Now it gets interesting....have been an expat in 3 different cultures - much like you frog blogger (what a name!) my husband who was a senior executive and a superb manager (I was an executive recruiter so saw many bad expat managers!) said management of people has general principals that don't change anywhere. All people want the same things - respect and recognition for achievement. When you boil it down to those 2 things it gets easier. Sure there are cultural sensitivities (like when he worked out a schedule to give all Thai managers 2 consecutive days off per week and they weren't happy with it because their friends weren't off!!!) but when you respect people and you recognize them things fall into place. Simplistic but true. Many farang execs try too hard to bow to cultural sensitivities.
As for the short temper....my personal opinion is that the Thais generally keep their cool as a part of their Buddhist upbringing. Sometimes this has to crack...combine it with a tough economy, people losing their jobs, money worries...snap. It is happening everywhere...have you seen the youtube video of the Hong Kong lady throwing a tantrum in airport. Hilarious....
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