In Marianas Turkey Shoot Coming to S'pore blogpost a few days ago i mentioned that the state controlled media reporting about some burmese targeting to save $25,000 & then return to Myanmar to start their own businesses.
Based on what i've experienced in my previous job, these foreigners are very obedient. Even stupid orders they will just follow & do. Their objective is blindly follow the stupid orders & collect the monthly paychecks so as to save $25,000 or whatever amount. Why bother running the risk of pissing off the superior by questioning whether an order make sense? Why bother risking looking like a troublemaker? $25,000 converted into myanmar currency packs a helluva punch in purchasing power.
Bosses who favor these foreign pets just because they are obedient over locals who voice out repercussions of executing an order are a stupid bunch. Besides is not advisable to work under such dumb bosses for prolonged periods.
The Vietcong knows they can't win in a conventional war against the Americans. They don't play by the rules of the stronger.
American revolutionaries knows they can't win in a conventional war against the mighty British. Similarly they don't play by the rules of the stronger.
You can't outWalmart Walmart, you can't outAmazon Amazon, similarly attempts by locals trying to outcheaper cheaper foreigners is largely an exercise in futility. Local environments have also made many sinkies very obedient in carrying out stupid orders that doesn't make sense too.
How not to be obedient & carry out dumb orders:
- when an enormous 30year mortgage loan beckons?
- when scared of losing job to cheaper foreigner?
- If lost job to cheaper foreigner where got $$ to buy toilet paper to wipe ass?
- bills, bills. bills - it just adds to the horrifying thought...
On the contrary if you have the courage to voice out repurcussions of a dumb order you'll more likely to be secure in your job compared to those obedient foreigners & ball-less sinkies. Remember that balls are always in short supply.
Agree with you there is a problem is with the bosses who favour the obedient. Afterall, 三个臭皮匠顶个诸葛亮。 [3 regular brains may beat 1 superior one in problem solving.]
ReplyDeleteI've worked for "western-influenced" foreign bosses and Singaporean bosses. Generalizing from my experience (so please don't flame me): It is common to find Singapore-citizen bosses who care too much about face, cannot accept suggestions over their own solutions, and don't know how to handle or appreciate independent-minded subordinates. This is true across all ethnicities in Singapore.
This "face" 面子 issue also extends to other "Asian-mindset" bosses. E.g. I ever had a Filippino I.T. boss in Singapore who was an epic failure. He cannot solve problems, wanted "face", and didn't even know basic PR of humbly accepting a solution proposed by the clients themselves (since he couldn't propose any reasonable solution to them). But this Filippino was probably excellent at bootlicking, because the company management refused to transfer him away despite repeated complaints from clients. In the end, the clients got rid of him by threatening to fire the whole I.T. outsourcing team.
To add on from my past observations: When it comes to I.T., Singaporean bosses even lack behind the reputed N.A.T.O. India Indian bosses. At least India Indian bosses know how to wayang and let their subordinates feel some sense of "autonomy" by allowing them to waste some time debating over solutions, but in the end, the boss' decision overrides everyone else.
Balls may be short in supply, but balls are not appreciated in Singapore. In the Singapore political arena, one needs to look no further than JBJ and CSJ for examples.