Eraser Man seemed like a harmless gimmick to promote lean manufacturing throughout the global operations of Columbia, Md.-based W.R. Grace & Co. The pink eraser mascot was supposed to convey a simple message: eradicate or "erase" waste. But when the $2.8 billion specialty chemicals manufacturer introduced Eraser Man during a focus-group session in China, the company's Asian staff was perplexed and perhaps a little miffed. That's because in China, erase actually means invisible.

"They said, 'Do you really want this program to be invisible?'" recalls Michael Piergrossi, W.R. Grace's vice president of human resources. "Of course, the answer is, 'no.'"

Also at issue was the color pink. "Pink is just not an acceptable color in China; it's feminine. No self-respecting man would want to be associated with a program that's marked by the color pink," Piergrossi explains.

Grace's cultural gaffe wasn't unique. In fact, it's becoming all too common for manufacturers as they go global. Fortunately for Grace, the mistake was easily corrected (Eraser Man is now tan instead of pink and employees in China are asked to "simplify" or "reduce" rather than erase). But other manufacturers worldwide can face much more serious consequences when they don't prepare for the varying customs and workplace practices of their foreign operations. The potential fallout includes trust issues between employees at home and abroad, along with safety and quality standards that don't quite match up with those within domestic operations.

Pink Eraser Man (top), tan (below).

Multinational companies also encounter workforces that place different values on workplace benefits. For instance, in parts of Asia employers face increasing demands from workers that can make attracting and retaining talent a challenge, according to an IBM report released in October. According to Big Blue's Global Human Capital Study 2008, 46% of human resource executives surveyed in the Asia Pacific region (excluding Japan) say compensation is a key driver for attracting candidates, compared with 33% worldwide. At the same time, existing employees in this region expect more career opportunities than in other parts of the world, with 53% of respondents listing upward mobility as critical for retention versus 43% globally.

'Embarrass the Leader'

The good news for manufacturers is this desire to learn represents eager, hard-working employees who give multinationals a chance to nurture homegrown talent in those countries. The challenge is identifying those workers, since local mores often hinder open communication. Guardian Industries Corp., an Auburn Hills, Mich.-based glass products manufacturer with more than 19,000 employees in 21 countries, found this out when it first entered Luxembourg, says Russell Ebeid, president of the Guardian Glass group. "People were not used to singular responsibility," he says. "They had always been told what to do."

Getting employees to accept leadership roles required a little coaxing and encouragement, Ebeid says. They also needed reassurance that mistakes were part of the learning process. "Once they found out that they could try things and not get hit over the head, then they started feeling more comfortable, and slowly they began to feel like it was their operation and not part of a big multinational company," Ebeid relates.

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