School of Language and Intercultural Education Frameworks for The
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School of Language and Intercultural Education Frameworks for the management of cross-cultural communication and business performance n the globalizing economy: A professional service TNC case study in Indonesia. Helen Caroline Mackay Singleton This thesis is presented as part of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Curtin university of Technology November 2002 i Abstract Globalization increases the integration and interdependence of international, national and local business and stakeholder communities across economic, political and cultural spheres. Communication technology and the international role for English suggest the integrating communication reality is simplifying. Experience indicates integration produces complex heterogeneous dialogue and asymmetrical relationships with no shared interpretive systems. The global/national/local nexus presents management with universal and particular paradoxes mediated through diverse and contextual micro-level communication practices and behaviors. This thesis derives from a professional service (environmental engineering) TNC request for help to address the business communication and performance concerns implicated in the production of professional bi- lingual English and Indonesian reports for clients. At the heart of the corporate concern lie the multicultural nature of interactions between individuals, organizations and wider stakeholders involved in the Jakarta Indonesian branch office operations. A developing nation context adds further complexity. This thesis contends that these micro-level organizational concerns link to critical macro- level concerns for the development of more responsive, ethical and sustainable management and governance. This thesis argues for an elevated notion of the role of communication management to enable business to pursue more sustainable goals, improve business performance, and address the issue of risk. A multidisciplinary literature review enables the development of a multifaceted theoretical framework that links macro-level management issues to this micro-level contextual concern. This multifaceted interpretive framework guides a qualitative research design that includes ethnographic-oriented case study-based methodology applied to map the participant worldviews. Further data analysis of the impact of diverse participant and stakeholder perspectives on the interactions, relationships and performances involved in a specific mining development project involving the international investment sector, a national proponent developer, the national regulatory agency, local and indigenous Dayak community stakeholder communities, and the consulting TNC is included. The micro-level findings have implications for the management of international business, the higher educations sector and civil society organizations at both micro and macro levels. ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to the memory of my parents: Carol Hardy, B. Com (Edinburgh) (1910-1985) Eugenieuz Hardy (formerly Harmider) AM (1980), MSc. M Econ (Lvov), LLM (Lvov), C. Eng (Lvov), Civ Eng (Heriot Watt), Delegate for the Polish Government in Exile for Australia (1980-1990) (1904- 1991) Whose comprehensive multicultural and multilingual influences laid the foundations for this interpretation and journey. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to gratefully acknowledge support given by the following: Guy, Eugenie and Roderick Singleton, my three children; James P. Singleton, BA, MTCP, MRAPI, AAILA for his significant formal and informal contributions and support throughout the development, research and productions stages of this thesis; Professor Andy Kirkpatrick, Curtin University of Technology, School of Language & Intercultural Education, my co-supervisor for his academic support, and open mindedness; Professor Samir R. Chatterjee, Curtin Business School, School of Management, my co-supervisor for his academic support during the thesis production processes 2001-2002; Deputy Vice chancellor, Professor Ian Reid, Curtin University of Technology, Office of Teaching and Learning, my associate supervisor for his support for the research project; Assoc. Professor Graham Dellar, Curtin University of Technology, Dean Facility of Education, Chair of my supervisory committee, Professor David Mckie, School of Management, University of Waikato New Zealand for instigating my interest in the value of multidisciplinary work; and, most importantly, The wonderful staff and management of the Jakarta office of the Case study Company for openly sharing their interesting lives with me over an extended period of time. iv List of tables Table 6.1: The approximate age of the Indonesian participants. 117 Table 6.2: The gender of the Indonesian participants. 125 Table 6.3: The marital status of the Indonesian participants 128. Table 6.4: The ethnic grouping of the Indonesian participants. 132 Table 6.5: The religious background nominated by the Indonesian participants. 152 Table 6.6: The regional origins of the Indonesian participants, including parensts and spouses. 160 Table 6.7: The educational institutions & tertiary qualifications of the Indonesian participants. 165 Table 6.8: The educational fields of the participants & siblings, and their employment sector. 183 Table 6.9: The local, national & international languages used by the Indonesian participants. 187 Table 6.10: The career paths of the Indonesian participants. 212 Table 6.11: The international experience of the Indonesian participants. 219 Table 6.12: The professional functions of the Indonesian participants in the case study company. 224 Table 7.1 The socio-cultural matrix of the President Director of the case study company. 263 Table 7.2: The expatriate skills & management levels assessment of the President Director. 287 Table 9.1: The comparison of the cultural values & practices of key project stakeholders. 367 v List of figures Figure 6.1: The case study company organizational chart 226 Figure 8.1: The case study project team 291 Figure 8.2: The project – participant and stakeholder relationships. 295 Figure 9.1: The socio-cultural variables influencing the interpretative frameworks of the Indonesian participants. 359 vi Table of contents Title page i Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv List of tables v List of figures iv Chapter 1: A TNC corporate business concern for the production of professional service English language reports. A simple request for help 1 Conceptualizing a response to a specific corporate communication problem 1 The implication of this corporate communication problem for management, professional development and the higher education sector. 4 The multidisciplinary rationale for a multidimensional interpretive framework. 6 Chapter 2: Frameworks for interpreting the inter-related economic, political and cultural impact of globalization Introduction 14 Globalization change processes: Integration, interconnectedness, movements and flows. 15 The new world order: Theorizing culture and change. 18 A framework for conceptualizing the dynamics of global change: The universalization of particularism & the particularization of universalism 19 The complex and inter-related universalist and particularist organizing principles for culture, language and cognition. 19 The implications for evolving Indonesian national discourse 21 The new world order; Asymmetrical power relations 23 Changing global economic, political, coercive & symbolic power relations: An Indonesian perspective. 25 Accessing power: The critical role of symbolic & cultural resources 27 The theory of cultural imperialism 33 Parameters for considering the international role for English as the business vii language. 37 Scientific imperialism 41 Third cultures, third places 44 Conclusions 46 Chapter 3: Diverse and evolving models for conceptualizing the nature of management & work Introduction 47 The global economy: A universal or pluralist cultural model for business? 47 The critical role of individual & corporate interactions in the global economy. 49 The value of a cultural approach for management, HRD, and stakeholder relationships 54 The powerful role of ethnocentric western cultural assumptions in management discourse. 56 The evolving Western cultural models of management & work: Fordism; post- Fordism & productive diversity. 58 The pivotal role of on-going learning 70 Conclusions 72 Chapter 4: Methodology Introduction: A qualitative research design strategy 74 Interpretive researcher as bricoleur 76 Theoretical bricoleur: A multidisciplinary theoretical interpretive framework 78 Interpretive bricoleur: Making visible the multiple stakeholder perspectives in a case study reality. 79 Methodological bricoleur: multimodal data gathering and analysis methods. 81 Chapter 5: interpreting a specific international corporate concern to improve communication and business performance How the research problem was identified 96 The TNC organizational context. 96 The complex nature of the professional service product 97 The nature of the research problem 100 viii Indonesian government professional concerns 102 The management &human resource implications 102 The Indonesian national context 104 The impact of the Asian economic crisis on the Jakarta office of the TNC 109 Chapter 6: Mapping the socio-cultural worldviews of a sample of professional Indonesians Introduction 112 The Indonesian information socio-cultural variables 112 1. Names 115 2. Age 117 3. Gender 125 4. Marital status 128 5. Ethnic background 132 6. Religion 152 7. Regional origins