My Cultural Stereotypes OK, Your's Not OK

Whenever I visit Asia, it never ceases to amaze me how many of the regional operations of European and US companies are managed by people from the parent company's domestic market. The arguments for this that I hear are usually of the, 'We cannot find the local talent' or 'We need to ensure consistency of parent company culture and processes around the world', variety. However, given that many Asian owned companies operating in Europe or the US reflect the same phenomenon in reverse, the argument over lack of local talent seems a little weak.

These days all markets are a mix of local and global, but it is the local differences that represent a huge opportunity for differentiation, as well as the need for thinking that goes beyond the presumptions developed in the parent company market.

Undeniably, there will be challenges in persuading local talent to join a foreign brand, unless it has the kudos (and willingness to pay above the going rate) of a Goldman Sachs or suchlike. However, being a suspicious type, I'm guessing that there is also an underlying cultural parochialism at play, which results in a preference for the use of home grown expatriates, despite the huge costs involved. Cultural differences in problem solving, selling styles, business relationships, and languages are seen as frustrating complications, rather than opportunities to increase effectiveness. One senior manager of a services company recently complained to me that they could not find decent sales folk or senior management in their East Asian markets because local candidates tended to lack aggression, creativity and leadership aspirations. That's quite a list of things for a nation to have in short supply. Any country that has been involved in the trade of goods and services for centuries probably has a reasonable number of people who know how to chase a deal or think new thoughts or organize others, albeit they may do it differently from the way it's done back home.

Research on cultural stereotypes tends to fall apart somewhat once you get beyond the obvious extremes of the collectivist (e.g. Japan) and individualist (you can guess) cultures. Individual differences so often outweigh the effects of broader cultural differences, that we need to get better at dismissing stereotypes. The reality: different management and working styles are effective in different markets. So let's raise a glass to the wonders of diversity and give a thumbs down to cultural presumptions. Try harder to understand the different models that can lead to success in different markets, be more persistent in seeking out local recruits and maybe take a little more risk along the way. It really doesn't sound like more than we would expect of someone entering our own domestic market.