Last summer break, I have worked on project in a subsidiary company in Malaysia. Although both companies are doing the same things and selling the same products, the companies culture are actually quite different.
The interpretations that I will mention later on is just my personal views with no offensive objective in mind. The culture in the companies is not an indication of the countries culture.
One very interesting observation I made in the Malaysia Company is, workers do not have to start work on time. Their normal start time is 9am, and I saw workers coming to work at 10am or 11am. I knew that they were not late as they are not panicking. It seems to be their normal routine. The first idea that came to mind is “Wah! They so relax one”. Whereas in the Singapore Company, punctuality is a crucial factor, as it sort of reflects your working attitude. This also reflects the “law by law” attitude created by Singaporeans.
I asked the manager during lunch about the incident, and I guessed I was too straight forward, and she seems a bit furious about my view on their culture. I tried to explain myself that I was curious and not scrutinizing Malaysian culture. Luckily, she was able to understand the point I am coming from. She explained that she trusts her workers and elevates various restrictions as long as they are able to complete their work. We can see the boss and workers have very effective communication between each other.
After this incident, I always tried to rephrase my questions on their cultures in a more neutral perspective to avoid any miscommunication. After awhile, the manager also gets used to my straight forward questions. :X
It was really interesting to work in a new environment as you can understand different cultural experiences in the process.
