Malaysia: Understanding Intercultural Communication Assignment:
Workplace Conflict
Assignment Group Members:
Joel Lopez
Hing Keung Lee
Cheol Park
Han Seong Kim
Country: Malaysia
Industry: Food and Beverage, Hospitality
General Setting Summary
Location(s):
Toronto, Canada
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Our Team:
Joel Lopez – Exec Chef, Project Manager
Hing Keung Lee – Exec Chef, Product Development
Cheol Park - Logistical Support Development
Han Seong Kim - Training
Belinda Mays (fictional) – General Manager
Malaysian Team
Mr. Tuah – Lead Candidate for General Manager
Mr. Lam – Operations Manager
Mr. Wati – Exec Chef.
Situation
Restaurant Associates Canada is a huge multi-unit food and beverage operation. It currently owns and manages pubs, high end restaurants, catering and fast food outlets. It is always developing and expanding into new areas and markets. Restaurant Associates Canada is currently expanding into the Asia market. The company believes that the time is now to expand into Asian territory as the region is experiencing a trend of long term economic growth and modernization. The company has selected Malaysia as an ideal location to develop a small but upscale bistro cafe restaurant concept which will also as a springboard into other areas of Asia, depending on its success. Introduction of other food and beverage concepts such as Carl Jr's, sports bar and coffee shops have been meet with varying degrees of success. RA Canada has high high hopes for this project.
A team has been assembled on both sides, comprising of seasoned managers from food and beverage to hospitality industries. The RA Canada team is comprised of 4 team members which consists of Joel Lopez as Project Manager( exec chef/ director of operations of 7 years at various food and beverage operation including Truffles at the Four Seasons, Bosk at the Shangri La hotel Toronto and the c5 restaurant at the ROM), Hing Keung Lee, Cheol Park as Operations Development (recently promoted to exec chef at RA Canada owned restaurant Enoteca Splendido and involved in several successful openings of other RA Canada restaurants in other provinces) and Han Seong Kim in charge of training new staff (former exec chef at La Boheme restaurant, awaiting transfer to new posting within RA Canada group).
The Malaysian team consists of managers with years of experience in various locations within the hospitality industry in Asia. Mr. Tuah is a highly respected individual amongst his staff who has worked at the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur as guest services manager for a number and ops manager at the Shangri La Hotel Kuala Lumpur. It is expected that he will be acting as General Manager once the organizational structure has been formalized. Mr. Lam, a Malaysian Chinese, has extensive work experience in Asia, working in both FOH and BOH manager positions in Malaysia, Japan and Korea. Mr. Wati, a Malaysian Indian will be working as the new exec chef of the restaurant.
The location for the new bistro is located in the heart of the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, within the Entertainment District, as part of a new entertainment and shopping complex located near a busy subway station. While most of the building materiel have been sourced from Malaysian companies, the atmosphere of the cafe has a distinctive Canadian neighbourhood vibe, wide open interior spaces well lit from natural lighting during the day while energy efficient lighting during the nighttime paint the interiors in soft pastel colors. The outdoor patio which sits about 40 overlooks one of the many parks that are part of Kuala Lumpur with the Petronas Towers towering nearby. The dining room will sit about 60 comfortably.
Due to the extensive contacts that Mr. Tuah, Mr Lam and Mr. Wati have within the Malaysian food and beverage/hospitality industry , a recruitment drive of seasoned veterans and talented new staff is currently underway. A comprehensive training program for both the kitchen and front of the house staff is being developed and is expected to be implemented soon.
Culture of Malaysia -
Work ethics
The work ethic of Malaysian residents is a growing synthesis of Western ideals of modern growth and Islamic traditionalism. This is the result of the perception by the predominant Islamic Malay ethnic group that successful economic growth in modern times is achievable through the integration of Western value system on work and Eastern values. Some of the characteristics of an Islamic work ethic system is the emphasis of the social aspect of the workplace, stressing on mutual respect, cooperation and discussion between workers and management when facing any obstruction and problem. Western work ethic stresses the individual over the group. Both share an intrinsic motivational aspect that would provide some degree of success for integration. However, there are some elements in Malaysian society that this would cause a gradual erosion of traditional Malaysian society and the unrestricted push for modernization would turn Malaysian culture into a mass consumerist society.
Communication style
The communication style in Malaysian society is extremely polite (CDA Media, 2012). The need to preserve the underlying harmony within a group or with new contacts can make communication overly formulaic or protocolistic [CDA Media, 2012]. Malaysians often initiate prolonged periods of exchanging social pleasantries or “ice breaking” before initiating any matter of importance, especially in business. Most Asian cultures such as Japanese, Korean and Chinese cultures share this type of communication protocol. Malaysians, in general rely heavily on subtle and indirect non verbal communication such as facial expressions, silent moments and body language in order to maintain group harmony. Preserving “face” or the value of one's standing in others is of such value that communication within the Malaysian culture is often very indirect for fear of giving offence to others.
Stereotypes of Malaysians
There are three main groups that comprise the Malaysian identity: Ethnic Malays that are Muslims that practice Malay customs and some indigenous groups that are considered ethnic Malay, Malaysian Chinese and Malaysian Indian. While the consensus is that all ethnic elements of Malaysia are considered Malaysian, it isn't a homogenous society. There have been some negative stereotyping due to hostility between the ethnic groups. Ethnic Malaysians are considered to be somewhat arrogant and hostile to the other ethnic groups. Perhaps this is in part that there is resentment among the non-Malay groups that most of the political power is in the hands of ethnic Malays. Malaysian Chinese are considered to be lazy and not productive. The last group, Malaysian Indians, have considered to be thieves and dishonest in general [Sabrina Lee, 2013]. This stereotyping seems to be the product of the older generation of Malaysian and generally not representative of the young Malaysian mindset [ReMag,2010].
Decision making process in Malaysian society
The decision making process in Malaysian business society revolves around the group harmony concept. Similar to decision making systems in Japan, Korea and China, decisions and solutions are made by senior people placed at the top of the hierarchy of the group who ensure that harmony is preserved.
Relationship Building in Malaysian society
Malaysian often build long-lasting and personal relationships founded on mutual trust prior to closing any business deal as part of their collectivistic mind set. Preserving group harmony and the sense of belonging to a group takes on more importance than any individualistic goals. Serious business discussions can only begin when both parties are comfortable with each other. According to Lothar Katz's book “Negotiating International Business - The Negotiator’s Reference Guide to 50 Countries Around the World”, it states:
Relationships are based on familiarity, respect, and personal trust. Business relationships in this country exist between people, not necessarily between companies. Even when you have won your local business partners’ friendship and trust, they will not necessarily trust others from your company. That makes it very important to keep company interfaces unchanged. Changing a key contact may require the relationship building process to start over.
Analysis of Intercultural Theories
Note: The following analysis uses components of Geert Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory. Using these components as a standard of measure, for which cultural values can be analyzed, it provides a framework for intercultural communication. His theory was been used by professionals in cross culture psychology and international business [Wikipedia, 2013].
Power distance:
In our country we selected. Malaysia, we identified a category that really stood out from others. This category is Power Distance. This Power Distance is measured under a chart orPower Distance Index (PDI). This index measures how much a person is willing or allowing someone to have more authority or control over them regardless of equality. In Malaysia we found that the index level is at a shocking 104 on the scale. This ranges in the highest category being 102-120. This means Malaysian peoples are accustomed to having higher levels of inequality and authority over certain groups or minorities. These groups include children (male/female), women. This indicates that the males are in control of the household and therefore considered a norm in this country.
Individualism/Collectivism
Individualism is the human characteristic where the interest of the individual takes precedence over the well being of such social constructs as group well-being. Emphasis on personal success, self-reliance and initiative are forms on how individualism expresses itself. Individualistic cultures are found in economically rich countries such as the U.S., Canada, France and other Anglo Countries.
Collectivistic cultures, commonly found in countries like China, Japan, Korea and Malaysia, places importance on the well being of group entities like the family and the workplace over individual desires. Personal ambition and initiative are superseded by well-being and harmony of the group.
We can identify with both concepts of Individualism and collectivism as our group, comprising of both Canadians and Koreans, identify with elements from both. Self reliance and independence are strong components of the Canadian consciousness as well as the Korean identity. However, we all share common traits such as well being of family as part of our upbringing. Working together as a group and ensuring the success of our intercultural project is just another example of the collective nature of our group.
Malaysia is a collectivistic society with emerging individualistic characteristics resulting from its drive for development and modernization. Collectivism in Malaysia is demonstrated by strong commitment to family, extended family and extended relationships both personal and business. Islamic ethical code as practiced by the predominant ethnic Malay reinforces the collectivism of Malaysia since it stresses the well-being of the group and urges cooperation with non Muslims as well in accomplishing group goals. According to Kate Bradley (2007), she wrote:
The Qur’an also urges Muslims to see one another as well as non-Muslims as members of one human family striving toward common goals.
Uncertainty avoidance
Uncertainty avoidance is the tendency for a culture to avoid risk and ambiguity. Countries with a high UAI (Uncertainty Avoidance Index) try to reduce the occurrences of unknown and uncertain events by careful planning. On the other hand countries with a low UAI tend to embrace riskier ventures or, at least, not adverse to change and are more adaptable to changing situations. Credit is more easily obtainable than in high UAI countries.
Given these definitions, we believe Canada would be classified as a country with a low UAI. Being part of a multicultural society, we are more accepting of other people's cultures and enjoy a host of rights and freedoms, including the freedom of expression.
Malaysia is also a low UAI country. Because of its multi-ethnic society, two track legal system (one for Muslim Malays and the other one for non-Malays, and the recent trend for growth and modernization, it is a definitely not adverse to change and not intolerant of other cultures. According the 2013 report on Doing Business in Malaysia as prepared by the World Bank Group, Malaysia ranks number one in terms of getting credit while the United States ranks number five and Canada ranks in at number 23.
Part II – Conflict Summary
As described in the situation in part 1, everything looks to be on track for the grand opening of the bistro. The Malaysia management team has been assembled and plans are on track in terms of developing an effective restaurant operation. Work has continued on developing a menu by the RA Canada team that is representative of the company's commitment to quality. However, head office has emailed our Team (RA Canada) about their desires to have a new project team member to join operations and planning immediately and summons the team to corporate headquarters. All team members have expressed their concerns over this development as being a potential disaster in the making. At a sit down breakfast meeting, the CEO expresses the wishes of the senior corporate management of wanting a Canadian to be general manager of the Malaysian operation and that the candidate should join operations as soon as possible. He then turns to the young lady that is sitting to his right and introduces her as Belinda Mays. She is a 30 years old, graduate of the Hospitality Management Program at George Brown and has worked as a General Manager for a number of years at other corporate outfits. Joel Lopez, the Project Manager, has expressed his concerns that the inclusion of a new member since the team wasn't a part of the selection process. The CEO expresses appreciation for his opinions but states that board is adamant about the inclusion of the new member. The meeting ends after a few pleasantries but with a bit of awkwardness.
The team is now faced with a new problem. The team is professional enough to adapt to new situations pretty quickly and proceed forward. There is no issue with the qualifications of Ms. Mays as it have been established that she has extensive experience and is capable of doing the job. However, introducing her to the Malaysian team poses a problem as there is a relationship of trust that has already been built between the RA Canada team and the Malaysian team. The Malaysian team values deep bonds of trust and friendship and the time and effort of acclimating her to operations might jeopardize that and the entire project might be delayed.
Specific analysis of conflict: introduction of new general manager might cause unacceptable delays in project completion and successful launch of project due to time taken to acclimate her to the project.
Intercultural misunderstanding analysis: introduction of new element might be seen as a breach of group harmony within the collectivistic mindset of the Malaysian Management team and strain group ties.
Attributes of an Effective Intercultural Communicator:
The strategies we would implement are set out into three different steps. These strategies are formulated to comply and to fit with Malaysian culture and to adapt our Canadian GM to the Malaysian culture. The first and fore most procedure is awareness. Our GM has to be aware of Malaysian customs and traditions. Everything from how to greet someone formally and informally, as well as to how to identify whether the person deserves a formal greeting or informally, as well as traditions of business. Introducing our Malaysian team to Canadian customs and conduct of business, therefore, both teams will be exposed and “cross-culturally exposed”.
The style and atmosphere of a sit down and conduct is necessary to be identified by the team to have a neutral ground to work on. The way of addressing someone is key to our success and to opening new relationships and partners. This procedure then directly leads to the second stage of our communication strategy, empathy and engaging in dialogue. This will allow our GM and managers to step down from the professionalism mind set and become more familiar and accustomed to each other at a more personal level. This will most definitely help improve communication and empathizing with one another will allow to have a connection whilst in the professional mindset and during the working hours of operation.
Lastly we highly encourage this last step to our formula, which is skill building. Our GM has to be able to give constructive and very detailed feed back to the managers in order to have set out standards in the company. She has to be able to build up and improve the skills of our managers in the areas that she identifies. The manner she approaches and delivers the skill building is very important. Consequently she has to be open and expectant of feedback from the managers under her. She has to be at this stage to be open-minded to accept these in a positive way and also improve on her skills.
It goes without saying that all three elements of our formula are extremely important to be executed and done 100%. For this reason we have as a company developed various activities from all staff to be able to communicate. There will be a pre-opening event where we will all be present to socialize casually and introduce everyone and get each another acquainted with. Then there will be a ceremony on opening day to continue further bonding. As the weeks progress we will have activities and workshops for management staff to attend that will provide friendly and amusing activities that will allow further development on all skills and aspects of our formula. As time progresses and we see the effectiveness of this formula we will have incentives for management staff. When we see suitable and we see that our staff have accomplished to communicate and work together efficiently we will apply these incentives. There are many variations from wage adjustments to vacation extensions or even paid activities outside business and corporate packages.
This project will be closely monitored by Executive Chef and Project Manager Joel Lopez, and Han Seong Kim Executive Training. Incentives and packages will be fabricated by Hing Keung Lee Executive Chef Product Developer, Cheol Park Integrated Logistical Support Developer.
Resolution Process:
Step 1
Bring Malaysian management team to Toronto for an introduction to Canadian thought process. Begin the process of ally building through a series of non-threatening activities designed to initiate a reset/re dedication of communications protocols with the Malaysian team on one side and the new RA Canada management team with the inclusion of the new General Manager. For example, a team building event at a pub that is RA Canada owned instead of at the board room at the Toronto head office. Inclusion of management teams from other operations could be an excellent opportunity for network and research. The purpose of such event is to impress upon the Malaysian team the dedication of the RA Canada restaurant management team to preserving ties and group harmony with their Malaysian counterparts. Other events could include a tour of other RA Canada operations including high end restaurant and university cafeteria operations and other socializing events in the city.
Length of Process: 2 weeks
Step 2
Send new Canadian general manager over to Malaysia same process. Include RA Canada management team as well as representatives from other operations within RA Canada group. The RA Canada group, in cooperation with the Malaysian team and the new GM providing input, would be responsible for organizing a tour and a small social gathering that would act as a precursor for the grand opening. This would place subtle pressure on the Malaysian management team in terms of building and preserving face. This would also build a relationship and new communication protocols between the Malaysian team and the new GM. It would also gain the new GM invaluable experience in working with her new team.
Length of Process: 2 weeks
Expected results: Due to emphasis of preserving face and developing group ties, it is believed that the Malaysian team will put out their best efforts in organizing activities designed to acclimate the new GM into ongoing operations.
Step 3
At this point, the group dynamics are examined under a series of open dialogues between the two parties while they are in Malaysia. If positive, representatives from corporate head office will reveal that because communication and networking have been positive so far that and increases in both group's pay and benefit packages will be taken in effect very soon. The company understands the importance of building ties and considers this an invaluable investment. The groups are given the task of organizing and ensuring the success of the soft grand opening that is happening in a couple of weeks. The new GM will be given a more vital role in the management team as she has to ensure the success of the grand opening.
Step 4
Acceptance – group harmony and communication dynamics are improved due to perceived sense of comradeship in the process of organizing for soft opening.
A positive relationship between the new GM and the Malaysian team has been established.
Resolution analysis:
We believe that the plan will be success as it appeals to the collectivistic nature of the Malaysian team. A huge amount of face can be achieved by both sides because a lot of support from head office for a positive outcome is allocated and the desire of both management teams to succeed. The new GM hopefully has shown by her efforts that she is able work as a group member as well as a team leader and that she appreciates the Malaysian culture of hard work and group harmony.
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