People in every nation have a core set of national values or behaviors that affect the way they conduct business. The most important, which tend to vary from country to country, are described below for South Korea:
The Importance of Personal RelationshipsHow South Koreans Get Work DoneCommunicating With South Koreans Who Makes Decisions & How Decisions are MadeImplications of StatusInteractive Value - Belief Profile For South Korea
Click on a Defining Cultural Characteristic to learn how it affects behaviors in South Korea
| Defining Cultural Characteristics in Order of Importance - The most important in business are bold | Characteristic Strength Compared to Other Countries |
|---|---|
| Strongly Personal/Relational | Very Strong Value-Belief |
| Indirect Communication (Valuing Relationships and Maintaining Harmony) | Very Strong Value-Belief |
| Trust in Relationships | Strong Value-Belief |
| High Reciprocity | Very Strong Value-Belief |
| Importance of being Emotionally Aware | Very Strong Value-Belief |
| Hierarchy | Very Strong Value-Belief |
| Power Distance | Very Strong Value-Belief |
| Humility | Strong Value-Belief |
| Collectivism/a> | Very Strong Value-Belief |
| In-Group Collectivism | Very Strong Value-Belief |
| Strict Procedures | Strong Value-Belief |
| Hard Work Oriented | Strong Value-Belief |
| Monochronic | Average Value-Belief |
| Ascription | Strong Value-Belief |
| Circular Thinking | Strong Value-Belief |
| Considering Ideas and Using Intuition to Solve Challenges | Above Average Value-Belief |
| Low Territoriality | Strong Value-Belief |
| Respect for Traditional Values | Very Strong Value-Belief |
| Diffuse | Very Strong Value-Belief |
| Masculinity | Very Strong Value-Belief |
| Neutral (Unemotional) | Strong Value-Belief |
| Inherent Goodness of Working Hard | Very Strong Value-Belief |
| High Context | Very Strong Value-Belief |
| Focus on Past | Strong Value-Belief |
| Focus Primarily on the Future | Strong Value-Belief |
| Shame | Very Strong Value-Belief |
Richard
Richard
In your experience do South Koreans have a very strong, strong, or average preference for a cultural dimension not listed above?
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
Example of high Power Distance, Hierarchy, and Respect for Tradition
A teacher, teaching a multicultural class in India offered an optional class on a particular subject for those who were interested. “Of the one hundred and fifty or so students, about twenty-five were Koreans. To the teacher’s surprise, they all showed up. Some were obviously tired, yet they came..... The reason they came was because the teacher invited them. They could not disappoint the teacher by not coming”. Respect for the teacher was required, and non-attendance from the Korean contingent would have, in their minds, communicated a lack of respect.
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
Making Friends in Korea
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Building and Maintaining relationships with Korean colleagues and business partners is essential. But how does one go about building and maintaining these relationships? This article describes questions you might ask or might be asked and activities you might suggest or you might find yourself invited to join. Consider getting to know your colleagues and partners as one of the most important and potentially enjoyable aspects of working in Korea.
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
The Meaning of and Importance of Face
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In many Asian countries the concept of Face restricts and governs most interpersonal interactions. Understanding how to give and take face, how to lose or save face and the face balance sheet, is essential for successful business and personal success. This article will help you understand this very complex concept.
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
Korean Corporate Titles and When To Use Them
Read time: 5 minutes Think time: 10 minutes
In the Korean business culture, people almost always address one another on a last-name basis, and an honorific job title follows a person’s last name. This is true even for co-workers in the same office and whether the communication is a face-to-face conversation or in writing. This article describes some of the more widely used Korean business titles.
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
Nunchi - Assessing Another’s Feelings or State of Mind
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Closely tied to gibun is another Korean concept-nunchi, which means the ability to assess another person’s feelings or state of mind. In a culture where it is important not to upset anyone, such an ability is critical for business and personal success. This article describes the concept of nunchi.
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
Women in the Workplace
Read time: 5 minutes Think time: 10 minutes
In Korea,
women may hold the purse strings at home and are often the dominant partner; nevertheless,
in the workplace Korean women play a decidedly secondary role. There is significant pay disparity and significantly fewer women in leadership positions. This article presents some of the issues facing modern Korean women.
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
Korean Business Etiquette
Read time: 10 minutes Think time: 30 minutes
This article describes Korean business etiquette concerning:
South Korean Management PreferencesSouth Korean Peer-to-Peer BehaviorsSouth Korean Subordinate PreferencesSouth Korean Negotiating StyleSouth Korean Communication StyleSouth Korean Sales PreferencesSouth Korean Decision Making StyleHow to Use Working Globally's Country Profiles
Dimensions that appear bold indicate there is a large difference between the users ?cultural preference? and those of an average person from the country selected. Italics will indicate a medium difference.
Clicking on a Cultural Dimension will open a right side-bar which describes the observable behaviors and expectations of individuals from the country under consideration.
The "Country Profile" table lists the most strongly held national beliefs (cultural dimensions), usually less than 20, that underlie most of the specific actions/behaviors you will encounter when working in that nation.
Clicking on any listed "cultural dimension" will display a general description of the significance of this cultural dimension and a discussion of specific practices or behaviors resulting from this belief. These are the actions you should look for when you start working with your multi-national colleagues.
Appreciating the underlying national beliefs will keep you from leaping to wrong judgments (see The Ladder of Inference).
Applying this information to step three of the four step "Golden Rule" will help you avoid national belief based conflicts.
Collectivism
General behaviors
Cultures that are considered to be collectivist believe that if people look after the good of the group the group will reciprocate and look after them, that is, the group will protect them, and give them security in exchange for their loyalty to the group. Collectivist cultures believe that everyone will be better off if everyone puts the good of the group ahead of their own good. Uniqueness is often viewed as a form of deviance and conformity is associated with harmony. This description applies to individuals and the nuclear family.
Current cultural models now include several types of collectivism in addition to the beliefs of the individual and the nuclear family, these are: extended family collectivism (which is very strong in China where the extended family looks out for its own good, but within the extended family, family members are expected to put the family’s good before themselves), group collectivism, and institutional collectivism (such as in Sweden where some things are treated as me first but government programs in education and health care are also supported.
In a collectivist society, the identity of the individual is in large part a function of his/her membership and role in the group, e.g., the family, clan, or work team. Group members are relatively close psychologically and emotionally, but may be distant toward non-group members.
Behaviors
Maintaining group harmony is one of the most important behaviors of collectivist societies.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Group Formation and Maintenance
In Korea it is very common for University departments to organize weekend activities such as hiking trips. Everyone usually goes on such trips. These trips encourage a “family” sense among the students which tends to remain throughout their life.
To some extent this is also true for work groups, where after work drinking is often the group event that encourages a “family” sense.
These activities enable group participants to get to know one another’s lives, not just what they do at work, but everything about them. This in turn increases the shared context of all group members.
Hofstede’s Score
South Korea has one of the highest scores for collectivism as surveyed by Hofstede: it is 11th out of 66 countries surveyed by Hofstede.
Examples or Articles
Richard
Power Distance
General behaviors
Power Distance is the belief that some people, by birth, age, education, or some other factor have the right to exercise power over others and that recognizing this right enables society to operate optimally with minimum chaos and maximum good for all.
Power Distance is also a measure of the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and organizations accept that power is distributed unequally. At the extreme a person completely accepts that those with higher status have the authority to make decisions that control their lives. In such cultures, the less powerful believe that those in power have their best interests at heart, and have more experience and access to better information than they do.
Power Distance is a concept first put forward by Hofstede. Hofstede’s Power Distance is used to explain, and hence includes the affects of other cultural dimensions; these are: hierarchy, ascription, a bit of trust in relationships. At Working-Globally, we believe there is sufficient independence between these additional cultural dimensions to make it useful to separate them. However, because Hofstede is the only one to attempt to quantify Power Distance, the published Power Distance values for countries includes the affect of these other cultural dimensions.
Managers Look Out For The Future of Subordinates
If you do good work you expect your boss to reward you. Your boss will take care of you. You would not go to your boss and ask when is my next promotion, what do I need to do to get to the next level, how should I develop myself, you would not have these conversations, your boss would say do this it is good for you and when the time is right he will promote you and usually it would fit a particular pattern that will fit with your expectation.
Educational practices are also affected by a culture’s PDI orientation. Teachers in cultures with a high PDI orientation are figures of authority, they are not to be questioned, they are to be listened too. Learning often does not come from discussion or personal exploration, instead learning comes from memorizing what the teacher and the text book says. In addition, learning to listen, to accept, and not to doubt authority, in school means this particular cultural orientation will change very slowly if at all even when contending with forces for change such as the internet.
Importance of Titles
Much is made of age, advanced degrees, and job titles, since these clarify hierarchical
relationships. This difference between the High PDI cultures and Low PDI cultures is reflected in the language each uses to address friends and colleagues. Americans, for example, who are Low PDI, move immediately to the use of first names in the vast majority of situations. In some areas of the United States children may call their teachers and principals by their first names. Colleagues in an office very rarely refer to each other by title or as “Mr.” or “Ms.” Koreans, however, who are High PDI, are frequently called by their titles: teacher, professor, manager, boss, and so on.
Dealing With Conflicting Status Indicators
In cultures with a high Power Distance orientation, special considerations must be made by someone in a high position who interacts with someone who is older or who may have strong fa
Examples or Articles
Airplane Crash Attibuted to High Power Distance Index
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Airplane Crash Attibuted to High Power Distance Index
In a culture with a high Power Distance Index, it is inappropriate for a subordinate to directly confront their superior. In the case of Korean Airlines, plane crashes have been attributed to the captain making a mistake and the first officer or flight engineer not directly confronting the captain, leading to the crash. (This has also happened in cultures with a high Equality / Egality orientation, for example the crash of the Air Florida flight in Washington DC in 1982 can in part be attribute to this same reluctance of a subordinate to directly confront a superior, even though both members of the flight crew were Americans.)
As for Korean Air, they did change their culture. This was done in part by making English the official language of flight crews. This change in language, along with other training, enabled the crews to be more direct with their captains, significantly improving their safety record.
Requirement For and Content Of Business Cards
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Requirement For and Content Of Business Cards
Read Time: 2 minutes Think Time: 3 minutes
Most cultures with a strong Power Distance orientation use business cards, not just to remember a name and telephone number, but more importantly to identify relative status positions.
In some strong Power Distance cultures, relative status affects language. In most, the relative status affects respect. As a consequence, giving one a business card, respecting the card, and putting the right information on the card is extremely important.
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Based on Hofstede’s surveys South Korea has an average Power Distance orientation (60 from scores between 11 and 104) and has the 38th highest PDI out of 66 countries in the survey.
Hofstede’s survey results do not agree with significant anecdotal evidence and the results of other surveys which indicate that Korea has a very high Power Distance Orientation.
This High Power Distance is seen at school, where Confucian tradition confers a high status to teachers and students are expected to show complete respect.
In Korea, you will often hear the word "sonsaengnim", which means "respected person" that is frequently used when addressing someone of a higher stature.
Examples or Articles
Richard
Strict Procedures
General behaviors
Strict Procedures is a measure of the extent to which individuals tolerate or become uncomfortable in ambiguous situations. In cultures where individuals tend to be uncomfortable when faced with ambiguity they often reduce their stress by stipulating rules and procedures which remove the ambiguity of situations. For example, individuals in some countries feel comfortable crossing the street whenever they perceive it is safe. Individuals from Strict Procedure cultures feel uncomfortable not knowing `the correct time to cross the street` for such individuals crossing against a red light feels wrong even if there is no traffic.
Individuals who prefer Strict Procedures become extremely uncomfortable and avoid whenever possible situations which are not carefully structured with commonly known and accepted procedures. Such individuals feel most comfortable when there are rules or procedures to follow and they follow the rules and procedures precisely.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Based on Hofstede’s surveys, South Korea has a strong Uncertainty Avoidance orientation. Since an Uncertainty Avoidance orientation often results in a belief that strict procedures lead to the best results and often requires strict procedures to minimize stress, an Uncertainty Avoidance orientation is a strong indication for a Strict Procedure orientation. South Korea had the 17th highest score of Uncertainty avoidance out of 66 countries in Hofstede’s survey (85 from scores between 8 and 112).
One would have difficulty finding a society where formality is prized more highly than in Korea. In Korea, practically every relationship, except among immediate family members and the most intimate friends, is maintained with a significant level of formality. Life is ritualized in almost every public situation and titles are almost always used not given names. When doing business in Korea be sure to observe business rituals and follow them as best as you can.
Examples or Articles
Richard
Hierarchy
General behaviors
The belief that challenges are better met, that individuals and the group are more secure when there is a clear chain of command; and where roles, departmental as well as individual, are clearly (either implicitly or explicitly) defined and understood and individuals believe that the company will be most effective if everyone ONLY does what they are supposed to do.
Strictly Follow the Chain of Command
In hierarchical cultures requesting assistance from someone in another department or someone senior to an immediate manager or providing updates to anyone other than an immediate manager may be viewed as sneaky or even traitorous by a manager.
Wait to be Told What to Do
Often in cultures with a Hierarchy orientation, subordinates expect to be told what to do and if the culture also has a high power distance orientation, managers will NOT expect to be contradicted they will expect to be obeyed without question or discussion.
Only do those things associated with one’s job title
In cultures with a hierarchical orientation, individuals tend to only do those things that are associated with their job title. If you ask someone to do something outside of the their ’titled’ domain, they are likely to say ’that is not my job!’. And if someone does something that is within someone else’s domain, that other person is likely to question ’What gives you the right to do that?’
Information Is Power
A further attribute of cultures with a Hierarchy orientation is the belief that information is power, which leads to a perceived unwillingness to share what one knows. In cultures with a Hierarchy orientation, information flows are part of the accepted rules of the hierarchy. In the need to know, nice to know, and need not know spectrum of information distribution, managers with a strong hierarchy orientation tend to favor distributing information only to those they believe have a need to know.
Examples or Articles
Communication Challenges When Hierarchy Meets Loosey-Goosey
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Communication Challenges When Hierarchy Meets Loosey-Goosey
Managers and Subordinates from Cultures with hierarchical orientations have clear understandings of what can, cannot, and should be said when they speak to each other. Note, what can, cannot, and should be said may differ from one hierarchical culture to another, but in all such cultures if you don't say what you should or do say what you should not, it is almost guaranteed that your attempted communication will be misunderstood and hence will fail to achieve the desired result.
This short example shows the dangerous possible result when a nurse from a culture with a hierarchical orientation is managed by a doctor from a culture with a Loosey-Goosey orientation.
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Korean society is based on a Confucian hierarchical social system in which Koreans need to know the position of another person in order to determine how to relate to him, whether in terms of respect given or the language to use in conversation. Korean companies are part of this social system and individual identities are closely tied to the positions they hold within a given organisation. For this reason, knowing the position of a person in a Korean company is significant when one interacts with him. People in their late 40s and older are more sensitive to position and hierarchy whereas younger Koreans are less concerned with hierarchy.
In business it is important to maintain a degree of formality, this results from South Korea’s strong hierarchical orientation, respect for tradition, and above average Power Distance Index.
Because of the hierarchy, each worker tends to have a very distinct role within the organization, and maintaining that role helps to keep order.
Use of Formal Titles
A clue to the importance of position lies in the way Koreans address each other. They would never call President Kim, Mr Kim. Nor would they use his personal name. Managing Director Park is addressed as such, never as Mr Park or by his personal name. Koreans are familiar with the Western way of calling people by their personal names, or by the usual honorarium of ’Mr’, as in Mr Smith, instead of Director Smith. But they would appreciate your efforts to call them as they call each other-by their titles. Furthermore, using the title not only gives each Korean his due respect, it helps the foreigner distinguish between the multitude of Mr Kims, Mr Parks and Mr Lees.
Decision Making
The rules of the Korean Hierarchy give senior managers the authority to make all decisions and to be responsible for all strategic direction. This strong Hierarchical orientation can at time lead to inefficiencies because subordinates may spend significant time waiting for directions. However, this can also result in rapid decision making if you are dealing with the most senior manager.
South Korean subordinates will tend to rely on instructions from superiors and may not feel comfortable working autonomously on projects.
Employees of differing status may feel uncomfortable when mixing.
When an expatriate manager needs information from a subordinate, s/he must be careful to test the answers received. Because of the Hierarchical orientation and strong Power Distance orientation, subordinates will be uncomfortable in contradicting a manager which may result in an answer that attempts to give the manager the answer that s/he wants, which may not be an honest statement of what the subordinate truly believes.
Business Partners and Hierarchy
Generally, people of similar positions in different organisations work with one another. If you have a high position in your organisation, and a person of noticeably lower position acts as the representative of his company when relating to you, you can assume that the company is not particularly interested in what yours has to offer.
Examples or Articles
Richard
In-Group Collectivism
General behaviors
In-group collectivism is ’the degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organizations or families’. Organizations in which members hold loyalty more to the organization rather than to personal gain would be an example of high in-group collectivism.
In-Group Collectivism, similar to Individualism, can result in a barrier to social safety net programs and corporate governance mandates associated with cultures with Collectivist or Institutional Collectivism orientations. This results from the preference of the In-Group to care for and protect itself without concern for those outside of the group.
Examples or Articles
Special Challenges Resulting From In-Group Collectivism
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Special Challenges Resulting From In-Group Collectivism
A challenge faced by cultures having a strong In-Group Collectivist orientation is optimally distributing decision making authority. The tendency is to keep all decision making within the In-Group.
This creates a situation where two cultures with similar cultural orientations still face serious challenges Two cultures with strong orientations for In-Group Collectivism and Trust in Relationships, such as Brazil and China, will both be hesitant to distribute decision making authority, and not to Trust those outside of their group, yet both will believe that Trust in Relationships are required to form successful business associations.
When China set up businesses in Brazil, Brazilian workers complained that their Chinese employers didn’t understand the country’s culture of developing personal relationships among co-workers, and bristled against a centralized office hierarchy that put little trust in local executives.
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Many of the large conglomerates (chaebols) are family run companies where much of the power and ownership resides with the founder’s family.
“In-group members would not ignore the suffering of fellow members. The in-group members generously overlook the mistakes of other members.” The implications for an expatriate manager are that if the loyalty and bonding within sub groups is so immensely powerful then as an outsider of the sub group he may be denied knowledge of “mistakes.”
In South Korea, corporate loyalty is often greater than family loyalty.
Foreigners often complain that Koreans hardly apologize after bumping into their shoulders. Although one could simply attribute such phenomenon as a cost of living in a country full of congested cities, this may also have to do with the Koreans’ Confucian perception that outsiders deserve less courtesy.
Examples or Articles
Richard
Respect for Traditional Values
General behaviors
Respect for Traditional Values is a measure of how an individual feels towards his/her religion, traditional role in the family, traditional place in society, traditional belief in the emotional value of hard work, etc. An individual from a culture with a Respect for Traditional Values orientation will hold to the same beliefs as his parents generation and believe that such continuity achieves the best possible life.
This often means: respect for elders, a belief in the virtue of following religious principles, especially those that describe duties (things you do for people) and obligations (things you owe people) and your place in the family and society.
At work individuals with this orientation tend not to rock the boat and to expect process to remain unchanged. Change will be seen as disruptive and likely to lead to bad consequences.
In a business context this cultural orientation is often associated with Asian countries, currently this orientation may be even more important to appreciate in terms of Islamic cultures.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Confucian ethics dominate Korean thought patterns and this translates in business terms into great respect for authority, age and seniority.
Examples or Articles
Richard
Ascription
General behaviors
Ascription is a measure of how status is accorded to people. Ascription means that status is attributed to you by things like birth, kinship, gender, age, interpersonal connections, or educational record.
It is not what you know, it is who you know that is important.
Ascription-oriented societies or organizations, justify their hierarchies by claiming the senior people have the power-to-get-things-done.
In an ascription-oriented culture people will ask where you studied and only if they are not familiar with your university or do not think highly of your university might they ask what you studied.
If you come from a culture with an Achievement-orientation and you are working with subordinates from a culture with an Ascriptive-orientation:
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Confucian ethics dominate Korean thought patterns and this translates in business terms into great respect for authority, age and seniority.
Always show respect to senior people. Your trustworthiness and standing will, in part, be judged by your ability to create the right type of harmonious atmosphere.
Balance out the seniority of the two delegations. Senior people should be met by people of similar rank and standing.,br>
As well as formal functional hierarchy, many Korean companies have a strong informal hierarchy, which is based upon personal relationships and loyalties.
Examples or Articles
Richard
Diffuse
General behaviors
Diffuse is a measure of separation between work and ones private life. In diffuse cultures a manager`s influence extends beyond the business and into a subordinates family and private life,
For example, a teacher would be treated by the student not only as an instructor in the classroom, but also as a participant and influence in the student`s home life. The boss-subordinate relationship usually does not stop when the employee leaves the office; the boss is likely to have a say in other aspects of his/her employee`s personal life. For example, your manager might help you with medical care and with your children`s education. Your employer might provide housing.
Trompenaars, who is considered to be the one who first described this dimension has also said, In a diffuse culture, everything is connected to everything For instance, what people from a mainly specific culture see as not important or as a waste of time can in a diffuse culture be seen as very important.
Further, in a diffuse culture, the relationship with a business partner is connected to the decisions being made about an agreement or a negotiation, whereas it is not important in a specific culture where relationships and business are seen as separate entities.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
According to Trompenaars, South Korea has a very strong orientation towards Specific behavior. The rating is 90 out of 100, giving South Korea the highest rating for Specific behavior of all the countries tested by Trompenaars.
In South Korea, managers often take a somewhat paternalistic attitude to their employees. This is observed through a concern for employees that goes beyond the workplace and strictly professional concerns.
Examples or Articles
Richard
Indirect Communication (Valuing Relationships and Maintaining Harmony)
General behaviors
Indirect Communication (Relationship and Harmony) is a measure of how far individuals will go to prevent others from feeling bad or to avoid/prevent conflict.
In cultures where maintaining good relationships, maintaining the harmony of the group, and saving the ’face’ of all concerned, is important, communication patterns have evolved that convey potentially conflict raising information in a non-confrontational manner. This approach often makes outsiders who value straightforward truth irrespective of the ’truths’ affect on the feelings of others or the harmony of the group, feel they are being lied to or at least the truth is being hidden and withheld. This is not the case for members of the group or culture, because everyone within the culture will understand the situation and the real meaning of what is said; ambiguity or outright mis-statement is really only for affect.
Individuals from a Direct culture, because they misinterpret the nuance, body-language, or situational modifiers, may feel individuals from Indirect cultures lack honesty and/or truthfulness.
It is only possible for High Context cultures to be Indirect, because only in High Context cultures will everyone be expected to properly interpret what is being said.
Criticizing the Individual or the Idea
Individuals with an Indirect Communication orientation tend not to differentiate between criticizing an idea and criticizing the Individual who put forth the idea. So in a group, if you tell someone that his/her idea is no good, s/he automatically takes it personally and assumes that you are criticizing him/her.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
In cultures that have a very strong Indirect orientation the idea of preserving your face and that of others is very important. Koreans have a special word for this: kibun
Kibun is a word with no literal English translation; the closest terms are pride, face, mood, feelings, or state of mind. If you hurt someone’s kibun you hurt their pride, cause them to lose dignity, and lose face.
Because Korean’s have a very strong Indirect orientation, interpersonal relationships operate on the principle of harmony. This means:
While contradicting a subordinate or manager in public may result in them losing face Asking very direct questions is quite acceptable, so long as the question is to obtain information and not to question authority or as a way of calling attention to an error.
Since there is a tendency to say “yes" to questions so that you do not lose face, the way you phrase a question is crucial. It is better to ask, "When can we expect shipment?” than “Can we expect shipment in 3 weeks?”, since this question requires a direct response.
Examples or Articles
Richard
Inherent Goodness of Working Hard
General behaviors
An individual with a Work orientation, often called work ethic believes in the inherent goodness of working hard. Hard work is considered ’good for the soul’. work is done for work’s sake, not to achieve status, it is simply what one must do. It might also be considered necessary for the good of one’s group.
The Inherent Goodness of Working Hard should not be confused with enjoying work. Individual’s from cultures with this orientation often do not take enjoyment from their work, they feel instead that hard work is their duty what they were born to do.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
“Songsil” is a term used to show that all employees should be willing to sacrifice personal interest to those of the company.
This willingness to sacrifice personal interest is often observed as working extended hours at the expense of personal time.
Examples or Articles
Richard
High Context
General behaviors
High Context cultures are characterized by extensive information networks and strongly shared experiences resulting in significant understanding without speech (in those domains that are very high context, for example certain traditional businesses and activities (banking, agriculture, sales, and hiring), [note:- Keep in mind that even High Context cultures will have many domains that are Low Context, for example basic research and new product development].
Communication in High Context cultures involves the use of many covert and implicit forms of expression. Body language is very important and understood by all within the culture. The use of metaphors, nuanced and indirect expressions, and reading between the lines is done by and understood by all.
Individuals from High Context cultures often interpret the talkativeness of those from Low Context cultures as indications that the person is argumentative, simplistic, or not too smart.
Intuition
Individuals in cultures with a High Context orientation often use Intuition when making decisions within High Context domains such as: buying, hiring, and M&A.
Etiquette in High Context cultures is often important and often consists of complex rules and procedures which everyone within the culture is expected to know and to follow (sometimes leading to stress within the culture where etiquette mistakes can be very serious).
These social patterns are taught within the family at a very young age. Because of the way these patterns are taught, they become part of each individual’s cultural DNA. Consequently, individuals know the proper social manners and behaviors implicitly, without thinking about them. They simply are the social behaviors and patterns that feel right
Some High Context cultures, for example Japan, are forgiving of foreigners, who are not expected to have mastered all the appropriate rituals. Others, such as France, may consider foreigners to be unsophisticated or uncouth.
Individuals with Low Context orientation often feel individuals with High Context orientation are abrupt, cold, or indifferent.
Examples or Articles
Not What was Said but the Way it Was Said
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Not What was Said but the Way it Was Said
In comparing American with Japanese responses to television commercials, research has found that Americans paid most attention to the specific message itself, to what was communicated about the product. Japanese viewers were far more interested in the way the presenter spoke and the sincerity of the communication. They were influenced more by the overall feeling they experienced when they saw the commercial, valuing the intuitive feelings based on shared common knowledge that the presenter induced by the way s/he spoke.
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Nunchi - Assessing another’s feelings or state of mind
Closely tied to gibun is another Korean concept-nunchi, which literally means ’eye measure’. It is the ability to assess another person’s gibun, but it is done not only by the eye.
In a society where behaving so as not to disturb social harmony is critical, being able to judge another person’s state of mind is essential. Good nunchi ability puts a person one step ahead of everyone else. He will know when to ask his boss for favor, when to take or yield the right of way in traffic, and when to tell bad news and cause the least damage.
Nunchi is a kind of antenna one has to sense another’s feelings or state of mind. Some of this is done by watching body language, and heeding the tone of voice and what is said. In Korea, where gibun is so important, many people have developed a kind of sixth sense with which to assess it.
Of course, this kind of judgment takes place everywhere in the world, as when a child learns the best time and person to ask for an ice cream or treat. But whereas Westerners are more likely to state their moods, or at least reveal their states of mind, Koreans have been taught to control their emotions, and to disguise their true feelings. To discern the mood of a Korean requires much nunchi.
Some Koreans complain about the indirectness with which they are required to express their feelings. They would sometimes prefer to say exactly how they feel, and often wish others would do the same, thus negating the need for such a sensitive nunchi. But tradition dies hard in this Confucian-oriented society.
Remember, too, that behaviors are interpreted using different measures in Korean and Western societies. Thus, an angry outburst may be taken as an expression of greater dissatisfaction in Korea than in a Western country. If you receive a phone call bearing bad news, and appear sad after it, your Korean friend will probably treat you with extra care and sensitivity, afraid to upset you further. If you complain to your subordinate that she is behind on a project, she may misinterpret this to mean that you are generally dissatisfied with her work.
South Korean’s tend to bond as a group starting in University. Individuals will share experiences together, such as weekend hiking trips, creating a “virtually unbreakable bond” for “the rest of their lives”. To some extent this is also true for work groups, where after work drinking is often the group event that encourages a “family” sense.
These networks are often used to meet business requirements. An expatriate manager should be aware that an introduction to possible business contacts may not be made on performance based criteria but social obligation resulting from the “group network”. While it may be difficult and will take time, the successful expat manager should attempt to forge such bonds him/her self.
Because of the High Context orientation, Koreans expect terseness in answering present tense questions, that is questions that can be answered without explaining first the historical background associated with a decision
Examples or Articles
Richard
Trust in Relationships
General behaviors
Relationships are the basis of trust. They are more important than truth/honesty, ability, performance, or contracts.
In such cultures individuals must get to know one another before entering into any type of business arrangement. This may take a long time. Often the first and sometimes even the second meeting, will start with a great deal of getting-to-know-you talk, and will never involve discussing business.
Once a business partnership is established, in Trust in Relationship cultures, they tend to be exceedingly long-lasting and resilient. In fact, such relationships are often a barrier to foreign businesses attempting to enter the market.
History
Countries with a Trust in Relationships orientation often have a history of a corrupt judicial system. Because one could not depend on the judicial system to fairly enforce contracts reliance on relationships became important.
Keeping track of favors and obligations
Individuals from countries with a strong Trust in Relationship orientation tend to keep a mental tally of whom they have done favors for and who have done them favors. Favors MUST be repaid. Failure to repay a favor when requested can seriously damage a relationship, even destroy a relationship forever. At times, the inability to repay a favor, or debt, in a timely manor can cause extreme loss of face.
It is not what you know, it is who you know that is important.
When starting projects, individuals from cultures that hold relationships to be very important may insist on identifying project team members before identifying tasks.
Trust in relationship cultures tend to form fewer friendships but these last a lifetime.
In countries with Trust in Relationships orientation it is usually best if you can get a business introduction through a third party that is know and trusted by the party you wish to do business with.
Everything is Negotiable
In countries with Trust in Relationships orientation all things can be negotiated at all times. Business partners are expected to be sensitive to the needs of each other. If family matters require it, a little extra time is negotiable, unless it has been made ultra clear that in this limited instance time is of the essence.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
When starting a business or joint venture in Korea it is critical to establish good relationships with your business partners. It is important to keep in mind that it takes time to establish these relationships. do not jeopardize a relationship through impatience, and make sure your superiors, if they are from a culture with a task and/or trust in institutions orientation, are willing to accept what may feel to them as an uncomfortable and troublesomely long start-up period.
South Koreans prefer to do business with people with whom they have a personal connection, therefore, whenever possible make initial business contacts with the help of know third-parties.
Because Korean’s base business partnerships on relationships, legal documents may be treated more as memorandum of understanding that binding and enforceable. Koreans will tend to view contracts as loosely structured consensus statements that broadly define agreement and leave room for flexibility and adjustment as needed.
During preliminary negotiations it may be helpful to raise sensitive matters indirectly with the aid of the intermediary who made the initial introductions.
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Richard
Focus on Past
General behaviors
Focus on the Past is a measure of the importance an individual gives to tradition and precedent. Individuals with a Focus on the Past Orientation tend to believe that Business and day-to-day decisions should be based on
tradition and precedent.
Individuals from such cultures will often preface any discussion with a lengthy review of how we got where we are. Such individuals will feel very uncomfortable with decisions that break too completely with they way things have always been done.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Examples or Articles
Richard
Focus Primarily on the Future
General behaviors
Focus Primarily on the Future is a measure of the importance an individual gives to the future. Individuals from cultures with a Future Orientation tend to believe that Business and day-to-day decisions should be based on long term future needs and factors, that preparing for the future is more important than implementing stop-gap measures to deal with current problems or challenges. Individuals in Future oriented cultures will not try to maximize short term benefits or achieve short term success at the possible expense of long term benefits or success.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Examples or Articles
Richard
Shame
General behaviors
Shame is a painful feeling about oneself as a person. Shame is also a control mechanism used by a culture to ensure commonly held beliefs are followed. Shame is a violation of cultural or social values not personal values, in fact in a shame oriented culture personal values are of little or no importance. Shame is associated with genuine dishonor, disgrace, or condemnation by the group.
Said simply, Shame is what one feels when one believes they have done something that others either of higher status or the majority of the group have said should not be done. If the group or leaders say something is OK, no shame will be attached to doing that thing.
Examples or Articles
Guilt vs Shame Comparison Chart
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
Guilt vs Shame Comparison Chart
Two charts, one for guilt and one for shame with axis what I believe and what others believe. Good short representation of differences between guilt and shame.
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Examples or Articles
Richard
High Reciprocity
General behaviors
Individuals with a High Reciprocity Orientation believe it is very important to maintain relationships and also believe that one of the best ways to maintain a relationship is to repay or be willing to repay any favor done by the other party. In such cultures, not only does the recipient of a favor feel they must repay favors, the one doing the favor expects that the favor will be repaid. To some extent, individuals from High Reciprocity cultures, keep a mental tally of all favors given (debts owed them), and all favors accepted (debts that they owe). Over time this give and take of favors, usually taking part in a culture that is Strongly Personal/Relational, often results in business partnership that have substantial resiliency.
Long-Term Implications of Conflict
Individuals with a High Reciprocity Orientation are more likely to see conflicts as a loss of harmony with long-term implications for the relationship. They do not see arguments, especially public disagreements, as part of a normal decision making or conflict resolution process necessary for healthy relationships. They see the argument as undermining the relationship, and because Strong Reciprocity requires long-term memory, the long-term memory of an argument has long term consequences for the relationship.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
The Concept of Face - Gibun
Face or as it is called in Korea Gibun is the result of four cultural orientations: Strongly Relational, Valuing Relationships and Harmony, Power Distance, and High Reciprocity, AND is most noticeably manifest in a speech pattern usually referred to as Indirect Communication.
These four cultural orientations have a very subtle interplay.
Harmony can be lost by acting disrespectfully to someone with whom you have a relationship or can be maintained by acting respectfully. When you do someone a favor, such as acting respectfully, that someone incurs a debt. Reciprocity demands that in the future the debt be repaid, so one must keep track of ones debts. High Power Distance includes rules for acknowledging and being respectful towards those of higher status. And none of this would be important if achievement rather than relationships were believed to be required for personal and business success. NOTE:- North America and Northern Europe tend not to have any of these orientations, rather they have the opposite.
Acting disrespectfully often changes someones mood, current feeling and state of mind. Hence loss of face is often an injury to a person’s pride or dignity. Acting respectfully often requires putting the maintenance of a peaceful, comfortable atmosphere ahead of attaining immediate goals or telling the absolute truth. Koreans believe that to accomplish something while causing unhappiness or discomfort to others is to accomplish nothing at all. If relationships are not kept harmonious, it is difficult, if not impossible, to work towards any goal. All cultures value how their members feel emotionally, but few cultures value this as much as Koreans do. To Koreans, to put greater emphasis on efficiency, honesty or some higher form of moral integrity, is to be cold and unfeeling.
Gibun enters into every aspect of Korean life. Knowing how to judge the state of other people’s gibun, how to avoid hurting it, and keeping your own gibun in a satisfactory state are important skills.
Those who ignore the significance of gibun will find many unnecessary obstacles in their paths. To foreigners, Koreans may seem overly sensitive and emotional, and their gibun seems to be hurt too easily. For example, an older Korean’s gibun may be damaged when his subordinate does not show proper respect, that is, by not bowing soon enough, not using honorific words, not contacting the superior within an appropriate period of time, or, worse, handing something to him with the left hand. Most of these rules of etiquette are well known to Koreans, and while they are often difficult or cumbersome to remember, they should be heeded to avoid hurting gibun.
If you damage someone’s gibun, even inadvertently, for example, if you do not know a person’s position in relation to yourself, and improperly treat him as an inferior, his gibun may be hurt, and he may not wish to continue a relationship with you.
Bad news—a negative financial report or an employee’s error, for example—is generally brought to an office at the end of the day, to give the recipient time to recover before the next day. And people are almost always fired without any notice, for who can continue working when their gibun has been so badly damaged? Giving a less expensive gift than the receiver would deem appropriate can also injure gibun. As Korea is a hierarchical society, this sensitivity is most important with regard to people of a higher status. A superior often does not consider the feelings of those of lower status. But then inferiors have less face to lose!
On a less abstract note, Non-Koreans working in Korea are likely to be invited out at your colleagues’ expense. While this is done primary to get to know you better and help integrate you into the work group, don’t forget that you will be expected to return the favour before too much time has passed.
Examples or Articles
Richard
Strongly Personal/Relational
General behaviors
Individuals with a Strongly Personal/Relational orientation believe that people are happiest and get the most done when they support one another. They believe that most good things come from individuals helping one another, not simply relying on their own ability. They tend to value friends, family, and colleagues over everything else, consequently they consider time and actions spent maintaining relationships to be extremely important. Individuals with a Strongly Personal/Relational orientation often consider forming, nurturing, and maintaining relationships to be more important than other factors such as: contracts, schedules, rules, laws, expertise, and achievement.
Relationships Should Come Before Business
In countries with a Strongly Personal/Relational Orientation, personal relationships have an overwhelming importance within the business cycle. In particular, such cultures believe that relationships should come before business, rather than business being more important than personal considerations. In such cultures, in order to achieve success, it is important to put the maximum amount of time and resource into the early stages of relationship building -- even when eventual results may seem a long way off.
Relationship Maintenance Takes Time
In strongly Relational cultures, your time is not always your own. Invitations from co-workers and group activities can only be turned down at the risk of damaging your relationship with individuals and the group. As a result people in cultures that are strongly Relational tend to have significantly less private time than do people from impersonal cultures.
The Consequences of Conflict
In cultures with a strong Relational orientation, conflicts and excessively strong arguments, can have long-lasting consequences and for this reason are avoided as much as possible. In contrast, individuals from Impersonal cultures may consider arguments to ’clear the air’ and be generally beneficial in resolving conflict. In Impersonal cultures, arguments are usually quickly forgotten and have no long term consequences.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
One cannot overestimate the importance of developing good relationships with work associates in Korea. Positive working relationships require time (both short and long term), honesty and care. Being mindful of the value of developing and maintaining positive personal relationships with work associates will set one off on a good course of work. The relationships one develops with Koreans at work will also facilitate adjustments to other aspects of Korean life, since co-workers are likely to be the people you turn to when you need help finding things or navigating puzzling aspects of Korea.
While to many North Americans and Northern Europeans, the emphasis Koreans place on workplace relationships can be burdensome, many are equally impressed with the sense of connection and the care Korean workers have for one another.
Events important to one worker are acknowledged and often celebrated by others. A person may provide treats and drinks for co-workers when she or he buys a new car or house and your membership in a workplace automatically makes you important to your co-workers.
Most Koreans working with foreigners are looking to develop a good relationship. They consider that their relationship will also benefit them. Koreans will take care to introduce you to the people in your work setting that you need to know and you will no doubt be taken out to eat and drink, giving you the opportunity to get to know your work associates on a personal level. These socializing experiences are an excellent opportunity for them to know you better.
One of the best ways to begin a relationship is to look for things you have in common, such as hobbies, travel experiences, past residences and current social activities. The more fun you have your colleagues, the more connected and comfortable they will feel. During these early social activities, your Korean work associates will be watching you carefully, trying to determine if you are of good character, flexible, sensitive to other people and willing to share yourself with them. They will observe your attitude about Korea and Koreans. You will be asked about your impressions of their country. Note that your answers should include only things you like about Korea until you have known someone for a long time and have a close and open relationship. In addition, you will likely be asked personal questions questions that may seem intrusive but the purpose is to get to know you better and to find out areas of mutual interest. While you do not have to answer questions you are uncomfortable answering, keeping all your thoughts and experiences to yourself will not be in your best interest.
Though at first you will be invited out at your colleagues’ expense, don’t forget that you will be expected to return the favor before too much time has passed This requirement results from the Korean’s High Reciprocity Orientation.
Examples or Articles
Suggestions For Building and Maintaining Relationships
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
Suggestions For Building and Maintaining Relationships
Read Time: 5 minutes Think Time: 10 minutes
Building and Maintaining relationships with Korean colleagues and business partners is essential. But how does one go about building and maintaining these relationships? This example describes questions you might ask or might be asked and activities you might suggest or you might find yourself invited to join. Consider getting to know your colleagues and partners as one of the most important and potentially enjoyable aspects of working in Korea.
Richard
Monochronic
General behaviors
Monochronic is a measure of how an individual schedules his or her own day and how the individual subconsciously prioritizes scheduled activities and reacts to disruption in the schedule.
Individuals from Monochronic cultures (also called Sequential) tend to do one thing at a time, they concentrate on the job at hand, they tend to think about when things (as opposed to what things) must be achieved. Individuals from Monochronic cultures often undertake careful planning and scheduling and consider time management to be important.
For a Monochronic individual the schedule controls their day. For a Polychronic individudal, people and relationships control their day.
Examples or Articles
More about monochronic vs polychronic behaviors
This is a Summary, Please click the link for the entire article
More about monochronic vs polychronic behaviors
Read time 10 minutes -- Think time 30 minutes
Excellent description of monochronic vs polychronic behaviors with lots of good examples. Highlights, structured vs unstructured schedule (monochrons may find the very idea of an unstructured schedule as an oxymoron; task orientation, that is working till something is completed vs switching back and forth between projects never seeming to complete anything; the satisfaction of completing something vs the stimulation of working several projects simultaneously; the inherent goodness of being prompt vs the appreciation that life has a way of laughing at fixed schedules.
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Koreans are not multitaskers BUT neither are their lives ruled by deadlines. For this reason individuals with a strong monochronic or strong polychronic orientation may have some challenges interpreting Koreans when they say they will meet a deadline. Generally the proper interpretation is that best efforts will be made to meet the dead line. Implicit in this is an acceptance that events beyond their control may occur that will prevent them from meeting the agreed upon deadline. Why has this attitude evolved? Perhaps it is due to the Koreans belief that they live in harmony with nature and cannot be expected always to dominate nature.
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Richard
Hard Work Oriented
General behaviors
Hard Work Orientation is used to describe the degree to which hard work, independent of results, is rewarded. In cultures with a strong Hard Work orientation, working hard, putting in long hours, even without accomplished desired results, will result in promotions and rewards.
No early problem warning
In a hard work culture individuals are less likely to bring problems to their manager (or a customer), alert a manager that there is a problem, or ask for help. This means that schedules cannot be adjusted as problems arise because the problem only becomes widely known when a deadline is missed.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Koreans spend an inordinate amount of time at work and often work incredibly hard and for long hours, however, they often do not accomplish as much as their Western counterparts in the same amount of time. This is because the Korean workplace is not organised around accomplishing tasks in the same way that Western organisations are. Being at work and showing one’s dedication is critical, working efficiently and cleverly, however is not necessarily rewarded. In fact, given the collectivist orientation of Korea, working extra efficiently and cleverly so as to stand out is often considered bad behavior, especially by peers.
Because Koreans are “hard work oriented” they will often not leave until their manager leaves and will often come into work sick (they will get very little done and may sleep at their desk) and working 60 to 70 hours a week may be expected. These behaviors also demonstrate loyalty to the company.
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Richard
Importance of being Emotionally Aware
General behaviors
An individual with an Empathy orientation believes that they can best motivate an other individual or a group by being able to put themselves in the shoes of the other individual.
Some people consider there are two types of empathy; emotional empathy, the ability to feel as another person feels, and cognitive empathy, the ability to think as another person thinks.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Nunchi
Closely tied to gibun is another Korean concept-nunchi, which literally means ’eye measure’. It is the ability to assess another person’s gibun, but it is done not only by the eye.
Nunchi is a type of communicative strategy that is used when one needs to figure out the intention, desire, mood, and attitude of another person without resorting to the exchange of explicit verbal messages.
In a society where behaving so as not to disturb social harmony is critical, being able to judge another person’s state of mind is essential. Good nunchiability puts a person one step ahead of everyone else. He will know when to ask his boss for favor, when to take or yield the right of way in traffic, and when to tell bad news and cause the least damage.
Nunchi is a kind of antenna one has to sense another’s feelings or state of mind. Some of this is done by watching body language, heeding the tone of voice and what is said. In Korea, where gibunis so important, many people have developed a kind of sixth sense with which to assess it.
Of course, this kind of judgment takes place everywhere in the world, as when a child learns the best time and person to ask for an ice cream or treat. But whereas Westerners are more likely to state their moods, or at least reveal their states of mind, Koreans have been taught to control their emotions, and to disguise their true feelings. To discern the mood of a Korean requires much nunchi.
Some Koreans complain about the indirectness with which they are required to express their feelings. They would sometimes prefer to say exactly how they feel, and often wish others would do the same, thus negating the need for such a sensitive nunchi. But tradition dies hard in this Confucian-oriented society.
Remember, too, that the temperature gauges of feelings in Korean and Western societies are different. Thus, an angry outburst may be taken as an expression of greater dissatisfaction in Korea than in a Western country. If you receive a phone call bearing bad news, and appear sad after it, your Korean friend will probably treat you with extra care and sensitivity, afraid to upset you further. If you complain to your subordinate that he is behind on a project, he may misinterpret this to mean that you are generally dissatisfied with his work.
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Richard
Circular Thinking
General behaviors
Individuals from a culture with a Circular/Random thinking orientation use indirection when speaking or writing. When discussing a topic, individuals tend to describe the topic from many points of view and perspectives, often described as turning and turning in a circular or spiral movement or path. These circles or spirals turn around the subject and show it from a variety of tangential views, but the subject is never looked at directly. Things are developed in terms of what they are not, rather than in terms of what they are.
What Linear Thinkers Tend to Think of Circular Thinkers
Such an approach strikes an individual from a culture with a Linear Thinking orientation as awkward and unnecessarily indirect, unnecessarily long, and is often found to be difficult to follow and confusing
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Koreans tend to think, present, and give answers that are global and impressionistic. They tend to combine their thinking with their emotions. If they dislike a person greatly, it is difficult for them to say even the smallest thing positive about them.
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Richard
Neutral (Unemotional)
General behaviors
Neutral (Unemotional) is a measure of how comfortable individuals are sharing their feeling with others, often relative strangers. In Neutral cultures, emotions are carefully controlled, held in check, not publicly displayed. Decisions are most often rational and separated from emotion.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Koreans have been taught to control their emotions and to disguise their true feelings. One reason for this is that a display of emotions and true feelings is likely to disturb social harmony. This doesn’t mean that Koreans are unemotional, only that they tend to keep their emotions bottled up and out of sight. This sometimes results in rare (but not unheard of) explosions of emotion, when some internal threshold has been crossed. Emotions are also more likely to be seen when someone of high status is berating a person of lower status.
While emotions are not to be displayed, in Korea, emotions, are expected to play a role in decision making and negotiation.
Drinking - An acceptable way to deal with pent up frustration and anger
While some degree of control should be kept, no matter how much is consumed, one sometimes sees a person who, by Western standards, has lost control. Physical fights, loud arguing and men supporting their far-gone drinking buddy are features of popular drinking areas. In apartment blocks, understanding neighbors are expected to tolerate loud laughter, singing and fights. It is unthinkable to call the police to curb the disturbance and most drunken bad behavior is excused! Drinking is considered an acceptable way to deal with pent up frustration or anger.
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Richard
Considering Ideas and Using Intuition to Solve Challenges
General behaviors
Considering Ideas and Using Intuition to Solve Challenges is a measure of what individuals believe is the most effective way to identify possible solutions to problems/challenges. Individuals from cultures with a Considering Ideas and Using Intuition to Solve Challenges orientation, first think about the problem/challenge abstractly, brainstorm, come up with ideas, use their intuition as a guide to the best approach.
Individuals from cultures with this orientation often insist on discussing and understanding the big picture before considering details.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
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Richard
Low Territoriality
General behaviors
Territoriality is a measure of an individual’s belief about the best way to distribute, allocate, and control material resources. In Low Territoriality cultures individual’s believe material things should be shared, they have a very small sense of ownership. Individuals in Low Territoriality cultures, Often require little personal space to feel comfortable.
Touching
One indication of Low Territoriality is how close individuals stand when talking and how often they touch one another when talking. This touching has nothing to do with how well the individuals know one another and carries no sexual meaning. For example, individuals from Brazil were found to touch one another 180 times per hour while individuals in North America, which has a High Territorial orientation were found to touch one another 2 times an hour.
Touching in some Low Territoriality countries may not be permitted between sexes. Be sure to check the country specific description for Low Territoriality to see if touching between sexes is permitted.
Voice Volume
Individuals with a Low Territoriality orientation tend to talk more loudly, they appear not to be considered if others overhear them or if others are disturbed by the volume of their voice. Such individuals are themselves, not disturbed by others speaking loudly around them.
Interrupting
Another common behavior of individuals with a Low Territoriality orientation is their tendency to interrupt one another. In cultures with a Low Territoriality orientation participants to a discussion expect to be interrupted, so no one pauses to leave a space where someone else might interject a comment.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Personal space is a rare commodity in Korea. This is natural in a country with one of the highest population densities in the world. Koreans are used to sleeping, working, eating and standing in conditions that would be considered far too crowded by many Westerners. Even in smaller towns throughout Korea, buildings are close together. The imaginary bubble of air that many expatriates like having around them will be intruded upon regularly in Korea.
This invasion of personal space can be a source of irritation for expatriates. Walking on the street, standing in a lift, working with other people in an office or visiting the local market can all become affronts to one’s personal space. After living in Korea a while, expatriates mostly get used to the close encounters but there is stress nonetheless.
When a Korean inadvertently bumps into someone or steps on another’s foot in public, he is unlikely to apologize. This is not unique to foreigners as Koreans are even less likely to apologize to another Korean. This is probably related to the awkwardness Koreans feel in talking to someone they have not been introduced to.
Knock Before Entering - But No Need To Wait
In Korea, it is considered impolite to enter a room without giving some notice. Traditionally, people cleared their throats to indicate their presence. Today, they are more likely to, knock on the door. If a secretary gives you permission to enter her boss’ room which has a closed or even partially open door, you should not walk right in. It is considerate to knock first, twice or thrice rapidly. There is no need to wait for the person to come to the door or to respond. An expatriate can expect the same behavior towards himself. If your door is closed and someone wants to see you, he or she will knock and then enter. Do not expect people to wait until you open the door or tell them to enter.
Physical Contact Between Boys and Girls
Traditionally, physical contact between boys and girls was prohibited until after marriage. Overt affection was reserved for the privacy of one’s own room. Today it is not uncommon to see affection between young men and women expressed in public, such as on an underground train or in a park.
Physical Contact Between Close Friends of the Same Gender
More common than physical contact between couples is physical contact between close friends of the same gender. It is common to see two women walking hand in hand. In a crowded classroom, one man may sit on another man’s lap, seeming to enjoy the friendly, physical contact. Male friends may sit for some time with the arm of one on the thigh of the other. To Koreans, physical contact is a natural way to show their feelings to whom one feels especially close. If someone grabs your hand or puts his hand on your leg, it is a an indication of caring and friendship. If it makes you very uncomfortable, there is no need to endure it; simply tell your friend that in your country such behavior has a different meaning, and you would rather he did not touch you. Few Koreans would be offended by a sensible statement such as this.
Koreans tend to speak spontaneously or simultaneous when talking to one another or in groups.
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Richard
Humility
General behaviors
Humility is used as a measure of how Individuals describe themselves, their successes, their competencies, and their experience. An Individual with a Humility orientation believes that one should show modesty when discussing successes or not discuss them at all. Humility, also considered as self-deprecation is often seen as a characteristic of extremely relationship-based cultures where it is more a manifestation of not wanting to stick out than it is true humility. Note:- Like collectivism, humility has an individual and institutional dimension.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
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Richard
Masculinity
General behaviors
Masculinity is a measure of the extent to which individuals believe life and business run more smoothly and hence more effectively when male and female roles are clearly defined and neither men nor women attempt to undertake the others duties and obligations. Masculine cultures also value assertiveness over empathy.
A traditional set of privileges, duties, and obligations in a masculine culture often include: having coffee in the piazza with other men, being the decision maker at work and in the family, supporting the family, and not being responsible for cooking or cleaning.
Often this also implies limiting the rights of women or defining strictly female rights or privileges.
Examples or Articles
Specific behaviors associated with South Korea
Based on Hofstede’s surveys South Korea has a below average Masculinity orientation (39 from scores between 5 and 95) and has the 12th lowest Masculinity score out of 66 countries in the survey. This however is not supported by most anecdotal evidence and a recent study by the World Economic Forum.
Traditional Roles
Though it is changing, the husband/father’s primary responsibility is providing the family income. And, the wife/mother’s primary responsibility is to raise the children and provide for a comfortable home for her family. Perhaps Hofstede’s surveys reflected the fact that in Korea, women generally manage the household finances. After giving his entire salary to his wife, a man receives an allowance from her.
Gender Gap Worst in the Developed World
Though women have full political rights, their place in Korean society is weak. The country’s gender gap is the worst in the developed world, according to a report by the World Economic Forum.
South Korea places 108th in the world for gender equality, ranked between the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, according to the World Economic Forum’s in-depth study on gender equality. That’s actually a decrease from 92nd place in 2006. This is even more striking when you consider that the WEF scores South Korea quite highly on providing equal education and health care for women. The gap, it turns out, comes from a lack of political power within Seoul’s famously boy’s-club political culture and, to a greater extent, economic empowerment. The Korean economic miracle still belongs to South Korea’s men.
How difficult is South Korea’s notoriously competitive business environment for women? The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson recently (December 2012) looked at pay gaps around the world, and South Korea’s was remarkable: Women without children earn about 13 percent less than men, a pay gap about twice as wide as America’s. But that gap nearly quadruples if Korean women have children, at which point they earn an astounding 45 percent less than men. That means that a mother in South Korea makes barely more than half what her male counterpart makes. It’s hardly surprising, then, that South Korean women have only 55 percent labor force participation, compared to 76 percent for men.
The subtext of this pay gap is pretty clear, and part of a larger issue that extends well beyond the workplace in South Korea: Women are expected to leave work once they have children, to put their familial role first. That might also help explain the fact that there are five men on the Korean legislature for every one woman.
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Richard
Treatment of Subordinates
Description
Richard
Proper Behavior to Superiors
Description
Never Contradict Superiors
Subordinates never contradict superiors (so asking junior managers or staff for opinions or about things that cannot be known with certainty, like schedules won’t work. Subordinates will, however, provide details of fact hence relationships should be formed with subordinates for these purposes.)
Richard
No Direct Questioning of a Superior
Description
In South Korea, subordinates believe it is their role NOT to question the statements or decisions of someone with higher status, even if they believe the statements or decisions to be wrong.
Those in power are expected to use their power wisely, for the good of all. Along with higher status is an expectation of greater knowledge and better understanding.
In South Korea, NOT criticizing, contradicting, or questioning, a supervisor is considered proper and appropriate behavior. Criticizing is considered to be disrespectful and can result in punishment.
If one calls the clarity of a manager’s instructions into question, this may be considered a form of criticism. As a result, in South Korea, subordinates seldom ask for clarification. So a manager must be very careful to determine whether or not an instruction or an "agreement" has been correctly understood.
Richard
Subordinates Do Not Have The Authority To Make Decisions
Description
In South Korea, subordinates to not believe that it is their responsibility or even within their job description, to make decisions. This includes promising to meet schedules, making agreements, or guessing what the right requirement is when requirements are ambiguous.
Richard
Subordinates Expect To Be Told What To Do
Description
In South Korea, when a question arises, especially due to an ambiguous requirement, a subordinate, rather than take a guess will often do nothing. They will wait until their manager or someone else of higher rank tells them exactly what should be done. Because of this, requirements must be precisely defined. Progress also must be continuously monitored to quickly detect when work has been halted awaiting a decision or clarification.
Richard
Do Not Expect Subordinates To Take Initiatives that incur risks
Description
In this culture, this is a corollary of Subordinates expect to be told what to do. This culture believes that if subordinates start making their own decisions, chaos will ensue.
In some nations with a hierarchical orientation, initiative may be taken so long as the initiative conforms to a well defined process or set of rules. This tends to be true more for European nations than for Asian nations. The key is to understand what actions or initiatives are considered to be risky by the nationality.
Richard
Work stops! Awaiting decisions from above
Description
You may hear statements such as "I can’t start working on this report until I have all the information, I just can’t start when I only have half the information."
Richard
Managers expected to make decisions without asking staff for recommendations
Description
In South Korea, a manager who asks his/her subordinates, for example, a project team leader who asks team members, in a meeting, for recommendations may bewilder the project team and lose the respect of the project team.
Managers may ask subordinates, one-on-one to evaluate or study options and get back to the manager with information, but a subordinate would consider a manager who asked the subordinate to make a decision or give a recommendation to be unfit to be a manager.
Managers will usually have colleagues, friends, or family that they will go to to get recommendations ... NOT subordinates.
Richard
Difficulty asking a manager for help
Description
In cultures with a Power Distance orientation subordinates feel very uncomfortable about asking a manager, that is someone of higher status, for help. Asking for help feels like acting disrespectfully because there is an implicit accusation that the manager has not adequately prepared the subordinate or adequately explained what is to be done. Asking for help also incurs a loss of face for the subordinate for they are admitting in a way that they have failed. To avoid these negative feelings, a subordinate may attempt to indirectly ask his/her manager for help. Some of the phrases that might be used are:
If you detect that a subordinate needs help, keep in mind that as his/her manager you have a responsibility to provide the help without causing your subordinate to lose face.
Richard
Managers do not empower subordinates
Description
In South Korea bosses do not empower subordinates. Subordinates are expected to check-in constantly to get the boss’s OK. Subbordinates should never act empowered.
Richard
The Purpose of Meetings
Description
In South Korea, meetings are usually not held for the purpose of open discussion and there is no expectation of reaching a decision. Traditionally, meetings are held for the purpose of communicating direct instructions from the boss to subordinates, or for disseminating information.
Meetings between peers, where no one of higher status is present, may be used for open discussion and exchange of ideas, but again there is almost never an expectation that a decision will be made at such a meeting.
Richard
Only Negotiate With Someone Of Equal Status
Description
If you are negotiating with a South Korean company and your counterpart within the South Korean company is not at the same status as you, and especially if progress is slow or nonexistent, the chances are they are trying to send you a message and the message is "they are not interested".
Richard
Supervising Korean Subordinates
Description
More supervision and Monitoring
Korean workers generally have more supervision and monitoring than their Western counterparts. They are accustomed to receiving specific instructions, in other words, being micro-managed. It can be intimidating for them to work independently on a project. They have been schooled to please their boss.
Difficulty to Multi-task
Likewise, it can be difficult for Koreans to multi-task and manage their own time among several different projects. In the Korean workplace, they expect to be told what to work on and when to work on it. Because Korean subordinates are not being accustomed to making decisions by themselves, they are likely to be anxious that they won’t make the choices their supervisor would want them to make.
Richard
Description
In South Korea, supervisors are accountable for meeting deadlines and for the results of decisions. For this reason, subordinates will seldom make decisions or commit to schedules on their own, for this would be considered an improper overstepping of their authority.
Richard
Information is Power
Description
In South Korea, subordinates provide information to their managers NOT anyone who might need the information to do their job. Subordinates believe it is their responsibility to support their manager and expect in return that their manager will honor his duty to protect the promote them. Keeping information and sharing it only with their manager helps keep their manager in a position of power.
Richard
Always greet the most senior person first and work your way to the least senior
Description
In South Korea, when first meeting a group of people, it is important that you shake hands and greet
the most senior person first. Usually the oldest person in the room has the most
seniority, but you might find there is another person who has stepped in to make the decisions.
In South Korea, always try to find out titles and status of the people you are meeting
beforehand so you can show the right amount of respect.
Richard
Moving Along The Hierarchy Often Slows Decisions
Description
Often what seem like relatively simple decisions can take South Korean managers hours or even days to make. And during the wait one has little idea of when one might get a decision or what the decision is likely to be.
South Koreans have a very strong hierarchy orientation: titles, positions and age determine one’s status and authority which should be recognized and respected by those of lower rank. There are many more layers of management and often more complex decisions go through a layered approval system which takes time.
If you try to speed up the process, by attempting to help the South Korean managers make their decision, South Koreans with their hierarchical culture, which requires them to pass decisions up the chain of command, are likely to become uncomfortable and resistant, though their need to maintain harmony may prevent them from explaining why they are resistant. This often results in Westerners saying that South Koreans are passive resistant.
Another possible cause for these delays is sometimes the result of South Korean managers feeling disrespected which can happen inadvertently if westerners fail to follow the South Korean rules associated with hierarchy and status. If violating these rules results in loss of face, delaying a decision, especially for minor decisions, may be a form of payback.
Richard
Family connections and loyalty carry over into business
Description
Senior managers will trust their family over others or simply feel obligated to keep as much business control as possible within the family. Nepotism, which in nations with an Individualistic orientation is thought to be bad, is considered to be right and proper who can be trusted to be loyal as much as a member of the family and why would you want wealth to pass away from the family when you can keep it within the family? are statements you may hear in a nation with an In-Group Collectivism orientation, where the family is the In-Group.
Richard
Peers do not use the word NO when answering peers
Description
In societies with an Indirect orientation individuals find it very difficult to say NO to requests; both requests for information (even if they do not know) and requests for favors. However, this does not mean that NO is not communicated. The NO is communicated without saying the word NO. It may be communicated by using ambiguous expressions such as ’that may be difficult’ or it may be communicated by saying ’no problem’ but with body language that implies there may be a problem. Other individuals from the same society will usually understand that NO has been implied. Individuals from other societies, however, will have difficulty understanding that NO has been implied.
Individuals from less direct societies or simply different societies may need to ask questions that do not have a yes or no for an answer. Often it is helpful in such instances to plead ignorance and ask for a more direct answer.
Richard
A lack of an emphatic "yes" usually means "no"
Description
South Koreans often have great difficulty saying no. Subconsciously, saying NO just doesn't feel right. Consciously it may feel disrespectful, might be thought to make the one asking lose face, or even make the one saying NO lose face. Often the "no" is conveyed as body language understood within the culture, or as ambiguity commonly understood within the culture. In either case the way "no" is communicated will not be understood by someone from a different culture. As a consequence, when working with South Koreans one must never accept the absence of "no" to mean yes. Instead, in the absence of an emphatic yes one must seek an answer using different words and a different approach.
Richard
10+ Ways one can lose face through direct communication
Description
The following are ways you can cause someone to lose face by using direct communication:
When ever you put someone with Indirect Communication orientation in a face losing situation, expect that person to answer in a face saving manner. This means expect the answer to be ambiguous. If the answer is ambiguous assume the worst because that is what others from an Indirect Communication culture would do.
Richard
Ways to Say "NO" without ever saying no
Description
The following are ways that South Koreans say "NO" without using the word NO
Richard
Making requests without risking rejection
Description
When South Koreans have a request to make, and are not sure if the other person can agree to it (that the other person might need to say no) - they never actually make the request. Instead they make it clear through comments and observations that they could use some help if the other person was so inclined, then wait to see how the other person responds. If the person is willing to help, they will offer it. If they are unable or not willing, they will say nothing. This avoids the awkward position of having to turn down the "request" because no request was ever made.
Richard
Responding negatively to a new idea or proposal
Description
Managers who have an Indirect Orientation will try to respond negatively in a face-saving manner. This means they will not say bluntly "this is a bad idea", instead they may do one of the following (or something similar):
Richard
Tips for Direct Communication Managers working in Indirect Communication countries
Description
If you want Indirect Communicators to be more direct, you have to tell them several times, and give them time to get used to being what they regard as impolite. Give strong positive feedback as soon as you see them communicating in a more direct manner.
Don't telegraph the answer you want. They will say what they think you want to hear. Don't say, "That won't take long, will it?" or "Can you get it done by Friday?" If you really want to know what they think, don't begin by telling them what you think.
Richard
Correcting and also Explaining Things That Should Be Known
Description
It is very seldom in South Korea that someone will correct you or explain things to you. [This is especially true if the knowledge is part of one of South Korea's many High Context domains. You are supposed to know, and they get quite upset when you don't. Hall BEYOND CULTURE chap 7
This is due to the strongly reciprocal orientation and importance of harmony orientation. Correcting someone breaks the harmony of the group and may cause someone to lose face, which is a negative for reciprocity, that means that person corrected now has a good reason to do something negative back, or the person making the correction must perform some associated positive favor. Explaining something may also cause a person to lose face or may cause the person receiving the explanation to incur a debt. It is not so much that the South Koreans get upset because you don’t know something, South Koreans get upset because you place them in a difficult position no matter what they do, hence you cause them significant stress!
Richard
Proper Behavior Toward Equals
Description
Richard
Soft Selling
Description
South Koreans marketing is often highly context-dependent and holistic. Turn the television on, and if you are not from South Korea you may not know what is being advertised even if you understand the words. As in most high-context cultures, advertising in South Korea often involves a context that is meant to trigger associations among South Koreans viewers.
When we call cultures “high context”, we are really saying that many of life’s or business’ interactions involve things that are commonly known; and many actions or words induce common feelings. When we call cultures “low context” we are really saying there is very little of life’s or business’ interactions that are commonly known and very few actions or words (though there may be specific cases that do) induce common feelings.
High-context cultures like Japan, with a great amount of shared information, tend to practice the "soft sell." However, Americans and Europeans in Japan frequently complain that they do not know what commercials are actually selling; the appeal relies to such a great extent on information or feelings already shared by most Japanese that only a fully informed member of the culture understands the connotation.
In America, a joke based on an advertising slogan that lasted for more than a decade, and hence is know to almost all Americans illustrates what is going on in a High Context culture like Japan. The joke is as follows:
One day a king was returning to his palace with his hunting party when he saw a huge pair of yellow hands extended on either side of the narrow pass. If he rode between them, would they suddenly close? So he tapped a page boy on the shoulder. "Go between those hands," he said. The boy passed safely, as did the whole hunting party, and the moral of the story is: "Let your pages do the walking through the Yellow Fingers." To understand the joke you must already be aware of the original slogan : "Let your fingers do the walking through the Yellow Pages."
This joke not only illustrates "High Context", it also illustrates the extent to which humor often relies on information or feelings shared by most people within a culture, ie. is "high context".
Richard
Activities Bond Group Membership
Description
In South Korea it is very common for University departments to organize weekend activities such as hiking trips. Everyone usually goes on such trips. These trips encourage a “family” sense among the students which tends to remain throughout their life.
To some extent this is also true for work groups, where after work drinking is often the group event that encourages a “family” sense.
These activities enable group participants to get to know one another’s lives, not just what they do at work, but everything about them. This in turn increases the shared “context” of all group members.
These networks are often used to meet business requirements.
Richard
Keeping track of favors and obligations
Description
South Koreans tend to keep a mental tally of whom they have done favors for and who have done them favors. Favors MUST be repaid. Failure to repay a favor when requested can seriously damage a relationship, even destroy a relationship forever. At times, the inability to repay a favor, or debt, in a timely manor can cause extreme loss of face.
Richard
Business Partnerships Are Built on Reciprocal Favors and Sacrifice
Description
Competitors in Japan, Southeast Asia and other cultures with a High Reciprocity Orientation are so formidable because they tend to develop relationships rather than simply develop themselves. While American suppliers (with Low Reciprocity Orientation) will rarely behave so as to lose money on a specific contract, Japanese suppliers, for example, will sacrifice several contracts to build up a relationship with a customer they believe to be important. As an example, given norms of reciprocity and obligation in Japan, a supplier who overfulfills his contract-or in other words, does more than what is specified in it-can expect to see next month's order doubled or quadrupled, in an attempt to repay his kindness. In cultures with a High Reciprocity orientation, you are not expected to meet specifications, you are expected to surpass them; the more you do for your customer the more he will do for you, in a system of escalating reciprocity on both sides. Westerners, who usually have a Low Reciprocity Orientation, wonder why it is so hard to break into the Japanese market... It is hard to break into any relationship where A and B have "sacrificed" themselves to each other many times over.
Richard
The Meaning of Service - Not Charging for Extras
Description
South Korea, with its strong orientation for High Reciprocity defines service different from that of cultures with a Low Reciprocity orientation. South Koreans believe that a supplier should not profit from service. Even after the sale is completed, the needs of the customer should still be met. Trying to profit from service may damage a company's relationship with its customers. In South Korea, the customer always expects to get something extra, in the form of discounts , free gifts, or free help in the event of problems. A supplier who charges for every service rendered is not appreciated. If fees for specific services are not explicitly mentioned in the contract, a South Korean customer could well expect to get them for free. This is especially true in cultures that also have a very strong orientation to Strong Personal/Relational.
Richard
Business and Pleasure - Selling a Product and Yourself/Your Company
Description
"Business before pleasure" is a proverb that is at odds with (that is, contradicts) the way South Koreans actually conduct business.
Business can never be successful without a certain amount of pleasure. Business seminars are a good example of this. Seminars are a convenient way to introduce products in South Korea, where traveling can be cumbersome and time consuming. However, South Koreans expect a seminar to be a combination of business and a holiday. Seminars are usually held at resort-type places, and the organizers pay special attention to the quality of the meals. The social interaction during breakfast , lunch , and dinner is at least as important as that during the formal seminar sessions and the last day is usually kept open for social activities like sightseeing. For that reason, if a product is to be introduced in a seminar that would normally take two days, this should be extended to three days in South Korea.
Another affect of the Strongly Personal/Relation orientation of South Korean seminars is that after dinner, business and casual chatting are often intermingled. A good tip for companies that think of organizing seminars in South Korea is to reserve a conference room for the evening as well.
Richard
Relationship Building vs “High Pressure” Salesmanship
Description
The American "high pressure" salesmanship, which is a common behavior in cultures with a very strong Impersonal orientation, is the direct antithesis to the South Koreans. The result, of course, is that if there is an established market in South Korea, Americans and individuals from other cultures with an Impersonal orientation, will encounter more resistance than they are used to. One does not move in and win the South Koreans overnight
Richard
Ways to Build and Maintain Collegial Business Relationships
Description
One of the best ways to begin a relationship is to look for things you have in common, such as hobbies, travel experiences, past residences and current social activities. The more fun people have together, the more connected and comfortable they feel.
During these early social activities, your South Korean work associates will be watching you carefully, trying to determine if you are of good character, flexible, sensitive to other people and willing to share yourself with them. They will observe your attitude about South Korea and South Koreans and will ask about your impressions of their country. Note that your answers should include only things you like about South Korea . Once you have known someone for a long time and have a close and open relationship you might mention things you don’t like, but be prepared for a negative response to such openness. In addition, you will likely be asked personal questions that may seem intrusive but the purpose is to get to know you better and to find out areas of mutual interest. While you do not have to answer questions you are uncomfortable answering, keeping all your thoughts and experiences to yourself will not be in your best interest.
Richard
The Importance of Introductions and Affect of Status
Description
Introductions are not taken lightly in South Korea. In many Western countries, if two people happen to be at the same place at the same time with a mutual friend, the latter will casually introduce them. In South Korea, an introduction (called So gae in Korea) permanently changes the way two people relate to each other in the future. Introducing a person of relatively little status to someone of higher status is uncommon.
Before two people meet for the first time, their mutual friend will probably give both some background information on the person they are about to meet. When they actually meet, there is a ritual which is invariably followed. If one person is sitting when another (standing) is to be introduced, the former will stand up. This is true of women and of men.
In South Korea, which has both a Strongly Relational orientation and a high PDI (considers status to be very important), the exchange of business cards is mandatory. This is because knowling a person’s status is critical.
Knowing a person’s status is critical, since the proper language level to be used depends on the two people’s positions. Until they know, they will both use very formal, respectful language.
Once introduced, they can talk. Much of the early conversation will consist of personal questions, seeking some connection that will make them feel closer. Some common factors sought are previous schools attended, home town and hobbies. If one person is obviously older than the other, he will begin addressing the younger in more intimate language.
Rarely do South Koreans introduce themselves to someone with whom they have no connection. It does sometimes happen that two people strike up a conversation, perhaps sitting next to each other on a long bus ride, or when a query leads to a longer conversation. Before they part, one will say ’I guess we don’t know one another’s names’ They will then say their names, bow and exchange cards. A future relationship will have been established.
Richard
Introductions and Initial contacts are usually made through trusted third parties
Description
It is important to have connections to someone who can introduce you before attempting to do business on your own. People from nations with a trust in relationship orientation prefer to do business with those they know, so having someone to introduce you will be of immense benefit to your business relationship.
Richard
Business First Requires a Personal Relationship
Description
In South Korea, individuals will not enter into a business relationship, or in some cases even consider discussing business, until they feel they can trust their counter-party. This may take a long time. Often the first and sometimes even the second meeting, will start with a great deal of getting-to-know-you talk, and will never involve discussing business.
Arriving at a feeling of trust requires getting a sense of the counter-party: is s/he a family person, does s/he have children, what hobbies and interests might the individual and counter-party share.
Only after a personal relationship has been established will a business relationship be considered. AND it often takes several meetings to establish a sufficient personal relationship.
Richard
Customer more loyal to salesperson than to product
Description
In South Korea salespeople have to develop a relationship with potential customers before they can sell them anything. In South Korea, for example, because the salesperson’s relationship with the customer is personalized, that customer is more loyal to the salesperson than to the product. Consequently if the salesperson were to leave and to work for another company, customers would follow.
Richard
The Meaning Of Contracts
Description
Misunderstandings often arise over the issue of contracts. While most of the large international South Korean companies have learnt the meaning of contracts, companies less accustomed to international business may not have. The problem is that South Koreans and individuals with a Trust in Institutions and Contracts orientation, view contracts differently. To some South Koreans, a contract is merely a general guide for conducting business. It is assumed that after agreements are signed, concessions will be made. A change in conditions, some South Koreans assume, may invalidate the details of a particular contract and, for them, a contract is not as important as the interpersonal relationship between the two parties. In South Korea a contract made between two people who do not trust each other has little value. Fortunately, an increasing number of South Koreans now recognize that contracts are legally binding but it is still necessary to be aware of the other view.
Those working in South Korea would be wise not only to check the contract they are signing very carefully, but to find out as much as they can about the company and/or individual making the contract. Do not hesitate to insist that certain things be put in or taken out of the agreement, even if they seem minor. For example, though you are told that appliances will be included in the furnished flat, ask for those appliances to be clearly written in the contract. When executing an employment contract, whenever possible, make contact with others who have worked for the same organization to find out about their experiences.
RFPs (Request For Proposals)
Another area of confusion that often arises between Trust in Relationship vs Trust in Institutions and Contracts cultures is that of the RFP. RFPs are often used to initiate a bidding process for a service contract.
In Trust in Institution cultures, RFPs are made as precise and unambiguous as possible. When a company enters a bid for the work described in the RFP a company is expected to submit a fixed price and is expected to perform the precise work defined in the RFP.
In South Korea, the RFP is often made as general and ambiguous as possible. A company entering a bid, may also be required to submit a fixed price, but in this case the bidder really doesn’t know the details of the work they will be expected to perform. Because of this uncertainty, the submitted prices tend to be significantly higher than in Trust in Institution cultures. In South Korea, the purchaser of the service Trusts that whatever they request will be done as part of the agreement. However, the service provider also Trusts that if the request is for something neither side originally envisioned, the purchaser will properly compensate the provider.
Richard
Working Hard is Important -- Getting Results... Less So
Description
In South Korea, hard work is usually rewarded without placing significant value on the results of the hard work. This means in South Korea, if someone is assigned a task and puts in many hours attempting to complete the task, his/her manager will consider this to be commendable, even if the task is not successfully completed. Also the worker will expect that their good effort will result in good reviews and promotions.
Richard
Richard, Based on Your Answers to the "Know Yourself Questionnaire For South Korea", Your Cultural Preferences Compared to South Korea Are:
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