I'm not sure we're saying anything substantively different, EllieC - respect and recognition for achievement I completely agree are key (with some reservations about what represents achievement within a largely Buddhist environment), but the greater the knowledge of, sensitivity to and respect for cultural differences, the more efficiently you'll be able to apply management tactics that are founded on the principles of respect/reward for the individual. The one implies the other, don't you think?
As for bad management that certainly includes trying too hard - but only if your efforts are transparently clumsy and manipulative. Trying hard, per se, isn't a problem. Subtlety, staying one step ahead, is key!
You're certainly right about the rising stresses and strains because of the economic and political situation. Even if the philosophy of getting on with living for now helps the Thais cope, there are limits to how much anyone can take - everyone has a breaking point. Still most Thais are pretty accustomed to hardship, and fatalistic in their approach to life, so they have more reserves of equanimity than most Westerners, I reckon!
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