I also have thought a similar idea. Why are there not so many successful startups in Korea? I think it is because of a Confuism. As mentioned in chapter 8 as a reason of Korean Air plane crash, It blocks a smooth communication between people having different ages and young people stating an opinion. Naturally this results in diffident young people, making them to just follow the older. This culture is clearly hindering a growth of Korea. New ideas die out simply because they are from young people and old and bad ideas hold its place continuously.
What can we do in this seemingly listless situation? Change the culture, Korean Air's CEO says. Korean Air's chronic problem has been solved by changing the common language from Korean to English. English is the language that doesn't reflect the relationship between subordinates and superiors. First officer told his/her opinion immediately and certainly to the captain and it brought the lower plane crash rate.
Even if we can't do such a drastic change like changing the language, we can still try to fix the culture more appropriate to the current reality. Malcom Gladwell's argument is always been this : "success is determined by other factors different from one's effort. SO we should control those factors so that more success can be occurred." We should try to make a permanent culture that helping one's and social successes, not just felt dismayed.
Good reflection. I see you've read ahead and pulled out some culture-relevant observations. I thought the chapter about airlines was particularly interesting. And I agree, the Confucian culture does have limitations in particular circumstances. But one might also argue that it makes up for that in other ways. Can a Confucian work environment also be a meritocracy?
답글삭제I would argue that their are several start-ups in Korea that do in fact do well - usually video gaming or web service. Korea was ahead of the game in the early 2000's with social networking and gaming and even now with online shopping. I bet there aren't that many dinosaurs occupying leather seats in the head offices of these places. Glad to see you are still reading.