A little less talking, a little more cultural empathy, please
Standard Chartered makes great play of its understanding of the cultures in which it operates. 'We are a truly diverse organisation combining global capability and broad cultural knowledge with deep local understanding,' according to its website. But this boast is being sorely tested in South Korea where about half its 6,500 staff have been on strike since June 27, accusing the management of disregarding local work practices and attempting to introduce foreign management approaches. They are complaining about Stanchart trying to introduce performance-related pay instead of the traditional payments based on seniority and length of service. This is a hangover from the days when South Korea's banks were little more than extensions of the Ministry of Finance and mainly involved in 'policy' lending. In another local cultural misunderstanding, South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service will impose a fine of 4.5 million won - that's HK$32,800 - and punish 41 Stanchart officials after the bank violated metal lending regulations. Time to study the culture more closely, perhaps.
No pushover
Congratulations to Margaret Leung Ko May-yee, who has been honoured as an Outstanding Women Professional for 2011 by the Hong Kong Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Association. Leung is vice-chairman and chief executive of Hang Seng bank. Leung is the first female chief executive to head Hang Seng Bank and the only one among the Hang Seng Index constituent companies. She is certainly no pushover. In an interview she remarked: 'I always rub shoulders with men, I don't feel intimidated. I learned that if you don't speak up and argue and fight for your position, you lose it.'
An unlikely pairing
We see that Qiu Zhi-zhong was recently elevated to honorary consul of the Republic of Rwanda in Hong Kong. Why Rwanda should want an honorary consul in Hong Kong is unclear. What is even more unclear is why Qiu, whose day job is Barclays Capital's chairman of Greater China, should want the job. The appeal of being an honorary consul is baffling. Usually it's the result of some business connection. But Barclays doesn't appear to have much business in Rwanda. An internet search reveals no more than Barclays offering point of sales transaction services in Rwanda. Being an honorary consul gets you onto the diplomatic circuit, but that must quickly lose its appeal. The only connection we see with Hong Kong is Rwanda's debut at the Rugby Sevens last year. Attempts to contact Qiu were unsuccessful as we were told he was on holiday. In Rwanda, possibly?
Only the desperate would hire him