Case Study 3

Stefan Baros, a manager for a large European airline, was transferred to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, to set up a new office. Although Stefan had had several other extended overseas assignments in Paris and Brussels, he was not well prepared for working in the Arab world. His boss had suggested that he take the Global Competencies Inventory(CGI) but he shrugged it off because he had already worked overseas.

At the end of his first week, Stefan came home in a state of near-total frustration. As he sat at the dinner table that night, he told his wife how exasperating it had been to work with the local employees, who, he claimed, seemed to take no responsibility for anything.

Whenever something went wrong, they would simply say Inshallah ("If God wills it"). Coming from a culture that sees no problem as insolvable, Stefan could not understand how the local employees could be so passive about job-related problems. "If I hear one more Inshallah," he told his wife, "I'll go crazy."

You are employed in the human resources department of the European airline Stefan works for. Your specialized position, Cultural Integration Manager, is to help transition employees into their new international roles. Stefan's wife emails you to inform you that her husband is not adjusting well. She suggests that you email him with some practical information that he can use.

Assignment Tasks:

As the Cultural Integration Manager, task is to wr ite Stefan an em ail provi ding him with practical information that he can use toeither:

1. ...be successful in his new assignment.
2. ...convince him that he needs to come home immediately because he is not the right fit.

You can provide Stefan with:

• Introduction: Describe the concern.
• Blogs, News Articles, YouTube clips - with descriptions of how these resources could help him.
• Review the Global Competency Inventory capabilities. What does he need to work on and what strategies do yo u think he needs to employ to get better?
• Is he experiencing culture shock? Why or why not? Outline what that means to him and the stages he might go through.

Any other relevant information you think would support yo ur e mail message.