... and what some Westerners think about Thais?

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What  some Thais say about their Farang bosses in Thailand,

Thais think their strengths are:

•    Willingness to discuss different views
•    Work hard and focused, results oriented
•    Listen to and respect local colleagues, subordinates. Less power distance than in Thai companies
•    Straightforward, direct
•    Reward results rather than relations

And their weaknesses:

•    Bossy, underestimate the ability of local Thais
•    Misinterpret Thai ways but think they understand. Don t understand the interactions b/w Thais
•    Generalize about all Thais
•    Stick to themselves

•    Thais are too compromising and unwilling to tell a different onion. Avoiding direct confrontation
•    Lack of punctuality
•    Lack of responsibility, not following through with a task
•    Always having an excuse for a mistake. Not keeping deadlines

What Thais think makes the farang boss satisfied?

•    Initiative, creativity
•    Seeing problems  and  solving them. Suggesting ideas
•    Creating pleasant and fun work climate
•    Bridging culture gaps
•    Direct talk
•    Reaching targets, meeting deadlines

What some farangs think about Thais and some of their strengths:

•    Very patient
•    Relationships- smiling, helpful, caring, polite
•    Sensitivity – more aware of others feelings than farangs
•    Service minded  and Respectful
•    Problem solving without confrontation
•    Developing a good relation before working together

Some of their weaknesses:

•    Seniority and authority attitudes impede initiative. Lack of direct, open communication, assertiveness. Lack of critical thinking. Reactive work methods, which requires much more supervision, control by the boss
•    Lack of  punctuality and commitments- don t set goals. Not telling the boss of a problem until it happened
•    Dont make a difference b/w private and professional relations.

Bringing friends into their business even when it does not benefit the business
•     Dont like change
•    Need to be told how to do something rather than being told the goal and finding out how themselves. Waiting for the boss or the phi chai, elder brother, to tell what to do next

What some farangs in Thailand think discourages and frustrates Thais:

•    Military work style
•    Farangs speaking fast and difficult English
•    Not smiling enough
•    Correcting people in front of others. Asking questions Thais don t know the answer to
•    Too direct, out spoken.  Losing temper. Not understanding that saying no is impolite
•    Too serious, thinking too much. Too task, results oriented

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