ABSTRACT
Crisis-oriented meetings and talks were a notable means by which Western executives sought to try to (re)motivate their remaining employees. Their initial failure to use such means among the majority of MNC branch subsidiaries is indicative of a wider lack of guidance provided to top corporate management within the region. Many CEOs of the period we interviewed admitted that despite their proclamations in company-wide gatherings as to their determination to motivate the local staff, in reality they were only making matters worse. Their employees’
resentment found expression in a host of reported misdemeanors, from tardiness and time wasting through to petty theft and even spending errand time at the movies. Moves made to try to ameliorate this situation included the reiteration of the provision of comprehensive cross-cultural training to both expatriate and indigenous management at the very highest levels in order to bridge this ongoing gap at the headquarters-subsidiary divide. Such courses were held as being the ideal platform for the cultural sensitivity needed in order to facilitate the smooth transition of change in the Southeast Asian environment. Effective management within the region was generally held by course providers to encompass the recognition and understanding of local customs and practices, imbuing participants with the essential import of listening, comprehensive consultation, right relationship, face and respect. Southeast Asian managers appear to be united in their dislike of confrontation and their responsiveness to compromise. A Western CEO would do well to learn and take note of these traits early on in his or her tenure – indigenous reaction against a proposal, as we have seen, signals a strong and resilient obstacle (see also Borton, 2000; Quang, 1998).
