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Chris Holder “The Road to Hell” Description In “The Road to Hell", chief engineer John Baker is making his final preparations before leaving the Bauxite Company of Barracania in the West Indies. Before leaving Baker meets with Rennalls, the local Barracanian prospect who is to take over as Baker's predecessor. Baker gives Rennalls some feedback and advice regarding the challenges ahead, and the next morning Baker receives a scathing resignation letter from Rennalls (Luthans, 2011). Diagnosis John Baker insulted the culture and history of the Barracanian people. Despite working abroad for many years and despite living in Barracania for two years, he did not understand the cultural sensitivities of the native Barracanians that worked for him. John Baker believes he understands cultural sensitivity but is far from aware of other ethnic backgrounds. John's statements during the end of the interview made it appear to Rennalls that John believed that European culture and methods were far superior to Barracanian ways. John intended to compliment Rennalls with the statements, but they were not received well by Rennalls. Theory Two main theories of organizational behavior can be applied to this case: Attribution Theory and Social Cognitive Theory. Attribution Theory Attribution theory is when an individual's thinking and behaving is modified by their understanding of events. The theory assumes that we attribute causes to behavior. Causes may be dispositional (internal) attribution or situational (external) attribution (Luthans, 2011). We can directly apply attribution theory to this case as Baker is trying to "break through” to Rennalls. Baker is attempting to equate Rennalls success at Bauxite to his mastery of the necessary technical skills but misdiagnosed. It is true that Rennalls superior technical skills contributed to his job performance; however prior to joining Bauxite Rennalls worked for the United Action Party that paved the way for Barracania independence. Bauxite's operations make up half of Barracania exports; if Rennalls places his skills in Bauxite, he will be advancing Barracania. In this case, the attribution is clearly situational in nature. Baker congratulates Rennalls on overcoming the hurdle of Barracania having only 50 to 60 years of experience in modern business, compared to 200 to 300 years in Europe. Rennalls searches for the meaning of Baker's remarks, and after speaking to his father he believes strongly that Baker believes the European culture is superior to the Barracanian culture. According to results of a recent study by Vollhardt (2010), Baker's years of exposure to different cultures should have made him keenly aware of the potential to offend Rennalls with this kind of comment. Social Cognitive Theory The social cognitive theory concentrates on, “five capabilities used to initiate, regulate and sustain behavior, including: (1) symbolizing, (2) forethought, (3) modeling, (4) self- regulation, and (5) self-reflection (Luthans, 2011, p. 383).” In this case, Rennalls sees himself as a symbol of all Barracanian natives, and he models himself based on his cultural beliefs, his environment, and the manner in which he was raised. After speaking at length with Baker, Rennalls takes the time to reflect upon Baker's comments and then determines that Baker has insulted his culture. Rennalls looks to his father as a model of Barracanian culture, and seeks guidance from him, which is a perfect example of Bandura's modeling concept (1976). Prescriptions The recommendation for Baker is to apologize to Rennalls so there is no misunderstanding. He must admit he acted in haste without giving any forethought in making this statement to Rennalls. This type of conflict is blatant and should be rectified as soon as possible by Baker. This apology should not only be a personal apology to Rennalls but to his father as well due to his prominent position in the Barracanian government. This case clearly indicates the need for adequately training managers who work in cross-cultural situations. It is important for all expatriates to understand the culture and values of a country. There should be a socialization process that is coupled with cultural sensitivity and should be required by all employees. Fallout There is a strong possibility that Rennalls will not return to succeed Baker as chief engineer. This is a huge problem for Bauxite because Rennalls has been groomed for this position of increased responsibility. If the solutions fail and Rennalls does not return, Bauxite may have to bring in a new chief engineer from Europe, who will most certainly not be accepted by the native Barracanian employees. References Ba ira, (1976). Social Learning Theory. Behavioral Approaches to Therapy. Morristown, NJ: General Learning. Luthans, F. (2011). Organizational Behavior, 12th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Ritti, R., & Levy, S. (2010). The Ropes to Skip and the Ropes to Know: Studies in Organizational Behavior, 8th Edition. Danvers, MA: Wiley. Vollhardt, J. (2010). Enhanced external and culturally sensitive attributions after extended intercultural contact. British Journal of Social Psychology, 49. Retrieved online March 24, 2011 from ProQuest. INDIVIDUALS:All class members who are not on the presenting team should prepare a short, 400-500 word (about the same as 1, single-spaced, 12-pt. font, 1-inch margins all around, page) analysis(not a summary of the case following the format provided below, and be prepared to discuss and crítique the case during class. Please use sub-headings This analysis will be handed in on the same day of class that the case is presented and discussed. The following format should be used for all case assignments: 1.DESCRIPTION. The first section in the case is the Description. Case discussants should assume that everyone in the class has read the case and only those facts relevant to the problem should be repeated. It should be very short - just a couple of sentences. Only facts, no opinions. 2.DIAGNOSIS.This is where you determine the cause of the problem. It is very common for students to deal with "symptoms" rather than the root problem. Keep asking yourself the question "Why?" And if you can keep explaining, you are probably still dealing with symptoms. Look for the problem that if fixed, all the other problems will go away, For example, Andrea has been a model employee for three years, but recently the quality and quantity of her work has been suffering and fellow employees are getting annoyed at having to pick up the slack and throw out inferior parts. You are getting a lot of complaints from her co-workers. What's the problem? Disgruntled employees? Rejected parts? Why are they disgruntled? Why are the parts being rejected? Because Andrea's work performance has declined. Why? Because she's lazy. Maybe. But keep probing -- Why do you think so? Because she's been coming to work late. Why? Because her day care provider quit and her back-up system failed and she's worried sick about her kids and keeping her job. If we solve the last problem, the tardiness, disgruntled employees, and work performance problems all go away. 3.*** THEORY ***. In the course of determining the cause of the problem or its solution, we need to use organizational theories and concepts to help inform our analysis. This is the most critical part of your paper - indeed, of every paper you will write in this class. What has somebody already thought about that might help explain why something happened and/or how we might fix it? Your book is filled with theories, but it is only the tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds of other sources -- texts, journals, authors' web pages -- that also suggest systematic ways of looking at the world.(You should aim for "peer-reviewed sources. These are easily found by going to the BU library from the BU login page.Click on the Business/Management topic area; then ProQuest Research Library, then check-mark scholary journals; then click on the publications tab at the top of the page.Look in journals such as:Academy of Management Joumal, Academy of Managment Review, Jounal of Applied Psychology, Sloan Management Review, Joumal of Organizational Behavior, Personnel Psychology, Psychological Bulletin, Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, Harvard Business Review, Academy of Management Executive, Joumal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, Academy of Management Learning and Education, Joumal of Behavioral and Applied Management (www.IBAM.com), Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Management Studies & Strategic Management Joumal--for starters. After selecting a journal, put a few key words into the search box. "You can also find useful information in "The Wall Street Journal," "Forbes," "Newsweek," various industry publications, and books, but these are not considered "academic" sources. See how to use the library in the Course Orientation area. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel -- see what's out there. Read, read,read. There are at least 30 different theories that could apply to every case. There is no, one, best theory to use for any one case. Your job is to pick one or two that make sense, explain in detail how they work (go beyond definitions - explain the model) and then explain how they relate to the case - how they help to explain, manage, or predict behavior. For example, if we revisit the "What The Heck Is Theory, Anyway?" section in the "Survival Hints" folder, and look at our work-family conflict theory, we find that it has many salient ingredients or variables in relation to Andrea's story. After explaining what the theory proposes, I might use it to justify suggesting that Andrea's organization institute some sort of family supportive policies because according to the theory, such policies will increase Andrea's sense of control over her personal affairs, which will decrease her perceptions of work-family conflict (increasing her sense of balance), which will decrease her experience of stress (level of anxiety), which may improve her work performance, lessen the necessity of her tardiness, and improve the morale of her co-workers and herself. Then the complaints will go away, Andrea might even break her previous performance records, and the organization decreases the odds of having to recruit and train a new employee - a win-win solution! Remember: Using multiple perspectives, or "triangulation," often leads to a richer solution, but use caution in selecting more than two -- you won't have the space to do any of them well. 4.PRESCRIPTION:Based on what you determined caused the problem, you must now recommend a solution. This should entail both short term and long term prescriptions. Short-term: What do we need to do right now in order to bring the problem under immediate control? Long-term: What should we do in the next few months to prevent this problem from ever happening again? While there are no definitive "right" answers, it is possible to prescribe a wrong answer. For example, if a business is scrambling to meet its payroll next week, a solution suggesting that the owners enroll in a couple of finance and human resources classes would be totally inappropriate because it would take too long to implement, i.e., by the time they completed their classes, the company would have folded. 5.FALLOUT:Even if your recommendations are followed to the letter, there are still things that could go wrong. What are they? Perhaps someone who is offered a promotion will say no. Maybe the recommended training will not be well received. What if a key employee's family decides to relocate? What environmental factors could impact the outcome? *KEY POINT "Buttress your remarks with current literature. Your presentation should be informed by related articles in scholarly journals (i.e., peer-reviewed) or the popular press that are related to the description, diagnosis or prescription of your case problem. These articles should be referenced in your paper according to APA (American Psychological Association) guidelines (see the External Links area for access to APA resources) and incorporated into your presentation.BU has the best online library in the state, so please take advantage of your privileges as a student and access the thousands of full text articles available for your use (through BRUIN or External Links. See how to use the library in the Course Orientation area).If you have any questions about using the library, call them toll free (800.756.7920). They are very friendly and will walk you through the process. Chris Holder “The Road to Hell” Description In “The Road to Hell", chief engineer John Baker is making his final preparations before leaving the Bauxite Company of Barracania in the West Indies. Before leaving Baker meets with Rennalls, the local Barracanian prospect who is to take over as Baker's predecessor. Baker gives Rennalls some feedback and advice regarding the challenges ahead, and the next morning Baker receives a scathing resignation letter from Rennalls (Luthans, 2011). Diagnosis John Baker insulted the culture and history of the Barracanian people. Despite working abroad for many years and despite living in Barracania for two years, he did not understand the cultural sensitivities of the native Barracanians that worked for him. John Baker believes he understands cultural sensitivity but is far from aware of other ethnic backgrounds. John's statements during the end of the interview made it appear to Rennalls that John believed that European culture and methods were far superior to Barracanian ways. John intended to compliment Rennalls with the statements, but they were not received well by Rennalls. Theory Two main theories of organizational behavior can be applied to this case: Attribution Theory and Social Cognitive Theory. Attribution Theory Attribution theory is when an individual's thinking and behaving is modified by their understanding of events. The theory assumes that we attribute causes to behavior. Causes may be dispositional (internal) attribution or situational (external) attribution (Luthans, 2011). We can directly apply attribution theory to this case as Baker is trying to "break through” to Rennalls. Baker is attempting to equate Rennalls success at Bauxite to his mastery of the necessary technical skills but misdiagnosed. It is true that Rennalls superior technical skills contributed to his job performance; however prior to joining Bauxite Rennalls worked for the United Action Party that paved the way for Barracania independence. Bauxite's operations make up half of Barracania exports; if Rennalls places his skills in Bauxite, he will be advancing Barracania. In this case, the attribution is clearly situational in nature. Baker congratulates Rennalls on overcoming the hurdle of Barracania having only 50 to 60 years of experience in modern business, compared to 200 to 300 years in Europe. Rennalls searches for the meaning of Baker's remarks, and after speaking to his father he believes strongly that Baker believes the European culture is superior to the Barracanian culture. According to results of a recent study by Vollhardt (2010), Baker's years of exposure to different cultures should have made him keenly aware of the potential to offend Rennalls with this kind of comment. Social Cognitive Theory The social cognitive theory concentrates on, “five capabilities used to initiate, regulate and sustain behavior, including: (1) symbolizing, (2) forethought, (3) modeling, (4) self- regulation, and (5) self-reflection (Luthans, 2011, p. 383).” In this case, Rennalls sees himself as a symbol of all Barracanian natives, and he models himself based on his cultural beliefs, his environment, and the manner in which he was raised. After speaking at length with Baker, Rennalls takes the time to reflect upon Baker's comments and then determines that Baker has insulted his culture. Rennalls looks to his father as a model of Barracanian culture, and seeks guidance from him, which is a perfect example of Bandura's modeling concept (1976). Prescriptions The recommendation for Baker is to apologize to Rennalls so there is no misunderstanding. He must admit he acted in haste without giving any forethought in making this statement to Rennalls. This type of conflict is blatant and should be rectified as soon as possible by Baker. This apology should not only be a personal apology to Rennalls but to his father as well due to his prominent position in the Barracanian government. This case clearly indicates the need for adequately training managers who work in cross-cultural situations. It is important for all expatriates to understand the culture and values of a country. There should be a socialization process that is coupled with cultural sensitivity and should be required by all employees. Fallout There is a strong possibility that Rennalls will not return to succeed Baker as chief engineer. This is a huge problem for Bauxite because Rennalls has been groomed for this position of increased responsibility. If the solutions fail and Rennalls does not return, Bauxite may have to bring in a new chief engineer from Europe, who will most certainly not be accepted by the native Barracanian employees. References Ba ira, (1976). Social Learning Theory. Behavioral Approaches to Therapy. Morristown, NJ: General Learning. Luthans, F. (2011). Organizational Behavior, 12th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Ritti, R., & Levy, S. (2010). The Ropes to Skip and the Ropes to Know: Studies in Organizational Behavior, 8th Edition. Danvers, MA: Wiley. Vollhardt, J. (2010). Enhanced external and culturally sensitive attributions after extended intercultural contact. British Journal of Social Psychology, 49. Retrieved online March 24, 2011 from ProQuest. INDIVIDUALS:All class members who are not on the presenting team should prepare a short, 400-500 word (about the same as 1, single-spaced, 12-pt. font, 1-inch margins all around, page) analysis(not a summary of the case following the format provided below, and be prepared to discuss and crítique the case during class. Please use sub-headings This analysis will be handed in on the same day of class that the case is presented and discussed. The following format should be used for all case assignments: 1.DESCRIPTION. The first section in the case is the Description. Case discussants should assume that everyone in the class has read the case and only those facts relevant to the problem should be repeated. It should be very short - just a couple of sentences. Only facts, no opinions. 2.DIAGNOSIS.This is where you determine the cause of the problem. It is very common for students to deal with "symptoms" rather than the root problem. Keep asking yourself the question "Why?" And if you can keep explaining, you are probably still dealing with symptoms. Look for the problem that if fixed, all the other problems will go away, For example, Andrea has been a model employee for three years, but recently the quality and quantity of her work has been suffering and fellow employees are getting annoyed at having to pick up the slack and throw out inferior parts. You are getting a lot of complaints from her co-workers. What's the problem? Disgruntled employees? Rejected parts? Why are they disgruntled? Why are the parts being rejected? Because Andrea's work performance has declined. Why? Because she's lazy. Maybe. But keep probing -- Why do you think so? Because she's been coming to work late. Why? Because her day care provider quit and her back-up system failed and she's worried sick about her kids and keeping her job. If we solve the last problem, the tardiness, disgruntled employees, and work performance problems all go away. 3.*** THEORY ***. In the course of determining the cause of the problem or its solution, we need to use organizational theories and concepts to help inform our analysis. This is the most critical part of your paper - indeed, of every paper you will write in this class. What has somebody already thought about that might help explain why something happened and/or how we might fix it? Your book is filled with theories, but it is only the tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds of other sources -- texts, journals, authors' web pages -- that also suggest systematic ways of looking at the world.(You should aim for "peer-reviewed sources. These are easily found by going to the BU library from the BU login page.Click on the Business/Management topic area; then ProQuest Research Library, then check-mark scholary journals; then click on the publications tab at the top of the page.Look in journals such as:Academy of Management Joumal, Academy of Managment Review, Jounal of Applied Psychology, Sloan Management Review, Joumal of Organizational Behavior, Personnel Psychology, Psychological Bulletin, Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, Harvard Business Review, Academy of Management Executive, Joumal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, Academy of Management Learning and Education, Joumal of Behavioral and Applied Management (www.IBAM.com), Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Management Studies & Strategic Management Joumal--for starters. After selecting a journal, put a few key words into the search box. "You can also find useful information in "The Wall Street Journal," "Forbes," "Newsweek," various industry publications, and books, but these are not considered "academic" sources. See how to use the library in the Course Orientation area. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel -- see what's out there. Read, read,read. There are at least 30 different theories that could apply to every case. There is no, one, best theory to use for any one case. Your job is to pick one or two that make sense, explain in detail how they work (go beyond definitions - explain the model) and then explain how they relate to the case - how they help to explain, manage, or predict behavior. For example, if we revisit the "What The Heck Is Theory, Anyway?" section in the "Survival Hints" folder, and look at our work-family conflict theory, we find that it has many salient ingredients or variables in relation to Andrea's story. After explaining what the theory proposes, I might use it to justify suggesting that Andrea's organization institute some sort of family supportive policies because according to the theory, such policies will increase Andrea's sense of control over her personal affairs, which will decrease her perceptions of work-family conflict (increasing her sense of balance), which will decrease her experience of stress (level of anxiety), which may improve her work performance, lessen the necessity of her tardiness, and improve the morale of her co-workers and herself. Then the complaints will go away, Andrea might even break her previous performance records, and the organization decreases the odds of having to recruit and train a new employee - a win-win solution! Remember: Using multiple perspectives, or "triangulation," often leads to a richer solution, but use caution in selecting more than two -- you won't have the space to do any of them well. 4.PRESCRIPTION:Based on what you determined caused the problem, you must now recommend a solution. This should entail both short term and long term prescriptions. Short-term: What do we need to do right now in order to bring the problem under immediate control? Long-term: What should we do in the next few months to prevent this problem from ever happening again? While there are no definitive "right" answers, it is possible to prescribe a wrong answer. For example, if a business is scrambling to meet its payroll next week, a solution suggesting that the owners enroll in a couple of finance and human resources classes would be totally inappropriate because it would take too long to implement, i.e., by the time they completed their classes, the company would have folded. 5.FALLOUT:Even if your recommendations are followed to the letter, there are still things that could go wrong. What are they? Perhaps someone who is offered a promotion will say no. Maybe the recommended training will not be well received. What if a key employee's family decides to relocate? What environmental factors could impact the outcome? *KEY POINT "Buttress your remarks with current literature. Your presentation should be informed by related articles in scholarly journals (i.e., peer-reviewed) or the popular press that are related to the description, diagnosis or prescription of your case problem. These articles should be referenced in your paper according to APA (American Psychological Association) guidelines (see the External Links area for access to APA resources) and incorporated into your presentation.BU has the best online library in the state, so please take advantage of your privileges as a student and access the thousands of full text articles available for your use (through BRUIN or External Links. See how to use the library in the Course Orientation area).If you have any questions about using the library, call them toll free (800.756.7920). They are very friendly and will walk you through the process. Chris Holder “The Road to Hell” Description In “The Road to Hell", chief engineer John Baker is making his final preparations before leaving the Bauxite Company of Barracania in the West Indies. Before leaving Baker meets with Rennalls, the local Barracanian prospect who is to take over as Baker's predecessor. Baker gives Rennalls some feedback and advice regarding the challenges ahead, and the next morning Baker receives a scathing resignation letter from Rennalls (Luthans, 2011). Diagnosis John Baker insulted the culture and history of the Barracanian people. Despite working abroad for many years and despite living in Barracania for two years, he did not understand the cultural sensitivities of the native Barracanians that worked for him. John Baker believes he understands cultural sensitivity but is far from aware of other ethnic backgrounds. John's statements during the end of the interview made it appear to Rennalls that John believed that European culture and methods were far superior to Barracanian ways. John intended to compliment Rennalls with the statements, but they were not received well by Rennalls. Theory Two main theories of organizational behavior can be applied to this case: Attribution Theory and Social Cognitive Theory. Attribution Theory Attribution theory is when an individual's thinking and behaving is modified by their understanding of events. The theory assumes that we attribute causes to behavior. Causes may be dispositional (internal) attribution or situational (external) attribution (Luthans, 2011). We can directly apply attribution theory to this case as Baker is trying to "break through” to Rennalls. Baker is attempting to equate Rennalls success at Bauxite to his mastery of the necessary technical skills but misdiagnosed. It is true that Rennalls superior technical skills contributed to his job performance; however prior to joining Bauxite Rennalls worked for the United Action Party that paved the way for Barracania independence. Bauxite's operations make up half of Barracania exports; if Rennalls places his skills in Bauxite, he will be advancing Barracania. In this case, the attribution is clearly situational in nature. Baker congratulates Rennalls on overcoming the hurdle of Barracania having only 50 to 60 years of experience in modern business, compared to 200 to 300 years in Europe. Rennalls searches for the meaning of Baker's remarks, and after speaking to his father he believes strongly that Baker believes the European culture is superior to the Barracanian culture. According to results of a recent study by Vollhardt (2010), Baker's years of exposure to different cultures should have made him keenly aware of the potential to offend Rennalls with this kind of comment. Social Cognitive Theory The social cognitive theory concentrates on, “five capabilities used to initiate, regulate and sustain behavior, including: (1) symbolizing, (2) forethought, (3) modeling, (4) self- regulation, and (5) self-reflection (Luthans, 2011, p. 383).” In this case, Rennalls sees himself as a symbol of all Barracanian natives, and he models himself based on his cultural beliefs, his environment, and the manner in which he was raised. After speaking at length with Baker, Rennalls takes the time to reflect upon Baker's comments and then determines that Baker has insulted his culture. Rennalls looks to his father as a model of Barracanian culture, and seeks guidance from him, which is a perfect example of Bandura's modeling concept (1976). Prescriptions The recommendation for Baker is to apologize to Rennalls so there is no misunderstanding. He must admit he acted in haste without giving any forethought in making this statement to Rennalls. This type of conflict is blatant and should be rectified as soon as possible by Baker. This apology should not only be a personal apology to Rennalls but to his father as well due to his prominent position in the Barracanian government. This case clearly indicates the need for adequately training managers who work in cross-cultural situations. It is important for all expatriates to understand the culture and values of a country. There should be a socialization process that is coupled with cultural sensitivity and should be required by all employees. Fallout There is a strong possibility that Rennalls will not return to succeed Baker as chief engineer. This is a huge problem for Bauxite because Rennalls has been groomed for this position of increased responsibility. If the solutions fail and Rennalls does not return, Bauxite may have to bring in a new chief engineer from Europe, who will most certainly not be accepted by the native Barracanian employees. References Ba ira, (1976). Social Learning Theory. Behavioral Approaches to Therapy. Morristown, NJ: General Learning. Luthans, F. (2011). Organizational Behavior, 12th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Ritti, R., & Levy, S. (2010). The Ropes to Skip and the Ropes to Know: Studies in Organizational Behavior, 8th Edition. Danvers, MA: Wiley. Vollhardt, J. (2010). Enhanced external and culturally sensitive attributions after extended intercultural contact. British Journal of Social Psychology, 49. Retrieved online March 24, 2011 from ProQuest.
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