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ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Working for Asian American Bosses
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 06:10:04 PM)
ndustrious. Competent. Disciplined. Uncomplaining. Loyal.
These are some adjectives that come to mind to describe the prevailing image -- not to say stereotype -- of Asian Americans as workers. But what about Asian Americans as bosses?
Good boss or bad?
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The media have treated us to few such images. The only ones that come easily to mind are of taciturn crime bosses who commission graphic executions with a casual nod or a guttural grunt while being massaged by a bevvy of beauties.
What about the many more Asian American bosses in less telegenic professions?
Census Bureau stats suggest that over 3 million Asian Americans occuppy entrepreneurial, managerial or professional positions. That means many thousands, if not millions, of us have worked for Asian doctors, corporate executives, attorneys, restaurateurs, brokers, you name it.
Was your Asian American boss an Atilla the Hun? A Marie Antoinette? An Ebenezzar Scrooge? Here's the place to share anecdotes and appraisals to give Asian American bosses something nutritious to chew on during lunch break.
This interactive article is closed to new input.
Discussions posted during the past year remain available for browsing.
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
As we write about Asian Americans (AA)as bosses, we should always keep in mind that one bad AA boss does not constitute all AA managers. Too often we label a single experience with a member of a minority and project it on their entire ethnic group. This is dangerous, since it will most likely lead to less minorities getting hired or promoted. As Asian Americans and a minority in the US we should be more sensitive to these issues.
We can generalize but recognize we are generalizing and keep an open mind should we experience other Asians or other minorities as bosses.
I have had several Asian bosses, one of them a multi-billionaire, and can say they have all been quite different and were shaped more by their environment than by being Asian. Yes, some of them were definitely penny pinching and exploitative but on the other hand I see Asians as being some of the best managers to run a commodity business where many American businesses fall short.
I have also seen wealthy Asians flaunt their wealth but is it being Asian or I attributed it to being the "nouveau" rich attitude. Those families that had been "in the money" for awhile were less ostentatious.
MBA 1990
Tuesday, December 31, 2002 at 14:38:56 (PST)
[68.84.48.54]
Jason Ling:
"And did you ever notice how so many wealthy Chinese are so flashy with their wealth?"
Your post belongs in another forum. There's one that discusses how Asians like to flash their wealth.
I will be flashy with my wealth when I am rich. HOWEVER, the wealth I'll be flashing will NOT be coming from the EXPLOTATION of other people.
T'K Chang
tkchang@SPAM-ME-NOT.znet.com
Wednesday, November 06, 2002 at 11:26:16 (PST)
[207.167.96.141]
Jus Rux:
"These comments are ridiculous and not well thought out. It is racist to characterize Asian bosses as cheap. There are all kinds of Asian bosses. Some of the Asian companies are so much nicer to their employees than American companies. Let's stop these racist comments."
Look, bad exploitative Asian bosses are more of a common occurance than an exceptional case. They are everywhere. The worst thing is that those nasty bosses THINK they are nice reasonable bosses--YIKES! Is there any fair reasonable Asian boss? I'm sure there are. BUT they are NOT common. They are exceptional cases.
Is there any American/White boss who exploits their employees? Of course there are. The Wal-mart founder is one good example of terrible American/White bosses. BUT they are not common. The typical American/White boss is fair to their employees.
On the other hand, cheap Asian bosses are everywhere. They are common cases. They are the norm. Generous reasonable Asian bosses are EXCEPTIONAL cases. They are few and far between. (In fact, I do NOT know any good Asian boss. I'm sure that they exist. I just haven't personally met or heard any.)
My advice: Asian bosses who come in here and read our messages seriously need to reexamine the way they treat their employees and live their lives.
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chino:
"Taiwanese bosses are the worst!!"
I really have to agree. I'd worked for a Taiwanese bitch before (I was naive back then,) and she's the WORST of all the Asian bosses I had. I know about a dozen close and trusted friends who work for different Taiwanese bosses. They all have same ol' story. Their bosses are all terrible. At first we hate and diss ALL bosses (because we'd only worked for Asian bosses at that point.) But sooner or later we all quit working for Asian bosses and got the opportunities to work for non-Asian bosses. Then we found out it's ONLY Asian bosses--ALL OUR ASIAN BOSSES--who have serious issues and deserve to be dissed.
Noawadays I like to tell my friends (including non-Asians): "Taiwanese build their wealth on the exploitation of their own kind." My and my friends' experiences with Taiwanese bosses were so bad that nowadays I HATE all Taiwanese people. Of course, I still deal with Taiwanese--but ONLY when I know they can be useful to my purpose and I can take advantage of them. I will never regard them as true friends. Am I becoming a "racist" toward Taiwanese? Well, RIGHTFULLY so.
Since then I've had the pleasure of working for White bosses. They are so much more reasonable and pleasurable to work with. Sure they want to cut cost and earn profits, but they do not go out of their ways to exploit people in disgusting ways. It's sad that I, who once believed in being sticky, have to come to the conclusion that Asian bosses suck after working for them for years and wasting years of my best time being exploited. I've learned my lesson the hard way.
T'K Chang
tkchang@SPAM-ME-NOT.znet.com
Wednesday, November 06, 2002 at 11:22:10 (PST)
[207.167.96.141]
And did you ever notice how so many wealthy Chinese are so flashy with their wealth? Especially the Cantonese in particular. I've worked with many Chinese bosses of Cantonese origin. A few of Northern Chinese descent (although they are not so bad, but not great either). Anyways, I had one Cantonese boss was the CEO of this large bank (he also owned 31 fast food franchises on top of that). For him and his wife, they own a 12,000 sq foot home. I'm like WTF? If you had 15 kids it'd be understandable, but just for the two of you? This other Cantonese I worked for was also a financier, he owned a big home as well, not nearly as big as the first one but big enough. His flash was his cars. He has two kids both in college now and they have a grand total of twelve cars. That's right, everyone in his family owns 3 cars. His son has an Escalade, ML 320, and a now a brand new H2. His daughter, a Porsche Carrera, a Jaguar XL, and an M3. He himself drives a S class, 7 series, and a Deville. His wife, an LS 430, A8, and now a grand whoppin Ferrari for her recent birthday. It's amazing how some Chinese can flaunt their wealth so much when people in China literally have nothing.
Jason Ling
Sunday, November 03, 2002 at 14:01:40 (PST)
[138.23.59.245]
I am an Asian boss & I ROCK!
Catherine
Saturday, November 02, 2002 at 12:53:40 (PST)
[207.16.136.21]
To date I've only had one AA boss and
the guy is a total bitch. He often whined like a first grader when things didn't go his way not to mention he displayed overt reverse prejudice towards other asian employees.
I finally transferred to another department and finally have a real boss again. I recommend boss's who've been in the military, not only are they more professional, they don't let the little things bother them.
ucsvt
Thursday, October 31, 2002 at 00:54:01 (PST)
[63.20.190.196]
These comments are ridiculous and not well thought out. It is racist to characterize Asian bosses as cheap. There are all kinds of Asian bosses. Some of the Asian companies are so much nicer to their employees than American companies. Let's stop these racist comments.
Jux Rux
Wednesday, October 30, 2002 at 10:28:22 (PST)
[165.123.243.13]
Chino,
HAHA any Chinese boss is tough. I've worked for 3 Chinese in my life, 2 were Cantonese and the other was Taiwanese. IMO the Cantonese were by far the worst.
Asia Style
Tuesday, October 29, 2002 at 15:16:35 (PST)
[138.23.59.245]
Taiwanese bosses are the worst!! Talk about nickel and dimes, more like pennies and pennies!!!
chino
Monday, October 28, 2002 at 18:43:26 (PST)
[24.242.250.251]
Jux Rux:
I personally know many people, not just me, who work for different Asian bosses. We exchange experiences and stories about our bosses. And I'm not going into the details of our stories. But I know you get the ideas what we have talked about.
There are common cultural traits that Asian bosses share: and one of them is to nickle-and-dime their employees. And on that basis alone, I disqualify Asian from being my next boss.
And I'm not going to call you stupid for not reading my first post carefully and use your brains to think it thru.
T'K Chang
tkchang@znet.com
Sunday, October 27, 2002 at 13:25:07 (PST)
[207.167.97.220]
What a stupid thing to say: never workign for another Asian. Asians are as diverse as white people. Is every white boss like Bill Gates?
Jux Rux
Tuesday, October 01, 2002 at 08:35:08 (PDT)
[165.123.243.13]
I had worked for a couple Asian bosses, one Taiwanese and the other Japanese, both from Asia. I know plenty of Chinese who work for Asian bosses (as well as non-Asian bosses,) and we often exchange stories and opinons about our bosses. I am a Chinese myself. I quit working for my last Asian boss (the Taiwanese woman) in March, 2002.
I have made a resolution: I will NEVER work for another Asian ever again.
T'K Chang
t_k_chang@znet.com
Monday, September 30, 2002 at 08:23:45 (PDT)
[207.167.97.247]
There is no single stereotype. Asian bosses are as diverse, if not more diverse (since there are so many more Asians) than other ethnicities. There are good ones and bad ones. Loud ones and quiet ones. I have found though that the ones selected by corporate environments are weak and don't have real power.
Mag
Wednesday, September 25, 2002 at 13:38:20 (PDT)
[165.123.243.13]
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