‘They are more like us’: The salience of ethnicity in the global workplace of Korean transnational corporations

Abstract

This article examines how ethnicity becomes salient in the new global workplace and the ways in which co-ethnic ties can have contradictory consequences in the context of global capitalism. Specifically, I look at the workplace relationships between Korean immigrant, white-collar employees and their Korean national managers in Korean transnational corporations [TNCs] in the United States. My findings indicate that, while globalization unites Koreans and Korean Americans and promotes solidarity between them, it also fosters a workplace environment where distinctions between the two groups are more sharply drawn than in other settings. In workplaces where the hierarchy is built on ethnicity and managers and workers share the same ethnic culture, ethnicity is used to interpret work practices, including biased organizational practices. I describe aspects of the corporate structure that lead to a focus on ethnicity rather than on other qualities. I demonstrate how ethnicity becomes not only the basis for the construction of difference in this context but also the rationale for biased organizational practices and limited opportunities for advancement.