Do Indonesian companies really need foreign help

The Jakarta Post

Duncan Graham, Contributor, Surabaya

"Do not copy U.S. management texts. Write your own. Put advice in the context of Indonesian case studies. Local solutions can only come out of local cases." David Schrieber, consultant.

Schrieber, a former University of Wisconsin (U.S.) professor of business administration and economics who has been involved with Indonesia for 37 years, knows well that management systems that have been developed overseas do not always travel well.

A template solution that might work in the Western world could make a bad fit in Indonesia, particularly when the issue is personal.

"In many cases when consultants are called in they find that the problem is the CEO," he said during a recent visit to Malang, East Java. "That can make for difficulties if not handled well.

"A consultant should be hired to tell the company something that it has chosen not to hear beforehand. There has to be a clear identification, and acceptance, of the problem. There has to be mutual understanding. Without that, you have nothing.

"No one likes to be accused of being incompetent, but if the problem person isn't included in the solution, you are wasting time. Consultants have to be aware of the culture and the protocols. Managers can take offense at advice and their egos can get in the way."

Schrieber, who is now a human resources consultant with the non-profit overseas voluntary aid organization ACDI-VOCA, first came to Indonesia in 1970. He was sent as part of a Ford Foundation program to help upgrade courses and teaching in faculties of economics and business.

He spent his first year in Indonesia at the University of Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, and his second year at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta.

Although he had undertaken a three-month Indonesian language and culture course in the U.S. before flying to Yogyakarta, he found this prior learning of little use because the language used on campus was Javanese.

The other shock was the lack of facilities, resources and staff. The few books in the library were 20 years out of date and could not be borrowed. He was supposed to be helping 40 academics but few could be found.

"I discovered that a university qualification in Indonesia gave status, but not money," he said. "Staff came, delivered a lecture and left for jobs elsewhere. There was no relationship between staff and students."

It was a critical test for the new consultant. As a Westerner he found the idea of paying staff members to upgrade their skills distasteful, yet realized those who attended his seminars would be losing income to do so. However, the Ford Foundation had not allocated funds for this purpose.

He also learned that many academics teaching business had no experience in the outside world and in those days students were too shy to challenge the credentials and competence of their superiors.

Schrieber, who spent ten years with General Electric before turning to teaching and advising, commented wryly that "texts can't be teachers."

In Jakarta, he found UI slightly better prepared, though again staff were busy with off-campus jobs, often with the government in senior ministerial offices.

Since then Schrieber has returned to Indonesia on programs funded by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. He has worked at state universities in Semarang (Central Java), Pontianak (Kalimantan) and Padang (Sumatra).

He has also worked as a consultant in Africa, Russia and South America.

"When I completed my first assignment in Indonesia I said progress could not be made until decentralization was introduced," he said. "If you depend on the center you make bad decisions. That is the truth everywhere.

"The changes in Indonesia in the teaching business and economics have been impressive. Academics have learned that simple memorization is not the point of education and that just reading notes to students is ineffective.

"A lot of good management is common sense. It's delegating to the lowest possible level in the organization. Managers have to trust their people to make decisions by themselves.

"This requires a system of giving those people the skills and resources to do what is asked. That doesn't necessarily mean having a degree.

"Having a degree is no guarantee that you'll get a job, but it does increase your odds.

"Good management is using your human resources properly, having open communication and strategic planning.

"This means sitting back and asking: Who are our customers? What do they want, and are we satisfying their needs? If we didn't exist, would they care? Are we doing any good? Do we have values that are worthy?

"I define open communication as managers spending as much time listening as they do talking, and that the process has to be ongoing. Management has to be circular, not linear, so decisions are made and passed on, they don't just drop off the end."

During his career, Schrieber studied many aspects of human nature. We might ask for feedback, but most of us do not really want to hear nasty comments about ourselves and the way we do things, even when we know it is for our own good.

Ironically, the funding bodies that have sent Schrieber around the world fall into this category. His recommendations that projects have some continuity and allow for participants to maintain contact have been largely ignored. "Aid projects tend to be one-shot affairs," he said

He also learned that employees can be hostile to outside consultants and not prepared to be honest about their difficulties. It's the 'If it ain't broke, why fix it?' syndrome.

These people are happy with the way things are and do not want their effectiveness challenged or their cozy practices disturbed. They are unwilling to take the risk of trying something different, even though it might boost profits and expand the company.

"The great thing about Indonesia now is that learning is in the air," Schrieber said. "Campuses are less hierarchical. There's more of a worldview in universities and businesses. Administrators realize the role of a university is to teach students how to think."

Schrieber, 80, still makes regular visits to East Java with his wife Janet and maintains contact with university colleagues.

The couple's daughter Karen has married famous Malang dalang (puppet master), Soleh Adi Pramono, and has become a celebrated pesinden (female singer in a gamelan orchestra.)

Does Indonesia still need outside consultants? Schrieber, usually quick to reply, took time to answer. "If it's at the request of Indonesians, yes," he said.

"Consultants can't be imposed from outside and must be conscious of cultural differences. A good business consultant helps people confront themselves and find their own solutions.

"As consultants we have the means and processes which can help you know how you can grow."