Monarchs, Lords and Serfs: Cross-Cultural Comparisons of Staff Hierarchies
Prompt:
To begin with, the piece does capture some of the nuances involving the roles of leaders, middle managers and line of staff in my organization, to a certain extent. Applying my workflow during work, I can safely say that the responsibility and human resource department views the CEO, Head of Department and also the other employees exactly how Bolman depicts the monarch, lords, and serfs. Even in terms of responsibility as mentioned before, the thinking and workflow behind this are exactly the same. Taking into account the first type: the monarch. This type which translates with the CEO and COO of the company, it is very common to hear in the office that they are out on a business trip, meaning overwhelmed with too much stuff and having no time to do it all. This is very simple because the stakes of our social media company literally rest upon them, priorities keeps on coming up and they always have to find a balance in communicating effectively to the other head of departments. Thus, this is one case where the nuances in the early kingdoms are exactly like my workplace.
As for the workplace norms, there is indeed a difference in culture from where I was raised in Indonesia. Back home, the dynamics of the workplace is always revolving around the boss handling everything and everyone else is just getting paid to do exactly what the boss wants. The culture back home is very centered around age hierarchies and status, meaning if you have a ton of experience and credibility, no one will say otherwise. Whether in America, the start-up that I work that prioritize a sense of ownership to all the employees. Arguments and ideas are always challenged with different stages of workers, which builds a more intellectual workplace to be in. It's interesting to see this trend, and it took me a while to adapt to this environment. However, I believe identifying differences in workplace norms is a crucial skill to learn.
- Do you think the piece captures some of the nuances involving the roles of leaders, middle managers, and line staff in your organization, or in another organization you are familiar with? If so, how? If not, why not?
- Do you think there are cultural issues/ workplace norms in your workplace that are different from those you would expect in workplaces in your hometown? If so, how? If not, why not?
To begin with, the piece does capture some of the nuances involving the roles of leaders, middle managers and line of staff in my organization, to a certain extent. Applying my workflow during work, I can safely say that the responsibility and human resource department views the CEO, Head of Department and also the other employees exactly how Bolman depicts the monarch, lords, and serfs. Even in terms of responsibility as mentioned before, the thinking and workflow behind this are exactly the same. Taking into account the first type: the monarch. This type which translates with the CEO and COO of the company, it is very common to hear in the office that they are out on a business trip, meaning overwhelmed with too much stuff and having no time to do it all. This is very simple because the stakes of our social media company literally rest upon them, priorities keeps on coming up and they always have to find a balance in communicating effectively to the other head of departments. Thus, this is one case where the nuances in the early kingdoms are exactly like my workplace.
As for the workplace norms, there is indeed a difference in culture from where I was raised in Indonesia. Back home, the dynamics of the workplace is always revolving around the boss handling everything and everyone else is just getting paid to do exactly what the boss wants. The culture back home is very centered around age hierarchies and status, meaning if you have a ton of experience and credibility, no one will say otherwise. Whether in America, the start-up that I work that prioritize a sense of ownership to all the employees. Arguments and ideas are always challenged with different stages of workers, which builds a more intellectual workplace to be in. It's interesting to see this trend, and it took me a while to adapt to this environment. However, I believe identifying differences in workplace norms is a crucial skill to learn.