Case Study 09: Managing People, Values Conflict, and Competencies

This case study analyzes a scenario where Renate Schmidt, the head of human resources, faces a dilemma regarding the appointment of an American expatriate as the new marketing head. The conflict arises from the significantly higher compensation package expected by the expatriate compared to existing employees, creating potential issues with employee motivation and cost management. The analysis identifies conflicting values such as the importance of the expatriate's expertise versus the impact on employee morale and company costs. The solution proposes advice for Renate, including conducting thorough research, performing a cost-benefit analysis, and promoting a fair wage system. Furthermore, the case study highlights crucial management competencies for 21st-century leaders in a VUCA world, such as legal knowledge of expatriate employment, cross-cultural awareness, decision-making skills, and conflict resolution abilities, all essential for navigating the complexities of the modern business environment.

Running head: CASE STUDY 09
CASE STUDY 09
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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CASE STUDY 09
Case discussion Activity
Case discussion activity for Topic 9:
The given case study discusses the plight of Renate Schmidt who has been faced by a
problem relating to the appointment of a new marketing head in her firm. The head will be an
expatriate from America and it is due to this reason that her pay structure is relevantly
different from the regular employees and various other allowances have to be provided which
thereby makes her pay much more than the company head as well (Youtube.com. ,2018).
Answer to Question 1: Conflicting values
The case study comprises of a large number of conflicting values which can be stated to be as
follows:
Conflicting values are values or the presence of a certain number of factors which
have a strong impact on the working of the firm. In the given case study of the conflicting
pays, the conflicting values are given below:
1. The value of the expatriate: The expatriate Anne can be described as a crucial
candidate for the particular job of the marketing as in her prior activities she has
single handedly looked after the ventures and hence, her employment can be deemed
to be crucial for the overall welfare of the firm.
2. The managing of the employees: The current employees of the organization have
become a primary issue for the firm as these employees have begun to believe that the
current work system of the organization is inefficient in nature and that the outside
expatriates will be paid more than the usual (McGregor & Doshi, 2015). Hence, this
acts as a key de-motivator and affects the overall profitability of the firm.
3. The additional cost pressure on the company: When the extra payment will be
made to the different employees, the firm will be incurring additional costs which
have an impact on the functioning of the firm.
Answer to Question 2: Advice
From the given situation it can be rightfully stated that Renate is in a state of dilemma
and hence the following advice shall be provided to her:

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CASE STUDY 09
 Conduct a thorough research: Renate needs to ensure that if she wants to
negotiate the salary of Anne then she needs to conduct a good research on her
compensation package and compare it with various other countries and their related
laws.
 Undertake a cost-benefit analysis: It is also advised that Renate undertakes a cost
benefit analysis based on the employment of Anne (Mohrman & Lawler, 2014). It can
be agreed upon that although the compensation package being given to Anne is high
but if the returns on her employment which can be taken to be the marketing benefits
of the company are considered then, if it is taken to be high it can cause benefits to the
firm which will then further assist in solving the dilemma.
 Encourage a fair wage system: Moreover, Renate needs to get into a conversation
with the CEO of the firm and suggest a measure based on a fair system which will
make the employees happy.
Answer to Question 3- Management competencies
The management competencies pertaining to VUCA world are as follows:
 Having an adequate knowledge of the legal aspects of employing the expatriates
 Having cross cultural awareness to ensure overall success
 Having decision making capabilities (Kramar et al., 2014)
 Ability to resolve conflicts which shall assist in achieving the overall success of the
organization in the competitive business world.

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CASE STUDY 09
References
Kramar, Bartram, DeCieri, Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, Wright (2014). Human resource
management in Australia - Strategy, people, performance (5th ed., pp. 6-12. ). North
Ryde, NSW: McGraw-Hill.
McGregor, L., & Doshi, N. (2015). How company culture affects employee
motivation. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 2-9.
Mohrman, S., & Lawler, E. E. (2014). Designing organizations for sustainable effectiveness:
A new paradigm for organizations and academic researchers. Journal of
Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 1(1), 14-34
Youtube.com. (2018). `Topic 9 Managing people [hands, hearts and minds] (YouTube) |
Available at: https://youtu.be/TcrwII6gbTU (Accessed on 26 Sept.2018)