National Cultural Profiles – Thailand

[Mumbo Jumbo]

Ive just seen this article in a UK newspaper and just wondering about ...the bold parts..?

National Cultural Profiles – Thailand

A. Introduction: The 19th century saw extensive colonialisation in South East Asia, but one nation-state in the area remained independent. This was Thailand, formerly known to the West as Siam.

The astuteness of Thai diplomacy, their fiercely independent spirit and the paramount importance of their religion – Buddhism – are the major factors in how Thailand may be culturally differentiated from the other South-East Asian states.

B. Language of Management: The language of Thai managers and other leaders is influenced considerably by the tenets of the Buddhist religion.

The concepts of ‘right speech’ and ‘right understanding’ must be observed, as is the necessity of ‘seeking the truth’. Language is therefore gentle, didactic and subtly moralistic. There are many respect forms (more than in most other languages) and these are widely observed.

C. Communication patterns: People who keep cool are respected and it is considered appropriate to smile even and especially in stressful situations.

D. Body language: Thais are generally neat and clean - a person’s bearing and appearance are considered indicative of one’s moral character.

E. General business behaviour: Buddhism discourages competition. Thais therefore are not overly ambitious and are reluctant to initiate change.

F. Interaction: In the West one achieves recognition and loyalty through work. In Thailand recognition and loyalty are obtained by being a best friend .

G Manners and taboos: Care should be taken to observe pecking order in social and business situations. Superiors are seen as unchallenged, but they generally strive to get on well with subordinates.

H. Cultural black holes: Inconsistency in the work tempo. Thais work hard when the boss is present, when they find work fun and when they are launching a new project. At other times they relax to an extent unusual in the West.

Thanks .......Mumbo

[petecooper]

I can only answer from my experiences working in a 95% Thai office for the last year:

B. Language of Management: The language of Thai managers and other leaders is influenced considerably by the tenets of the Buddhist religion.

The concepts of ‘right speech’ and ‘right understanding’ must be observed, as is the necessity of ‘seeking the truth’. Language is therefore gentle, didactic and subtly moralistic. There are many respect forms (more than in most other languages) and these are widely observed.

Certainly respect in the social heirarchy is important and this is reflected in the use of appropriate language. It's also true that conversations do tend to be "gentle" in a way not experienced in a western office

C. Communication patterns: People who keep cool are respected and it is considered appropriate to smile even and especially in stressful situations.

Definitely, keep your cool. Losing temper is really frowned upon and will not win you any friends. You're unlikely to get your point across this way either. Stay calm, and patient.

D. Body language: Thais are generally neat and clean - a person’s bearing and appearance are considered indicative of one’s moral character.

Probably a good rule of thumb anywhere in the world I would have thought.

E. General business behaviour: Buddhism discourages competition. Thais therefore are not overly ambitious and are reluctant to initiate change.

Disagree, at least our office is very dynamic and things are changing all the time. I'm not sure if it's ambition-driven though, seems to be in response to pressure from above.

F. Interaction: In the West one achieves recognition and loyalty through work. In Thailand recognition and loyalty are obtained by being a best friend .

Disagree, there are people in our office who have a lot of recognition and loyalty as a result of their hard work, skill, and work ethic.

G Manners and taboos: Care should be taken to observe pecking order in social and business situations. Superiors are seen as unchallenged, but they generally strive to get on well with subordinates.

True.

H. Cultural black holes: Inconsistency in the work tempo. Thais work hard when the boss is present, when they find work fun and when they are launching a new project. At other times they relax to an extent unusual in the West.

Yes very true, everyone seems to be working at 120% half the time and then all of a sudden they're all watching TV or playing computer games. I still can't figure out the logic.

Thanks .......Mumbo

You're welcome- just my two bit's worth. Hope it's interesting for you.

Cheers

Pete

[Mumbo Jumbo]

Thanks Pete for your comments , its good to get an opion about the above article from some one who works with Thais, The comment in the article ( E )

is the one I can't seem to really understand..?

Thanks .......... Mumbo

[udon]

E. could read "lack of initiative" ?

[OldAsiaHand]

All in all, I would say the piece is fair, certainly fairer than the rubbih you normally read about Thailand in the UK.

In particular, I think the reference to the impact of the local brand of Buddhism on Thai culture is spot on. I would not characterize it as 'discouraging competition,' however, so much as encouraging passive responses in almost every context, and that is ultimately what drives most westerners who try to work with Thais absolutely crazy.

[1900]

All in all, I would say the piece is fair, certainly fairer than the rubbih you normally read about Thailand in the UK.

In particular, I think the reference to the impact of the local brand of Buddhism on Thai culture is spot on. I would not characterize it as 'discouraging competition,' however, so much as encouraging passive responses in almost every context, and that is ultimately what drives most westerners who try to work with Thais absolutely crazy.

Something many of us forget is that there are in reality not such a high persentage of Thais who could honestly call themselves religious. Just because they haven't converted to some other belief doesn't mean they believe in theirs. I'm a Christian because I was baptized as such but I'm not shy about expressing my opinion on issues that may go against Christianity. Thais are the same. Thais do what is both easy and beneficial, and with a focus on the needs of today. Thailand is changing. Much of this literature we read was either published years ago or reflects studies done even more years ago. Their own survival will dictate what of their culture will remain and which will only remain on the farm located on the other side of the mountain. Of course they have their own brand of Buddhism, it's proof of their survivability and ability to mold new ideas with the old. It isn't an astounding feat in the history of man. IMO.

[GuestHouse]

The 19th century saw extensive colonialisation in South East Asia, but one nation-state in the area remained independent. This was Thailand, formerly known to the West as Siam.

This deserves examination, as it is simply not true, or at least it is streaching the definition of the term 'Independent'.

[camerata]

B. Language of Management: The language of Thai managers and other leaders is influenced considerably by the tenets of the Buddhist religion.

The concepts of ‘right speech’ and ‘right understanding’ must be observed, as is the necessity of ‘seeking the truth’. Language is therefore gentle, didactic and subtly moralistic.

This is real nonsense. Right Understanding refers to the Four Noble Truths and has nothing to do with business. People who don't know much about Thailand think that because Thais don't criticize or use harsh language (both components of Right Speech), this gentle speech is because they are Buddhists. But in actual fact, the reason has more to do with respect for elders and the hierarchical structure of Thai society, as you can read in Niels Mulder's book Everyday life in Thailand. The other two components of Right Speech are no idle gossip and no telling lies. Obviously, Thai business people do both. As for "seeking the truth," I'd say Thais tend to accept things at face value more than Westerners.

There are many respect forms (more than in most other languages) and these are widely observed.

Yes, but nothing to do with Buddhism and no different from other Asian countries like Japan.

E. General business behaviour: Buddhism discourages competition. Thais therefore are not overly ambitious and are reluctant to initiate change.

Thai companies engage in cutthroat competition but I think the above is generally true of individuals. I don't think it is because Buddhism discourages competition so much as because Thais value personal relationships above all else and it's difficult to have smooth relationships if you are ambitious and fighting to move up the ladder. Another point is that most Thai managers would be ethnic Chinese and more inclined to be superstitious than observant of core Buddhist teachings. I'd say many of the urban ethnic Chinese Thais are ambitious.

H. Cultural black holes: Inconsistency in the work tempo. Thais work hard when the boss is present, when they find work fun and when they are launching a new project. At other times they relax to an extent unusual in the West.

Again, this may apply to a lot of upcountry Thais but not to urban, ethnic Chinese Thais who are extremely hardworking.