Managing across cultures: the experiences of three Hong Kong academic library directors

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present the experiences of three western librarians in adapting their management styles for working and living in a new culture.Design methodology approach - Three university library directors who have been working as expatriates in Hong Kong for 2 to 18 yea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Library management 2007-01, Vol.28 (4/5), p.213-223
Main Authors: Ferguson, Anthony (Tony), Nesta, Frederick, Storey, Colin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic libraries
Analogies
Careers
China
Collection development
Colleges & universities
Commonality
Culture
Distance learning
Education
Expatriates
Guidelines
Hong Kong
Librarians
Libraries
Library management
Library managers
Management
Management styles
Methodology
National cultures
Public relations
Skills
Students
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Summary:Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present the experiences of three western librarians in adapting their management styles for working and living in a new culture.Design methodology approach - Three university library directors who have been working as expatriates in Hong Kong for 2 to 18 years were asked to comment on their own personal experiences in moving to a new culture, a new language environment, and new management challenges.Findings - Moving to a new culture can be difficult for the expatriate and his family but work environments have many similarities. Developing an understanding of the local professional culture and working within is vital to success.Practical implications - The paper presents some guidelines for librarians who may be seeking a career abroad.Originality value - There is very little literature on librarians, particularly those in management, who have chosen to continue their careers abroad. This paper provides first-hand experiences and demonstrates that librarianship shares a certain commonality and that management skills can be adapted to new cultures.
ISSN:0143-5124
1758-7921
DOI:10.1108/01435120710744164