ABSTRACT
What appears to motivate these senior local managers, particularly the wealthier ones within the management ranks, is not so much money as what Holmes and Tangtongtavy (1995) define as “personal prestige.” Examples of this would be, for example, the image of the company worked for, the space of the office, the quality of car, even the coolness of air, referred to in Chapter 4. Another major motivational factor is the number of direct and indirect staff reports, which in part accounts for why recruitment patterns in the precrisis years were perceived by headquarters as spinning rapidly out of control. Lower down the managerial ranks lies the huge import of having one’s own mobile phone, and of its continuous utilization even during meetings. According to a number of Western-educated local managers, the tacit refusal to switch off mobile phones during meetings goes back to the importance of “face” and social status. The feeling is that receiving calls in such an environment provides added face, as those present will regard the recipient as being terribly important to be subject to urgent calls in such a manner.
