Oh they *are* cultural values. Ones that are about seniority, honour (family, patriarchal), position, and saving face.
They simply don't work in this day and age when it comes to the connection between products and their customers.
It used to be this way in many of the Asian airlines, for example (still is, in some respects.) It was seen as disrespectful and otherwise improper for subordinates (like the First Officer) to question the Captain or take the controls for the greater good, even when the latter was obviously in the wrong (and sometimes dangerously so.) This resulted in bad cockpit resource management, in turn resulting in entirely preventable tragedies.
The problem is very much cultural. Not everything translates well (or safely) into the 21st century.
Please resist the urge to theorize too much regarding Asian cultures unless you have first hand experience, as in being from that culture, having lived in an Asian culture for some years or have studied Asian cultures in college. Stereotyping and blanket statements about a people leads to prejudging and distrust and we already have to much of that these days in our own culture.
Sorry pal, I've travelled to Asian countries on a few occasions, and what quadra 610 says is exactly true, in fact quadra was being gentle, as things tend to be much worse, and the moral and ethical corruption in counties like South Korea and China are far more severe.
It's not stereotyping or racial when it's true. People get too up in arms about the reality of the world these days, and I say, go to hell and grow a backbone, it's reality, it's the world we're in, and if you chose to pull blankets over your eyes and not realize that, I say, tough shit and deal with it.
Oh they *are* cultural values. Ones that are about seniority, honour (family, patriarchal), position, and saving face.
They simply don't work in this day and age when it comes to the connection between products and their customers.
It used to be this way in many of the Asian airlines, for example (still is, in some respects.) It was seen as disrespectful and otherwise improper for subordinates (like the First Officer) to question the Captain or take the controls for the greater good, even when the latter was obviously in the wrong (and sometimes dangerously so.) This resulted in bad cockpit resource management, in turn resulting in entirely preventable tragedies.
The problem is very much cultural. Not everything translates well (or safely) into the 21st century.
Please resist the urge to theorize too much regarding Asian cultures unless you have first hand experience, as in being from that culture, having lived in an Asian culture for some years or have studied Asian cultures in college. Stereotyping and blanket statements about a people leads to prejudging and distrust and we already have to much of that these days in our own culture.
It's demonstrable. Up until one of the Korean Air disasters, CRM (cockpit resource management) was a major issue, in that they didn't have any, because of the reluctance of subordinates to take initiative in terms of overruling a superior. It's just fact. And this didn't just come out of thin air. There are reasons behind it. You can take any degree course in Asian cultures, religion, or anything to do with their history, and you'll find that a major component will be discussion of social customs, many of which come right from the family level (e.g., filial piety.)
And this is information that is neither positive nor negative. It's nothing more than cultural tendencies, some of which have survived into the 21st century.
The notion of patriarchal/leader - subordinate relationship was (and in many ways continues to be) a hallmark of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean social (and managerial) life.
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It's not stereotyping or racial when it's true. People get too up in arms about the reality of the world these days, and I say, go to hell and grow a backbone, it's reality, it's the world we're in, and if you chose to pull blankets over your eyes and not realize that, I say, tough shit and deal with it.
It's demonstrable. Up until one of the Korean Air disasters, CRM (cockpit resource management) was a major issue, in that they didn't have any, because of the reluctance of subordinates to take initiative in terms of overruling a superior. It's just fact. And this didn't just come out of thin air. There are reasons behind it. You can take any degree course in Asian cultures, religion, or anything to do with their history, and you'll find that a major component will be discussion of social customs, many of which come right from the family level (e.g., filial piety.)
And this is information that is neither positive nor negative. It's nothing more than cultural tendencies, some of which have survived into the 21st century.
The notion of patriarchal/leader - subordinate relationship was (and in many ways continues to be) a hallmark of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean social (and managerial) life.