With a sense of dismay I read this week of the replacement of the Chinese men's football coach, Serbian Ratomir Dujkovic. After two years of initial success and support, recent poor performances no doubt contributed to his departure.

Though with the announcement there came a sense of déjà vu as earlier this year the Chinese women's football coach, France's Elizabeth Loisel, left after just five months. She came amid much fanfare, though after a good start ended up walking the plank.

Now with just over 3 weeks to the Olympics, the decision to replace Dujkovic raises several issues that go far beyond the football pitch, into other sporting locker rooms and most certainly, into other sectors of society.

Perhaps the most pressing of concerns is the need for more work to be done to address the cross cultural chasm that exists when foreign staff members are hired. Such instances as Dujkovic's and Loisel's will only continue as China rises.

As more foreigners also chose to work here there are going to be problems.

The situation cries for even more 'experts' who are able to build bridges and create systems that nurture the inclusion and facilitation of foreign staff.

However the necessity for learning and adjustment towards successful cross cultural communication must occur at both ends.

In late April of this year International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge in an interview with the Financial Times said, "You don't obtain anything in China with a loud voice.” He went on to add that, “All the Chinese specialists will tell you that only one thing works - respectful, quiet but firm discussion."

On the flipside, expatriate staff working in China will have a truck load of complaints they feel need to be aired regarding their conditions, treatment, workplace practices and modes of decision making.

So far there hasn't been too much said by either Dujkovic or Loisel and it would be interesting to hear their side of the story.

If anything is required it is the establishment of permanent, consistent opportunities for dialogue between both host and guest. Was this occurring in the football establishment?

Another issue of concern is the prospect that continual replacements of top management or staff impedes mid to long term improvement. Ideally, sustainable advancement should be more incremental rather than dramatic.

Within this context, already established participants will be included and engaged in any current changes that take place with the addition of new foreign staff. Looking into the background context of the football teams in question we can see that there were local figures that felt disgruntled by the addition of outside 'experts'.

Unfortunately this unease was able to permeate through to the players and in a team environment, the first one to get the boot when performance isn't what is demanded from above, will usually be the highly paid outsider, a more than convenient scapegoat.

Though, what we may wish to be asking ourselves is, if teams are not performing, or if students are not passing – should we be blaming the coach, or teacher?

Alternatively, should we be looking more at the structure and wider context – which must include the players, the students, and other variables in the equation that serve to support and nurture consistent performance?

E-mail: brendanjohnworrell@hotmail.com