Boundaries on the Move. The Impact of Cultural Values and Language on Organizational Design and Communication within an Organization in Thailand

Abstract

Multinational organizations cross national boundaries in their search for higher profits. As national boundaries are becoming less significant, new boundaries emerge within multination organizations. This paper will explore the interrelations between culture, organizational design and business language within such an organization. It is based on extensive fieldwork in a Thai–Western organization in Thailand. In accordance with Thai law, this organization has both Thai and Western employees. Several of these employees have been interviewed and surveyed about their perceptions of the organization, the management and the effectiveness and efficiency of the management policies. This anthropological approach revealed rather divergent perspectives of two very different groups working together in one organization. The paper will discuss the impact of the management approach on the studied organization, which determines the way cultural boundaries are dealt with. Furthermore, it will demonstrate that the influence of the chosen business language on the studied organization was very strong. A close interrelation between business language, organizational design and power relations impacted on the Thai–Western relations within the organization.

Keywords:

• Cultural boundaries
• business language
• power balances
• Thai–Western partnership