“Seniority is strong in Southeast Asia.”

I’ve heard this assumption many times from executives managing overseas operations.

In my book, Case 3 of Global Lessons, I explore examples from Vietnam and Thailand where organisations hesitated to promote high-performing younger employees because of beliefs about local cultural preferences.

Yet many local and global companies in these markets were already promoting employees based on performance rather than age, often without organisational disruption.

The real issue was not culture. It was the gap between what companies said they valued and what they actually rewarded.

Three themes emerged repeatedly:
🔹 Stereotypical assumptions about local employees
🔹 Unclear priorities between performance and seniority
🔹 HR systems that were not applied consistently

One lesson stands out: effective talent management should be built on evidence, not assumptions. Fairness, transparency and consistency remain fundamental, regardless of geography.

This is one of many case studies featured in Global Lessons: A Page from Modern Japanese Human Resources Management.

📖 For those interested in exploring these topics further, the book is available here: https://a.co/d/0c0NCy4A