An article last month in HRM Asia raised the issue of parents coming to their children’s job interviews. While the article drew data from the US and Canada, plenty of anecdotes from around Asia suggest that some parents get very, very involved in their child’s job search. On M*A*S*H, Radar O’Reilly’s cry of “Incoming choppers!” […]

In Bangkok, you find signs in the Skytrain stations urging you to look up rather than down at your phone. Go down into the Hong Kong MTR and you hear announcements asking you to be careful on the escalators and “please do not be looking only at your phone.” Walk down the streets of Seoul […]

Having a flat organization is a goal for a lot of business leaders. In many cases, they may not be sure why they want a flat organization, they just know that they do because they have heard it’s a good idea. Organizations become flat by reducing levels in the hierarchy. The fewer the steps between […]

Friction is how you slow your car, so you can bet that friction will slow your workplace, too. By “friction,” we are not just talking about bad feelings and awkward silences between people, though that is certainly one form of it. What we mean instead is anything in your working environment that slows down the […]

There is a movement in some Asian countries to encourage firms to be more family friendly, but it highlights a sharp conflict between two key elements of many cultures in the region: – a strong work ethic that places a premium on professional success – close family ties and a commitment to caring for family […]