Read the GVV case "Lisa Walker in Saudi Arabia" from your Darden course pack and respond to the following questions:

1. Who are the stakeholders and what do they have at stake?

2. What are the main arguments Lisa is trying to counter? That is, what are the reasons and rationalizations that Lisa needs to address?

3. What are the levers/arguments Lisa can use to influence those with whom she disagrees?

4. What is Lisa's best argument? Why? Explain.

Lisa Walker had graduated with an MBA from Wharton in 2016. Shortly after accepting an offer with JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPMorgan), she was assigned to work on issues pertaining to relationships with the firms correspondent bank in Saudi Arabia. She consistently earned high ratings from her superiors, rising rapidly in the section and receiving three promotions in three years. Of the many qualities for which shed been recognized, her professional demeanor was often noted as extraordinarily strong. In her initial position with the firm, Walker was required to travel to Saudi Arabia on several occasions to visit and work with JPMorgans Riyadh location, which operated under regulation by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency. (The nations capital, Riyadh was also the most populous city in the country.) Despite her concerns that the countrys posture toward women would negatively affect how she was perceived, Walker remained optimistic. Saudi Arabia had just extended the right to drive to women; recent polls showed a sizable increase in the percentage of women in the workforce (and the country had goals to increase that participation by an additional 8% under the nations Vision 2030 plan); and women had just assumed landmark roles as merger leaders, chairs of the stock exchange, and CEOs in the banking sector. Before Walker left the United States, her company provided her with an abaya, the customary black floorlength robe that all women were required to wear while in public. Unlike native Saudi women, however, she would not be required to cover her hair with a hijab or her face with a niqab. The only time she would not need to wear the abaya was when she was inside the residential compound for which the company was paying. Walker also learned before leaving that her male supervisor at JPMorgan was required to sign a guardian authorization form in order for her to be allowed to work at the bank at all. In the same vein, while she could interact freely with anyone within the residential compound, she was told that she should not expect the same conversational and interactive openness when in public. Walkers experience with her coworkers was surprisingly similar to her professional life in the United States: everyone was respectful and welcoming, and she felt that her ability to get the job done at a characteristically high level was being acknowledged both implicitly in how she was treated and explicitly in words from her colleagues and supervisor. That said, interactions with some of her clients were not marked by the same cultural continuity. While some recognized her as a peer and showed respect for her expertise, Walker would often detect considerable skepticism from male clients. On top of that, her work with female clients was often slowed because those women needed to obtain permission from their own guardianstheir husbands, fathers, or other relativesin order to move forward with certain necessary procedures. As soon as Walker stepped outside of the office, even some of the familiarity she felt when interacting with her coworkers seemed to fade. While her male colleagues would speak freely with her in the workplace, onseveral occasions, they would not even acknowledge her in public. When trying to open a bank account at a commercial Riyadhi branch, she was chastised for not entering via the female-designated entrance and was then told she needed to obtain permission from her sponsor at JPMorgan to open an account at all. This friction between Walkers professional life and public life started to take a toll, and her performance declined. After her supervisor confronted her about the dip, Walker candidly explained her understanding of the root cause. Though he was genuinely sympathetic to the conflict, he offered little more than words of understanding. Thats just the way it is here, he said. Even though it might feel like a double life, I dont see any way around it. And because of that, we need you just to power through and get back on track here in the office.