All cultures have taboos
related to being successful
in business

The sessions at the meeting covered a wide range of issues in business and management, including strategic planning, human resources, organizational behavior, international business ventures, technological innovations in management, and others. I found myself at sessions dealing with the human element in the workplace, the subject of this weekly column.

One session dealt with career development in various countries: Russia, Ukraine, China, Israel, New Zealand, Great Britain, Canada, and the United States. One interesting theme is that people on the road to successful careers need to deal with taboo topics. That is, they need to deal with issues that are extremely important but that are not talked about very often. In addition, when the issues are touched upon, many people are reluctant to discuss them fully.

For example, people seeking successful careers in Great Britain need to know about the social class structure. However, many British people are unwilling to discuss social class and will even deny its importance. When confronted about the differential treatment of graduates from Oxford and Cambridge compared to an urban public university without a long history and without world famous graduates, people will avoid the topic and will use generalizations such as, "You can get a good education at lots of schools."

There is a similar taboo topic in the United States.

Are some people members of elite groups whose members have more access to powerholders and more influence than others?

Americans do not enjoy admitting to the existence of elite groups whose members have special privileges. Such an admission would contradict the value expressed in the Declaration of Independence that "All men are created equal."

One of the Americans at the Academy of Management session told others that he went to Harvard and that he belonged to this university's alumni club in Salt Lake City, Utah. He admitted that it is a prestigious club where many of the city's movers and shakers meet to discuss important policy issues in government, business, and academia. In addition, when Harvard graduates travel, there are similar clubs in America's big cities where they will be welcomed as important guests.

Another taboo topic focused on the assistance that well-established and powerful individuals can offer to people who are developing their careers. In all cultures, there are influential people who can offer or withhold assistance through the sharing of insider knowledge, connections, and invitations to important meetings. People who are developing their careers must learn that skills, job knowledge, and a willingness to work hard are not enough. They must also develop connections with powerholders. In other words, they must nurture an influential group of people (the "who they know") so that they can demonstrate their knowledge and skills (the "what they know").

In some cultures, this requirement is captured in vocabulary terms. Roughly translating as one's contacts with important people, Chinese has the term "guanxi" and Russian has the term "blat." These bear a similarity to an English speaker's network of people among whom favors are given and received.

Attendees at the Academy of Management session agreed that an American's networks are easier to develop than the rough equivalents for Chinese and Russians. Americans can develop networks through community activities, evening courses at colleges, and through attendance at professional seminars where they can meet and interact with others.

Young Chinese and Russian nationals who are developing their careers are much more dependent on the connections that have been passed on to them by family members or by powerful people who happen to take an interest in them. The ability to develop their own networks through their own efforts is one reason why ambitious people from other countries immigrate to the United States so that they can develop their careers