Managing in Poland
And Professor Dieter Flader, who is on the staff of both the University of Warsaw and the Free University of Berlin, is not the first to draw attention to the intercultural cooperation problems that occur between Westerners and Poles; he clearly is looking for answers.
The professor's research
"I started my research more than two years ago by conducting more than 30 guideline interviews with managers from different Western countries," recalls Prof. Flader. He says his observations were so interesting that he felt compelled to write a book on the subject, and he is due to present his findings in a two-day seminar in October.
"The key point to remember is not all managers interviewed made these complaints, just those who came to Poland more or less unprepared in terms of cultural knowledge," he says.
Prof. Flader outlines three components to such complaints. The first is general ignorance about the foreign country. This is followed by a confrontation with cultural differences that were unrecognizable because of lack of knowledge, which then triggers difficulty in understanding the reasons for certain cooperation problems. The end result is that the foreigner begins forming stereotypes about 'the Poles'.
Culture shock is something that can easily be expected from a foreigner in a new country and is quite normal, he says. The key is to recognize the existing cultural differences before it has a negative influence on work cooperation of both parties.
"The Cultural System Model I developed is to help expats understand those cultural differences they come across in Poland." This model recognizes the 'organizational culture' that is present in Polish companies, the professional 'ethos' that may be lacking, and the influence that Polish national culture has on planning an approach towards the Polish worker.
Remnants of the past
Prof. Flader illustrates an example of one of the complaints that Poles "tell lies" in order to cover up any problems in the work process. Very often when Polish staff are asked how things are going, they answer with an automatic "everything is fine," despite whether that is indeed the case.
Most expats are unaware of the impact the 'old system' has on the existing organizational culture in a Polish company. Under the socialist system the most important thing was to hide any problems in the work process for fear of punishment, rather than communicate for the benefit of the company.
Although the younger generation has no experience with the bureaucratic socialist system, this mentality is still present in other parts of Polish society. A manager's responsibility is to be aware of this mentality and change his/her own behavior accordingly. It is up to the manager to explain the rules of work and to instill trust with Polish colleagues. It must be very clear that communication of a problem will not result in punishment.
The burning question
The Journal asked Prof Flader: "Is there any feature of Polish national culture which could be a problem for modern business and for the modern organizational culture?
"There is one and only one - the Polish attitude to written social rules and the authority which represents them," he says.
This goes back to the longstanding 'us versus them' mentality, he explains. There is strong proof in Polish history that defying the foreign occupants was necessary for the survival of the Polish identity, and therefore the tendency was to go against the written rules.
The same effect can occur if the Western manager behaves in an arrogant way and excludes other competent co-workers from the decision making process, resulting in a similar feeling of 'us versus them' from the Polish counterparts. Again, it is the responsibility of the Western manager to change his behavior to link cooperation with his Polish colleague.
The Professor points out that a practical solution for the majority of cooperation problems between the two parties is to develop trust through a proper style of leadership. Developing trust is very important.
Find out more
"In my manager seminars I offer a model of leadership which fits to the Polish expectation concerning professional development."
He also offers tools to develop an effective organizational culture using what he calls a 'cultural audit'. This audit offers a kind of data starting point for the evaluation of an organizational culture and for organizing practical changes.
Professor Flader's two-day workshop is aimed at foreign managers and covers topics such as typical cooperation problems between Western managers and Poles and 'the Cultural Systems Model'. He is also holding a special seminar for a specific group of Polish managers who will be expecting to cooperate with managers from abroad, focusing on several topics like 'how Poles can help a Western manager to under-stand the Polish staff' and 'what Poles should know about the differences among Western management styles.'
Professor Dr. hab. Dieter Flader can be contacted at multitex@zedat.fu-berlin.de for more information.
The professor's research
"I started my research more than two years ago by conducting more than 30 guideline interviews with managers from different Western countries," recalls Prof. Flader. He says his observations were so interesting that he felt compelled to write a book on the subject, and he is due to present his findings in a two-day seminar in October.
"The key point to remember is not all managers interviewed made these complaints, just those who came to Poland more or less unprepared in terms of cultural knowledge," he says.
Prof. Flader outlines three components to such complaints. The first is general ignorance about the foreign country. This is followed by a confrontation with cultural differences that were unrecognizable because of lack of knowledge, which then triggers difficulty in understanding the reasons for certain cooperation problems. The end result is that the foreigner begins forming stereotypes about 'the Poles'.
Culture shock is something that can easily be expected from a foreigner in a new country and is quite normal, he says. The key is to recognize the existing cultural differences before it has a negative influence on work cooperation of both parties.
"The Cultural System Model I developed is to help expats understand those cultural differences they come across in Poland." This model recognizes the 'organizational culture' that is present in Polish companies, the professional 'ethos' that may be lacking, and the influence that Polish national culture has on planning an approach towards the Polish worker.
Remnants of the past
Prof. Flader illustrates an example of one of the complaints that Poles "tell lies" in order to cover up any problems in the work process. Very often when Polish staff are asked how things are going, they answer with an automatic "everything is fine," despite whether that is indeed the case.
Most expats are unaware of the impact the 'old system' has on the existing organizational culture in a Polish company. Under the socialist system the most important thing was to hide any problems in the work process for fear of punishment, rather than communicate for the benefit of the company.
Although the younger generation has no experience with the bureaucratic socialist system, this mentality is still present in other parts of Polish society. A manager's responsibility is to be aware of this mentality and change his/her own behavior accordingly. It is up to the manager to explain the rules of work and to instill trust with Polish colleagues. It must be very clear that communication of a problem will not result in punishment.
The burning question
The Journal asked Prof Flader: "Is there any feature of Polish national culture which could be a problem for modern business and for the modern organizational culture?
"There is one and only one - the Polish attitude to written social rules and the authority which represents them," he says.
This goes back to the longstanding 'us versus them' mentality, he explains. There is strong proof in Polish history that defying the foreign occupants was necessary for the survival of the Polish identity, and therefore the tendency was to go against the written rules.
The same effect can occur if the Western manager behaves in an arrogant way and excludes other competent co-workers from the decision making process, resulting in a similar feeling of 'us versus them' from the Polish counterparts. Again, it is the responsibility of the Western manager to change his behavior to link cooperation with his Polish colleague.
The Professor points out that a practical solution for the majority of cooperation problems between the two parties is to develop trust through a proper style of leadership. Developing trust is very important.
Find out more
"In my manager seminars I offer a model of leadership which fits to the Polish expectation concerning professional development."
He also offers tools to develop an effective organizational culture using what he calls a 'cultural audit'. This audit offers a kind of data starting point for the evaluation of an organizational culture and for organizing practical changes.
Professor Flader's two-day workshop is aimed at foreign managers and covers topics such as typical cooperation problems between Western managers and Poles and 'the Cultural Systems Model'. He is also holding a special seminar for a specific group of Polish managers who will be expecting to cooperate with managers from abroad, focusing on several topics like 'how Poles can help a Western manager to under-stand the Polish staff' and 'what Poles should know about the differences among Western management styles.'
Professor Dr. hab. Dieter Flader can be contacted at multitex@zedat.fu-berlin.de for more information.
