Road to Hell Case Analysis
International Marketing - Case Analysis
1. Situation Analysis:
This case is about two individuals in an organization who are from two different cultural backgrounds. John Baker, the Chief Engineer of Caribbean Bauxite Company Limited, West Indies is promoted and has to relocate to Canada. Matthew Rennalls, the able young Barracanian has been chosen as his successor based on his caliber.
Before leaving, Mr.Baker had a final interview with his going-to-be successor, Rennalls. This meeting discussed the positives as well as negatives of Mr.Rennalls. Although everything went well in the final meeting, there was one statement of Baker that resulted in hurting the sentiments of Rennalls who is very sensitive with respect to his culture. The impact of the statement was such that it led to the immediate resignation of Mr. Rennalls.
2. Identification of Problem:
Primary Problem: This case is a classic example of how miscommunication and misinterpretation between two people with different nationalities and culture in an organization can lead to serious consequences that could hamper the business as well.
Secondary Problem: Rennalls’ racial consciousness made him very over-sensitive to the European Expatriate and other non-Barracanian fellow workers. Hence, with this mindset Rennals perceived the comment from John Baker way seriously in a negative way although Baker did not really have a wrong intent to that statement.
3. SWOT Analysis:
Strengths:
* The company had a liberal regionalization program which is a great motivation for the native Barracanians.
Weakness:
* Dominance of expatriates in the higher levels of management. * Lack of Barracanian leaders for top management.
Opportunities:
* There is a lot of scope to balance the top level management with a proper mix of Barracanians and Expatriates to avoid conflicts.
Threats:
* The cause of resignation of Mr.Rennalls could be blown up and a negative message could be sent to all the
1. Situation Analysis:
This case is about two individuals in an organization who are from two different cultural backgrounds. John Baker, the Chief Engineer of Caribbean Bauxite Company Limited, West Indies is promoted and has to relocate to Canada. Matthew Rennalls, the able young Barracanian has been chosen as his successor based on his caliber.
Before leaving, Mr.Baker had a final interview with his going-to-be successor, Rennalls. This meeting discussed the positives as well as negatives of Mr.Rennalls. Although everything went well in the final meeting, there was one statement of Baker that resulted in hurting the sentiments of Rennalls who is very sensitive with respect to his culture. The impact of the statement was such that it led to the immediate resignation of Mr. Rennalls.
2. Identification of Problem:
Primary Problem: This case is a classic example of how miscommunication and misinterpretation between two people with different nationalities and culture in an organization can lead to serious consequences that could hamper the business as well.
Secondary Problem: Rennalls’ racial consciousness made him very over-sensitive to the European Expatriate and other non-Barracanian fellow workers. Hence, with this mindset Rennals perceived the comment from John Baker way seriously in a negative way although Baker did not really have a wrong intent to that statement.
3. SWOT Analysis:
Strengths:
* The company had a liberal regionalization program which is a great motivation for the native Barracanians.
Weakness:
* Dominance of expatriates in the higher levels of management. * Lack of Barracanian leaders for top management.
Opportunities:
* There is a lot of scope to balance the top level management with a proper mix of Barracanians and Expatriates to avoid conflicts.
Threats:
* The cause of resignation of Mr.Rennalls could be blown up and a negative message could be sent to all the