“It’s utterly different, yet completely the same!” I highlighted to my MBA students, in their elective ‘Leadership in Emerging Markets’ — just after each presented a collage depicting what the emerging markets workforce looks like in their own view.

The difference in the workforce’s composition relates to eras — it was as if they were describing the workforce at the turn of the century, from the ‘Gilded’ era when the titans of industry were Ford, Flagler, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, etc. But the workforce dynamics were the same.

When compared to today’s corporatised world, the issues of child labour, women’s rights, low cost of labour, poor working conditions and an under-skilled workforce strike a ting in our ear and pain in the gut. But this is not the first time in history that we have faced the corporatising of a society.

The students’ collages raise an issue that corporate leaders need to be aware of when they expand into emerging and fast-growing frontier markets. Our world is split into two: A corporate society as in most of the developed markets and the first-generation corporate societies. When it comes to building a workforce, this is of greater significance than the labelling of a market as ‘emerging’, the ‘Next 11’, ‘frontier’ or whatever differentiating term you choose.

While the emerging markets boast a few mature family businesses, some of which go back generations, most in the current workforce are among the first members from their family to work in a corporate environment. They have historically worked in the public sector or a small ‘dukkan-style’ businesses (similar to cottage industries).

Only recently have they started to populate the corporate sector. The consequence has been that only now are social and family support/development systems being built for a corporate environment.

On the other hand, western societies have been involved in corporate culture since the early 1900s, when they experienced the same migration out of agricultural, government employment, and cottage industry societies that first-generation corporate societies are experiencing now.

A call with Tesco’s VP for International Operations illustrates this. Eager to understand their expansion plans into China, I asked him, “What will the average age of your employees in China be? Specifically those taking up the commodity jobs?”

After a long pause, in which it was obvious he was struggling to come up with an answer, he replied, “18”. I then proceeded to share with him, “You know they’ve never been to a supermarket.” “I know, we are not there yet” was his reply.

The point was not if they had ever been to Tesco, their future workforce had never been to a grocery store — they were native first-generation corporate citizens.

Clearly, he did not know what he or his store managers were about to walk into. Tesco planned to send British expat corporatised store managers to lead a first-generation corporate workforce.

Our conversation continued as I brought his attention to the impact of an 18-year old in China never having been in a supermarket. If the store managers are not aware of this, then they will lead their first-generation corporate supermarket workers assuming they had a lifetime of store conditioning as every citizen in the UK or every other corporatised society would have.

Don’t lose the point by thinking only of China — it is as applicable here in the region. It is one of the points I highlight in the book ‘10 tips for Leading in Middle East’. The central premise is that leaders need to discover what it means to lead in a first-generation corporate society.

We understand that consumers are different in different markets, but we also have to figure out that the employee is different, too.

Over the years, I have watched both national and expatriate business leaders assume their posts in the region and too often neglect to appreciate the character of the workforce. For example, this means having to rely principally on the first generation of employees to penetrate the private sector — that is, corporate life.

Unfortunately, most attempt to lead without understanding the reality of leading in a first-generation corporate society.

Set your perception aside to understand that there is a basis for the differences you experience.

The writer is a leadership advisor and author of ‘10 Tips for Leading in the Middle East’ and other writings. Follow him on Twitter: @tommyweir.