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Case Analysis: From Regional Star to Global Leader - MGT501 Alternative Assignment

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Added on 2024/07/01

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This case analysis report examines the challenges faced by Jianguo Yang, a Chinese manager tasked with leading a French perfume company's global expansion. The report analyzes the cultural differences, communication breakdowns, and leadership style mismatches that contributed to conflict and hindered the company's success. It explores solutions to address these issues, focusing on the importance of cultural sensitivity, effective communication, and adaptive leadership in a VUCA world. The report concludes with recommendations for Jianguo and the company to navigate the complexities of global leadership and achieve sustainable growth.

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MGT501 Alternative Assignment
Case Analysis Business Report
1

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Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Analysis of the case.........................................................................................................................5
1. Elements of conflict and reason behind them.......................................................................5
2. Approaches to solving the problem......................................................................................8
3. Management competencies that are highlighted by the case which are essential in VUCA
world.......................................................................................................................................... 10
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................... 11
References......................................................................................................................................12
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Executive Summary
As the world has now started embracing the global economy, it has been found that it is now the
need of corporations to promote their diverse managing staffs such that they might b able to keep
up with the rapid changes that go on in the economy of the country. It is important for the
company to ensure that they are competent enough in the market failing which they might lose to
the highly intense competition. In the management report provided below, there is a brief
analysis presented on one such case extracted from Harvard Business Review, “From Regional
Star to Global Leader” which briefly studies the thrusting of French Perfume Company in the
global market. Led by Jianguo Yang, the case will explicitly evaluate the issues that are faced
when a company goes global with a local leader. The study will further state the advice which
might be taken into consideration by the company and will also reflect upon the skills and
qualities a leader must possess before going global.
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Introduction
From the analysis of the case, it is evident that it is the need of the company to go global as the
growth and sales have stalled in the local market. It makes it important for the company to ensure
that their profit figures stay up from the margin such that they might be able to keep their
competitive edge in the industry. In order to ensure this, the company is now targeting the
perfume market of Paris for which the company has appointed their local Chinese leader Jianguo
Yang. With high expectation and experience, it was thought that the leader would be able to run
profit margins for the company but on the other side of the story, he was faced with some
managerial issues. These issues not only caused troubles for Mr Yang but also impacted the
performance of the firm in a negative manner (Nohria et. al., 2018).
The management report provided below will effectively and efficiently analyse the case and
discuss the issues which were faced by him in the new market and present the solutions for the
same.
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Analysis of the case
1. Elements of conflict and reason behind them
From the analysis of the case, it is evident that there were various issues regarding
misunderstandings and conflict which ruined the relationship of Mr Yang with his new
subordinates. From being a local manager to a multi-national executive representing the firm in a
new company changed various things for him. Though it was a step up, this transition became
difficult to handle and it turned the situation upside down at a rapid pace. The issues led to
conflicts with teammates, who would not cooperate, a misunderstanding with superiors, inability
to think strategically and feeling ambiguous about the leading strategy as well. It was identified
that there stood three major reasons for conflict which led to the issues. Stated below are these
issues and the reasons behind them:
 Cultural Difference: the Cultural difference is the first aspect and issue which is clearly
visible in the case study of HBR. It has been identified from various sources, that in
Chinese companies the companies follow an organisation structure hierarchy in which the
employees are required to report to their heads (Gurung & Prater, 2017). This hierarchy is
applied in each and every department of the company and leapfrogging here is considered
unethical practice. On the other, hand, the French companies, the scenario is different and
the companies follow a flat organisational structure. In such a case leapfrogging is not
considered as an unethical practice and the General Manager of the company welcomes
each and every employee to report anything to them. In case of Mr Yang, he was unaware
of this fact and this organisational structure. The things led to a conflicting situation when
his subordinates came to report to him.
Due to this issue, it was found that Mr Yang did not felt well and this issue led to
situations of conflict and misunderstandings between him and his subordinates.
According to the culture where Jianguo earlier used to work, the companies follow a top-
o-down hierarchy and evidently Mr Yang was used to working according to this mode. In
the new culture, it was found that he never listened to his subordinates and never paid
attention to the suggestions made by them (Vaus et. al., 2018). It was also found that
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instead of listening to the suggestions made by lower-level employees, he majorly
intended on giving orders to them without even considering their insights. This led to
many issues between him and his subordinates and eventually the employees withdrew
their support from him.
 Change in role: Change is the role is another issue that led to the conflicting situation
which was faced by company and Mr Yang. From being a local Chinese Manager, Mr
Yang was now a company’s global executive which clearly states that his role changed in
a significant manner (Hancock, 2018). This transition was big and it leads to many
changes in the mindset of a particular person. It has been identified in the past that the
decisions that were made by Mr Yang were mainly based on experience, intuitions and
anecdotes. In the new market, as per the demand of the situation, the decisions are
required to be based on strategic thinking and stats. The leadership style of Mr Yang has
identified to be transactional in nature which states that he was a task-driven manager. In
the new market of Europe, the situation demands a transformational leader which not
only inspires team members but also maintain harmony of smooth communication with
them (Rosenbach, 2018). Also, the changes in focus and political wisdom are another
factor that adds up in the conflicting situation.
 Ineffective communication: Ineffective communication is the third and last factor which
led to worsening of the situation. Though it has been identified from the case study that
he is a smart guy and has a lot of outstanding achievements over the course of years in
the Chinese market, it is important for the manager to promote their ideas such that they
might be able to share the same vision with their followers as well. It was identified that
he barely discusses his ideas with colleagues and subordinates due to which he constantly
kept failing in getting them to know his vision (Nicotera et. al., 2014). In order to work in
a smooth manner, it is important for the person to know about the kind of colleagues they
are working with.
It was identified that Mr Yang never listens to the employees and colleagues in a patient
manner and was too adamant about proving his own capabilities. It is important for the
manager to show respect of others and team members. It was also found that he never
discusses his ideas with his superiors and he had no idea about what were the ideas of his
superiors as well. During their meeting, he also failed to realise that his seniors were not
6

at ease with his ideas and they were not in with him. The meetings scenario clearly stated
that he kept main focus towards his own ideas and this inefficiency in communication
might lead to ruining his career as well.
Thus from the analysis of the case presented above, it can be said that the conflicts were mainly
because of incapability of Jianguo to realise the changes in the market and in the environment.
Has he been able to cope up with the changes, the conflicts would not have been raised in the
first place and he would have been able to come up with better and effective strategies of
marketing (Nohria et. al., 2018).
7

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2. Approaches to solving the problem
From the evaluation of the case that has been presented above, it can be said that Jianguo lacked
the dynamics to adapt himself with the changes that happened in his new role and he was unable
to incubate to the multicultural environment as well. The working culture and tradition in the
French organisation was different and was above his expectations. It should be noted that he
lacked effective communication with his colleagues due to which both the parties could not trust
each other with their decisions as well (Nohria et. al., 2018). The evaluation thus stated that it is
important for him to adapt the leadership and communication skills such that he might be able to
play an important role in determining the success of the company and ensure his organisational
development as well. in order to succeed in an effective manner, it is important that Jianguo
makes some drastic and significant changes in his beliefs and behaviour. Stated below are some
key approaches which could have been considered by Jianguo to move forward in his
professional career.
The problems that were encountered in this case can be effectively seen from two aspects i.e. the
aspect of organisation and from the aspect of Mr Yang. It is important for Mr Yang to made
some changes which are in accordance with the goals and objectives of the organisation and it is
also important for the company to change such that it might be able to develop even further. The
solution in this segment of the report would be briefly discussed in accordance with the aspects
of Mr Yang. These suggestions have been stated below as follows:
Learn important phrases: It should be noted that clear and effective communication is
important for effective functioning of the organisation and it is also important for the manager of
the company to ensure that his employees and client understand his visions as well. Depending
on the number of clients and employees the company is dealing with it is not easy for Mr Yang
to learn all the languages. This makes it important for him to understand important phrases such
that he might be able to persuade employees and seniors on his way of thinking (Deresky, 2017).
In order to do so, it is important for Mr Yang to consider learning a form of foreign language and
get cross-cultural training such that he might be able to deal with the clients of European culture.
Get insights on the culture of the client: IT is important for Mr Yang to research in an
evaluated manner and know about the new culture such that he might be able to make clients and
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employees feel comfortable around him. It is thus important to learn about what are the major
things that are valued by his clients and customers such as their food, protocols and customs
business practices, organisational culture etc. This could be easily done by the means of internet
and since the abundance of knowledge which is available online; it would not be a hard task for
Mr Yang to gain knowledge about the basic tenets of the French Culture. It should also be noted
that people will also see the extra efforts that are being put and they would be happy to
appreciate them (Cummings & Worley, 2014). The result of this might be seen in their wish to
consider doing business with Mr Yang in future.
Effective management of the vertical relationships: It has been evident in the case of Mr Yang
that he is not so good at the relationship management. This conclusion can be effectively drawn
from the fact that he never listened to his subordinates and was also not on good communication
with his seniors. The lack of thinking in a strategic manner did not put him in good terms with
the seniors as well. It is thus important for him to effectively take care of the vertical
relationships such that he might be able to act on his strong points and circumvent the
weaknesses effectively. It is important for him to recognise the fact that his employees are aware
of the business environment and thus he can effectively draw up strategies which require their
knowledge of the market (Shiraev & Levy, 2106). It is also important that Yang should adjust
according to the company’s structure and not try to adjust the same.
9

3. Management competencies that are highlighted by the case which are
essential in VUCA world
VUCA is an acronym which stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of
general conditions and situations. It is important that the leaders in the industry should possess
some unique skills such that they might be able to stand out from other and also motivate their
employees to effectively and efficiently work for them as well. The important skills that are
required to be possessed by the leaders in a highly competitive environment have been stated
below as follows:
Be adaptive and pay importance to the cultural differences: it is required by the company to
make sure that Jianguo is well aware of the cultural differences that might be faced by him in the
new market. This will help him in adapting to the situation in an effective and efficient manner
Cultivate the team spirit: Team spirit is one of the major forces that drive a firm effectively.
This team spirit could be used as a tool to effectively generate sales and revenues such that the
company might have high amounts of profits. This is required to be done by Jianguo and here he
is required to analyse the cultural differences effectively and make good interactions with his
colleagues as well (Prabhu, 2016).
Be adaptable: This is one of the most important qualities that are possessed by a leader. It is
important that a leader should be adaptable and change them in accordance with the new
environment. This will not only help in winning the trust of the employees but it will also enable
the leader to promote their ideology and thinking with ease.
Get the insights of the market: A leader is only as good as his strategy and achievements. The
statement clarifies that it is important for the leader to have effective knowledge about the new
market such that he might be able to improve their ideas and strategies and yield effective results
as well (Rosenbach, 2018). It is important that the arguments of the leaders must also be
persuasive and supportive. This is the fact which is required to be considered by Alain.
10

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Conclusion
The report provided above thus concludes that it is important for the company to get involved in
the strategies thinking such that it might be able to move forward and get their stagnant revenues
to stream again. It can further be concluded that the issues were mainly because of three basic
problems i.e. cultural differences, lack of proper communication and ambiguous role definition.
In order to deal with the issue, the company is required to lower down all the three constraints
stated. The effective solutions to the problem have been explained in the management report and
are required to be implemented by the company as soon as possible. According to the current
situation, the key person that is required to deal with the problem is still Jianguo. It is thus
important for him to deal with the situation in the ways which have been discussed above. A
major role could be played by effective cooperation from Alain and this can help the company to
change the current situation in their favour as well.
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References
 Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2014). Organization development and change.
Cengage learning.
 De Vaus, J., Hornsey, M. J., Kuppens, P., & Bastian, B. (2018). Exploring the East-West
divide in prevalence of affective disorder: A case for cultural differences in coping with
negative emotion. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 22(3), 285-304.
 Deresky, H. (2017). International management: Managing across borders and cultures.
Pearson Education India.
 Gurung, A., & Prater, E. (2017). A research framework for the impact of cultural
differences on IT outsourcing. In Global Sourcing of Services: Strategies, Issues and
Challenges (pp. 49-82).
 Hancock, L. E. (Ed.). (2016). Narratives of Identity in Social Movements, Conflicts and
Change. Emerald Group Publishing.
 Nicotera, A. M., Mahon, M. M., & Wright, K. B. (2014). Communication that builds
teams. Nursing administration quarterly, 38(3), 248-260.
 Nohria et. al. (2018). From Regional Star to Global Leader. [online] Harvard Business
Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2009/01/from-regional-star-to-global-leader
[Accessed 28 Jul. 2018].
 Prabhu, G. M. (2016). Two Leadership Traits: Humility and Ethics. EPH-International
Journal of Science And Engineering (ISSN: 2454-2016), 2(11), 01-10.
 Rosenbach, W. E. (2018). Contemporary issues in leadership. Routledge.
 Rosenbach, W. E. (2018). Contemporary issues in leadership. Routledge.
 Shiraev, E. B., & Levy, D. A. (2016). Cross-cultural psychology: Critical thinking and
contemporary applications. Routledge.
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