노란 피부, 흰 가면：포스트식민주의(Postcolonialism) 담론과 베트남 진출 한국기업의 인사관리

Over the past several decades, the discourse of postcolonialism has been widely disseminated into various disciplines such as literary critics, politics, sociology, feminism and media studies (Calás & Smircich, 1999). Postcolonialism is a term coined to describe a period of time that resists political and philosophical constructions of colonialism. It focuses attention on the marginalized voices, suppressed identities, the situations of colonized people, the emergence of hybrid identities, and the decontextualization of culture. It also has ideological and theoretical affinity with postmodernism. In this sense, postcolonial analysis is useful in unveiling the persistent imprint of colonialist ways of thinking in international management (IM) and multinational corporation (MNC) studies (Prasad, 2003). However, it has rarely been introduced to IM and organizational studies. Recently, a new breed of MNCs has emerged from ex-colonized countries like Korea and India. MNCs in these countries are different from conventional (colonial) MNCs in their basic duality and ambivalence：once the inferior, ‘ex-colonized’ by the developed Western countries, but wanting to become ‘colonizer’ to the developing countries. In this paper, I draw on postcolonial discourse to capture the characteristics of human resource management (HRM) of Korean firms in Vietnam and suggest possible alternatives to current HRM theory and practices. This paper has three methodological orientations. First, I employ qualitative research method of case analysis. Instead of testing hypotheses using empirical data, I analyze seven cases of Korean firms in Vietnam. Second, this paper is based on critical perspective that tries to reveal hidden ideology, structure, and power relations in work practices and management theories (Alvesson & Deetz, 2000). Third, it focuses on discourse and discursive data-structured interview with CEOs and HR managers, group interview with local employees, analyses of company documents, etc. The author visited Vietnam in 2007 and collected various discursive data from seven companies in Ho Chi Minh City. The research sites (firms) include various industries such as textile, shoes, electronics, transportation vehicle components, construction, etc. As a theoretical background, I considered three major elements of postcolonial theory suggested by Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, and Gayatri Spivak-mimicry, hybridity, and the third space. Western colonialism attempted to subjugate its colonies in the realm of culture and ideology. Colonial discourse sought to encourage the ‘colonized’ to adopt the culture, values, and assumptions of the ‘colonizer.’ This is the process of mimicry whereby the elite among the ‘colonized’ imitate the values, beliefs, and cultural practices of their colonizers. However, this mimicking process is not perfect. It is “almost the same, but not quite” (Bhabha, 1994). The mimicry of the ‘colonized’ is therefore both a site for the creation of new hybridity and a potential source of instability and ambivalence in postcolonial discourse. Likewise, MNCs of ex-colonized countries (i.e., subaltern MNCs) tend to imitate the conventional multinational corporations with contradicting emotions, both envy and hatred, toward imperialist MNCs at the same time. They even enthusiastically pursue “reverse colonization” of ex-colonizer countries. This duality or ambivalence raises very interesting questions：Are the subaltern MNCs simply the victims of false identity entrapped with epistemological dichotomy of West/Non-West and core/periphery? Or can they be a fertile ground for creative heterogeneity coming from hybrid identity?My research question is as follows：to what extent are Korean firms in Vietnam sites for the ambivalent discourse of postcolonialism? Given the decontextualization of culture, what is the role of the these firms in the emergence of cultural hybridity? I attempt to explore theoretical answers to these questions and possible practical implications of international management in this paper. Based on critical analysis of various discursive data from seven firms, I found that HRM practices of Korean firms are deeply rooted in the instrumental viewpoint of colonized ‘other.’ This colonial viewpoints gaze the colonized ‘others’ as being barbaric and exotic, thus justify and legitimate the disciplinary control and actions. Because the ‘otherness’ is at once an object of desire and derision (Prasad, 2003), HRM in those firms are fundamentally appropriative and instrumental. In addition, HRM practices in Korean firms are characterized by dichotomous cognition of orientalism and monolithic view of local culture. They are suffering from the lack of cultural awareness, capabilities to interpret cultural cues, and deterministic stereotypes of certain cultures. They assume the central tendencies in Vietnamese employees and overemphasize the influence of socialism; being not responsible and diligent and so on. Most of Korean mangers view local employees through colored lenses (such as, orientalism) which is construed by modern colonialism, so that they fail to consider intra-cultural variation. All of these conceptions undermine managerial competence of Korean firms in Vietnam. These characteristics are closely associated with inconsistencies in motivation practices, poverty of localization, and disciplinary control. All in all, Korean firms have paradoxical duality and ambivalence toward the West and the Rest (i.e., Vietnam), but have taken a regressive path to the Western colonialism in the past. Recently, postcolonial theory mainly represents an emerging discourse that connects to other discourses affecting global business operations including environmentalism, animal- rights, feminism, and ethical practice. Postcolonial discourse can potentially transform the competitive business terrain as it gains legitimacy and resources. Therefore, postcolonial MNCs should embrace cultural diversity, pay respect to local practices, and pursue truly hybridized management beyond West/Non-West dichotomy. With this theoretical investigation, I argue that: (1) postcolonial discourse can help Korean firms transform their HRM practices toward creative heterogeneity, (2) making cultural hybrids, decontextualization of culture, and hybridization of management practices can be fruitful resources to manage people in other countries. I also discuss possible implications of these findings in organization studies and international management theory. However, some scholars claim that even postcolonial theories still examine ‘the rest of world’ on Western terms (Ozkazanc-Pan, 2008). This is one of the major limitations of current study.