The objective of chapter one was to present a description of the study, it includes:
background of the study, statement of the problem, research purposes, research questions, significance of the study and finally definition of terms.
Background of the Study
The 21th century has been marked by one major phenomenon, globalization. In today’s world order, multiple globalization processes, deeper economic integration, and the importance of trade liberalization in different regions of the globe determine the new ways in which nations interact. Diplomacy, which stands for “the application of intelligence and tact to the conduct of official relations between the governments of independent states, or more briefly, the conduct of business between states by peaceful means” (Gore-Booth, 1979, p. 3), and which is characterized by building confidence and cooperation between states to reach and sustain positive and constructive relations(Saner, Yiu & Sondergaard, 2000), is a fundamental part of this interaction.
In our time, the importance of diplomacy is evident since the major events of this field have been responsible for shaping and changing the global world in which we live. Equally important it’s the human element, or the agents of diplomacy – diplomats and foreign government representatives, which are nowadays major actors in the global political and economic scene.
These individuals not just carry with them national pride, reflecting the image of their nations with every step they take, but are also responsible for acting as sociopolitical links and communication facilitators between different cultures (Bozeman, 1994).
As institutions change and new resources become available over time, the demands that circumstances make on the practice of diplomats are constantly varying. This explains why foreign government representatives have been described by some as financial experts, agents of advertising and business travelers, who continue to possess a basic political function (Dickie, 1992). This multifaceted nature of the job has made the roles of these individuals more difficult to exclusively define. With this in mind, how can we be sure what are the right set of personal tools diplomats and international policy makers need to confront the wide array of twenty first century issues?
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Considering that the landscape of international relations is constantly changing, over the years diplomacy has evolved greatly to mean different things to different people. Today it appears as if the theory of diplomacy doesn’t seem to look eye to eye with the diplomatic practice. A reason for this is that we are currently witnessing substantively significant changes in the practice of diplomacy, changes that are being led primarily by commercial interests. This is especially true for East Asian nations, since various governments in the region have adopted commercial diplomacy as part of their foreign policy priority (Lee & Hudson, 2004).
Another factor that has influenced the practice of this profession, is that diplomacy has been broadened to include a before uncommon government-to-people connection, known as public diplomacy. This term refers to “the influence of public attitudes on the formation and execution of foreign policies” (Siracusa, 2010, p. 4). This new shift in the diplomatic practice has turned the job of foreign government representatives into a field of high human contact. Along with its continuous changes, diplomacy is today one of the keys to resolving the greatest challenges of the twenty first century, including nuclear proliferation, international terrorism and global warming, meaning that the need for foreign government representatives to posses the necessary characteristics that enables them to perform better in their jobs and missions is noticeably important. In the field of Human Resources, these individual characteristics or traits are described as competencies. They include both dynamic traits and stable individual traits. The former traits can be obtained by training, such as professional knowledge and skills, while the latter are more difficult to develop, such as individual interests, motives and personality (Leiba-O'Sullivan, 1999).
This conceptualization fits with the assumption that foreign government representatives have to posses both technical and personal abilities, while demonstrating those qualities that have passed the test of time - accuracy, calm, patience, good temper, modesty, loyalty, intelligence, discernment, prudence, hospitality, charm, courage and tact (Gore-Booth, 1979). Given the constant changes in the fields of diplomacy and international relations, especially in recent years (Saner et al., 2000), recognizing and labeling such individual competencies and how to develop them, is a topic that remains open for discussion.
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Statement of the Problem
As most of the developed governments have adopted to include a more cross-sectional representation of their societies in their foreign services personnel and as we are going through accelerated financial and technological transformations because of the globalization process (Saner et al., 2000), the demand for clearer individual competencies seems necessary for the better training and upgrading of foreign service officials. Even though one of the first studies on competency identification was in fact carried out for the U.S. State Department Foreign Service Information Officers (Spencer & Spencer, 1993), the reality is that in modern times the field of diplomacy, and in particular its agents, has been an overlooked and almost abandoned area within the body of contemporary academic research, especially true for the Asian continent, and its practice has not accustomed well to the changing global environment (Copeland, 2009).
Serving in countries like Taiwan, China, Korea or Japan requires specialized country knowledge and cultural awareness which often cannot be learned simply following previously proposed guidelines develop to meet the needs of western societies (Saner et al., 2000).
With little known about the needs of these agents of diplomacy, particularly in this region of the world, how can foreign affairs ministries in their respective countries appoint individuals with the right set of competencies necessary to be one step ahead in a changing world and deal with the challenges of today’s international relations in the region? In other words, appoint individuals with the right set of competencies necessary to make them even more effective in their job. Furthermore, with such a diversity of academic and cultural backgrounds, uncertainty of career trajectories, variety of country contexts in which to serve, and a range of constituent groups to interact with (Laboulaye & Laloy, 1983), how have these individuals acquire the right set of personal tools to deal with such an inherently complex role? Some view foreign government representatives as managers, as they share similar qualities and skills (Saner et al., 2000). Nowadays, foreign government representatives like managers have to effectively adapt to changing environment and situations, coordinate and comply with imposed goals, deal with multilateral relations, and know how to face stress and uncertainty (Dragoni, Tesluk, Russell &
Oh, 2009). Still, going through the literature we find that “there is no well-developed and empirically supported theory on management development, defined as the process by which individuals pursuing managerial roles learn the interrelated sets of skills and abilities necessary
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for effectiveness” (Dragoni et al., 2009, p. 731), making this an area in need of further exploration.
Significance of the Study
A first significance of this study is the fact that as our generation is being witness of the downfall of old western economic models and the rise of the new Asian powers (Fishman, 2005), the importance and influence of the region to other nations in the world is evident. Due to this shift of power, good and healthy relations with the East are essential for the sustainability of our global economy.
Secondly, for a nation like Taiwan, which for decades has been in a constant fight for its diplomatic recognition, the role of its diplomatic allies and commercial partners – foreign missions, is vital. Since the birth of the Republic of China, the vast majority of nations have over time opted for recognizing the People’s Republic of China as the sole representative of all China, including Taiwan. Presently Taiwan is still not a member of the United Nations, and it’s officially recognized by only 23 nations in the world (Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2009).
This has forced Taiwan to adopt a policy of flexible diplomacy which has led to the fostering of strong commercial relations with countries that derecognize Taipei (Li, 2005). Although in the past there has been little exchange between Taiwan and other regions in the world, in recent years that has been changing fast. Global economies are achieving Free Trade Agreements with Taiwan, China and other nations in the region. As a consequence, representative offices are the bridge connecting these worlds together, and its agents – ambassadors, counselors, attaches, and directors of commercial offices, act as gatekeepers. Thus the critical importance of studying and taking into account the competencies needed from the foreign officials in charge of running these institutions.
Thirdly, most studies on expatriates workers and their competencies had been focused on private sector business people, not so much on the public sector foreign government officials (Copeland, 2009; Jordan & Cartwright, 1998). Hence the findings of this study are of interest to government officials in charge of selecting foreign mission holders, as well as for diplomatic schools and international educators responsible for training and developing the future generation of foreign government representatives.
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Research Purposes
In these rapidly changing times, the society of states still remains the essential building block of global order, and diplomacy is and always will be an important element of statecraft. It is clear that without skilful diplomacy, any kind of political success of a state will remain unfulfilled (Siracusa, 2010). Therefore, the main purpose of this research was to explore the foreign government representative’s competency development process, as well as to identify the necessary competencies required for these individuals in order to serve successfully in Taiwan.
The peculiar characteristics and history of the development of diplomacy on the island nation of Taiwan, makes this case particularly interesting in terms of the modern diplomacy practice and theory. Taiwan’s struggle and perseverance to survive in the international community has served as an example for the rest of the region, and the world. The research aimed at understanding the job content and work environment of foreign government representatives in Taiwan, as well as to explore the major challenges foreign government representatives face while serving in Taiwan. At the same time the study explored how foreign government representatives in Taiwan have acquired and developed their competencies, that is it attempted to understand their competency development process. Finally, the main purpose of the research was to identify the individual competencies required for foreign government representatives holding their positions in Taiwan in order to become more efficient and effective in their job.
Research Questions
In accordance with the research purposes, the questions that guided this research were the following:
1. What are the job content, work environment and major challenges faced by foreign government representatives in Taiwan?
2. What are the individual competencies required for foreign government representatives to hold their positions in Taiwan?
3. How did foreign government representatives in Taiwan acquire such competencies?
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Definition of Terms Foreign Government Representatives
People appointed by a state to engage in diplomatic or non-diplomatic commercial relations with another state, including: ambassadors, consuls, envoys, chargé d’affaires, counselors, attaches and directors. Their main function revolves around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information, commerce and friendly relations (Kissinger, 1994).
Individual Competency
An underlying characteristic of an individual that is causally related to criterion-referenced effective and/or superior performance in a job or situation (Spencer & Spencer, 1993). Different from organizational competencies - which refer to those elements at the organizational level that characterize collective action, individual competencies refer to the characteristics of an individual, which are an individual’s skills and work manners used to attain a certain work goal (Green, 1999).
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