The long hard road of justice...Hold on. The organization that I work for.

When you see your family free
It gives you jubilee
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on...

The long hard road of Justice

The organization that I work for

Perpetrator Accountability

On Community and Ideas

Ahh, community! It is during nights like these that I miss my church and school communities back 'home' in Vaasa. It is also amazing that it is because of the church community that Ling forfeited a job in Helsinki to stay on in small Vaasa. Just sent an email to Pastor Tero who replied that they have new people from the college to replace the ones they have 'lost', and that they have a special service on Friday to commemorate the relocation of the church to the methodist building. It could very probably be the lack of a stable community here in Virginia that Art says, with much irritation, that I seem to be 'unhappy'. Humphz. I can't believe that after DC I will be going to Lund for an exchange programme for yet another 2-3 months. Though Chen said that it is good to relocate every few months for a change of environment, I realised that much as a traveller I am-and very probably because I have been an avid lone traveller for so long-I am strangely not as lonesome as I thought I am, that I like community, albeit of limited or particular sorts. Also, I think it is partly due to the immediate church community that I found in Finland that I could settle in so well there.  I should start praying that I find some form of good community in Lund.

So I was reading Helen Keller's autobiography, seeing her story as one that is universally known but which I have never read personally before, I savoured chapters in which I found a kindred spirit in her. Not that I have her fortitude-being deaf and blind and yet being able to go to college and do public speaking, but in the sense that she loves solitude and books. I guess people who have 'disabilities' like hers have little choice but to cultivate the rich inner lives where they could be greatly encouraged and enriched by books and good thoughts. It also reminds me of the protagonist in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, whom was severely bedridden, and though his body may be as heavy and immovable as a diving bell, his mind soared and flittered like a butterfly, keeping his spirit alive.

I like several quotes in The Story of my Life (HK's autobiography) which I shall translate here:

" The one I felt and still feel most is lack of time. I used to have time to think, to reflect, my mind and I. We would sit together an evening and listen to the inner melodies of the spirit, which one hears only in leisure moments when the words of some loved poet touch a deep, sweet chord in the soul that until then had been silent. But here in college there is no time to commune with one's thoughts. One goes to college to learn, it seems, not to think...Many scholars forget, it seems to me, that our enjoyment of the great works of literature depends more on the depth of our sympathy than our understanding..."

Which brings me to the notion of ideas. I feel like I have been or will be called upon, either my others  myself, to give an account of my choice of studies in the liberal arts, Literature. It certainly wasn't a choice that had earned the respect of people, and it seems that in my life, I have usually made choices that made others scoff, like teaching. That said, I had studied Literature because I love it. I wasn't matured or clear-headed enough to study a course that was technically sound, and true to my unadulterated nature, I had made a decision according to my instinct and intuition, and that is to gravitate towards my first love that was books. Well, hmm, now given a choice, I would have chosen to double major in Sociology as well, if I had to choose within the faculty of arts.

If asked, Why Literature, I guess it is the notion of ideas and words. The world and society came into being and is sustained by ideas.

Idea: any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity.


At the essence and heart of each and every story or piece of literature is a single crystallized idea, a manifested comprehension and insight into a situation or an experience. What is the idea behind Helen Keller's autobiography? A testimony of the fortitude of the human spirit, the innate desire for knowledge and self-awareness despite severe disabilities. What is the idea behind Ian McEwan's A Child in Time? The experience of a marital couple's heart break following the loss of their child, and the universal hope of the redemptive element and possibilites that a child brings to two people. What is the idea behind the Bible? God's grand plan of salvation for mankind captured through the panorama of history all the way to the unknown future. What is the idea of my masters thesis? That empowering collaboration can take place across cultures through organizations.

Each idea translated through a piece of literature embodies a facet of the human experience and experiment, all in the attempt to make sense and bring meaning to our existence. We have souls and are not just empty shells, and I feel that literature attests to the inner emotions of our experiences, cleverly translated and painted by descriptive words and phrases (which to me frankly, is like literary foreplay. hehe) In fact, any piece of literature is an idea, not only those of the literary kind. Business books, management readings-they each carry within them seeds of ideas, and by reading books we engage with the ideas of others, whether it be of the human condition and abstract experience as in fictional literary prose or poetry, or whether it is how to exercise an ethical and altrustic type of management in the otherwise alienating industries and bureaucracies in Douglas McGregor's The Human Side of Enterprise. When I chose to transit from liberal art studies to a rather technical human resource management studies, it wasn't so much as a departure from my previous background as an endeavor to explore another type of idea that yet explains and organizies societies and the human condition. Even scientific theories and hypotheses are born of ideas first that are sparked by observations and an inquisitive mind, and which reflect the human propensity to make sense of a problem or a lack, by proposing a solution.

In short, for too long Literature has been discarded disparagingly. But you see, it is one aspect out of many others that attempt to present ideas in order to make sense of the world , though in the form of literary writing, an emotional settlement and closure is pursued more than a solution; it doesn't offer sanitized and convenient solutions; it invites participation and exploration. It is definitely truism to say that in our monetized society, one form of knowledge and idea is appreciated more than the other, and that is the kind of ideas that bring concrete ends, which isn't a bad thing in itself; it leads to but one form of progress and understanding. Our mainstream society, while it doesn't encourage solitude, does prosper from the solitary labors of others in the form of the birthing of ideas and eventually the fulfillment of them.

On Mentoring

It was interesting that I sat in for a professional sharing session on mentoring among the entry level adminstrative staff during work today.

It had never struck my mind before- the magnitude of God's blessings for a mentor like Mike in my life. The other people were sharing about the dilemmas involved in asking for a mentor and on deciding what a mentorship should be like. They were pretty serious about it too, discussing what makes an 'ideal' mentoring relationship and who that person should be. I spoke up and shared about Mike and I realised that hey-Mike had 'just' come along and has been a mentoring figure to me, when many people in actuality are actually grappling around for one.

To be sure-as I was sharing with the rest-Mike's 'mentoring' lasted a long time and was sustainable precisely because it wasn't formal and very intentional, and he was somebody in my life anyway, as a cell group leader. He had helped me through struggling times and had counselled me on how to approach problems practically.   But to put yourself out there like what he does, especially to coach Art as a young Christian, which I am incredibly grateful to him for, and to Alice, to whom he had imparted wisdom in spiritual matters and life management, is inspiring and made me realise that in a way, a significant life is one which gives of itself to others, whether in terms of time, money or energy, in order that they may grow.

In fact, a long time ago, Mike asked me how I was serving in church, and taken aback, I had offered the usual answers comprising of church and cell attendance, planning of events etc. And he said, 'no no..what are YOU doing to mentor and disciple others?' At that time, the magnitude of that question just went over my head and it was easy for me to brush that challenge off, saying that I wasn't good with people and that it wasn't necessary for one to 'disciple' others anyway, heavy as it sounds, if it doesn't lie in your 'giftings'.  After all, I wasn't growing very much in my life then. It took me a long while years later to understand that that was the model of transformation in a bible-believing life and community. It is how us as Christians mimick, to the best of our abilities, and through a glass darkly, the fellowship intended for eternal life. I realise now that regardless of one's station or stage in life, there is always somebody around, whether in church or at work or in school, whom you can give of yourself to, and that in turn, helps us to grow as well. It was also due to him that I decided to 'disciple' Chen, in my limited ability, in Vaasa, and which have proved to be really fulfilling.

While reflecting in Finland, I realised that I had wanted a professional mentor, one whom can guide me through career paths and career choices in life. After all, I admit there is much that I know nothing of, and I am a klutz at engineering a rise through the ranks or even to attain personal and professional growth. I look back now and realise that part of the reason why I left my previous job was the lack of a mentor. I am not that smart and environmentally-aware that I know how to maneuver my way around and build on my strengths. It made me anxious. So I prayed for a mentor. Not persistently but passingly.

And when I came to IJM, I realise that part of the internship programme allows me a structured mentoring session with the vice-president of human resources, which is my very own department! I can never comprehend why a person of his position and stature would spend time mentoring an intern like me. To mentor a growing professional, like managers or executives etc would be understandable, but ehh? an intern? True enough, there are several other vps in IJM who put themselves out there to mentor other interns in their own department, and secretly I wonder what is in it for them. I mean..seriously. But whatever the case, God has answered my prayer, and I am thankful for the opportunity and accessibility. I truly believe that one's mind and growth is sharpened by conversations had with one's betters, and I am trying to be as fruitful as I can with the sessions while not appearing to be too forthcoming and aggressive and ambitious (hmmm).

So there you have it: one's life that has been enriched my conversations, by people who have given of themselves in a deliberate intention to help others grow. While Mike does it spiritually and Tony does it professionally, the line has never been clearly drawn because both are professional Christians who have taught me in both areas. Mike works as an engineer but engages with the young people ministry on weekday nights and on weekends and in other moments in between. Tony works in a Christian environment imparting his corporate human resource and management skills in a fearlessly bible-believing organization. Both have showed me how to be personally involved in the work of God, and in the fulfillment of God's calling and one's gifts whether in work or out of it but always in life. I look at people like them, and also people like Pirjo back in Vaasa, and realise that hey, I want to be like them, believing that the time will come when it is my turn to pass on to others who would be blessed by my material, spiritual and professional support.

 It is interesting how it took a structured and professional (maybe even clinical) mentoring programme in a foreign faraway land to realise the friendship mentoring in Mike that God has always been providing for me through my growing up years at home. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if my current inclination to be professionally involved in the training and development of people in organizations have actually been implanted sub-consciously through my experiences with people who have spoken life into me and have taught me the way that I should go.

Take My Life, Please

I was watching this Simpson episode with the above mentioned title while eating dinner ravenously tonight after work, and this episode was kinda poignant and which struck a chord in me.

Homer Simpson bumped into a successful peer who had been elected class president over him (Homer) more than 20 years ago, and Homer was all caught up fretting that that would have been a seminal event which could have changed the course of his life altogether.

Which is quite plausible actually. In an alternative reality (think Sliding Doorshttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120148/ -I have always thought it an intriguing show) Homer was the same; never born a genius and was a dope from the start. But this time he was elected as a standing joke among his peers, which, though far from ideal of course, did much to boost his self-esteem, stature, and eventually brought on success. Of course, befitting of an animation doing social commentary, many things were exaggerated, like when Burns drove past in his limo and offered him a job (but ok, down the line if things go well, who knows?)

So, inadvertently, it made me think of my life and missed opportunities and things which I used to bemoan, like what if...my parents had never obsessively belittled me and my academic performance in front of the neighbours when I was a kid? what if...I were born rich and had a different upbringing? what if...I were less of an introvert, more self-confident, and had stepped up in life more? what if...I had never screwed up my math paper, ended up in a 'neighborhood' school, and...never met Art in Bukit Batok sec? hehe.

Guess I would have been a gloomy self-centred recluse if left to my own devices eh? The thing about life is that, sometimes there is no turning back, and no way of controlling how things turn out. Thank God we can rely on Him, having peace knowing that He is in control of our destiny. Romans said that 'And we know that all good things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose' (8:28).

I have also, for some reason (ok, for a very good reason) been reminded more than a few times by the Holy Spirit lately on the idea of significance, and the essence of true significance. It is something that is easy to have head knowledge about, but hard to grasp or truly comprehend and imbue or believe, unless God opens our eyes at the right time. "Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; whom He justified, these He also glorified' (8:30). I have been touched by this revelation that no matter what I have strived for or am striving to achieve to prove my significance to myself and others, the point is that God has really justified me. I have nothing to prove to anyone anymore because I am already significant for who I am because of God, and for this cause, I am free to achieve and pursue my desires (in line with the will of God) without any anxiety.

Finally, as I mull over and try to wait in patience for my 'life calling'-to pursue an area which I am excellent in and passionate about, I have been especially touched by Psalms 32, which speaks of God's desire to guide us through our lives, to lead us to glorification in both our earthly and eternal lives:

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.
Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
Else they will not come near you" (8-9)

I have always been praying to God for guidance and in making decisions and to answer my prayers, as if He is my 'lucky charm'. God is of course, more than that. The point is, He cannot guide us closely with His eye, towards the excellent way in God's will, without us going to Him and resting in His presence.

Validity of the theory and application of CQ

So is CQ or Intercultural Competence (ICC) overrated? I was thinking that perhaps we are emphasizing too much on it when there are other more important factors at play, like individual personality and style, technical and professional skills and self and relationship management rather than cultural factors.

Maybe it is hard for me to understand this because as a Singaporean, I don't think we have a very strong national culture. Yes, society may have influenced my values and thinking, but basically I don't feel very tied to the Singapore or Chinese or Singaporean Chinese culture. I don't know, it is a blind spot. Maybe some aspects of Singapore culture which I may have adopted are: efficiency and task-focused rather than people-oriented which may have manifested in a rather brash and quick way of speaking, acceptance of diversity, more individualistic than communal and competitive. Maybe you speak to Indian, Chinese or Japanese and they feel strongly aligned with their national culture and yes, agree quickly that culture and ICC plays a difference. Then again, yea, maybe I am strongly influenced by the 'Singaporean Culture' after all.

So some 'facts' are established here:

1. Individuals have idiosyncrasies. At the level of friendship and informal interaction, esp in an intercultural environment, it is probably not accurate to perceive them on a cultural basis, which leads to stereotyping.
2. But as a group, cultural differences probably emerge because after all, culture is 'group speak'. This is especially so when it comes to formal business or tasks because though you may be dealing with an individual, her capacity (i shall stop using the chauvenistic pronoun) is representative of an organization or institution, which is influenced by 'group speak' or cultural values.
3. In a multinatinal organization, people's acculturation into the multinational culture or home culture of the organization depends on a. the duration of time she has been in the organization. b. her previous work experiences. c. the cultural distance between her national culture and the culture of the home organization and d. the salience of organizational identity and organizational culture.
4. The above is a more complex scenario. Of course when an expat is sent overseas, it is very clear that congnizance and acceptance of the other (one) culture has to be undertaken; it is a one way cultural exchange, and what needs to be done is probably more clear-cut (eg training programmes).
5. But in an MNO, a number of factors have to be managed by the HR (culture management): understanding of its own culture and how it may relate to/differ from employees, beneficiaries and sponsors' culture and expectations, taking time to build up its own organizational culture and choosing people carefully through recruitment process (minding past experiences and culture orientation besides techinical skills).  A scaled-down version of organizational cultural management will also take place at the level of multicultural teams. In other words, employees have to be chosen and trained into the organizational culture which is usually reflective of national culture in its values, mission and manner of doing things.

So my conclusion at this point of time could be that yes, professional skills and relationship management evidenced through a record of team work and recommendations are essential, but depending on the nature of the job, and the nature of the organization (if applicant is foreign), CQ serves an important facilitative role (for communication, negotation and 'knowledge transfers'). It thus has to be placed in its proper perspective as not core or primary, but a conduit or important complement to organizational strategy and goals.

In fact, one could say that the personal or career development of the employee is part of training her towards CQ or ICC if the org is an MNO because job effectiveness enables her to see that job motivation and acculturation to org culture can be pursued  despite or through leveraging on cultural diversity.


Phew. I may be writing the obvious here, but heck, it is not obvious to me all the time. I hope this helps to sort out my thoughts.

Theories 25th Aug

Cultural Intelligence (Earley and Soon Ang 2000)...
speaks of one's ability to adapt appropriately and effectively to new cultural environments, whether it be in a new cultural setting or country, or in an intercultural communication situation.

Possession of CQ requires 3 components:
-Cognitive aspect of CQ, which is the ability to be aware of alternative cultural scripts, understand values and motives of people from different cultures and also the ability to reflect on one's (mis)understanding of other cultures (which is also referred to as cultural metacognition)
-Hofstede's and Trompenaar's dimensions of national culture, and the idea of cultural distance would probably fit in here; to be cognizant that there ARE cultural distances and cultural harmony cannot be taken for granted.
-However, more than the above 2 gurus, this aspect includes Identity Theory, which is self-concept (sense of self, closely tied to culture if one looks at Hofstede's pyramid of mental programming). Salient identities manifest themselves in cross-cultural settings, and hence it is the role of multinational organizations to foster strong organizational identity to replace or alleviate the effects of cultural identity.

-Behavourial aspect of CQ, which is the ability to present oneself appropriately, and to understand that self-representation affects others' (locals or culturally diverse others) perception of them.
-This brings in a plethora of cross-cultural concepts like proxemics, body language, facial expressions, time-orientation and even heck, physical attractiveness. B aspect of CQ is the sum manifestation of cognitive and motivational aspects, and is able to use CQ to further personal agenda.

-Finally, Motivational aspect of CQ centres around values, personal efficacy and goal-setting. More than merely a person's 'personality disposition' and 'open-mindedness' to new cultures, it is also about what can motivate a person to develop CQ. This goes in line with expectancy theory of HRM, in which when goals are clearly set and articulated, people, as rational beings, will take progressive steps to attain that goal, including developing cultural cognizance as a means to an end.
-There are also a whole host of fancy terms spotted in IHRM books (or book I must admit..but hey! It took a lot of time!) on global citizenship (Ashwill), global mindset (Vance) etc.

On preferring CQ as a theory to Hofstede's...

CQ as a theory certainly goes beyond national cultures theories because it looks at the level of individuals, and what cultural intelligence means to individual behavoirs. Also, studying national cultures theories may not be so appropriate if field research is on human resource practices involving multinational work teams or other practices, the only application being if I were to study IJM's networks or casework collaboration models in other countries, or even to diagnose the 'health level' of multicultural work teams (by measuring cultural distances or even deciding on recruitment practices). 

Maybe the closest subsitute for CQ theory is the theory of Intercultural Competence, which, according to Deardorff, is unsatisfactory because there is yet no empirical evidence testing the components of intercultural competency, except for a study done by the same author in 2004 which documents consensus by US's intercultural experts on what makes up ICC. Yet, the classification is different for both theories.

To apply CQ theory to HRM is via the theory of Cross-Cultural Management.

Preamble: Cross-cultural management appears (to me) to be subset or recent fad of human resource management. Basically it encompasses most of the different aspects of HRM like employee motivation and job design (and by implication, reward and performance evaluation system, training and development opportunities), communication process (or information management) and also team management. As they say, organizaton strategy is closely tied to human resource management practices as human capital is the key to an organization's competitive strategy and the way to retain talent (esp for non-profit organizations!).

Question will be answered in next session!

Before I leave..
Organization or Corporate Culture management is one aspect of HRM, the reason being that an organization's culture partly depends on its job design, the people it hires, and how it evaluates and rewards performance, and of course, communication processes. Obviously corporate culture is also a strategy (well..not so obviously..maybe in how the org thinks and responds that gives it its identity and solutions..)
How Hofstede is thus useful in this area is that he has identified different types of organization cultures which he connects with Mintzberg's organizational structures (i.e org structure depends on or is influenced by national culture and in turn impacts organizational culture) e.g process vs results oriented, loose vs tight control, open systems vs closed systems etc (ref to Chapters 9-10).
I can thus use the HofMintz theory to understand the culture orientation of IJM (Anglo-Saxxon culture, impacting its values and missions, and..yea [desired] corporate culture etc), and how at the same time because it (apparently) has a multinational workforce or networks in other continents, identification with organization culture (hence identity) has to be emphasized to alleviate disparate cultural identities.

Of Ropes and Life

What she said was poignant.

As Z was mulling over the complexities in her life situation (something which was brought about by her own intentional choice though probably no less deserving of sympathy) while not paying attention to our conversation over dinner, J suddenly said that while she usually espouse not thinking and fretting because it is not helping anyone, Z should, on the contrary, think.

The analogy she gave was as such: that some people say life is like a rope that gets entangled and knotted at some areas. Of course as it is with knots in ropes, we need to untangle them. Yet for some people, like J herself, whom she admits herself to be so 'far gone', the knot has grown so tight that she cannot unravel it; hopefully in time to come it will loosen on its own. If she were to think about it, she would go mad. That I agree. So J went on to say that Z should consider and think properly: that she, having such a good life now in with a good husband and family and maybe job prospects, should not make any knots and entanglements so tight that she cannot unravel them later on. In life one has to think about decisions and in my opinion, traps that we lay for ourselves that we cannot get out of.

If some call it conservative and cowardly and lacking in the 'carpe diem' spirit, I would say, that let no one make entanglements that they cannot loosen, and reap consequences that they would spend the rest of their lives making up for when better things-that which beget life, not death-can be done. After all, life itself is complicated and challenging enough on its own.

Perhaps over our simple meal of baked chicken wings and cucumber in a humble dwelling far away from our respective homelands amongst 3 women sharing confidences, this eloquent and passionate outburst from the otherwise quiet and hesitating J would be something to remember.