, flntegrmtiwe ffase &

.J"he RoaC

tc F{ell
of the Caribbean Bauxite
Barracania. The success of this ti;:1,:ly regionalization policy led to excellent relations with iire goventmeitt.

John Baker, chief engineer

Company of Barracania in the West Indies, was malring his final preparations to leave the island. llis promotion to pro-

duction manager of Keso .Mining Corporation near Winnipcfu-one ol Continental Ore's fast-expanding
Canadian enterprises-had heen announced a rnonth before, and now everything had been tidied up except the last vital

This relationship was giver; an acldccl importalce when Barracania, 3 years later, bL.ilame independent -al occasion that encouraged a critir:ai and challenging atti.

interview with his successor, the able young Barracanian, Matthew Rennalls. it was crucial that this interview be successiiil and that Rennalls leave his office uplifted and encouraged to race the challenge of a new iob, A touch on the bell would have brought Rennalls walking into the room, but Baker delayed the moment and gazed thoughtfuily through the window. consiclering just exactly whar he was going to say and, more particulariy, how he was going to say it. John Baker, an English expatriate, u,as 45 years olcl irnd had served 23 years rvith Continental Ore in Easf Asia, several African countries, Europe, and lor the last 2 years, the \A/est Indies. FIe hadn't carecl much for. his previous assignment in I.lanrburg ancl was delighted when the West IndirLn appointrnent 'barne through Climate was not tbe
seas

tude toward the role that foreign ir,.:rests would play in the new Barracania. Therefore, Hutch;ls had little difficulty in

convincing Baker that lhe suc':es:jul career clevclcpment

of Rennalls was of primary impori.ince. The interview with I{utchir:i was norv ? yeiirs okl,
and Baker, leaning back in his ct{-,ce.chai1 revielvecl his success in groclming Rennalls. What aspects ol,fhc latter,s cllaracter had helped and wlrat had hindered? What about

his own personality? How had that hclpecl or hinderctl?

The first itenr to go on the credit sicle would, u'ithout question, be the ability of Rennalls to mastor the rechnical aspects of tlrc job. From the start, he had shown keenness and enlhrrsiasm and often inrpressed Baker wilh his alrility in tackling new assignrnents as well as the constltrclirie comnlents lre invariabiy made i.;r departnrcntal discussi<_rns. He u'as popular with all ranks ,_i{ Barracaniirn stal{ and hircl an ease o1' mannel that placer bim in goocl :;terrd i.vhun

only attraction. Baker liad always prefen.eci working over(in what were telmeci "tire developing countries',),

felt he hacl an innate knack-better than most other expatriates working for Contjnental Ore-of kriowing just horv to get along with the regionai staff, r\fter 2a
because he

dealing ivith his expatriate senr)rs. il'hcse were all assels, lrut whar about the debit side?

hours in Barracania, however; he realized rhat he wouid need all this "innate knack" to deal ellbctively with the problems that awaited him in this f,ield.

At his first interview with llutchins, the production manager, the problem of Rennails and his future rvas discussed. There and then it was made qnite ciear to Baker that
one

Ilirst and foremost, l.here vras his Lacial corrsr:iousnr:ss. FIis 4 years at London Universiti: had accentualecl this feeling and made him sensitiv'e to any sign of condesccrrr;ion (rrr the pari oF expatriates. It may have been to givc cxi,rcsslqyll to this senliment fhat as soon as he returned fronl l-onrlonhe threw himself into politics on behalf of the Unitcd Action
I)artv, which later won the preiurlependcnee clections anti ploviCed the country with its first prime minister.

of his most important

tasks rvttuld be "grooming,,

Rarrurcanian

only was Rennalls one of the brightest

Rennalis as his successor. I{utchins haci poilted out that not

The ambitions of Rennalls--and he certainh' was ambitious-did not lie in politics, because stauncii rrirticnalist that he was, he saw rhat he could serve himself and his

prospects on the staff of Caribbean Bauxite*ai l.ondon University he hacl tal<en fust-class honors in tlre BSc engineering degree-but being the son of the minister o1, finance and economic planning, he also had no small politicrl pull.

The company had been particulaiiy pleased when

Rennalls decided to work for it rather than the government in which his fathel had such a prominent post. The company ascribed his action to the effect or iB vigorous and

country bcst-for bauxite was resprgnsible for ue;ri-ly hzilf the rrahre of Barracania's export tracle-by putting his engi, neering talenf tc the best use possiblc. On this acc{}unt, I{utchins found that hc lrad an unexpcctedly elsv rasii iu persuading Rennails to gjve up his political wolli bef'ole
entering the production department as an assistant engincer. Baker knew that it wa$ Renuails' well-repressed sense of race consciousness that had plevented their relationslip liom being as close as it should hilve Lreen. On the surfacc, nothiug coulcl have slil ne (i mole aSrccable. Formality belwcen the two men w:i1; at a rninimum. IJakcr was dcliglrted to find that his ar.lrstant shared lris orvn

liberal regionalizatiot program, wirich since Workl War lI had produced 18 Barracanians at mid-rnanagement ievel and given Caribbean Bauxite a good leld iu this respect over all otl.rer international conceilrs operaling in

'52A

FDarai

4-

Organizational Behavior and Human F6source Management

peculiar "shaggy dog" sense of humor so that jokes were continually being exchanged; they entertainecl each other at their houses and often played tennis together-and yet the barrier remained invisible, indefinable, but ever prescnt. The existence of this "screen" between lhem was a constant source of frustration to Baker, because it indicat_ cd a r,veakness that he was ioath to ziccept, If hr: was suc_ cessftrl with all other uatjonalities, why n,rt witlr Rennalls? At least he had managed to ,,brcak through" to Ilennalls more successfully than any other expatriate. In lact, it wns the young Barracanian's attitucle*sometimes overbcaring, sotnetimes cynical-toward other conlpirny expatriates that had beun one of thc subjccts Bal<cr hacl raised last year when hc discussed Rennalls' staff repor.t with him. He knew, too, that he would have lo raise the same subject again in the forthcoming interview, because Jackson, the senior draftqrerson, had conrplained oniy yesretdry about the rucleness of Rennalls. Wth this thought in mind, Baker leaned forward and spoke into the intercom, ,'Would yorr come in, Matt, please? I'd like a word with you." As Renr:alls entergd the room, Baker said, "Do sit dowLt,,'and offerecl a cigarerte, He paused while he held out his liglrter; then went on. "As you know, Nlatt, I'11 be otl to Canada in a few days' tirne, and before I go, I thought it would be uselul if we could have a final chat togethor. It is incJeecl with some clefelence that I suggest I can be of help. you wiil shortly be sitting in this chair cloing the job I am now cloing, but I, on the olher hatrd, am 10 years older, so perhaps you can accept the iclea that I ma1' 6s able to give you the benefit of nry longer experience," Baker saw Rennalls stitfen sligirtly in his chair as he made this point. Consequently, he added in explanation,

ingenious method you used to get air dowr ro the fifth-shafr level is a sufficient case n point_and ot O.purtn .nioi meetings I have invariably found your commenrs well_ taken and helpful. In fact, you will be intercstecl to tnu* ihat only last week I reported to Mr. Hutchi[s tiriLl, from the technical point of view, he could not wish tbr a more abie man to succeed to the position of chief engincer.,, .Rennalls witir a srnile of thanks. ,,My trnly worry norv is how to live up to such a high recomrnendation.', "Of that I am quite sure," returned Bal<er, ,,especiallv if you can overcome the minus laclor which i would like novz to discuss with you. lt js one that i have talkecl itbour be [bre, so I'll come straight to the point. I have nutir:ecl that

"'lhat's very goocl indeed of you, Jolrrr,,, cut

in

you are niore fiiendly and get on better vrit.h your lellow Banncanians than you do with Europeans. ln poini of fact, I had a complaint only yesterday from Mr. Jackson, who saicl yoU had been rude to him-and not for the first tinie either. "Therc is, Matt, I am sure, no ncecl for me to teli you how necessary it will be for you to get on r.vell with expa_ triotes, because untij the company has trained sufficilnt people of your calibre, Europeans are bouncl to occupy

witli Jacksr:u-and you may

senior positions here in Barracania. All this is vital to your future interests, so can I help you in any way?,' While Baker was speaking on this therr,c, li.cnnalls sat tensed in his chair, and it was some seconcjs bclbl.c he teplied. "lt is quite extraordinary, isn't it, how orrc can con_ vey an impression to others so at variance wilh lvhai one intends? I can only assure you once again that rny clisputes

rcnrember alsc, Godscln-

"You and

have-aftended enough company courses to

have had notbing at all to cJo with the color of thcjr skins. t prornise you that if a llarracanian had bchavcd in ar equal-

rernember those repeated requests by the personnel manager to tell peopie hotv they are getting on as often as the convenient moment arises ancl uot just the rulomatic ,once a year'

by iegulation, staff reports have to be discussed.,' Rennalls nodded his agreeneut, ancl Baker went on. ,,I shall always remember the last job performance cliscussion I had r.vith my previous boss back in Germany. He usecl what he called tbe 'plus and minus' teclinique. I,Iis firn belief was that when a senior, by discussion, secks lo irnprove the work performance of his staff, his prirne objective should be to
r'vhen,

ly peremptoiy manner I would have reactecl in precisoly tlre same way. And again, if I may say it within these four rvalls, I ani sure I am not the only one who has founcl Jackson and Godson difficult. I could mention the rrames of
sevcral expatriates who have felt the same. However, I ain really sorry to have createcl this impression of not being able to get along with Europeans-it is an entirely false one-aucl I quite realize that I must do all I can to corr{)ct ii as quickJy as possible. On your last poini, regarding Eurcpearrs holding senior positions in the comnilny for some timc to c{rme, I quite accept.the sifuation. I know that Caribbeiin Bauxite-

make sure that the latter leaves the interview encouraged and

as

inspired to improve. Aay criticism inust, thereforr, 6r'.onsl"ructive and heipful, He said thiu one very good way to
encourage a person-ard I fully agree with him-is to tell him about his good points-the plus factors-as well as his weak ones-the nrinus t'actor.s. I thought, Matt, jt would be a good idea to run our discussion along these lines,"

it has been doing for

many years

now-will

promote

Barracanians as soon as their experience warrants it. z\ld,

finally,

would like to assu.re you, John-arrd my father

Rennalls offered no comment, so Baker continued. "Let me say, thelefore, right away, that, as far as your owtr work perfrlrmance'is concerned, the plus far outweighs thc minus. I have been most impresscd, for instance, with the way vorl lave adapted your considerable theoretic knowledge to master the practical tecirniqLles of your

.iob-that

thinks the same too-that I am very happy in my work here ancl hope to stay with the company for many years to come." Rennalls had spoken earnestly. A.lthough not con..vinced by what he heard, Baker did not think he could pur.sue the matter t'urther except to say, ,,All right, Matt, ruy impression may be wlong, but I would like to reminC you about the truth of that old saying, 'What is important is uot what is true but what is believed,'Let it rest at that." But suddenly Baker knew he dicln't wallt ro "let it rest at that." He was disappointed once again at not being

floategr.art6vca Gars@

The Hoad to Hell

Aat@,

in his rhakeup. Baker, who had intended to encJ the interview at this point, decided to try another tactic. | "To return for a moment to the ,plus and minus tichnique' I was telling you about just now, tiiere is another plus factor I forgot to mentjon. I woulcl like to congratulate you not only on the calibre of your work but also on the abilitv

able to break through to Rennalls and having yet again 1o listen to his bland clenial that there was ,ny ,uiiul pr;judice

From:

AssistantEngineer Chief Engineer, Caribbean Bauxite Limited

lb:

t4 August
Assessment of Intervietv between Buker

you have shown in overcoming a challenge wirjch I, as a European, have never had to rneet. Continental Ore is, as you knou', a typical commercial enterprise_admittediy a big onep.-which is a product of the econonic and social environment of the United States and Western Europe, My ancestors have all been brought up in this environnrent flor

the past 200 or 300 years, and I have, therefore, been able" to live in a world in which commerce (as we know it toclay) has been part and parcel of my being. It has not been sorne_

life." Baker went on, "ln your case, fhe situation is differ-

thing revolutionary and new that has suddenly entered my

ent, because you and your tbrebears have had only some 50 or 60 years in this cornmercial environrnent. you have had to face the challenge of bridging rhe gap berween 50 and 200 or 300 years. Again, I\4att, let nie congratulato you_ and people like you-once again on having so successfully

V/ith a facility in the English lauguage which

did the full enormity of what you saicl cjawn on me . ,l.he more I tlrought about it, the more convinced I wzis thrLt I lracl hit upon the real truth*and the rrrore furious I became.

It has always been my practice to respect the. advir:e given me by seniors, so after our interview, I deciclerj 10 givc carefui thought once again to its main points and so rnake sure that I had understood all that had'been said. r\s I promiseci you at the time, I had every intention of putling your advice to the best etfect. It was not, therefore, until I had sat clcrvn rluiefly irr my home yesterday evening to consider the infcrvievr. objectively lhat its main purport becarne clear. Only then

cheerfrrl conversation about the contrast between the

Caribbean and Canadian climate and whether the V/est Indies

overcome this particular hurdle. It is for this vcry reason that I think the outlook for Barracania-anci particularly Caribbean Bauxite-is so bright.,' There was a pause, and for a lronent, Baker thought hopefully tlrat he waS .dbout to achieve his long_awaited breakthrough, but Rennalls merely smiled back. The banier remained unbleached. There remained some 5 minutes of

I, a poor Barracanian, cannot hope to match, you had the auclacity to insult lne (ancl through nle every Banacanian worilr his
salt) by ciaiming that our knowledge of moderu livilg is only a paltry 50 years ol<j whereas yours goes becl< 200 or 300 1'9315, As if your materialistic conrmercial etrvir.onment coulci possibly be compared with thc spiritual valrres <tf our culture. I'll have you know that if mrrch of .r,hal I saw in London is representative of )/gur rnost boasted culture, I hope fervently that it will never come to Barr.acania. 81, what right do you have the effrontery to condescend to us? At heart, all you Europeans think us barbarians; as you say amongst yourselves, we are'Just down from tlre tt.ees.,, Far into the night I discussed this marter with rny father, and he is as disgustecl as l. He agrces with me thar any company whose senior staff think as you clo is no piace for any Barracanian proud of his culture and race-so much fbr ail the company "clap-trap" and specious propaganda about regionalization and Barrabania for the Bai.racanians. I feel ashamed and betrayed. please accepl this let_ ter as ruy resignation, which I wish to becorne cfTective immediately. cc: Production Manager Managing Director

had any hope of beating England in the Fifth Tesr belore Baker drew the jnlervierv to a close. Although he rvas as far as ever from knowing the real Rennalls, he neverthelsss vr'as glad that the interview had run along in thls friendly manner and, particularly, that it had ended on such a cheerful note. This feeling, however', lasted only until the following morning. Baker had some farewelis to make, so he arrived at ihe office considerably later than usual. He had nrr soon_ er sat down af his desk than his secretary walhecl into the room with a worried frown on her face. Her worcls came fasl, "When I arrirred this morning, I founcl N{r. Rennalls already waiting at my door. I{e seemed very angry and told me in quite a psremptory manner that he had a vital letter to dictate that must be sent off without an5r delay, Ile was so worked up that he couldn't keep still and kept pacing aboul the room, which is most unl.ike him. FIe wouldn'r even wait to read what he had dictated. Just signed the page wherc he lhought the letter would end. It has been distributed, and your copy is in 5,su1 .ta.r." Puzzled and feeling vaguely uneasy, Baker opr:ned the confidential envelope and read the following letter:

n, 2. 3.

What mistahe did John Baker rnalie? Why <Jid hc not realize this mistake when it occurrcd? \\jhat would you recommend that llaker do now? Explain. What does this case illustrate about hurnan re$ource managenent in the international enviornmenl./ Be complete in your answer.
use

Sourcc: This case was prepared by Gareth [.i,vans autl is permission.

d with