Working With Africans

Most companies have explicit and often espoused corporate values. These are often formalized into mission statements, tag lines, branding and marketing promotions. 

The idea of establishing and communicating corporate values was popularized by management gurus Tom Peters and Bob Waterman, and thousands of management consultants have created a healthy business working with leaders developing corporate values.

Corporate values are often used interchangeably with the concept of corporate culture. They guide an organization’s internal conduct as well as its relationship with its customers, partners, and shareholders.

Morality and ethics are central to the issue of meaning in corporate values. They are supposed to ensure a consistency in the quality of the organization’s products and services. They help in getting market shares and in retaining customers.

Firms operating in foreign markets usually transfer their corporate culture into their foreign operations. Corporate values also guide recruitment firms or HR departments: finding the right competences is not enough. Applicants who share corporate values are to be preferred, might technical competences and experience criteria been met.

The challenge to transfer corporate values into foreign environments is often overlooked by organization’s HQ.

In order to illustrate my statement, I will take one commonly used corporate value: the respect for the individual.

Let us quote how it is often stated:

We treat one another with respect and dignity, appreciating individual, cultural, and national differences.  We seek to learn and therefore we listen to one another attentively and compassionately and communicate often and openly.  Recognizing that valuable ideas can come from anyone regardless of level or position, we encourage individuals to express their views and use their talent to the fullest.  Company policy prohibits discrimination against employees, stockholders, directors, officers, customers or suppliers on account of race, color, age, sex, religion or national origin.  All persons shall be treated with dignity and respect.

Let us see what is hidden behind this corporate value:

Each individual enjoys equality of treatment within the organization: distinguishing employees on the basis of their race, their nationality, their language, their age, their gender, their level of education, or even on their position in the organization’s hierarchy is not beneficial to the organization. It adversely impacts on motivation, integrity, team spirit, productivity and creativity.

Such view of people is inspired by some ethical principles, some of which are stated in the Bill of Rights and outside the USA in the ratified Universal Declaration of Human rights.

Yet the reality shows that such value often disrespects cultural differences!

There is an abundant literature illustrating societal and organizational hierarchies in African countries. Respect towards these hierarchies command societal and organizational behavior, attitudes, communication styles and contend that would be considered disrespectful in many individualistic and egalitarian societies: for example, respecting a manager, or a more senior person, supposes not to pinpoint an error he/she made, or not criticizing his/her ideas. Asking some questions may suggest that the speaker was not clear in his/her explanation, which can also be perceived as disrespectful. Taking some initiative challenges the hierarchy and can be sanctioned. In some African societies, employees would refuse delegation even when the suggestion is made by their hierarchy. ‘You know better than me boss’ is a socially acceptable and respecful response to a suggestion to do a task usually performed by a manager.’ Empowering employees through skills development would mean encouraging trainee to modify their definition of what is respectful or not. That is far from being obvious.

Open communication is rarely seen in group-oriented African societies that value face saving. Such trait continues to fuel polite but inaccurate statements even when dealing with educated locals.

In such cultural contexts, it may be counterproductive to hire a local employee who shares a value that is contrary to societal expectations but in accordance with the foreign firm corporate values. In some African societies, I have witnessed the ostracism of these who trespass socially respectful values, the sabotage organized by the subordinates or even the delegation of delicate matters to foreigners who would not stand the same consequence of implementing disrespectful principles and values.

This being said, I have witnessed Africans driven by values that were different from these popular in their society. Yet these people face unknown challenges when implementing them, causing some to succeed when the conditions are favorable, but others to fail when the context they are operating in is pressurizing to respect societal values.

My illustration demonstrates the invisible dynamics at work when a corporate value is transferred in a foreign society. It appears that there is a collision between the societal value and the organizational ones. While many decision makers believe that corporate values smooth cultural differences, literature has proved otherwise.

Subsequently rather than solving problems, corporate values can be a source of disrespect, problems and loss of effectiveness when they are transferred in societies whose societal values greatly vary from these of the organization foreign HQ.

Global business literature has emphasized the importance of handling cultural differences. Many tools assess the cross-cultural ability and competence of employees and managers assigned overseas.

Recently a McKinsey newsletter suggested the hiring of locals rather than foreigners in emerging markets.  That is of course a very good idea as locals are deemed to know their cultures better than foreigners. Yet, in many African societies, locals would have to face the challenge of working with corporate values that disrespect their cultural identity. Are they ready for that? Is their foreign hierarchy aware of that? Are they ready to offer any support? Unless both sides develop their cross-cultural competences, they will not uncover the challenge ahead.