It seems ironic that a visiting professor from Canada would come to an Israeli business school to discuss the importance of customer service, yet Professor Jean-Charles Chebat believes that Israeli business culture may not be as pushy as stereotypically believed.
“One of the clichés people have about us is that we are very bright. Very rude and pushy, but bright. I’m not sure if it is true,” Chebat said with a laugh in an interview with Haaretz last week, adding “if Israel is not carrying Jewish values then what is it?”
Chebat, from Montreal, Canada was invited to speak by Tempus-Biz, a new initiative at the School of Business Administration at the College of Management Academic Studies (COMAS) in Rishon Letzion last week. The initiative was founded and is directed by Dr. Dafna Kariv as a spin-off of the EU's Tempus project.
COMAS was the first institution in Israel to be granted recognition by the Tempus project which aims at creating links between students, professors and professionals all over the world under the emerging topics of entrepreneurship and innovation.
Kariv and Chebat, leading researchers in entrepreneurship and customer service respectively, have both found that their Jewish roots and connection to Israel have profoundly affected their professional and personal lives.
Chebat believes the Jewish world has been evolving for centuries, contending that although the Jews of today are much unlike their ancestors, they are still cut from the same cloth. Many of today's Jews don’t necessarily have all the same customs and traditions as their forefathers, but they continue to uphold the same values, which Chebat hopes will be the case for many centuries to come.
Kariv has even drawn parallels between successful entrepreneurship and the Israeli mindset, citing Israelis' pro-activism, propensity for risk-taking and creativity that have allowed many Israelis to make waves in the business world.
Despite these inherent traits, Kariv claims the environment in Israel is very problematic for budding businesses, forcing Israelis to think outside the box.
“When you are in a very pressed place, and it is a necessity oriented environment, you do things, and you initiate things, and you create things, and you become more entrepreneurial,” Kariv said.
Chebat added to this point, saying that Jews have not traditionally run big corporations but rather are known to be a “start-up nation”. He even went so far as to assert that not only have Jews been forced to start business endeavors from scratch, but over time, the Jewish people have had to rebuild themselves repeatedly, making them a “start-up people”.
He added that historically Jews have not acted as civil servants, and were in fact excluded from public service in many countries for centuries. This exclusion has forced Jews to survive in a hostile environment, a factor that Chebat believes has pushed Jews to be more competitive than the business next door.
The need to be competitive and to stay afloat during tough times is all the more relevant today, as an international divestment campaign has been targeted against Israel in recent years, affecting Jewish academics as well.
Kariv believes anti-Israel sentiments are largely due to its negative image in the media. She said she has been visiting Montreal every summer for the past six years, and every time she hears anything about Israel, it’s negative. She added that the media tends to be very one-sided, saying she has never seen anything on TV praising Israeli start-ups during a recession, for example.
This image, both academics contend, could be positively impacted by bringing students (regardless of religion) to Israel, allowing them to be exposed to local entrepreneurial progress.
“Israel is very dynamic, so we will strive to make it happen.” said Kariv.
