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Category: Business
Description: The Myth.... The popular media often portrays Asian Americans as highly educated and successful individuals--the "Model Minority." The Reality.... As the ethnic minority with the largest percentage of college graduates, many Asian Americans do enter the professional workforce. However, many of them seem to stall in their careers and never make it to the corner offices. The Solution.... Leading executive coach Jane Hyun explores how traditional Asian values can be at odds with Western corporate culture. By using anecdotes, case studies, and exercises, Hyun offers practical solutions for resolving misunderstandings and overcoming challenges in an increasingly multicultural workplace. This timely book explains how companies will benefit from discovering and supporting the talents of their Asian employees and shows Asians how to leverage their strengths to break through the bamboo ceiling.
eBook Publisher: Harper Collins, Inc./HarperCollins e-books,
Books By Dames Release Date: June 2007

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Available eBook Formats [Secure Mobipocket/Microsoft Reader/eReader (recommended)/Adobe PDF - What's this?]: SECURE MOBIPOCKET FORMAT [64 KB], SECURE MICROSOFT READER FORMAT [653 KB] - Requires Microsoft Reader 2.1.1 for PCs, SECURE EREADER (RECOMMENDED) FORMAT [367 KB], SECURE ADOBE PDF FORMAT [2.0 MB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [767 KB]
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"A well-written, easy to read and thorough compendium for every Asian who wants to move up the ladder."--Susan RoAne, the nation's undisputed networking expert, keynote speaker and author of How To Create

My first impression upon meeting Trinh was that she was far more Chinese than I: engaged with the (Asian) community, fluent. Also, less polished, less assimilated than I. But there are some who would consider her very un-Chinese. She speaks up, she fights, she exposes hypocrisy. She cares less about race than about basic moral courage ... The irony, then, is this: I am perhaps more Americanized. She is perhaps more American.

"Eric Liu, The Accidental Asian

Asian Americans: A Mosaic of Backgrounds?

The 2000 U.S. Census reported that there are 11.9 million Asians in the United States, a 72% increase since the previous census. Compare that to the total U.S. population growth of 13% for the same period. Even though Latino Americans are the largest minority group in raw numbers, Asians are the fastest-growing minority group, and the population is expected to double by 2020 and triple by 2030. Forty-four percent of Asian Americans over age 25 have graduated from college, the highest percentage for any racial group. These numbers imply a success story. However, these statistics don't always tell the whole story of what really happens to Asian Americans once they leave the halls of academia for corporate America.

Who are Asian Americans? Far from being homogeneous, we are of varied Asian ancestry. We represent multiple nationalities and languages as well as many social and political viewpoints. At last count, there were over 80 distinct Asian languages spoken in the United States. Even within each specific Asian group, there is considerable variability in education, class, and acculturation level. In addition, there is a long history of war, political unrest, and resulting prejudices in many Asian nations. What further complicates matters is that non-Asian Americans often think of Asians as a homogeneous group of people. Companies tend to view us as the Asian Pacific American constituency and do not necessarily categorize us by our specific nationalities.

The Many Facets of Personal Identity?

An Asian American woman who works at a large distributor of home appliances notes: "I used to be quite involved with Asian networking group activities. But lately, I find a much deeper sense of community with the multicultural women's networking group. As a new mother attempting to juggle home and a very demanding job, I identify myself as a woman and mother first, then take my ethnicity into consideration next." You can define yourself along a continuum of factors, your cultural heritage being one of them. Most people describe themselves differently throughout the stages of their lives, such as oldest daughter, father, mother, Catholic, manager, Asian American, cancer survivor. Yet we know these tags don't fully define us or what we are capable of. We're each composed of so many qualities, skills, ideas, emotions, values, and behaviors that a few descriptors won't do anyone justice. We also know these self-ascribed tags aren't necessarily how we are perceived by others, especially those who don't know us well or who know us in other contexts.

When Perception Becomes Reality

In workplace scenarios particularly, perception is often reality. As a result, what they don't know can hurt you. An assessment of your character and how you perform is based not solely on the quality of your "work deliverables" but also on how you interact with your colleagues. It's not what you say but how you say it. How confident do you sound? How articulate are you?...