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The New York Times Sunday Magazine runs a story on how two Swiss architects got grey hairs doing commissions in China.  Herzog & de Meuron got sucked into the vast, murky, elusive web of Chinese business and politics when they won the bid to build the Olympic stadium. They deny the grey hairs being a result of it, but the shock is palpable in de Meuron's unvarnished words:

"This was a very enriching personal experience," he says — but like many such experiences, it was also exhausting and painful. "I am the sort of person who tries to find a solution," he explains. "You bring me problems, and de Meuron tries to solve them. It is too much money, or you can't do it for this building code, or the client wants concrete, not wood — I find another way. This is how it worked for me up to now. In China, it was very different. That was a challenge for me, not only as an architect but as a person. To have someone on the other side and they are experts in misleading you or trapping you. It is never one to one when they say if they like it or don't like it. They played with me."

 

 
this entry was posted in morph, the mediacenter blog.

Cherchez la femme. That's what the French say when they want to imply that there's a woman behind something or other.  In WEEK 7 of our Morph efforts, we'll be doing exactly that: looking for la femme in social media. How does social media (or web 2.0 applications) impact women? Is it boosting careers? Is it leveling the playing field? Or are the boys running the show here as well?

Click to read more ...

there's plenty of networking groups in copenhagen, but for business minded girls, the newish PWA (Professional Women's Association of Copenhagen) looks like a good place to do the rounds. at their opening event they had more than 100 women attending, from all walks of business and different cultures. sorry, no pics of the event, but you can check the website for more info.

Henriette Weber points out the following:

I'm furious at the Danish Government. the self-employed people of Denmark is not in the maternity fond negotiations. The following text is taken from the press release of Morgendagens Heltinder as an opposition to the Danish governments decision:

” Dear women, it is important that every single person in Denmark contributes to the continuation of growth so Denmark becomes a better place to live. So if you get a good idea: make sure to patent it. make a company and sell all the stocks to investors, and get the investors to install you as CEO. THEN you are in the Danish government maternity fond ( as an employee) and you will be able to secure the Danish growth in the future - both through your kids, but also through your company which, unfortunately, isn’t really yours anymore”

Frankly, i am not surprised. Denmark ranks second lowest in Europe in terms of % of women in top management and has an equally dismal record in terms of women on management boards. They do have the one of the largest % of women in the work force, but obviously not many of them work at top corporate levels. How is this possible? Why is Denmark performing so much worse than Sweden and Norway, which routinely are pioneers in corporate gender equality? I’ve been wondering about this for a while now! In the meantime you can help by joining here.

any idea how to use this?The economist takes a look at corporate trepidation about bloggers and blogging, and concludes that business is better served by embracing "the enemy":

Kryptonite, a firm that makes high-priced bicycle locks, also learned the hard way how important blogs can be. In September 2004 word spread quickly through the blogosphere that U-shaped locks by Kryptonite and other firms could be picked, quickly and easily, using only the plastic casing of a Bic pen. Then somebody made a video showing how to do it, and posted it on the Engadget blog site, one of the most popular on the internet. After Kryptonite discovered the problem, it came up with a plan to take care of its customers and improve its locks. But Donna Tocci, Kryptonite's media chief, says that she now checks 30-40 blogs every day.

 It seems self-evident that corporations should be running to harness the power of the blogosphere as best they can for branding, research, damage control and other purposes, but out on the corporate playing field that seems seldom the case. Some multinationals in Denmark are beginning to experiment with in house blogging, but they use the tool as a traditional communication vehicle rather than exploiting its bottom - up potential: instead of memos, CEOs post an entry and feel good about flattening hierarchies and keeping faraway underlings in the loop.... and completely pass up on the opportunity to gather valuable information from the frontlines and influence discourse, loyalty and decision making across the organization. Hm. 

Given the proliferating social media tools out there (delicious, furl,  wikis, swickis, blogs, and then of course the blogosphere sifters like Buzz Metrics, mentioned in the Economist)  to keep an eye on your brand and influence the digerati/chatterati crowd, it's apalling at how little is being done with plenty! But not really surprising: social media is upending, or at the very least, changing traditional power distribution models, and many corporations equate engaging in it with relinquishing power to a dangerous mob. So they hold back in their fortifications and lash out, at a time when they could be massing their organizational, financial and marketing resources to exert influence on the social media evolution and snatch some of that power rumored to be up for grabs.

hanne tholstrup (site in danish) is a danish career coach who specializes in easing foreigners into denmark's surprisingly tricky and sometimes prickly job market. tholstrup - who herself has lived in Africa for extended periods of time - delivered interesting insights during an introductory workshop she held the other day for about 25 professional women from all sorts of cultural backgrounds.

during a lively Q&A most of the attendees were visibly relieved to find that they are not imagining things: there really are considerable obstacles to snatching a good job in denmark, and not just because danish is difficult, the market is tiny and the work permits are handed out grudgingly. most of the attendees spoke about unpleasant run ins with Janteloven, the unwritten danish mantra of "thou shalt not be better than me", and especially the Americans in the group had some interesting anecdotes about being "put in their place" by superiors who thought they were showing signs of superwoman syndrome. lesson nr. 1: boasting is out.

People cope differently and tholstrup's main point was to adapt to local mores without losing sight of your personality, and to know when to push for things - danes don't react well to aggressive sales tactics and if you are going to push for a raise, for example, make sure you have Batnas, including what to do if you have to quit the job. apparently one of the main arguments danish employers use in trying to fend off a raise, is to cite the holy grail of team work and emphasize the unfairness of rewarding you more than others...the solution: be selfish.

that said, the market is slated to turn in favor of job applicants again, as there will be a crunch for highly skilled talent, although... we've heard that one before.

but it is perhaps time to reframe the debate about how to integrate expatriate professionals. so far, the discussion always revolves around maximum integration into the local culture, based on the assumption of a long term transfer. it is likely though that an entirely new species of global worker will emerge in large numbers soon, the kind that transfers to multiple countries with relatively short stays in each. how do you integrate these mobile, country hopping professionals? it is impossible to ask this workforce to absorb the local culture and language and customs, and to please immerse themselves completely in their new environment every time. firstly, that is not realistic. secondly, it is ineffcient. too much time and productivity would be detracted from an already limited work engagement.

cities that want to be able to welcome this type of mobile professionals - and with increasing globalization, it is likely that they will have no choice - are going to have to make some changes in how they meet and greet newcomers: this will include building corporate processes to integrate such workers fast and with minimum pain, but also to offer networks, infrastructure, information and tools that allows newcomers to navigate easily and swiftly: from finding an apartment to opening a bank account, to receiving fast track language and culture kits, to mingling with other expatriates to accesssing local business communities and media.

all this cannot work, however, if local corporate businesses and their employees are not to a degree schooled to cope with such newcomers. coaching is needed to improve the general proficiency in cross-cultural awareness, communication and business etiquette - a proficiency which in many countries today is rudimentary or still sorely lacking.

in the long term, if globalization is to work, change will be a two way street. for now though, many of the skilled, talented expatriate women at the workshop have to accept that it may take a year or more for them to find a job. and even then, it may be a far cry from what their qualifications would entitle them to expect.

links:

WSJ on women and career

EU's women entrepreneurs portal 

cartoon via cartoon stock 

davos takes a look at the corporate battle for attracting and retaining creative talent, reports the FT, and comes up with   some interesting ideas predicated on the notion - first advanced by management guru Drucker - that employees should be regarded as volunteers:

Some intriguing ideas emerged from the different groups. In no particular order: treat your talent like your leaders. CEOs are allowed to join other companies’ boards and work for other organisations in the belief that this helps them think outside the box. Why not allow talent to do the same? Create a truly flexible family-friendly working environment. Share intellectual property rights with your talent. Allow them to use the company’s assets – computers, working space, cars – for their personal use too. (from a workshop report in the FT)

and what are the qualities of a leadership that s able to harness the talents of what the report calls the 150 million creative elite?:

1) Leaders have a responsibility for shaping a community in their companies. It is vital that leaders demonstrate neutrality and even-handedness in solving problems to ensure they keep the respect of all members of the community. They must also exhibit transparency and consistency. “ People want to be part of a community not a dictatorship.”

Transparency? Consistency? Those are precisely the 2 qualities that are sadly lacking in European business, which, for the most part, pays lipservice to transparency, but continues to be a morass of lies, territorial power grabbing, mobbing and rigid hierarchies.

sometimes surprising facts surface: danish multinationals (is this an oxymoron?) like to convey a picture of progressive corporate governance, triple bottom lines and cutting edge international standards. they're usually very good at implementing the first two, not so good at getting a grip on the latter.

consider this: one well-known pharmaceutical company determines compensation (salaries) based on years of work experience logged since graduating with the last highest degree. it may sound very fancy, but in practical terms it penalizes employees who have gone to the trouble of getting themselves a second, advanced degree, for instance an MBA.

to give an example, if this company were to hire you directly from business school, your cumulative work experience would count as 0 years, regardless of how many years you worked prior to getting an MBA degree. in effect then, your salary would be lower than that of an applicant holding a BA.

the company is about to change this system (or has recently changed it ), but this example still gives a good indication of how little understood advanced business degrees are in Denmark, even in high-profile companies with a global presence.

illustration via audrey magazine

If you're an expatriate applying for a job, you'd better not be a female. informal anecdotal evidence from various border-hopping career girls, shows that increasingly the million dollar question at job interviews does not revolve around professional competence or your willingness to love your job. Rather it revolves around  who you love - or not - at this moment.

faced with expatriate career females, recruiters seem to fall back on an attitude towards female travel and globe-conquering exploits that many assumed globalization had swept out of corporate HR and into the gender inequality dustbin. They ask themselves what the hell a female is doing in a foreign country and whether there is any reason to believe that she will stay put. Which translates of course as: Does she have a local boyfriend or husband? Does any serious attachment justify this fickle, spur of the moment, infidel expatriate life?

And the question isn't always just implied. In some merrily politically incorrect countries, marital/relationship status inquiries are posed outright, not just implied, and it is not unusual for interviewers to follow up with a baby related interrogation. One interviewer - herself a female - discussed the marital status and baby production schedule of each and every employee at the company (admittedly small) in the hope of coaxing out a similar confession from a job candidate.

Women who can demonstrate attachment to a one of the country's native males, fare slightly better than those who can demonstrate none. The latter are deemed either reckless or too prone to repeat relocation, or both, and in any case, not settled enough to satisfy company criteria. Those who can demonstrate attachment win points in terms of personal character - they're not deemed reckless after all - but lose out in the longterm, since with attachment come babies and well, again, this is an unacceptable scenario, especially in countries where employers cough up the change to pay for maternity leave.

it is mind boggling that companies cannot wrap their minds around the notion that in the 21st century, women may be relocating for fun, education, or yes, for a job. Without a man attached thank you. It is laughable that HR departments, but also managing directors, CEOs, and other upper strata corporate life forms seriously buy into the notion that expatriate females are safer - meaning less likely to relocate and leave the company - if they can show up with a local arm candy. To follow that logic is to inevitably ask: What about divorce? What about separation? What about breaking up? What if the boyfriend/husband/partner is relocated to another country? Then What?

Get her another boyfriend/husband/partner from office supplies?

mba degrees are in trouble. there's a louder-growing chorus of voices out there decrying the inept generalists it produces, whose knowledge base is thin, but whose ego is fine, thank you. mbas, the refrain goes, expect to run the world barely out of school; partly that's because they've been cleverly prepped to expect running the world by business schools  avid to pocket their money.

to deflect such criticism, many schools now offer self-knowledge tools like MBTI tests, team feedback and leadership courses to temper that oversized ego bent on world domination. but this miasma of self-improvement tools still fails to address simple management basics that could contribute to productivity, profits and all around employee satisfaction.
 
For example: give credit where credit is due.
simple enough. yet no one talks about it. nothing discourages good employees like a boss who climbs the career ladder on their bent, slaving backs, without even throwing back crumbs of recognition. But the phenomenon is rampant and it raises its ugly head as early as business school. As soon as team work rolls along, students vie for attention and the opportunity to outsmart their team mates, if necessary at their expense. But in my experience, admittedly limited, none of the many professors, teachers, associates, directors and rotating business consultants who stand by to offer advice and clever soundbites, seem to see the need for raising the issue of giving due credit.

similarly, students aren't taught corporate survival basics like not to take criticism personally, and to handle conflict, as far as possible, without backstabbing and gossip. there is a lot of talk about problem solving skills and acknowledging differences, but when it comes to sorting out thundering personality clashes or canyon-sized mistrust, the most common tactics remain unchanged: bullying or to ratting behind others' back, or involving third parties at a higher level, the academic equivalent of taking your complaint to the boss. transparency, a much touted concept in American business, has not reached European business schools yet, it seems.

there is an inherent dichotomy at play in an mba business education; no one will dispute that a significant dose of selfishness will help you cleave your way to the corporate peaks. Yet here are the business schools, especially the nordic ones, preaching empathy, modesty and team spirit, only to then send its newly pacified sheep straight into a pack of corporate wolves. This message of compassion in an industry of aggressive sharks is schizophrenic and to an extent dishonest.

it is impossible to completely eliminate the ego of course, and with it the politics that nourish it: the gossiping and territorial power feuds, the stealthy maneouvers behind frozen smiles, the plotting that goes so well with the territory of power. but managers can do a lot to minimize egos and politics by actively discouraging power plays and putting in place stringent guidelines, such as clear and transparent communication, acknowledgement of help and outside input in presentations, but also in every day interaction, encouragement of information sharing by "punishing" those who hoard it, and in general putting the key emphasis on facts, as far as they are available, rather than on what people say.

for more thoughts, read the economist on the future of the mba