Thoughts on Korean Business by Don Southerton

This week’s episode shares thoughts from an interview with The Korean corporate culture.  I have attached a link to a PDF version. Take a few minutes and read.  BTW The article appears in this week's Print Edition as well in the Digital version.... Circulation 4.5 Million paper/ 2.5 million Digital ... The Article paints the Korean workplace as softening.... And I agree this is true at Hyundai Capital as they cite... and I feel Capital is perhaps one, if not the leader in crafting less restrictive and innovative workplace in Korea… This said, and not a surprise for my viewers and readers, is how the article-- in probing deeper--how many Korean companies in contrast have gotten tougher on staff … in fact it’s my point of view that this is more dominate force today in the Korean workplace especially in overseas operations, than a softening …. Don Southerton, who advises South Korean businesses on how to manage their foreign operations, says many have been “going back to...

I’d like to share a short preview of my next book on Korean global business.   Following in the footsteps of my other recent publications, it will continue to provide  “knowledge of the tribe” and insights--- all worthy of probably my most original title, which I will be disclosing closer to the release date along with cover art. This said, I have always found books about Korean business and culture informative, but they can be locked in time. In other words they are relevant and accurate at their publication, but with Korea’s ever changing society and economy shifts in workplace norms, practices and attitudes the content requires constant revisions and updating.  In particular, with regard to overseas Korean operations Change is even more dramatic.   Recognizing this challenge, I have taken an approach to my latest book sharing insights into Korea facing business by building upon a recent round of my articles, commentaries and case studies—then all upda...

Stepping back to August 2005, I was conducting cross-cultural training and coaching sessions at a manufacturing facility. In the early months of the plant operations, tensions between the American and Korean teams were mounting. Startup operations are always a daunting task.  The additional cultural dimensions and language differences only compounded the odds of having a smooth launch. Recognizing the challenges, senior Korean leadership asked if I could provide team-building workshops that would allow the respective managers to better address escalating concerns and issues. Consensus was that the problem was “cultural”—Koreans not understanding Americans and visa-versa. I had been working across their organization for several years and I had dealt with what I thought were similar situations. However, a few hours into the team-building workshops I uncovered the true cause of the strained relationship, but it was not what I had expected. Most of the American teams were pro...

It’s common for Korean overseas business to embed Korean expatriates in their local operations. Their functions and responsibilities vary with each company, but frequently an expat’s role is liaison between Korea and the local subsidiary. For westerners unfamiliar with the Korean model, an expat’s responsibilities usually translate into the Korean required to sign off on all departmental decisions—trivial to substantial. This can be a huge challenge when newly assigned expats have limited background in or knowledge of the host country’s operations and market. They do however know the mother company procedures well. They have been successful at their past assignments. And, they often were assigned to the headquarters’ overseas support teams, have traveled extensively to subsidiaries, and were educated or experienced life outside Korea. However, like western teams, their experiences and skills can vary. Once overseas, workload can strong impact an expats’ perfo...

Supporting clients and their challenges requires getting to the core issues. It’s distinguishing between what are the organizational and what are the cultural impasses then providing practical solutions and work through’s. Much of my work is first listening carefully to clients and their challenges.  Equally  valuable is walking around the corporate offices, observing and capturing multiple viewpoints.  Nothing beats being onsite. Nothing beats getting face to face.  Too often, I find challenges as murky, complex and layered with frustrations, so a deconstruction is needed. Not to mention there is a growing Korean business dimension to an overseas operations.   In most cases I bring a fresh perspective—one rooted in years working with Korea-facing business.   I’d like to share that in addition to mentoring, I have recently began to work directly on specific and very select high profile projects with clients.   To often an initiat...