'Bapak' culture must be abandoned<\/p>\n
Patrick Guntensperger, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Just as Indonesia's widespread corruption can be accounted for
\nby historical forces (Corruption in Indonesia: Culturally
\ndictated?, The Jakarta Post, July 23, 2004), some of the
\nidentifiably Indonesian ways of doing business are attributable
\nto similar influences.<\/p>\n
The historically entrenched inclination to an autocratic and
\nrigidly stratified structure is apparent, not only in Indonesian
\nsocial and political spheres; it is a fundamental aspect of the
\nbusiness world as well. The so-called bapak culture exerts its
\ninfluence in the day to day workings of Indonesian businesses as
\nwell as Indonesian run branches of foreign companies. While there
\nmay be some benefits to this traditional way of interacting, on
\nthe whole it is not a positive thing.<\/p>\n
Even among western-educated business owners in Indonesia there
\ncontinues to persist a belief that their positions entail
\nconsiderably more than being the employer of their staffs. All
\ntoo often deference, entirely out of proportion to their real
\nabilities, is demanded of employees. For those of wealth and
\nprivilege, a lifetime of obsequiousness on the part of servants
\nand other employees has encouraged a belief that they are
\nentitled to a level of respect that borders on reverence. It is
\ndisconcerting to business people from other countries to see the
\ndespotic way in which businesses in Indonesia are often managed.<\/p>\n
It is not uncommon in Indonesia for a manager to let
\nsalespeople, with or without appointments, cool their heels in a
\nbusiness's lobby for hours, sometimes an entire day. The manager
\nin question will stroll in and out, have tea sent in, greet
\nfriends and completely disregard the sales rep sitting in the
\nwaiting room with a professional smile surgically attached to his
\nface. This is a way of establishing status. In this fashion, the
\nmanager ensures that the sales rep is aware of his importance.
\nThis is behavior that would be completely intolerable in a
\ncountry that didn't need to overcome a thousand years of
\ntyrannical rule.<\/p>\n
The habits of millennia are indeed hard to abandon. It is hard
\nfor the manager described above to learn that the world of
\nbusiness runs on a principle of exchange of goods and services,
\nnot on a nobility and supplicant relationship. Having been given
\nthe position he holds, the manager is not likely to give up
\nwillingly any of the perks that come with the job; that includes
\nthe right to dominate and subjugate those beneath him. He is
\nunwilling to face the reality that the sales rep is as important
\nto his business as anyone else; that the product he represents
\nmight be necessary. The manager is more concerned with the
\npersonal status and ego gratification provided by his position
\nthan he is with the efficient running of the firm.<\/p>\n
This inclination to high-handedness is evident in employee
\nrelations, too. All too many managers believe that their position
\nautomatically guarantees the validity of their views. The boss is
\nright because he or she is the boss, goes the tradition. There is
\na particularly poignant irony in this attitude being prevalent in
\na business culture in which the boss's position was probably not
\nearned by demonstrated ability or experience. In a business
\nenvironment that is anything but a meritocracy, it is
\nparticularly galling to see the truly talented to have to defer
\nto the inept.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, many senior positions were acquired by nepotism,
\ncronyism or other forms of corruption. More benignly, a great
\nnumber of senior positions were created for oneself by buying a
\ncompany with married or inherited wealth. This is widely known
\nand accepted. Unfortunately it has created a level of distrust
\namong those who would otherwise do business in Indonesia. Those
\npeople and companies have no reason to assume that the upper
\nmanagement has any level of skill, experience or integrity. The
\nlikelihood is that their positions were not deserved, since
\nhigher level positions in the Indonesian business culture are not
\ngranted on the basis of merit.<\/p>\n
Since the occupiers of senior positions brook no dissent from
\ntheir employees, they are unlikely to be aware of any of their
\nown flaws and sublimely ignorant of their mistakes in business.
\nFor the traditional Indonesian manager, it would be inconceivable
\nto accept criticism of his or her management methods from an
\nunderling. It would also be completely alien to the Indonesian
\ntradition for a lower level employee to offer advice to a
\n\"superior\" even if it was intelligent, well thought out, politely
\noffered and ultimately correct. The bapak culture, as it persists
\nin business, contributes to stagnation and stifles the
\npossibility of self-appraisal by a company's owner or manager.<\/p>\n
Indonesian culture is a thing of beauty and can quite possibly
\nbe joy forever, but some of the negative aspects have to be
\nreappraised at this stage in Indonesian history. As Indonesia
\nmoves forward along the treacherous path to maturity as a
\ndemocratic nation, many unworkable or outdated notions must be
\nabandoned. Among them is the concept that businesses ought to be
\nrun on the basis of social or economic class rather than on
\ntalent and experience. That outmoded way of thinking will have to
\ndisappear along with entrenched corruption before Indonesia will
\ntake her rightful place among the developed nations of the world.<\/p>\n
The writer, social and political commentator, can be reached
\nat ttpguntensperger@hotmail.com<\/p>",
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