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For the exclusive use of y. wang
Harvard Business School
9-399-058
Rev. April 24, 2001
Sealed Air Taiwan (A)
When Bob Kayser hired Paul Huang in January of 1997, he was certain he had solved a major part of Sealed Air Taiwan’s sales productivity problems. Kayser had been Sealed Air Corporation’s regional manger for China since 1994 and general manager of its Taiwan subsidiary since 1991. He was relieved to have found a promising sales manager for the Taiwan organization. In Huang's former position at Monsanto, he had been an accomplished sales manager and salesman. He came with excellent references. Most important to Kayser, Huang had successfully bridged the gap between American and Chinese business cultures. He would, Kayser believed, be the ideal replacement for the previous sales manager, Randy Chou,1 whom Kayser had transferred to a new job a year earlier. In April of 1997, as Huang departed for a training course at the Sealed Air
Corporation offices in Danbury, Connecticut, Kayser was confident his new sales manager would really impress his U.S. counterparts.
However, not long after the training course started, Kayser received a disturbing call from the director of training, Chuck Steinke. Steinke outlined a series of observations that concerned him.
For starters, Huang had insisted immediately on having a single room, and he was reluctant to visit the hospitality suite in the evenings, a common space for relaxation where trainees could have a few drinks and chat informally. Huang's attitude appeared, Steinke worried, to go against the Sealed
Air’s “work hard, play hard” spirit and made Huang look like a loner rather than a team player. He had also complained about the food, and was reported to have preferred eating just candy bars instead of the meals that were provided.
Even worse, Huang was very quiet throughout the entire course. He never asked a question.
Though Steinke noted that other Asians had appeared quiet in previous
Harvard Business School
9-399-058
Rev. April 24, 2001
Sealed Air Taiwan (A)
When Bob Kayser hired Paul Huang in January of 1997, he was certain he had solved a major part of Sealed Air Taiwan’s sales productivity problems. Kayser had been Sealed Air Corporation’s regional manger for China since 1994 and general manager of its Taiwan subsidiary since 1991. He was relieved to have found a promising sales manager for the Taiwan organization. In Huang's former position at Monsanto, he had been an accomplished sales manager and salesman. He came with excellent references. Most important to Kayser, Huang had successfully bridged the gap between American and Chinese business cultures. He would, Kayser believed, be the ideal replacement for the previous sales manager, Randy Chou,1 whom Kayser had transferred to a new job a year earlier. In April of 1997, as Huang departed for a training course at the Sealed Air
Corporation offices in Danbury, Connecticut, Kayser was confident his new sales manager would really impress his U.S. counterparts.
However, not long after the training course started, Kayser received a disturbing call from the director of training, Chuck Steinke. Steinke outlined a series of observations that concerned him.
For starters, Huang had insisted immediately on having a single room, and he was reluctant to visit the hospitality suite in the evenings, a common space for relaxation where trainees could have a few drinks and chat informally. Huang's attitude appeared, Steinke worried, to go against the Sealed
Air’s “work hard, play hard” spirit and made Huang look like a loner rather than a team player. He had also complained about the food, and was reported to have preferred eating just candy bars instead of the meals that were provided.
Even worse, Huang was very quiet throughout the entire course. He never asked a question.
Though Steinke noted that other Asians had appeared quiet in previous