Hi Kin Lian,
The previous article drew comments about mind sets and behaviours. And that these differences come about due to differences in "culture". That's absolutely right.
In this article I'll like to touch on Hofstede's research on organisational culture. This may seem a little dry but bear with me. There's some practical application too. Hofstede identified a number of "dimensions of culture" that he could describe that were different among people from different countries.
Today I'll just touch on one - Power Distance. Without getting too technical, Hofstede's Power distance Index measures the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. This represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below, not from above.
In the case of the airline first officers questioning their captains, I see that as merely discussing a problem and situation and voicing uneasiness. To me that's part of the learning by be able to question and ask why. In asking why you also find out why not and can gain from the experience of others. That includes critical thinking (but we'll talk about that another day). Back to questioning - In my opinion, such discussions are very useful in complex situations which are not time-critical e.g. planning for organisational change.
Australia has one of the lowest "power distance index" of all countries in the study. As such, there is an expectation both for management to consult and for those managed to be consulted. If anything, such consultation brings together the collective experience of everyone in the organisation. It's like "wisdom of the crowd" except in this case you are also consulting with people who face the issues or situation you want to improve upon and have a personal stake in successful implementation.
This consultation in my view also generates organisational buy in. Simply people are more supportive of changes or decisions made if they have been part of the process and have influenced those decisions. This also improves morale. It gives people a sense that they can make a change. Management people call this "empowerment".
I don't know how common these terms are in Singapore or how much empowerment there is, but I think Singaporeans need to open their eyes a little bit more and look at what other jurisdictions are doing and how they are engaging their people.
I think when you were CEO of NTUC Income, you made some decisions that also empowered your staff. Singapore should do more of this. In doing so, we will begin to encourage more thinking and less doing things by "robot mode" or SOP. But more on that another day.
Cheers,
Daniel Yong
The previous article drew comments about mind sets and behaviours. And that these differences come about due to differences in "culture". That's absolutely right.
In this article I'll like to touch on Hofstede's research on organisational culture. This may seem a little dry but bear with me. There's some practical application too. Hofstede identified a number of "dimensions of culture" that he could describe that were different among people from different countries.
Today I'll just touch on one - Power Distance. Without getting too technical, Hofstede's Power distance Index measures the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. This represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below, not from above.
In the case of the airline first officers questioning their captains, I see that as merely discussing a problem and situation and voicing uneasiness. To me that's part of the learning by be able to question and ask why. In asking why you also find out why not and can gain from the experience of others. That includes critical thinking (but we'll talk about that another day). Back to questioning - In my opinion, such discussions are very useful in complex situations which are not time-critical e.g. planning for organisational change.
Australia has one of the lowest "power distance index" of all countries in the study. As such, there is an expectation both for management to consult and for those managed to be consulted. If anything, such consultation brings together the collective experience of everyone in the organisation. It's like "wisdom of the crowd" except in this case you are also consulting with people who face the issues or situation you want to improve upon and have a personal stake in successful implementation.
This consultation in my view also generates organisational buy in. Simply people are more supportive of changes or decisions made if they have been part of the process and have influenced those decisions. This also improves morale. It gives people a sense that they can make a change. Management people call this "empowerment".
I don't know how common these terms are in Singapore or how much empowerment there is, but I think Singaporeans need to open their eyes a little bit more and look at what other jurisdictions are doing and how they are engaging their people.
I think when you were CEO of NTUC Income, you made some decisions that also empowered your staff. Singapore should do more of this. In doing so, we will begin to encourage more thinking and less doing things by "robot mode" or SOP. But more on that another day.
Cheers,
Daniel Yong
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