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“El Panameño”The typical characteristics and idiosyncrasies of “The Panamanian”by Douglas Choy, a Panamanian who has also spent many years living outside the country, giving him a unique perspective on his fellow countrymen.Panama is a wonderful country; it is a paradise of natural beauty and offers foreign investors many valuable benefits as a hub for doing business in the Americas. Direct flights to major U.S. cities (New York, L.A, Atlanta, Houston, Miami), and to every major Latin American city, the U.S. Dollar, economic stability, a stable Democratic government, Security, excellent telecommunications capabilities, a first class Global Banking Center, and many, many benefits and perks that would make for another complete article. But one of the most interesting and definitely “different” things that Panama has to offer is “El Panameno”; this is a term that has become famous for a comedy skit in Panama’s number 1 rating comedy show in TVN a local television network called “La Cascara”. It depicts “El Panameno” as a laid-back, easy-going, happy-go-lucky, smooth talker, who always benefits from situations in his surroundings, including the workplace and company property, always a party, a fun time, or time off work being his main priority. He lives for weekends and holidays and every occasion is great for drinks and partying. At 4:45 p.m. hi is always ready to get off work and head for a Happy Hour somewhere, He’s easygoing, smooth in his approach, and street smart. The funny part of the comedy is that although some of the situations are totally exaggerated, for the most part, some of the characteristics are true to life. The Panamanian working class easygoing, laid back, zero stress, and more involved in gossip, their personal matters, social life, the next empanada break, and less concerned about making it back on time to the office from lunch for the 1:30 p.m. staff meeting, or having all the presentation materials for the account executive’s 3:00 p.m. presentation with a potential new client. This is the reality of life in the workplace in Panama and it is one o the hardest transitions that any U.S. or foreign executive or business owner has to understand and learn to accept. Don’t get me wrong; Panamanians are wonderful people, very hospitable, cordial, family oriented, friendly, and fun. At the professional and executive management levels you find very professional, hard working, individuals that are dedicated and integrated with their corporate objectives. However, at times it is hard to find a “Sense of Urgency” towards work-related matters. You find more of the “El Panameno” type of laid-back attitude within government agencies, secretaries, the messenger, and the lower level and middle level employees. It is a sort of mediocrity type “move slow” attitude that managers and business owners have to learn to detect, address, deter, and resolve without breaking the moral of the group and without allowing this type of behavior within the organization to take over productivity and control the workplace and others within that workplace. Human Resources management has to be very much in tune with employees and constant motivation, involvement, team building, and communication of goals has to be in progress at all times. It is very important to reward employees upon their achievements both as an individual and in teams. It is very important to make it a point to get to know your employees at a personal level; do they have kids, their kids’ names, their hobbies, etc. Panamanians are very social. They are not like executives in the United States, only thinking about their next step up in their climb of the corporate ladder, and robotically working and working, and working, and working. Panama is a beautiful country and the people of Panama are beautiful people. They are of a Caribbean nature, enjoying life; time with family and friends is just as important as and more fulfilling than burning the midnight oil at the office seeking the next promotion. I do not intend to be negative with this article, but humorous and light. However, the reality is that “El Panameno” dwells in all companies and it is a breed and species of Panama’s diverse corporate biodiversity. I love Panama; I love the people of Panama. When I first came back here five years ago after living for fifteen years in the U.S. and working in the corporate rat race of Americans I was all work and no play. All business!!! Moving back to Panama and the last five years here have taught me to be more relaxed, to enjoy life, to enjoy the beauty of this beautiful country (my country), and to be a bit more, in a positive way, like “El Panameno”. The author Douglas Choy is General Manager and president of Global Branding Group an International Marketing firm that specializes in designing Branding Strategies and Corporate Communications and Sales Strategies for local and International companies. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it 260-0100 |
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