FredBaileygazedoutthewindowofhis24th-floorofficeatthetranquil beautyoftheImperialPalaceamidthehustleandbustleofdowntown Tokyo.IthadbeenonlysixmonthssinceFredhadarrivedwithhiswifeandtwochildrenforthisthree-yearassignmentasthedirectorofKline& Associates' Tokyooffice.

Kline&Associatesisalargemultinational consulting firm withofficesin19countriesworldwide.Fredwasnowtryingtodecidewhetherheshould simplypackupandtellheadquartersthathewascominghomeorwhether heshouldtrytoconvincehiswife,andhimself,thattheyshouldstayand finishtheassignment.Givenhowexcitedtheyallwereaboutthe assignmenttobeginwith,itwasamysterytoFredhowthingshadgottentothispoint.AsFredwatchedtheswansglideacrossthewaterinthemoat thatsurroundstheImperial Palace,hereflected onthepastseven months.

Sevenmonths ago,DaveSteiner,themanaging partnerofthemainoffice inBoston,askedFredtolunchtodiscussbusiness.ToFred'ssurprise,thebusiness theydiscussedwasnotaboutthemajorproject that heandhis teamhadjustfinished;instead,itwasaboutaverybigpromotionand careermove.Fredwasoffered thepositionofmanagingdirectorofthe firm's relatively new Tokyo office, which had a staff of40, including seven Americans.MostoftheAmericans inthe Tokyoofficewereeitherassociateconsultants orresearch analysts. Fred wouldbeinchargeofthewhole officeandwouldreporttoaseniorpartner.SteinerimpliedtoFredthatif thisassignmentwentaswellashispastprojects,itwould bethelaststep beforebecomingapartnerinthefirm.

WhenFred told hiswifeabout theunbelievable opportunity, hewas shocked atherless-than-enthusiasticresponse.His wife, Jennifer(or JennyasFredcalledher),thoughtthatitwouldberatherdifficulttohave the childrenliveandgotoschoolinaforeigncountyforthreeyears,especially whenChristine,theirolderdaughter,wouldbestartingmiddleschoolnext year.Besides,now thatthekidswereinschool,Jennywasthinkingaboutgoingbacktowork,atleastpart-time.Jennyhadadegreeinfashion merchandisingfromawell-knownuniversityandhadworkedasanassistantbuyerforalargewomen'sclothingstorebeforehavingthetwogirls.

Fredexplainedthatthecareeropportunitywasjusttoogoodtopassupandthatthecompany'soverseaspackagewouldmakelivingoverseas terrific.Thecompanywouldpayalltheexpensestomovewhateverthe Baileyswantedtotakewith them. Thecompanyhadaverynicehousein anexpensivedistrictofTokyothatwouldbeprovidedrentfree,andthecompanywouldrenttheirhouseinBostonduringtheirabsence.Moreover, thefirmwouldprovideacaranddriver,educationexpenses forthechildrentoattendprivateschools,andacost-of-livingadjustmentandoverseascompensationthatwould nearly tripleFred'sgrossannualsalary. Aftertwo daysofconsiderationanddiscussion, Fred toldSteiner hewouldaccepttheassignment.

ThecurrentTokyoofficemanagingdirectorwasapartnerinthefirmbut hadbeeninthenewTokyoofficeforlessthanayearwhenhewas transferredtohead along-establishedofficeinEngland. BecausethetransfertoEnglandwastakingplacerightaway,Fredandhisfamilyhadaboutthreeweekstoprepareforthemove.BetweentransferringresponsibilitiesattheofficetoBob Newcome,who wasbeingpromoted toFred'sposition,andgetting furniture andthelikereadytobemoved,neitherFrednorhisfamilyhadmuchtimetofindoutaboutJapan,other thanwhatwasintheonlineencyclopedia.

WhentheBaileysarrivedinJapan,they were greeted attheairportbyoneoftheyoungJapaneseassociateconsultantsandtheseniorAmerican expatriate.Fredandhisfamilywerequitetired from thelongtrip,andthe two-hourride to Tokyo wasarather quietone.Afterafew daysofjustsettlingin,Fredspenthisfirstfulldayattheoffice.

Fred'sfirstorderofbusinesswastohaveageneralmeeting withallthe employees ofassociate consultant rankandhigher.Although Freddidn't notice itatthetime,allthe Japanese staffsattogether andallthe Americanssattogether.AfterFredintroduced himselfandhisgeneralideaaboutthepotentialandfuture directions of theTokyooffice,hecalledonafewindividualstogettheirideasabouthowthethingsforwhichtheywereresponsiblewouldlikelyfitintohisoverallplan.

FromtheAmericans,Fredgotamixtureofopinionswithspecificreasons aboutwhycertainthingsmightormightnotfitwell.FromtheJapanese,hegotveryvagueanswers.WhenFredpushedtogetmorespecific information,hewassurprisedtofindthatacoupleoftheJapanesesimply madeawhistlingsound astheybreathedandsaid thatitwas"difficult to say."Fredsensed themeetingwasnotachieving hisobjectives, sohe thankedeveryoneforcomingandsaidhelooked forward tothemallworkingtogethertomaketheTokyoofficethefastest-growingofficeinthecompany.

After they had been in Japan about a month, Jenny complained tohim aboutthedifficultyshehadgettingcertain everyday products likemaple syrup, peanut butter,and good-quality beef. She said that when she could get the items at one ofthe specialty stores, they cost threeor four times what they would cost at home. Shealso complainedthat sincethe washer and dryer weremuch too small,she hadtospend extra money by sending things out tobedry-cleaned.On top of alt that,unless she went tothe American Club indowntown Tokyo,she never had anyone to talk to.After all,Fred was gone10to16 hours a day. Unfortunately,while Jenny talked, Fred waspreoccupied, thinkingabout a bigupcomingmeetingbetween his firm and a significant prospective client,a top-100 Japanese multinationalcompany.

Thenextday,Fred,alongwith theleadU.S.consultant forthepotentialcontract,RalphWebster,andoneoftheJapaneseassociateconsultants, KenichiKurokawa,whospokeperfectEnglish,metwithateamfromtheJapanesefirm.TheJapaneseteamconsistedoffourmembers:thevice-president ofadministration,thedirectorofinternational personnel,andtwo staffspecialists. Aftershakinghandsandafewawkwardbows,FredsaidthatheknewtheJapanesegentlemenwerebusy and hedidn'twant towastetheirtime,sohewouldgetrighttothepoint.FredthenhadtheotherAmericanlayouttheirfirm'sproposalfortheprojectandwhattheprojectwouldcost.Afterthepresentation,Fredasked theJapanesewhattheirreaction totheproposalwas.TheJapanesedidnotrespondimmediately,soFred launchedintohissummaryversionoftheproposal,thinkingthatthetranslationmighthavebeeninsufficient.Again,theJapanesehadonlythevaguestofresponsestohisdirectquestions.

Therecollectionofthefrustrationofthatmeetingwasenoughtoshake Fredbacktoreality.Inthefivemonthssincethatfirstmeeting,little progresshadbeenmadeandthecontract betweenthefirmswasyettobesigned."IcanneverseemtogetadirectresponsefromJapanese,"hethoughttohimself.Thisfeelingoffrustration ledhimtorememberarelatedincident thathappened about amonth after this firstmeetingwiththis client.

Fred haddecidedthat thereasonnot much progress wasbeing madewiththeclientwasthatheandhisgroupjustdidn'tknow enough about theclienttopackagetheproposalinawaythatwasappealingtotheclient.

Consequently,hecalledin RalphWebster, thesenior Americanassociatedwiththeproposal,andaskedhimtodevelopareportontheclient sothattheproposalcouldbere-evaluatedandchangedwherenecessary.

Jointly,theydecided thatoneofthemorepromisingJapaneseresearch associates,Tashiro Watanabe,wouldbethebest persontotaketheleadonthisreport.Toimpressupon Tashirotheimportanceofthistaskandthe greatpotentialtheysawinhim,theydecided tohavetheyoung Japanese associatemeetwithbothFred andRalph. Inthemeeting,FredandRalph laidoutthenatureandimportanceofthetask,atwhichpointFredleanedforwardinhischairandsaidtoTashiro,"Youcanseethatthisisanimportantassignmentandthatweareplacingalotofconfidenceinyoubygivingittoyou.Weneedthereportbythistimenextweeksowecanreviseandrepresentourproposal.Canyoudoit?"

Afteralongpause,Tashirorespondedhesitantly,"I'mnotsurewhattosay."Atthatpoint,Fredsmiled,gotupfromhischair,walkedovertotheyoungJapaneseassociate,extendedhishand,andsaid,"Hey,there's nothingtosay.We'rejustgivingyoutheopportunityyoudeserve."

Thedaybeforethereportwasdue,FredaskedRalphhowthereportwascoming.Ralphsaidthat,sincehehadheardnothingfromTashiro,heassumed everything wasunder controlbutthathewould double-check.RalphlaterranintooneoftheU.S.researchassociates,JohnIvlaynard.

RalphknewthatJohnwashiredforJapanbecauseofhisJapanese languageability and that,unlikeanyoftheotherAmericans,Johnoften wentoutafterworkwithsomeoftheJapaneseresearchassociates, includingTashiro.SoRalphaskedJohnifheknewhowTashirowascoming on thereport.

Johnthen recountedthatattheofficetheprevious nightTashirohad askedifAmericanssometimesfiredemployeesforbeinglatewithreports. Johnhadsensed that thiswasmorethan ahypothetical question and asked Tashiro whyhewantedtoknow.Tashiro didnotrespond immediately,andsinceitwas8:30intheevening,Johnsuggestedtheygo outforadrink.AtfirstTashiro resisted,butthen Johnassuredhimthat theywould grabadrinkatanearby barand comerightback.Atthebar, John got Tashiro to open up.

Tashiroexplainedthenatureofthereportthathehadbeenrequestedto produce.Hecontinuedtoexplainthat,eventhoughhehadworkedlongintothenighteverynighttocompletethereport,itwasjustimpossibleandthathehaddoubtedfromthebeginningwhetherhecouldcompletethe reportinaweek.Atthispoint,Ralph askedJohn,"Whydidn'thesaysomethinginthefirstplace?"

Ralphdidn'twaittohearwhetherJohnhadananswertothisquestion.He headed straight to Tashiro's desk.

Ralphchewed outTashiroandthenwenttoFred,explainingthatthereport

wouldnotbereadyandthatTashiro,from thestart,didn'tthinkitcould

be."Thenwhydidn'thesay something?"Fredasked. Noonehad anyanswers,andthewholeepisodelefteveryonemoresuspectanduncomfortablewitheachother.

Otherincidents, bigandsmall,hadmadethelasttwo monthsespecially frustrating,butFredwastootiredtoremember themall.ToFred,it seemedthatworkingwithJapanesebothinsideandoutsidethefirmwas likeworkingwithpeoplefrom anotherplanet. Fred felthecouldn't communicatewiththem,andhenevercouldfigureoutwhattheywere thinking. Itdrovehimcrazy.On topofallthis, Jenny laidabombshellon him.

Shewantedtogohome,andyesterdaywasnotsoon enough.Eventhough thekidsseemedtobedoingallright,JenniferwastiredofJapantiredofbeingstaredat,ofnotunderstandinganybodyorbeingunderstood,ofnot beingabletofindwhatshewanted atthestore,ofnotbeingabletodrive andreadtheroadsigns,ofnothavinganythingtowatchontelevision,ofnotbeinginvolvedinanything.Shewantedtogohomeandcouldnotthinkofanyreasonwhytheyshouldn't.Afterall,shereasoned,theyowednothingtothecompanybecause thecompanyhadledthemtobelievethiswasjustanotherassignment,likethetwoyears theyspent inSanFrancisco,anditwasanythingbutthat!

Fredlookedoutthewindowoncemore,wishingthatsomehoweverything couldbefixed,orturnedback,orsomething. Thetrafficbelowwasbacked up.Thoughthetrafficlightschanged,thecarsandtrucksdidn'tseemtobe moving.Fortunately,beneath theground,oneoftheworld'smost advanced,efficient,andcleansubway systemsmoved hundredsof thousands ofpeopleaboutthecityand totheirhomes.

1. Why isFredthinkingaboutleavinghisthree-yearassignmentasdirectorofKline&Associates'Tokyo officeafteronlysixmonths?
2. DoyouthinkitwasagoodideaforFredtoaccepttheassignmenttotheTokyooffice?Whataretheprosandconsofdoingso?Whatmighthehavedonedifferentlybefore acceptingtheassignment?
3. ConsiderFred'sassignmenttoTokyointermsofculturaltoughness,communication toughness,andjobtoughness.Giventhetoughnessoftheassignment,whatdegreeofcross-culturaltrainingrigourdoesFredrequire?
4. DoyouthinkFredshouldpackupandgohome,orshouldhetrytoconvincehiswifeand himselfthattheyshouldstayandfinishtheassignment?Explainyouranswer.