Karen Leary (a&B)
Karen Leary Case – Philipp Loebermann
Table of content: 1. Significant problem 2. Author´s point of view 3. Justification of the author´s point of view
Significant problem
Looking at cultural norms, Chung really operated under the established norms for Taiwanese culture. Chung was trying to build up a good relationship with the Taiwanese clients – to do so he tried to use some of the Chinese management principles: * Paternalism * Particularism * Insecurity
In addition to that, Ted Chung was using kinds of social networks in order to build up good relationships to his clients and furthermore to establish himself in the community of “Chinese Culture in North America”. As prestige and visibility are two very important contributes to be trustworthy in the Chinese community, Chung tried to visit as many events as possible and therefore did not stay at the office all the time. Karen had trouble understanding these differences in culture which is the root of the problem in this case. Karen admitted that she didn’t really know the whole person (referring to Ted) but wrote it off to the fact that he was Asian and she was not. Karen would not be described as someone with much “Cultural Intelligence” defined by the text as “the ability to accurately interpret ambiguous cross-cultural situations” (Robert Kreitner, 2008) The textbook defines the differences between Low and High-Context cultures with China being a very High-Context culture and North American countries being Low-Context.
In addition to cultural differences, Chung wants to have his own, private office after he worked at Merrill&Linch for at least four month but Karen Leary is concerned about the implications her decision could have on the morale, motivation, and productivity of other consultants within the office and organization.
The author´s point of view/Justification
Concerning all issues mentioned in the case the author comes to the point, that Leary should look
Table of content: 1. Significant problem 2. Author´s point of view 3. Justification of the author´s point of view
Significant problem
Looking at cultural norms, Chung really operated under the established norms for Taiwanese culture. Chung was trying to build up a good relationship with the Taiwanese clients – to do so he tried to use some of the Chinese management principles: * Paternalism * Particularism * Insecurity
In addition to that, Ted Chung was using kinds of social networks in order to build up good relationships to his clients and furthermore to establish himself in the community of “Chinese Culture in North America”. As prestige and visibility are two very important contributes to be trustworthy in the Chinese community, Chung tried to visit as many events as possible and therefore did not stay at the office all the time. Karen had trouble understanding these differences in culture which is the root of the problem in this case. Karen admitted that she didn’t really know the whole person (referring to Ted) but wrote it off to the fact that he was Asian and she was not. Karen would not be described as someone with much “Cultural Intelligence” defined by the text as “the ability to accurately interpret ambiguous cross-cultural situations” (Robert Kreitner, 2008) The textbook defines the differences between Low and High-Context cultures with China being a very High-Context culture and North American countries being Low-Context.
In addition to cultural differences, Chung wants to have his own, private office after he worked at Merrill&Linch for at least four month but Karen Leary is concerned about the implications her decision could have on the morale, motivation, and productivity of other consultants within the office and organization.
The author´s point of view/Justification
Concerning all issues mentioned in the case the author comes to the point, that Leary should look