a aussie teacher finds Singapore management more inflexible and
intolerant of dissent than communist China's:
http://chinawords.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!458AD99F75DAB973!3346.entry
China-Vs-Singapore?
Working the Singaporean way
Dec 2, 2006
................
Profile for those who dont know- X is an international school in
Shanghai (a private for-profit company). The management of the
school is Singaporean, and most positions in management are held by
Singaporeans, with little in the way of positions available for
people from other countries.
Lets start at the beginning. When I came to China, almost six
years ago, I like many people was under the impression that China
was an authoritarian country. Even though Id studied the history
of the place and understood the political structure in a more
sophisticated sense than the one illustrated in western media, I
still assumed it would be quite a rigid place to live in work. This
was a sterotype that I quickly saw was in many ways very flawed.
Workers riot and protest at a frequency I didnt think was possible
here, workers question their bosses, and local committees in the
suburbs help government make decisions on living areas. When
Chinese workers are unhappy with the boss, they drag their feet
and passively resist. As an Australian, with our traditional
disrespect for authority, this was a side to China I was surprised
to see. While China is still not Australia, its much freer (for
want of a better word) than Id imagined.
The image I have from the western media of Singapore is one of a
vibrant modern state. Like China, the images we have of Singapore
in the west are few and far between, but instead of authoritarian
we get the word tough to describe the place, or hardworking.
The word modern springs to mind to when one thinks of Singapore.
With that in mind, when I was offered the job at X, I was really
excited about what I thought would be a really good workplace.
Singapore sells itself as a fusion of the best of the east and the
best of the west, and I thought Id feel right at home in this kind
of mix. It was to be, in my mind, the highlight of my working
career so far.
My first three months or so at X seemed to be fine. My only real
complaint was that the place was a bit mechanical, a bit cold. In
Chinese workplaces, foreign workers were given a support teacher to
help them through the first few months, and they were eased into
teaching. At X I was plonked into the job, given a teachers manual
that had all school policy and I was expected to read this. That
was my integration to the school. I got the feeling very early on
that I was a cog in the machine, and I did what I thought was the
right thing. It was until I queeried the boss that things started
to change.
I was given a class that was lower in English ability to other
classes of the same level. I assumed this was a streamed class
because I seemed to have almost all the low ability kids. Exams
were coming, and I flicked through the paper and realised all my
students would fail. Being mainly from Korea, these students would
find a Singaporean text quite tough. I thought this would kill
their confidence (theyd actually worked really well in class and
improved a lot). I organised a meeting and explained things to the
boss, and the first thing she said to me, with a smile, was Our
classes arent streamed. We have mixed ability classes, this is
school policy. If we had streamed classes, parents would complain.
Under the veneer of modernity, I was beginning to see, very
early, that X was more Chinese than Id been lead to believe. This
means, say one thing, do another. Where was all the modern
management practice?
At the same time that this began, I noticed that my Singaporean
colleagues (not all of them, but many of them) regularly complained
about China. The most common complaint was the dirtiness and
unhygenic nature of the place. I expected more, assuming that
teachers who would come here would understand that this is not a
city state (so there will be a lot more industrial pollution here
given its a manufacturing centre), and also be sympathetic to, and
even excited about, a China getting on its feet. Some of my
colleagues go on so much about hygene that one would be forgiven
for assuming they believe civilisations greatest gift is clean
streets. I will come back to the idea of civilisation later. The
Chinese staff I worked with at X only said nice things about what
they knew of Singapore and their Singaporean colleagues, or nothing
at all.
It became clear after this first discussion with the boss, that the
school and the thinkers running it werent all that modern.
There was a lot of great talk at meetings about new ideas, but the
reality was something quite the opposite. There is always a certain
amount of inertia in any group of people when it comes to change,
but this was far more than that- it was my first taste of a strange
culture of modern facade, ancient heart. This contrasted with my
experience in Chinese schools- if there was some element of
innovation it would be followed through. If not, there was no
pretence at being modern. It was much easier to cope with. You
knew, much more, where you stood.
When teachers were unhappy about something at school they
complained a lot, quietly in safe groups about it, but when it
came to meetings, they were silent. On more than one occasion
western teachers were approached quietly by a Singaporean teacher
to complain about something. When the matter was brought up, no
Singaporean staff supported the complaint, but after the meeting
theyd congratulate the western teacher whod brought it up. This
strange culture of fear permeates the whole staff. X has had
various major problems, and staff never band together to change
things despite the fact that the school has trouble getting staff,
and they are far away from trouble. They actually have the power
to stand up for whats right and be apart of change. Instead, staff
watch as poor management practice leads to crisis, and the veneer
cracks.
Management at X, and weve had different managers, generally do not
tolerate dissent. They are very uncomfortable with dissent, and
they either stifle discussion, or make changes with no
consultation. There is a very strong paternalsitic attitude about
management- they do whats best for the school which often
equates to whats best for profit making, or what parents want
(sometimes ignoring sound educational practice). This is true of
Chinese schools, but its much stronger at X. I have been to
meetings in Chinese schools, and they have debates and changes are
done generally after some sort of consultation. Not so at X. X
actually has very highly qualified staff (either with a huge amount
of teaching experience, or high acedemic qualifications) but this
experience and expertise is rarely tapped. Management knows
best.
