Business Case
Defining the Problem
The position with SK Telecom in South Korea "seemed like a dream job" for Linda Myers, who would become one of the first American female executives in the South Korea (p. 124). Yet Myers, and her organization, underestimated the importance of understanding the nuances of Korean culture. Myers had worked abroad as an expatriate before and assumed that all countries outside the United States would pose similar challenges. She was wrong to make this assumption. "Although she'd been in new cultural situations before, this one seemed more difficult to navigate," (p. 124). If Myers had been more willing to consider what Korean business culture would be like, she might have avoided some of the problems that occurred. "Her experience prepping clients to work for Western multinationals in China and other countries did not easily translate to her situation in Korea," showing the importance of treating each situation, and each new country or culture, differently (p. 126).
The problem is not Myers' alone, though. She had "no official orientation" and no detailed guidance from her superiors," (p. 124). This is an organizational issue, stemming from poor management decisions related to human resources. Moreover, Myers felt "isolated," as she was not given any opportunity to form relationships with her new colleagues in Seoul (p. 124). Moreover, human resources managers failed to choose someone who might better fit in with the Seoul business culture than Myers, if they were determined to avoid a comprehensive orientation and training program. "Her straight- forward American style was at odds with the polite formality of her Korean peers," (p. 125). There were also clear issues of role clarity that were never addressed in a fruitful way: "And she eventually realized that she and her new employer had different ideas about...
125).
Ultimately, Myers failed because human resources managers failed to do their job right. Ironically, Myers had worked previously in "a boutique consulting firm in Washington, DC, that helps multinationals such as Hewlett-Packard and ExxonMobil develop cross-cultural training programs," (p. 125). Myers should have seen what was coming when she accepted the position with SK. Instead, she failed to confront the gender issue immediately. The South Korean partners had "assumed" she was male and she might never have confronted them about this to find out if they had an issue working with a new female executive (p. 125).
Analyzing the Cause
First, Myers was unprepared for Seoul: "One early shock was the homogeneity of not only her office but also the city." She said she read books about Korea before going, but reading books is no substitute for travel or interaction with Korean-Americans who might have been able to help her in a real way. Second, in spite of her background as a consultant related to cross-cultural communication, Myers did not analyze the position using Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions. If she had, Myers might have been able to better understand her role and how to fit in with SK Telecom.
For example, one of Hofstede's cultural dimensions is power distance. American culture has a flat power distance, which is why Myers instinctively asked her Korean colleagues to stop calling her Sang Mu Linda, and start calling her Linda. She lost credibility and power by doing so because Korean culture has a high power distance in which authority and distance between superiors and subordinates is expected. "What she regarded as a 'participative leadership style' looked wishy-washy to the people at SK," (p. 126). Myers should have been aware of this important dimension of culture. She…
