|
|
The European magazine Commerce International has published in its January 2010 edition an article on "Learning to manage intercultural affairs in Thailand" in cooperation with 1-2-WIN Executive Coaching.
Please go to: http://www.actu-cci.com/article/3135/ to see the full article. Here is the text:
Learning to run a business “Thai style” can prove trying for foreign entrepreneurs new to the Land of Smiles. A study carried out in 2008 by Dutch and French Chambers of Commerce showed that on average, an executive takes 13 months to be totally comfortable and effective in a Thai environment.
“The intercultural aspect represents an extremely heavy hidden cost for businesses”, according to Jean-François Cousin, business coach from Bangkok-based company 1-2 WIN. “Especially since the managerial staff generally changes here every three to four years.” At times, intercultural factors alone can block or considerably slow down the carrying out of projects. “It took me months to understand that a study wasn’t moving forward because of a faux pas,” recalls an employee of a Bangkok-based French distribution company. “I made the mistake of criticising the work of a Thai colleague in public.” While training and accompaniment are necessary, the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) feels that this task is not its domain. “We do not deal with individual difficulties,” states the TCC’s President, Dusit Nonthanakorn.
For their part, bilateral Chambers regularly offer workshops and conferences focusing on intercultural relations in the workplace. For businesses, many human resources departments offer short-term training sessions for new expatriates – but this doesn’t stave off beginner mistakes. “The most common error of foreigners is to be arrogant or condescending,” according to Suchada Ithijarukul, President of Makro Thailand. “Being too sure of yourself is counterproductive.”
A small nod and a “yes” are not enough to prove that you have been well understood, either: it is necessary to have things systematically repeated. “You must also learn to deliver your message in a gentle manner,” advises Thipayasuda Suvanajata, human resources Director for Shell Thailand. “Our conception of good manners is not necessary the same as yours.” As in the rest of Asia, it is generally poorly viewed to become angry or raise your voice. A Thai person will conclude that if you are not able to control yourself, you will not be capable of managing your business, either.
Investing in workplace relationships is another decisive way to secure a solid team. In Thailand, asking colleagues about their family is not considered intrusive – to the contrary. “I always advise new members of the Chamber to develop personal relationships with their employees, and to get to know them. If you want to be appreciated by your employees, you must appreciate them in turn,” says Bert Cesar, Director of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok. In the Kingdom, the boss is as respected as an elderly member of the family, and their team represents an extended family. “You cannot remain strictly focused on the results to attain,” states Jorge Pinedo, Head of Mead Johnson Nutrition in Thailand. “Your ability to involve your employees in a project will allow you to accomplish these results.”
On DVD, 888 “tips” for success
The initiative of the Belgium-Luxemburg, French and Dutch Chambers of Commerce has been recognised by numerous entrepreneurs. With a survey of 120 businesses and interviews with 28 important Thai and foreign bosses, coach Jean-François Cousin (1-2 WIN) was able to highlight critical points of understanding within companies: how do the Thai view foreigners at work?, what skills do foreigners wish to see in the Thai?, and vice-versa. A DVD, available in various Chamber branches, presents the results of this survey, analyses the data and allows you to watch interview excerpts. Above all, this multimedia toolbox offers practical advice to allow foreigners and Thai people to understand their differences and to learn to work together more effectively. Contacts available on the websites of the three Chambers: www.beluthai.org; www.francothaicc.com and www.ntccthailand.org.
Marie Normand
Your comments and questions are welcome on our Blog!
|
|
|
Read full article on: http://www.francothaicc.com/index.php?id=15804
An unprecedented Group-Coaching experience develops
leadership & change management skills beyond expectations
What have you done this year to become a better leader?
Challenge their ideas, discover new approaches and tools on leadership and take actions are what 15 senior executives from 15 member-companies have done in 2009, supported by a 10-workshop program including individual coaching sessions.
Here is what the participants said at the conclusion of this unique experience:
“A good place to share experiences, have pre-conceived ideas tested; it provided some very useful tools and take-away, as well as provided a network of very interesting professionals”
“Our brain-storm sessions on various subjects have led to instant new ideas which quickly can be fine-tuned in our group and lead to better self-reflection on the way we all conduct our businesses on a day-to- day basis”.
“Everyone comes here to find a solution, but in fact we have the solution in us, and we forgot it because we always keep the same behaviors. We surfaced ideas we had (in group) and thought about how to make them effective. It was not just getting guidance, but proposing alternatives and thinking about them”.
“Coaching is very practical, and can be applied immediately. You can get training course anywhere with best speakers, but you can’t fit the learning to daily life sometimes”.
At the closing session, the CEOs joined their senior executives, and all reflected on people development and on the challenges with soft-skills improvement. A CEO confided: “We need to acknowledge that soft-skills development is difficult, and that performance in the future is directly linked to our ability to use interactive coaching –listening, decoding, sharing-”.
This unprecedented adventure into “what it takes to become a great leader” was supported by the French and Dutch Chambers of Commerce and orchestrated by 2 Certified Executives Coaches: Anne-Marie Machet, FP Coaching to Lead, and Jean-Francois Cousin, 1-2 WIN Executive Coaching.
The program ran on 10 months with an amazing diversity of participants from different business sectors and personal background.
Among the companies participating were Total, L’Oréal, Schneider-Electric, Essilor, Sanofi-Aventis, Wine Connection, Bel Perfumes, Rhodia, Safecoms and Vidon & Partners.
The executive coaching approach adopted was pivotal in helping participants to break-down their established thinking and behavioral patterns, gain awareness, explore new perspectives, stimulate creative thinking, build a vision and shift towards a continuous self-development that will sustain high-performance and satisfaction in the future.
Are you now ready to embark in such an adventure?
|
|
|
Watch on YouTube.com: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svBImR7TSEc
1-2-WIN Coaching beyond Success and the local Chambers of Commerce of Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have led a survey to understand:
•How Thais perceive Foreigners at work and vice-versa?
•What skills Thais wish Foreigners to have and vice-versa?
•What matters most for Thais at work? And for Foreigners?
•How different are their core-value systems and leadership models?
120 Companies participated in the survey. 28 inspiring and successful business leaders, Thais and Foreigners, were interviewed.
A DVD now presents the survey-results, provides insights, practical advice and tips for Foreigners and Thais to better understand their differences and bridge the gap. The DVD also offers the 28 interviews in 2 sections: advice for Foreigners, and advice for Thais.
Free downloads of tips, survey results and self-assessment checklists at www.1-2-win.net
|
|
|
2009 delivered positive news beyond expectations to many NTCC companies, including 1-2-WIN Executive Coaching:
- break-through the bar of 2,000 hours of “paid coaching sessions”
- business-expansion in Shanghai & Singapore
- clients from 15 nationalities
- over 1,000 visitors to the “free-download” page of www.1-2-win.net
Most noticeable trends:
- strong surge in CEO-coaching
- steep growth of career-coaching
- increasing demand for cross-cultural coaching
- growing number of referrals
- more inquiries about executive coaches’ certifications and credentials in Thailand
Strikingly, 1-2-WIN Clients are all delivering beyond expectations in 2009, demonstrating again that if something can’t fail in business, it’s the combination of a winning mindset, consistent focus on execution and effective investment in people-development.
How would you rate your team and yourself on those 3 criteria in 2009? What are the opportunities to further improve and make 2010 a record-year?
|
- Page 5 of 6
- << Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next > End >>
|
+66 87 99 60 679 
+ 65 82 86 64 44; Copyright © 1-2-win 2010, all rights reserved.
0
Comments
Add