industrial overlord

Chapter 691 The So-Called Cultural Conflict

"What is this?" After listening to Fang Lei's introduction, Lin Zhenhua couldn't laugh or cry. He had heard that foreign workers were bullish, but this was the first time he had heard of them being so bullish.If you do something wrong, you are still confident, and you start a strike when you disagree with each other. Does this mean that the employer is not the boss?
Xiang Zhe was silent for a while, then said: "Maybe this is a cultural conflict. In Western culture, the concept of individual rights is deeply rooted, and they don't think that individual interests should be subordinated to collective interests."

Lin Zhenhua said: "I don't think this is a cultural conflict. It's just a lack of basic human morality. Even a child knows that it's wrong to park the car at the gate to block the road. If he is because the company has I can somewhat understand why he offended him and intentionally took revenge. If it's just because it's time to get off work, he doesn't care about anything, and doesn't even do the least things that should be done, then this kind of person is really unreasonable. "

"However, in the West, especially in places like Latin America and Africa, there are a group of such workers. Dealing with such workers is an inevitable thing that our company will encounter in the process of internationalization. It is said that, In the current MBA curriculum, there is a special course on cross-cultural management, and it is still a very important course." Xiang Zhe said.

Lin Zhenhua nodded and said: "Well, it seems that our internal training should also add some cross-cultural management content. This kind of management method is really difficult for people to adapt to."

"You're right, we must strengthen our training in this area. However, the long-distance water can't quench the near-thirst, so what should we do with this matter?" Xiang Zhe asked.

Lin Zhenhua didn't have a good idea for a while, so he could only say: "Let's have a meeting and listen to everyone's opinions."

The management cadres in Xunyang were summoned urgently. Xiang Zhe informed everyone about what happened in the Mutong mining area, and then asked everyone to express their opinions.Like Lin Zhenhua's reaction, almost all executives were shocked when they heard about the strike.This is exactly what Lin Zhenhua and Xiang Zhe said. We should strengthen the content of cross-cultural management. At the very least, let everyone get used to the word strike.After companies go global, strikes and protests are likely to occur.

"What is the condition offered by the other party?" Cen Youjun asked.

Xiang Zhe replied: "Revoke the punishment decision, and the workers shall not be punished for similar reasons in the future."

"This is impossible." Cen Youjun said firmly.

Xiang Zhe was not surprised by Cen Youjun's answer.Among the executives of the entire group, Cen Youjun is the one who pays attention to discipline the most. This may have something to do with the fact that he used to be a platoon leader in the army.

"What's the reason?" Xiang Zhe asked calmly.

Cen Youjun said: "The state owns the state law, and the family has family rules. If an enterprise does not have any management rules and regulations, then it will be impossible to continue to manage in the future. If such a thing happens once, there will definitely be a second or third time. The buds of things just squish it down."

"However, people said that he didn't do anything wrong. It's time to get off work, so he has the right to leave." Hu Gui interjected.Although his views are similar to those of Cen Youjun, he still wants to argue with Cen Youjun. This method of debate helps to discuss things more clearly.

"This..." Cen Youjun was choked for a moment, and the reason Hu Gui said was really hard to refute.If you are in China, of course you can talk about personal interests, collective interests, etc., but in South America, do people have such a tradition?
Just when everyone was stifled by this absurd logic, Fang Yanwu spoke up and asked, "Actually, we didn't understand one thing. What is the reason why Zhao Yongqun wanted to deduct the wages of this worker named McMeekin? Because he left work on time, or because he got stuck in traffic?"

"Of course it was because he blocked the car on the road." Xiang Zhe said, "According to the past reports of mining companies, it is not uncommon for workers to leave their work and leave as soon as they get off work. This time was the worst. If McMeekin hadn't parked his car at the gate of the stockyard, blocking the traffic in and out, this incident might have been treated as an ordinary incident and played down."

"That's it." Fang Yanwu said, "The reason we punished McMeekin was not because he was off his post, but because he parked the car where he should not have parked. Don't say that the car belongs to the company, even if it is his own. If the car is blocked in traffic, it will also need to be punished.”

Xiang Zhe had a feeling, and he said: "Old Fang, do you mean to say that in this matter, labor discipline should not be used to punish this matter, but should be punished according to disrupting the production order? If it is the latter, ...I am afraid that this has to be transferred to the judicial department?"

This is actually a question of management concepts.In Zhao Yongqun's view, McMeekin is an employee of the company. If he committed a crime, he should be punished according to the company's management regulations, so he instinctively applied the terms of violating labor discipline.In fact, such matters should be resolved through judicial means.Zhao Yongqun didn't think of using judicial means, mainly because when he was in China, the company's internal affairs tended to be resolved internally. It would be a very serious matter for the judiciary to intervene in the company's affairs.

If McMeekin could figure it out, he should thank Zhao Yongqun for protecting him and not directly refer him to the police.Unfortunately, McMeekin did not have such awareness at all, so he asked the trade union for help and asked the trade union to put pressure on the company.And Canelas, the leader of the labor union, is also used to fighting with the management. He usually wants to make something happen when he has nothing to do. Now that something is really happening, how can he not try to make it big?
Hu Gui nodded and said, "Old Fang reminded me rightly. I was also thinking about the reasons for punishing McMeekin just now. Now it seems that although the company's punishment is not applicable to the correct regulations, it is out of protection. The idea of ​​the workers, so it can be justified. In this way, we have reason to negotiate with the union."

Lin Zhenhua listened to everyone's discussion, and gradually sorted out the messy clues.After trying to understand the basis for punishing McMeekin, Lin Zhenhua immediately thought of the following more critical question:

"Everyone, think about it, why did the miners' union go on strike so soon? Logically speaking, the matter of McMeekin is not a big deal, and there is still room for negotiation between the two parties. But the union just made a request to the company , After not being satisfied, the strike immediately started, isn't this reaction speed a little too fast?"

Xiang Zhe sneered and said, "Don't you understand? This shows that the trade union had planned it long ago, but they just didn't find a suitable excuse. Now that the incident of McMeekin happened, it just gave them an excuse , so they were able to decide to strike in such a short period of time."

Cen Youjun looked at the two of them and asked, "Zhenhua, Lao Xiang, what do you mean...the McMeekin incident was just a trigger for this strike, no matter how we deal with it, the other party will punish you?" working."

Xiang Zhe said, "Exactly."

"Then what's the purpose?" Cen Youjun asked.

Xiang Zhe said: "If this strike is really premeditated, then the purpose is very obvious, that is, the trade unions want to show us their power and fight for their status. Think about it, everyone, we are a foreign company, and we are As a company from China that has always been very low-key, the trade union must have wanted to suppress us. Prior to this, Yong Qun and the others had done a lot of work to resolve the conflict, so that the trade union could not find a reason to attack. Now, this opportunity finally When it arrives, how can the trade union not hold on firmly?"

"According to Mr. Xiang's analysis, the relationship between us and the miners' union is probably life and death." Hu Wei said, "When I was studying in the United States, I heard that the relationship between the union and the management in American enterprises was very tense. I never imagined that something like this would happen to me.”

Fang Yanwu said: "Can't you say that? We have done a lot of projects overseas. In some project owners, the relationship between the labor union and the management is very good. The two sides understand and support each other. Of course, there are also old nonsense In that case, that is, the relationship between the labor union and the management is very bad. My feeling is that whether the relationship between the two parties is good or bad has a lot to do with the leaders of the labor union.”

"The key lies in leadership, which is also applicable in South America." Cen Youjun concluded.

"It now appears that Canelas, the leader of the labor union of the Mutong Iron Mine, is a person who is unwilling to cooperate with the management. Otherwise, he would not be able to threaten things like this with a strike. The strike is not free. , as long as the other party still has some attitude of wanting to cooperate, he may at least give us a warning first instead of directly launching a strike." Xiang Zhe said, "But this is the problem, the trade union is elected by the miners, we have no choice Interfering with the right to interfere. And the union is protected by law, and we cannot obstruct its work. What should we do when we encounter such an uncooperative union leader?"

Lin Zhenhua said: "If the situation is as analyzed by Lao Xiang, then it may be difficult to properly resolve this matter. If we transfer McMeekin to the judicial department, the union will definitely have a greater reaction, and the workers are out of grief. will be more supportive of the trade union protests. Conversely, if we settle down and cancel the punishment for McMeekin, the trade unions will never accept it. They will definitely use the popularity they have gained in this movement to appeal to us Make more demanding demands."

"So, we're just beating wolves with sticks, and we're scared at both ends." Cen Youjun said, "I can't be tough, I can't compromise, it's really holding us back."

(End of this chapter)