Increasing the Chances of Success for USA and South Korea Partnerships

Increasing the Chances of
Success for USA and South
Korea Partnerships
Catherine Mercer Bing
Managing Director,
ITAP Americas, Inc.
(w) 1.215.860.5640
http://www.itapintl.com
©2014 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 1

Going Global Can Lead to Failure
• “Companies spend more than $2 trillion on
acquisitions every year. Yet study after
study puts the failure rate of mergers and
acquisitions somewhere between 70%
and 90%.”
SOURCE: Christensen et al. “The Big Idea: The New M&A Playbook,”
Harvard Business Review, March 2011

Differences That Could Derail the
Partnership
• Areas of difference that could derail a
partnership:
1. Attitudes toward people who are different
2. Gender and travel overseas
3. Hiring and promotion
4. Communication
5. Attitudes toward conflict

1. Attitudes Toward People Who Are
Different
• Koreans tend to judge individuals who do
not conform to group norms – for
example, who are vegetarian or
exceptionally curious — more harshly than
US Americans.
• Non-conformists are perceived as selfish.
SOURCE: Kinias et al. “Standing out as a Signal to Selfishness:
Culture and Devaluation of Non-normative Characteristics,”
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 124:2:190-203 July 2014.

2. Gender and Travel Oversees
• “Korean firms have a stronger preference
for sending men on business trips and
more overall discriminatory atmospheres
than foreign firms.”
SOURCE: Gress et al. “Differential Spaces in Korean Places?
Feminist Geography and Female Managers in South Korea,”
Gender, Work & Organization, 21:2:165 – 186. March 2014

3. Hiring and Promotion
• “..informal networks figure more
predominantly into hiring and promotion at
Korean firms” than at foreign firms doing
business in Korea.
SOURCE: Gress et al. “Differential Spaces in Korean Places?
Feminist Geography and Female Managers in South Korea,”
Gender, Work & Organization, 21:2:165 – 186. March 2014

4. Communication
US American Korean
Impersonal – act as own agent – will move
on when business does not serve his/her
needs or when a better opportunity arises.
Focus
Relationship to
Business
Personal – a department is a cohesive
unit. Employees have strong tendency to
remain with the company even in times of
trouble.
Need to be liked – expressed through
informal address and gestures.
Personal Need Need to be liked. “Let their hair down”
only in an informal non-business setting.
Short term – largely informal – many
procedures changed or modified while in
progress.
Based on accomplishment and image –
underlying drive toward equality.
Orientation to
Corporate Status
Short term – if the upper management
changes, new rules may need to be
learned.
Based on education and credentials –
underlying drive toward hierarchy.
Assertive, tempered with fair play - give the
benefit of doubt or handicap.
Confrontation Assertive to subordinates.
Discussion about sports, weather,
occupation, what you do, what you feel
about someone.
Common Social
Interaction
Discussion about sports, weather,
occupations, technological advancements.
Written by Sullae Shoe, resource expert, ITAP International, Inc.

5. Attitudes about Conflict
• “[in collectivist cultures]… Conflicts should
be avoided or at least formulated so as
not to hurt anyone.”
• Maintaining harmony is a virtue.
SOURCE: Hofstede, et al.,
Culture and Organizations: Software of the Mind, p.118. 2001

Framework for Discovering
Similarities and Differences
• To bridge gaps between USA and South Korea,
businesses need a neutral, non-judgmental
framework.
• Geert Hofstede’s research offers a framework
for bridging differences.
• The Wall Street Journal ranked Hofstede as the
16th most influential business thinker.
SOURCE:
http://wingedspur01.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/the-top-21-most-influential-business-©2014 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 9

Hofstede’s Framework
• Endorsed by Hofstede, ITAP offers tools that
help companies visualize commonalities and
differences.
• ITAP licenses from Hofstede a tool that
assesses five cultural values, known as
dimensions.
• See the differences between the country scores
of the USA and South Korea…

Individualism…
…the degree to which action is taken for
the benefit of the individual or the group.
INDIVIDUAL ORIENTATION
GROUP
ORIENTATION
Look out for
#1.
If you want
something
done right, do
it yourself.
Two heads are
better than
one.
Many hands
make light
work.
©2014 ITAP International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

46
USA United Kingdom Germany Japan South Korea
INDIVIDUALISM
GROUP
INDIVIDUALISM
Individual Orientation versus Group Orientation
91 89
67
18
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Individualism
Country
Score
Sample Question: The pursuit of individual goals is more important than maintaining harmony and consensus in the workplace.

Individual Orientation vs.
Group Orientation
When working with,
managing or working for
those who have an
Individual Orientation:
 Appeal to their self-interest.
Focus on how the results will be
good for them
 Allow individual work and
competition between individuals
 Delegate to individuals
When working with,
with those who have a
Group Orientation:
 Appeal to the common interest.
Focus on how the results will be
good for the group
 Work with team/partnering
approaches – small groups with
reporting to the larger group
 Allow for group discussion before
individual work starts

Power Distance…
…the degree to which inequality or distance
between those in charge and the less
powerful (subordinates) is accepted.
HIERARCHICAL ORIENTATION
PARTICIPATIVE Even better than respect is ORIENTATION
obedience.
The highest duty is to respect
authority.
Never tell people how to do
things. Tell them what to do
and they will surprise you with
their Tinhgee kneuyit yto.
successful
leadership
today is
influence, not
authority.

POWER DISTANCE
Hierarchical Orientation versus Participative Orientation
HIERARCHICAL STYLE
South Korea Japan USA Germany United Kingdom
60
54
40
35 35
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Power Distance
Country
Score
Sample Question: Employees should tell managers their views even if those views challenge those of the manager.

Hierarchical Orientation vs.
Participative Orientation
16
When working with,
those who have a
Hierarchical Orientation:
Invite senior staff to make
announcements, communicate
expectations.
Use legitimate power
(management or seniority) to
exercise authority.
Be the expert – the most
knowledgeable person on the
subject.
When working with,
those who have a
Participative Orientation:
Use influencing skills.
Refer to those who might have
more expertise than you do.
Ask for input and perspectives
from different employee levels.
Allow for questions and
challenges.

Certainty…
…the extent to which people prefer rules,
regulations and controls or are more
comfortable with unstructured, ambiguous
or unpredictable situations.
NEED FOR CERTAINTY
TOLERANCE
FOR
AMBIGUITY
Do it by the book.
Better safe than
sorry. Rules are meant
to be broken.
Nothing ventured,
nothing gained.

Need for Certainty versus Tolerance for Ambiguity
85
STRUCTURE/RULES
CERTAINTY
65
46
35
92
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Certainty
Country
Sample Question: One can be a good manager without having precise answers to most of the
questions that subordinates may raise about their work.
Score
Japan South Korea Germany USA United Kingdom

Need for Certainty vs.
Tolerance for Ambiguity
When working with, managing or
working for those who have a
Need for Certainty:
 Provide specific rules and formal
structures/formats. Give complete
instructions with context (no surprises)
 Provide them with examples of others
who have used the approach
successfully. Recognize their need for
information
 When delegating, include timelines
and clear deliverables. Review
progress often
 Focus on compliance with procedures
and policies. Use a logical flow to your
interactions. Describe the logic
When working with, managing or
working for those who have a
Tolerance for Ambiguity:
 Provide rules and allow for changing
them with discussion/rationale. They
may not need to know how it is going
to work as long as things make sense
 Challenge others to try new things in a
“safe” environment
 Recognize creativity in completing the
deliverables, if different from the stated
directions
 Focus on creativity and allowing time
and interactions to flex as necessary

Achievement…
…the degree to which we focus on goal
achievement and work or quality of life
and caring for others
ACHIEVEMENT ORIENTATION
Nice guys finish last. QUALITY OF LIFE ORIENTATION
Winning isn’t
All work and no play
everything, it’s the
make Jack a dull boy.
only thing.
It is nice to be
important, but it
is more important
to be nice.

21
ACHIEVEMENT
Achievement Orientation versus Quality of Life Orientation
95
66 66
39
62
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Achievement
Country
Sample Question: Competition between employees makes for a better organization.
Score
Japan Germany United Kingdom USA South Korea

Achievement Orientation vs.
Quality of Life Orientation
When working with,
those who have an
Achievement Orientation:
Stress and reward performance,
getting work done on time or early.
Allow others to show drive or
ambition for completion of tasks
and meeting of deadlines.
Communicate and respond with a
sense of urgency.
A good colleague should be
decisive.
When working with,
those who have a Quality
of Life Orientation:
Allow for building
interdependence.
Emphasize humility and modesty
in your approach.
Resolve conflicts by compromise
and negotiation.
A good colleague should be
intuitive.

Time Orientation…
…the extent to which members of a society are
prepared to adapt themselves to reach a desirable
future, or the extent to which they take their
guidance from the past and focus on fulfilling their
present needs and desires.
SHORT TERM ORIENTATION
LONG TERM ORIENTATION
Dripping
water can eat
through a
stone.
Diligence is
the basis of
wealth, and
thrift the
source of
riches.
One today is worth two tomorrows.
Keeping up with the Joneses…

24
TIME ORIENTATION
Long-Term Orientation versus Short-Term Orientation
100
83
26
88
51
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Time Orientation
Country
Sample Question: Tomorrow's profits are more important than today's profits
Score
South Korea Japan Germany United Kingdom USA

Long-Term Orientation vs.
Short-Term Orientation
25
When working with,
those who have a Long-
Term Orientation:
Understanding is seen as a long
process that requires considerable
mental effort.
Learners prefer a slow, accurate,
systematic approach. Memorization
is a way to deepen understanding.
Use clear delineation of concepts.
Reinforce use of processes with
repetitive practice.
When working with, managing
or working for those who
have a Short-Term
Orientation:
Understanding is seen as a process of
sudden insight.
Learners prefer an approach which
incorporates investigative and
analytical thinking. Use questioning
and probing, and encourage learners
to prove intellectual points by using
logical arguments.
Use abstract thinking and open
discussions.

ITAP’s Assessment of Cultural
Differences
• The Culture in the Workplace
QuestionnaireTM (CWQ) enables USA and
Korean managers to visually:
– Learn about their cultural preferences
– Compare their scores to their group score
– Compare their group scores
– Compare their group scores to country scores

If you were from a Korean company (see the scores
for Korea) and were considering acquiring a US
American company Comparison (Company Chart
A), what difficulties
Individualism
100
80
60
40
20
0
Power Distance
Time Orientation
Achievement Certainty
Korea
US
Company A
27
might you expect to arise?
Just one way in which ITAP helps managers visualize
their scores: A spidergram

Catherine Mercer Bing
Managing Director
ITAP Americas
The Atrium at Newtown
353 Nassau Street, 1st floor
Princeton, NJ 08540 USA
(W) 1.215.860.5640
http://www.itapintl.com

Increasing the Chances of Success for USA and South Korea Partnerships

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