The Keys to Game Management - Management Culture Around the World - Extra Credits

Want to learn how game studios are managed around the world? Well, we've received a script from our friend Fawzi Mesmar, who has helped run studios across the globe. Not to mention, he's also the author of El Halab in the art of game design, which is the first ever textbook about game design in Arabic, written to help aspiring Arab developers in learning the fundamentals without needing to learn a foreign language first. And today, he's going to share his experience with us. Video games have taken me on many extraordinary journeys. The virtual ones filled with amazing worlds and wonderful characters, and the real ones in my career as a game designer and manager. I've worked in many different countries around the globe, from Jordan, where I'm from, to New Zealand, Japan, and Germany. And I've experienced many cultures in the lands I was fortunate to inhabit and through my everyday job. And I think the subtle differences that I've seen are something to be celebrated, something to be learned from, and something that helped me form a management style of my own. So, I'd like to walk you through

some of my personal observations of being a manager in the Middle East, the Far East, and the West, and how those observations relate to management theories. In Middle Eastern cultures, the boss is often referred to as Moalim, which means teacher, as they're expected to be knowledgeable and therefore be able to provide guidance for their teams. Managers rely on structured planning, routine checks on performance, and establishing credibility and expert status as vital means to winning the respect of their team members. In fact, it's common for managers to be the ones who set up the entire pipeline and act of protectors of the team from external influences and distractions. And this probably relates most to Douglas McGregor's Theory X in management, which assumes that employees prefer to be directed and led by example, as they value structure and order that is set to them by managers that lay the path before them. And it's probably worth mentioning that while the manager in Middle Eastern cultures would have a more directive approach, people in general relate to each other tightly, as friendships are intense and binding. People value interpersonal relationships significantly, and not just how they're

perceived by their colleagues, but to the outside world as well. Reputation is crucial, and many companies in the Middle East often value long-term reputation over short-term gains. And it's a major consideration for making decisions when it comes to the products in development. Foreign managers should always be aware of cultural sensitivities, as what can be perceived as minor issues elsewhere could cause great stress amongst the staff. For example, if you were to say implement chance mechanics into your project, such as a wheel of fortune or gotcha game, that elsewhere might be commonplace. Many employees in the Middle East will outright refuse to work on such features, as they are very close to gambling, a big taboo in that part of the world. To contrast that, McGregor also developed theory Y in management, which is a lot more aligned with my personal observations to management in Western cultures, as it assumes that employees prefer limited direction and more space for them to seek responsibility. Theory Y managers also gravitate towards relating to their worker on a more personal level, as opposed to the more conductive and teacher-based relationship of theory X. And on that note, foreign managers in

Western companies might notice employees resistance to specific directions and will require patience as they guide inexperienced employees through making mistakes they know in advance that their staff is going to make, but that are nonetheless crucial to the learning process in an environment that resists regimented direction and values personal and individual experience more. Japan, however, offered me quite a different insight into doing things that didn't fit into either of those theories. Employees in Japan are usually hired straight from university and are expected to stay with the company until retirement. Also, it usually takes between five and seven years for promotions to take place, which further emphasizes tenure as an important consideration in company structure. Companies in Japan place large amounts of freedom and trust in their employees, as they assume that they have an intense loyalty to the team and to the company they work for. In return, companies offer long-term employment and job security. And this is deeply exemplified in their relatively loose job descriptions, as employees can move between disciplines easily if they demonstrate a passion and willingness to learn. And there are many examples of that in the gaming industry. A quite

famous one being Tetsuya Nomura, who started at Square Enix as a debugger, then became a monster designer, then switched to lead character designer, and then moved on to game designer, only to end up as the overall project director for Kingdom Hearts and many other games since. He's been employed at Square Enix since the early '90s, and at the time of writing this is still in point there. This relationship between the employee and the company is often described as marugakai. It relates to how a little child held in a mother's arms is akin to an employee at work, entirely surrounded and engaged. And that's one of the reasons Japanese employees exhibit very high motivation when working and dedicate themselves to their company. Though this attitude is also the reason for longer working hours and why people don't use their annual leaves often. Japanese leadership mainly aims to coordinate opinions and intentions of team members and help group oriented decision making processes run smoothly. This management style is based on the idea that one person alone can never be more clever than all of the members of a team combined. Therefore, assertive

leadership can often be considered gosh. Early on, Japanese employees learn to read the context surrounding a message or to interpret the atmosphere of a conversation, and this is often called reading the air or kuki o yome. Most Westerners find it easier to understand other people's feelings if they're expressed in words though, and that can lead to cultural conflicts when subtleties that are obvious to Japanese employees are missed or when the directness used by Westerners comes across as rude in Japan. A lot of those aspects of the Japanese management style were presented by William Ouchi as Theory Z, which states employee involvement is key to increase productivity, implicitly giving freedom to share responsibility and decision making. Employees under Theory Z will demonstrate high loyalty to their company, accepting slower advancement, but expecting guaranteed employment in return. And managers, especially if they are foreigners, need to work harder than anyone else to show more dedication and motivation to inspire the team. And they'll also need to make room in their schedule for company sponsored social gatherings such as team dinners and karaoke parties. I used to do those

quite often as it's crucial to create harmony between team members for work to go smoothly. So with all that said, which management style do I think is best? Well, having seen all of these different styles in motion and realizing that at the end of the day no matter how the teams are managed, products do ship. It's very difficult to view things in such a binary fashion. I think it's important to remember that no management style is right or wrong, just some are different. And I've learned to accept that and take cues from all of these styles as I meld them to create my own style of management. But one thing is for sure, it's very important to always be aware of our surroundings, acknowledging that there's a cultural context to everything and that by being exposed to as many different experiences, backgrounds, and cultures, we all become the better for it. I couldn't agree more, Fawzi. And thank you so much again for sharing your experiences with all of us. See you next week, everybody. Legendary thanks to Ahmet Ziyad Turk, Alicia Bramble, Casey Musgraves, Dominic Valenciana, Gunnar Clovis, Kyle

Murgatroyd, and Orioles One for helping to make this show possible.