Thai means Freedom November/December 1998

What is the definition of "Thai"? Thai means "Freedom". By its definition, it explains many Thai characteristics. For example, many people interpret that they can do anything that they want. Hence, they do not follow the rules and regulations. You can notice that Thais are less disciplined when compared to Japanese or Chinese. When the government tries to implement new rules or regulations, there is always resistance. The way that governments react to resistance is "Compromising". For example, a few years ago the government introduced the Automatic Express toll fee replacing the previous system of attendants. The new system works like this... Customers buy a card that will automatically be debited when car drives through the gate. This will reduce the queueing time and also reduce the number of employees on cashier duty. But in order to implement it gradually, the government started by introducing the new system at only one gate while other 6 gates still used the old system. Furthermore, only one automatic gate was flexible in being able to accept the customer who wants to pay by cash (with old system). This actually increased the work load and did not reduce the queue. At present, 90% of people still use the old system. The new automatic system is in place but very under utilised. Sense of Safety This culture of freedom also reflects in the sense of safety. We have the attitude that SABAI - SABAI (easy going -- do whatever you want to do -- it's the Thai way). We pay less attention to the safety. One of my customers is a steel plant from Australia. The company is very serious about safety. They implement safety rules and regulation strictly. The majority of employees came from local steel plants. They complained to me that the new plant operated by Farang was too strict about safety and implemented unnecessary rules unlike other Thai local plants that are flexible with the rules. Instead of looking at it as the benefit to them, they are look at it as an uncomfortable practices. The Thai smile A European was a manager in a local steel manufacturing plant. One day the machine seriously broke down. They could not find the cause of the problem. During one meeting, a Thai department head presented his work. He presented with the usual friendly appearance and smile all the time. In our culture, the friendly smile during a presentation or meeting is absolutely normal. However, for the foreign boss, it was not. He was angry towards the department head. He said... "Our plant is in trouble, the machine broke down. You are still be able to smile". He left the meeting very angry. He went to the machine, pulled one chair accross, sat down and stared at the maintenance guy who was fixing the machine. Who should pay the bill? One of my clients is Thai. He commented that the Farang whom he was working with was so stingy. Whenever they had lunch together, the bill was split. For us, it is the custom that when we have lunch or dinner with the boss, the boss will pay the bill. We do not expect to share the bill with the boss or a higher ranking officer. If the employee is at the same level and they go out for dinner, they will share the bill equally. Again, if you are invited to dinner with your customer, the customer expects you to pay the bill. The rule of Thumps is who will get the benefit will be more likely to pay for the bill. For example, one English man went to sell English teaching to one Human Resource Executive. They had an appointment during the dinner for a contract discussion. In this case, the Englishman was supposed to pay for the bill. But the guy just called for splitting the bill. Later, when the guy followed up, the contract was turned down. Thais and alcohol Thailand is a nation that consumes quite a lot of liquor. In general, we drink beer, whisky and wine. The way we drink whisky or beer might be different to the custom of other nationalities. We will order a lot of dishes to eat with whisky or beer. Usually, we do not eat rice when we drink. More about Thai dishes Many Westerners might wonder why we do not use a knife in the meal. The answer is that dishes of beef, pork or chicken, are traditionally prepared for cooking by slicing into small pieces already. So, we are user friendly! You do not need the knife. Instead, we use a spoon and fork. In the old days, we did not use any equipment, only the hands. In up-country, you may see some still using their hands to eat their meal. Fair, Share and Care In the economic crisis of today, there are some Thais firms that still take good care of their employees. Mala Chemical is one of them. Mala manufactures the Melamine products. Last year, the Managing Director planned to build q park for his employees. He bought the space next to his factory. He has 4 factory buildings. The park space is about 2 factories in area. The park consists of many plants and trees. It is a good place for staff relaxation, sport or jogging. It also has a nice medium size lake. They plan to have a kindergarten area to take care of workers' children. This is the concept of Fair, share, and Care. The park was opened on June 20, 1998. Mala will gain total commitment from its workers in return for the company investment. Kriengsak Niratpattanasai DBS Thai Danu Bank, Bangkok, Thailand

...from Kriengsak Niratappanasai's Thailand Tales

Kriengsak Niratpattanasai Thai Danu Bank Bangkok Thailand

Kriengsak was one of the Asian Business Strategy & Street Intelligence Ezine's earliest columnists and continues to provide some of the most savvy advice on the Net on working in Thailand. His down to earth advice from years of working with falang and locals mixed with local folkstories continues to delight and inform. Click on Kriengsak's picture to learn more about our great friend and colleague.

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