsome Korean expats do well while others struggle,” he added. “In
\nglobal business we need be mindful of others, and recognize that
\nKorean teams and leadership vary in their approaches to challenges
\nand management.”<\/p>\n
“Korea Facing: Secrets for Success in Korean Global Business” is
\navailable through iBook, Kindle, Nook, and Google Book.<\/p>\n
###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Many thanks to Korea Herald and reporter Elaine Ramirez, the article shares my views on Korea facing global business. http:\/\/www.koreaherald.com\/view.php?ud=20130408000691 No Two Chaebol Are Alike, Author says By Elaine Ramirez<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2764,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[108,19,172,161,171,193,177],"class_list":["post-817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-bridging-culture-worldwide","tag-don-southerton","tag-donald-g-southerton-author","tag-korea-consulting","tag-korea-facing-business","tag-korea-herald","tag-korea-market-entry"],"yoast_head":"\n
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