In accordance with the research purposes, questions and framework, this chapter has been divided in three main sections. The first section attempts to give an introduction and understand the overall context of the foreign government representative field in Taiwan. Thus, this first part explores the job content, work environment and the different challenges these individuals face in the day-to-days of their profession. The second section covers the competency development stage, exploring the learning process foreign government representatives have gone through, in order to acquire the personal tools necessary for their profession. Finally, the last section identifies the individual competencies required for foreign government representatives to work successfully in Taiwan, and presents the competencies required for this profession. Each section was subdivided in themes and categories.
Context of the Foreign Government Representative Field
Based on the purposes and questions of the study, this section consists of three major dimensions: (1) job content, (2) work environment and (3) challenges of serving in Taiwan, in order to give a more holistic view of the foreign government representative profession. These dimensions are explained in more detail bellow.
Job Content
The job content of foreign government representatives was analyzed referring to the idea that job analysis – which encompasses job descriptions and job specifications, is the foundation to construct a competency model (Brannick & Levine, 2002). To begin with, is necessary to understand that the specific job content of foreign government representatives is highly dependent on the rank, position and the type of representation mission an official has. To clarify, one of the main assumptions of this study was that both, official embassies with diplomatic representation, and non-diplomatic commercial or cultural offices, although different in some aspects, are considered to be foreign missions. This view is also shared by a member of the Diplomatic Corps of Taiwan:
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In the past embassies and ambassadors were revered as more important than commercial offices and their directors, because of the diplomatic support offered to the nation of Taiwan.
Now as commercial interests are growing rapidly, trade offices have reached the same level of importance (Observation, 2012.2.21).
This being the case, foreign service officers – while immersed in the Taiwanese context, perform a multitude of duties in both kind of entities, representing the interests of their country in Taiwan, protecting the interests of its citizens and interacting with officials from the Taiwanese government. Table 4.1 illustrates some of the general (1) job responsibilities, (2) job functions and (3) job tasks that comprise the job content of foreign government representative in Taiwan. Furthermore, following this three components are briefly explained.
Table 4.1.
Job Content of Foreign Government Representatives in Taiwan Job component Content Job
responsibilities
Serve and assist conational’s Share and explain national values and policies
Support home businesses and economic partnerships in Taiwan Analyze and give solutions to political events
Run daily management operations
Job functions Manager/officer level Issuing visas
Protecting conational residents and travelers
Attending specific divisions and areas (trade, culture, information ) Office administration
Supporting the head of mission
(continued)
39 Table 4.1. (continued)
Job component Content
Job functions Head of mission level Leading foreign missions
Reporting to their government on diplomatic and economic matters Receiving delegations of their state Representing their states in meetings and negotiations
Attending the most serious cases in the protection of conationals Job tasks Analyzing data
Writing reports
Meeting local authorities and business sector
Communication with their governments
Job responsibilities
As Brannick and Levine (2002) point out, job responsibilities or duties can be considered to be the work assigned for a particular job, which if not done properly would seriously impact the objectives and goals of the job. The key to enjoying a successful career is to always have present one’s job responsibilities in order to make efforts to perform them better. According to subject B foreign government representatives are “the front-line officials representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at all countries in were missions are appointed” (I-B-2012.03.15). The responsibilities of these front-line professional differ, as they focus on different career tracks.
Given that this research included foreign government representatives covering different career paths, different job responsibilities emerged. This being said, Subject G gave an almost complete account of the different duties they must accomplish in their missions:
My first duty is to put the name of my country very high, so that my compatriots will feel proud of their country, also to promote the products that we export, then make the Taiwanese community understand the human, spiritual and cultural values our country has, so that they know what kind of people we are, and enforce government policies establish by my country and Taiwan, to demonstrate that our relation is deep and sincere (I-G-2012.03.07).
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In addition to this testimony and integrating different duties described by other research participants, the main job responsibilities of foreign government representatives in Taiwan are listed below:
1. Serve, assist and meet the needs of their fellow countrymen in Taiwan. (Subjects A, B, C, D, G, I, J)
2. Share and explain their countries cultural values and governmental policies. (Subjects B, C, G, I)
3. Support their country’s businesses, as well as economic partnerships in Taiwan. (Subjects A, D, E, F, G, H, I )
4. Analyze, report, and give solutions to relevant political events in the region. (Subjects A, C, G,H, J)
5. Run the daily management operations of their missions. (Subjects A, D, F, H, I, J)
The job responsibilities and duties previously mentioned may slightly differ from foreign mission to foreign mission, but they can be considered to be generally guided by similar outlines, as well as some common goals and objectives.
Job functions
Marder-Clark (2006) mentions that job functions can also describe an individual’s role in an organization; in some cases, a job’s functions can even suggest a job’s title. Furthermore, job functions can either be essential or marginal. The former are functions that require specialized expertise, while the latter are incidental functions within a position. Foreign government representatives from different countries, serve in embassies and commercial or cultural offices in Taiwan, and as their job responsibilities, their functions relate to their rank. Subject B explains this issue in more detail:
According to our rank we must be able to do handle certain things. I have to dominate the issues of consular affairs, and also the culture of my country, considering that I’m also the cultural attaché. If I was a commercial attaché then I would have to be involved with trade issues (I-B-2012.3.15).
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To illustrate better the concept of this rank-function relation, figures 4.1 and 4.2 depict the ranks and structure of both official embassies and commercial or cultural offices:
Figure 4.1. Structure of embassies Figure 4.2. Structure of commercial offices
The main distinction between these two kind of foreign missions, is that the structure of official embassies is imposed by the international system, and its regulations and laws (Kissinger, 1994), making them by nature vertically hierarchical. On the other hand, non-diplomatic missions are somewhat more flat and flexible in their operations and structure, but they still maintain a chain of command. In both kinds of entities the main functional distinctions are between the head of the mission and the rest of the members, which posses managerial or officer roles.
Manager and officer level.
As subject C describes in foreign missions “the difference between middle rank officials and lower rank officials is not so obvious, since at times officials can often carry out similar roles and responsibilities within a mission” (I-C-2012.03.08). In the case of Taiwan, these manager/officers functions are even more intertwined, since some of these positions may not
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exist, given that the majority of foreign missions are small in size. An example of this is the case of the consular function, as Subject F explains:
Many countries don’t have a separate. Actually no be honest with you, in real life scenarios, it is not uncommon for individuals to carry out any kind of consular functions in a foreign mission anywhere in the world, and ate the same time oversee other areas like tourism promotion and commerce (I-F-2012.03.13).
Therefore, at a manager/officer level the general functions of foreign government representatives in Taiwan have to do with: (1) issuing visas, (2) protecting the citizens of their country who are living or traveling in Taiwan, (3) attending to their specific division or area – trade, culture, information etc., (4) administrating the management of the office (5) and supporting their heads of mission.
Head of mission level.
The top level or heads of mission, are generally experienced foreign government representatives or people with influential political ties, which receive presidential appointments to serve as an ambassador or director in Taiwan. As mentioned by another member of the Diplomatic Corps of Taiwan, “the heads of mission in embassies receive the title of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary” (Observation, 2012.02.21), which means these individual are the highest authority of the government of their country in Taiwan, therefore what they express is what the president of the sending state is directly expressing.
The functions of this top level representatives have to do with: (1) leading their foreign mission in Taiwan, (2) reporting to their governments on diplomatic and economic matters, (3) receiving delegations of their state and accompany foreign officials, (4) representing their states in meetings, negotiations and other events, and (5) attending to the most serious cases in the protection of the citizens of their country.
Job tasks
Lawler (1994), defined job tasks as the smallest identifiable and fundamental piece of an assignment, which serves as one unit of work, and as a means of differentiating between the different elements of a job. Even thought as subject J suggests, because of the nature of their job
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“typical days don’t exist in the life of a foreign government representative”(I-J-2012.03.20), it’s accurate to say that these individuals spend a lot of their working hours assembling and reviewing information, as well as reading, analyzing and writing reports, which can be considered the foundation needed to prepare for other tasks. As Subject D shares:
First I need to get informed of what’s happening. The next thing is to read the news here, the newspapers, part of this is also reading any messages and reports, which sometimes can take many hours, depending on the load of issues. So in collecting inputs I almost spent the whole morning (I-D-2012.03.22).
Another considerable amount of their working hours is spent interacting with different groups of the Taiwanese society. As subject E mentions “a typical week includes a formal meeting with government counterparts in Taiwan, with at least one or two companies interested in doing business with my country in tourism, investment or trade” (I-E-2012.03.21).
Therefore the main daily tasks of a foreign government representative include (1) analyzing data, (2) writing reports, (3) meeting with local authorities and businessmen and (4) communicating with their governments. These tasks are the fundamental basis for implementing policies and programs.
Consequently, after analyzing their responsibilities, functions and tasks, it can be concluded that the main purpose of foreign government representatives in Taiwan is to facilitate relations between both nations, in order to advance their country’s policy interests in the Republic of China, while informing their governments about political and economic activities in the host country, and at the same time assisting fellow conational’s living and traveling in Taiwan, as well as acting on behalf of their government during difficult times.
Work Environment
The following component when analyzing the overall context of the foreign government representative profession is the work environment. As Rhee (2007) points outs, the work environment can encompass the location where a specific job is done, and when referring to a place for working it involves the nature of the job, pace of working, employee relationships as
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well as behaviors, the physical setting as well as the immediate surroundings of where workplace is located.
Foreign government representatives are posted at embassies, consulates and commercial offices around the world. While the length of the post can vary according to vacancies, over their professional career these individuals have to jump from one environment to another, as subject E mentioned “normally we work in a country for two to four years before being transferred to another one (I-E-2012.03.21).
When analyzing the environmental conditions in Taiwan two major themes could be identified: (1) the internal environment and (2) the external environment. Table 4.2 summarizes the characteristics of these two different types of work environments, which are later explained in more detail.
Table 4.2.
Work Environment of Foreign Government Representatives in Taiwan
Environment Description
Internal Positive physical settings Multicultural staff
Support from local personnel External Interaction in bigger communities
Governed by protocol
Sense of cooperation and teamwork
Internal environment
The internal environment refers to what goes on indoors and inside a particular foreign mission office, as well as their specific working conditions and the relations between coworkers within a same mission. To begin, in Taiwan the majority of foreign representations are located in two main buildings; official embassies are almost all situated in the Diplomatic Quarter building, bellow Taiwan’s International Cooperation Development Fund (Observation-2012.02.21); a considerable amount of commercial and cultural offices are located in the Taiwan World Trade Center building. Even though is clear that there exist some exceptions, this concentration of
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representation offices, means that these entities are to some degree homogeneous when it comes to their physical setting. This physical setting can be classified as being a positive work environment, because of their space and comfort (Observation-2012.02.21).
Logically, another aspect of the internal environment is that by nature there is a bicultural relation between coworkers, since foreign mission offices all employ local staff. As subject B mentioned:
In here we practically have a Paraguayan system, but the local girls are well adapted, one of the girls had been living a long time in Argentina, another in Spain, so they know the Western system, still we respect when they have their meal times, to them that is very special (I-B-2012.03.15).
Unlike other places in the world, were condition can be difficult, in Taiwan, foreign government representatives have an advantage in the sense that the local staff has the responsibility of facilitating any kind of work material and helping in any kind of task they might be unable to complete – for example translating documents from Chinese to their local language (Observation-2012.04.2012), which let representatives focus in more substantial matters.
External environment
The work environment also includes the social context in which individuals have to interact with other people, in order to plan, manage and coordinate issues relevant to their job (Rhee, 2007). In this sense, this corresponds to what goes on outside the office. Following this line, as previously mentioned, foreign government representatives spend much of their time and effort attending activities and meeting with different constituent groups. At the same time, these representation offices form part of bigger communities in which they also interact.
Official embassies are all part of the Diplomatic Corps of Taiwan. This organization is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited in the Republic of China. In Taiwan, the Diplomatic Corps has a clear structure. It is composed by a dean, which is the longest serving head of mission; a secretary, which is in charge of organizing and scheduling meetings; and a treasurer, which handles and keeps record of financial funds (Observation-2012.03.15).
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Commercial or cultural offices are generally members of different chambers of commerce, which are a form of business network, whose goal is to further the interests of trade. In these organizations a board of directors is elected to set policies for the chamber, andhire an executive director (European Chamber of Commerce Taipei, 2012). In these kinds of organizations the multicultural factor is again present, since there is constant interaction between representatives from different corners of the world. Subject B explains how at this level the environment is ruled by respect since “usually the meetings are very protocolary and there exist already an internationally imposed system”(I-B-2012.03.15).
Other constituent groups with which to relate are the different government bodies and funds that cooperate with foreign mission to develop and coordinate diverse initiatives and projects.
Besides the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan, an example of these institutions can be the Central American Trade Office and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (Observation, 2012.03.28), which are instruments for fostering economic ties. As Taiwanese governmental institutions, the formal protocolary element is also present, Subject C explained:
“as we are guest of Taiwan, the authorities here treat us with great respect and are always willing to cooperate, there is a sense of teamwork”(I-C-2012.03.08).
On the other hand, the environments surrounding other groups of interest such as local business and the Taiwanese community in general, are more diverse and therefore more difficult to predict. Consequently, the overall work environment of foreign government representatives both inside and outside of their organization can be generalized as positive, while at the same time being highly influenced and driven by a multicultural component.
Challenges of Serving in Taiwan
When analyzing the challenges faced by foreign government representatives in Taiwan two major themes emerged from the data: (1) professional challenges and (2) personal challenges.
Table 4.3 illustrates these challenges more clearly. Furthermore, both themes are better explained in more detail bellow.
47 Table 4.3.
Challenges of Serving in Taiwan
Type Challenges
Professional Individual public relations demands
Human resource and modernization demands The Taiwan context
Personal Taiwan’s culture and language
Geographic location and climate conditions
Professional challenges
As the main purpose of this research is to identify the competency needs for the foreign government representative profession in Taiwan, it was necessary to first give an account about the challenges these representatives have to overcome in their jobs and workplace. These professional challenges were divided into three categories: (1) individual public relations demands, (2) human resource and modernization demands (3) the Taiwan context. Each category is better explained below.
Individual public relations demands.
The changes in diplomacy and international relations over the years have brought changes in the roles of foreign government representatives. Most participants mentioned that today the job demands for them to be more accessible an in contact with the people, as subject A mentioned
“nowadays diplomats have to play a more relaxed, friendly, flexible role” (I-A-2012.03.15).
Subject B emphasized how a part of becoming more open is the need for foreign representatives to approach the public:
Now diplomats have to go to the masses, not just be sitting in the office and go to banquets.
You have to get closer with the people, work harder on the field, not so much from behind the desk, now the pressure to move around is higher (I-B-2012.03.15).
This demand of having to work harder in the field is a result of the increasing international competition foreign representatives face in Taiwan, which has required them to adopt a more aggressive style in the way they do their job and interact with the public, Subject I explains:
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There’s a sort of race to attract the host country to do more than reach agreements, to invest, make exchanges, strengthen tourism and trade. Our governments know the investment potential of Taiwan, so we fight to take advantage of this opportunity (I-I-2012.03.19).
Hence, on an individual level a major challenges foreign government representatives face in Taiwan is the necessity to be more engaged in public relations and have the willingness to connect directly with the society and its constituent groups.
Human resource and modernization demands.
Human resource and modernization demands.