| Catching up with Kriengsak Niratpattanasai, author of Thailand Tales
April 2000
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The Chao Phraya River Rat caught up with Thailand Tales columnist Khun Kriengsak on a recent trip to the right side of the river. He found Khun Ken, as Kriengsak is affectionately known by those who just can't get their falang tongue around those muti-sylabillic words, hard at work at usual doing his bit for the DBS Thai Danu Bank. But he was willing to share a few thoughts over a cup of tea...
Chao Phraya River Rat: Khun Kriengsak, could you start off by telling me how you become the columnist for Thailand Tales (TT)?
Khun Kriengsak:
Four years ago, when I just started using the internet at home, I found a homepage called the Asia Pacific Management Forum . It was a content web page that offered lots of useful management information about Asia. After reading the column for a while, I made contact with the Editor - Rod Davies - via email. After several emails, we met on his business trip to Thailand. He was kind enough to invite me to be a contributor from Thailand.
"Write about the Thai business environment", he suggested. He also offered to do the editing for me. Rod came up with the name "Thailand Tales", and it started from there.
The first 2 issues were hard for me since I had no experience as a columnist. It was made even harder when the output was English as it is my second language. However, coincidence lead me to the next one. After I wrote the second issue about "Thai Planning", I received a question from a foreign reader who was doing his thesis for his MBA in the US and asked me more on other aspects of Thai management apart from Planning. So, I was like a diesel engine ready to take off after warming up for a while.
During that time, I was a management consultant at Kepner-Tregoe Inc. I shared some of my work with my foreign colleagues and my clients. Most of my content came from my observation and working together among foreign consultants, expats and our own Thai colleagues and clients. They gave me lot of comments. So, I shaped my content according to their valuable feedback.
The turning point came after a year of writing these columns, when a Swedish gentleman, Mr. Hokan Eriksson, from the Swedish Thai Chamber of Commerce, Sweden (STCC), emailed me and wrote -
"Thank you for your column, I am using your column to teach Swedish businessmen from various companies visiting Thailand for business. If you have more information about Thai business culture, then I am interested.""
After I got his email, I had an idea that might enhance these businessmen's knowledge about Thais. I offered to conduct a half-day session for them in order to get familiarized in Doing Business with Thai's. It was a fantastic event. They loved it. "This is what we want" was one of the positive comments from a Swedish businessman to me. You can learn about this venture in a previous column - Thailand Tales in Action (February/March 1998).
It was great! TT transformed from just a column to a live useful workshop. Later, they appointed me to be the Advisor for STCC until now. I have conducted 3 sessions for them for the past 3 years.
Chao Phraya River Rat: I know you are always so busy Khun Ken... Why do you keep doing this when you are no longer a consultant but working in a line function?
Khun Kriengsak: People always ask me this same question. First of all, I have been doing this without any compensation. I am a businessman and getting paid by my current full time work. TT is my hobby. I use my spare time at night and holidays to do the work. For me, the reason I do this is because I feel happy when I can help others. When I know that my column helps make life easier for both Thais and foreigners, that is my reward and my motivation. Feedback is very important. I always get very positive feedback from expat businessmen who are in senior positions. They write to thank me for my effort and encouraged me to continue my work. In their emails they also mentioned that they would strongly recommend the column to their Expat friends and colleagues.
Here are some of the examples of that feedback:
This one was sent to me on February 2, 2000.
"...I have just discovered your wonderful and insightful column at Asia Pacific Management Forum's website. Your articles are really interesting to read and give some great background to the Thai way of business……….I look forward to reading your monthly articles in the future and have passed on your website address to my farang colleagues in Thailand with a strong recommendation for them to read, enjoy and learn form them..."
This one was sent to me on Feb 9, 2000.
"...Thank you very much for the articles you have written for the Asia Pacific Management Forum. They are excellent. Having spent much time in Thailand, I had to do much research before my first trip there in 1996 because I wanted to be aware of all the cultural issues affecting relationships with Thais. Fortunately, I was able to find other sources, but none of them are as enlightening and informative as your articles. I have mentioned these articles to many associates prior to their first trip, since I can relate to most of what you mentioned. Unfortunately, as a visiting businessman, I saw many mistakes being made by our Expats that could have been avoided had they become aware of the issues you wrote about. I did my best to "educate" them..."
Chao Phraya River Rat: What are the benefits for Business In Thailand Magazine readers in visiting your website?
Khun Kriengsak: I think the benefits are several.
Firstly, the column is in English and written by a Thai. I have extensive experience in working in cross cultural environments. I have worked with American, Australian, British, German, Indonesian, Filipino, Japanese, Malaysian, Singaporean and Swedish expatratriates and visitors. Usually, you may find a similar column written by foreigners. However, the unique contribution of Thailand Tales are the unheard stories and insights from the Thai perspective.
Secondly, Thailand Tales is a mirror for the Expat and Thai because most of the content comes from the observation of human interaction rather than management theory. There are several sources of material - from either my own, clients', or colleagues' observations. I just organize the many observations during lunch, dinner, cocktail parties or in the car when we were stuck in traffic. It is difficult to find the kind of practical, nonjudgmental and informal style of column like Thailand Tales. A Thai reader who is doing his PHD and working at the same time in the US wrote to me -
"....Your column "Thailand Tales" caught my interest. I find it very interesting. It is useful for foreign business-people to better understand the Thai culture at the workplace and to minimize misinterpretation and misunderstanding. In addition, it is also good for Thai employees who work with foreign supervisors."
Thirdly, my column tries to facilitate learning. Most of my readers learn something from the column as well as enjoying some of the insights that they hardly hear from their own Thai colleagues. I do not try to teach people how to interact, but rather, show what works and what may work better. Sometimes, I start with a real situation in the work place that created some difficulty or conflict. Then, I might add my suggestion as a third person comment. Sometime it's provocative. Hopefully, it can stimulate the experience of working together in a cross-cultural environment.
Chao Phraya River Rat: What are the next steps for Thailand Tales?
Khun Kriengsak: I am planning to publish Thailand Tales in hard copy. As we may be aware, Internet penetration still has a long way to go. Based on the feedback from readers, I believe that Thailand Tales is very useful for people who do not use or not familiar with the internet. I am searching for a publisher who has the same vision in helping make other's life a little easier. The confirmation to go for the book was the introduction from Bangkok Post on March 8, 2000 which read -
"..His column, Thailand Tales, is widely read by those who want to know more about Thailand and its people in terms of business and management. For example, the latest article in February, "Advice for Expats working with Thais", tells foreigners about the nature of Thai staff and how to deal with them. He writes: "In Thai companies, staff are not encouraged to think for themselves. The bureaucratic system of company management has no place for individual thinkers. Following the company line is far more prevalent. Therefore, do not be surprised at the look of blank discomfort and the deafening sound of silence if you pointedly ask a Thai colleague 'What do you think?'". There are plenty of useful ideas in his series of columns and it is updated monthly.
Chao Phraya River Rat: Which have been the most popular columns in Thailand Tales?
Khun Kriengsak: On March 16, 2000, Thailand Tales' index page registered 121 hits in one day. It ranked # 2nd in popularity among the hundreds of pages in the Asia Pacific Management Forum. The top 5 of Thailand Tales issues ranked by hits are;
- Winning the Thai Heart (March 2000)
- Leave Sabai Sabai till later (April/May 1999)
- Understanding Thai Hospitality (March 2000)
- The Bangkok Sky Train - Mai Pen Rai (January 2000)
- Thai Wedding customs for overseas visitors (May/June 1998)
Chao Phraya River Rat: Heh, your column out-ranks mine! Give me a hint and tell me what you did to make your webpage rank #2?
Khun Kriengsak: It used to rank #8 with a daily hit rate of 20 in late December, 1999. With some of my marketing efforts, I have increased the number of hits per day 504% within 3 months. This may be useful information for others who are trying to get their pages seem more often, like you! (Khun Kriengsak said this with his typical Thai wink and smile.. - Rat)
- I selected websites in Thailand that wanted to introduce a new web page. I sent a letter to them, and introduced myself. I explained the content and benefits to their readers as well as attaching some of the testimonials from those readers. The Internet is a sharing society and therefore people love to help if your website is unique and has value to their readers.
- I also selected non-electronic media, like newspapers in both Thai and English. I also emailed them. Fortunately, the media was kind enough to provide email address in their peices.
- I also have the website on my name card. Whenever I met foreigners I tell them about TT.
- Whenever I meet people who have email address, I email them an introduction to my web page.
Basically, I use every contact point possible to promote my web page because I truly believe that it can benefit others. Furthermore, I do not earn any thing out of it. It's a not-for-profit effort. But I have to ensure that I do not use my time at work that can jeopardize my work. I sacrifice some of my personal time. Fortunately, I do not have any children and my wife prefers to see me at the computer while she watches the soap operas. It's better than not being at home!
Chao Phraya River Rat: Which Thailand Tales Issues do you like the most, Khun Ken?
Khun Kriengsak: Personally, I like the following issues;
- Thais and Planning - published in March 1997. This one reflects the culture and environment as compared to the west.
- Ko Nan (Nan the Cow) - published in September 1997. This one reflects the Thai personality and it can be related to by any Thai. Every Thai will definitely recognize this tale. And, it is very hard to hear this story among Expats.
- Evolution of Thai Management Post Crisis (part one to part three) - August - October 1999. I did extensive research in order to write this column. It cost me around 8 Saturdays and Sundays. I was requested by the Industrial Magazine (Reed Tradex) to translate into Thai and also to reprint in Business in Thailand Magazine.
Chao Phraya River Rat: Who reads Thailand Tales?
Khun Kriengsak:
It is impossible to know an accurate reader profile for Thailand Tales, as for any Web site, as always a substantial proportion of visitors you do not know, and procedures for developing internet readership profiles are still in their infancy. However, I assume that it follows the pattern of the Asia Pacific Management Forum generally. The analysis from the APMF is as follows:
The APMF is a specialist site, and promoted only to professional and high level managers and professionals. Valid statistics on readership profiles are difficult to produce. However, a rough indication of income, residency, industry, job level, and other information has been collected from those who have participated in our various surveys over the past 2 years. We can view these participants as the most active of the APMF readership...
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Nationality (%)
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Residence (%)
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US
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22
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19
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Singapore
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12
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17
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Australia
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9
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12
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Malaysia
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10
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8
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Canada
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8
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7
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United Kingdom
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6
|
8
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Thailand
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5
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7
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Taiwan
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4
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1
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|
Philippines
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3
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1
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New Zealand
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4
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3
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Korea
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5
|
3
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Holland
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3
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0
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China
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0
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3
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Hong Kong
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0
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6
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(Nationalities or Residences with less than 1% represented in both are not included.)
A significant proportion of active APMF readers are expatriates (62%), defined here as respondents residing in a country different from their nationality. Of these, half were Asian expatriates working in the West or other Asian countries and half were Western expatriates working in Asia.
Females make up 19% of visitors.
Active APMF readers are a mature sample in terms of age, with 15% in the age group 20 to 30, ages 31 to 40 (20%), ages 41 to 50 (28%) 50 to 60 (32%), and Over 60 (5%).
They are also a highly educated group in the sense of formal educational qualifications with 20% holding a Doctorate degree, 24% a Masters degree, and 39% a degree or diploma.
Sixteen percent earn over $60,000 US per year, (5% over $150,000), $40 to 60,000 US (38%), and $20 to 40,000 US (31%).
Forty percent occupy management positions, Professional/Trade and Technical positions (33%), and Administrative positions (3%). 14% are undergoing full time education, 8% are retired, and 2% unemployed. In terms of functional areas, most are involved in Strategic or General management (36%), followed by Finance and Accounting (21%), Marketing/Advertising/PR (12%), Human Resources/Training (9%), Production (7%), and Sales (3%).
A wide range of industry sectors are represented, the main ones being Education (21%), Management or Business Consulting (17%) and Banking and Finance (12%). These were followed, in order, by Manufacturing, Food and Beverage, Government/Public Sector, Information Technology, Transport/Shipping and Travel/Tourism/Hospitality (all from 5 to 10%). Other industry sectors represented were Agriculture/Fishing and Forestry, Trading/Retail, and Health.
Chao Phraya River Rat: Thank you very much for your time Khun Kriengsak.
Khun Kriengsak: You're very welcome...
Kriengsak Niratpattanasai
DBS Thai Danu Bank, Bangkok, Thailand
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