Report on the Case

“Liu Bai: A Chinese Successor’s Dilemma”

In partial fulfilment of WAC course

PGP 2018-20
Term - II
 Executive Summary

This report addresses the dilemma faced by Liu Bhai, an independent and successful 35-year-old
Chinese national living in London. Liu Bhai left the opportunity of becoming the successor of his
family-owned business because he felt his father-Lui Hong is an extremely controlling and
mistrustful person. Eventually, he went to London to work for Tate & Lyle. As a result, the family
disinherited him. Though Liu Bai enjoyed a privileged upbringing, his experience of working in
his family business- Plantation Sugar Trading has left painful psychological scars; and he has been
away from the family since then. One day Hong telephones Liu Bhai asking him to come back to
take care of their struggling family business, that if sold would bring disgrace not only on the living
members but also on the memory of the earlier generations. Liu Bhai is in a dilemma whether or
not to go back. The report examines various options before Bai and aims to identify the best option
for him.
 Contents

1. Situation Analysis
2. Problem Statement
3. Options
4. Criteria for Evaluation
5. Evaluation of Options
6. Recommendation
7. Plan of Action
 Situation Analysis
Liu Bhai is a 35-year-old Chinese national who has been happily living in London for the past
three years. Bai had a new job that he enjoyed. The job was going very well. Promotion had come
quickly as a result of talent, hard work and connections in Asia.
Bai had brought a bit of life from Asia to England. He was quite open about being a member
of an extremely wealthy overseas Chinese business family. Doors always opened for Bhai before
he knocked.
Liu Bhai's past had left painful psychological scars. His father-Lui Hong, an intense individual
with a strong personality, had been a mentor and also a tormentor. Bhai had a devastating
experience working for Hong ten years ago. Bhai thought his father was a highly manipulative,
mistrustful and controlling person whose actions led to endangering the family business-Plantation
Sugar Trading. Also, Bhai along with his sisters had a neglected childhood. Bhai turned away from
the family's empire and the family itself and had fled to the west to live in London. And the family
disinherited him. Bai was living away from the family ever since and hasn't spoken to his father in
five years.
Bai earned an MBA from the US and is working for Tate & Lyle, a company that directly
competed with the family sugar trading company in Southeast Asia.
One day, Hong telephones Bhai and requests him to take care of the family business in the
wake of declining profits. The business was struggling due to the recent flooding and the political
unrest in the country. If Bai wouldn't return, then Hong would sell the business bringing disgrace
on the family.
Bai needed time to ponder and promised to inform his father about his decision within two
weeks.

Problem Statement

Should Bhai go back to take rein of his family business-Plantation Sugar Trading?
 Options

 Listen to his father - Hong and go back to Malaysia to run his family business:
Understanding that his family's age-old reputation is at stake and also that his old father is
incapable, he should leave his job and work for his family business.

 Stay back in London and continue working at Tate & Lyle: Realize that his father's
autocratic nature is not going to change after all these years and stick to his happy and
successful in London.

 Help in hiring a trustworthy person with a suitable business acumen to save his family’s
business: Given Bai's connections in Asia and his working experience, he can help find a
suitable person to make the business profitable. Though Bai’s isn’t directly taking
responsibility for the business, he is trying to revive it with the help of a third person.

Criteria for Evaluation

1) Responsibility for the family enterprise - Though Bai had a strained relationship with
his father, he has the responsibility to save the company founded by his great-grandfather.
Also, Bai's siblings were not interested in business.

2) Personal relationship with his father and family - Given that he has been away from
the family for a long time, going back to Malaysia would help in improving his relationship
with the family and also conciliate his father.

3) Chance to become the successor - Although Bai has a successful career at Tate & Lyle in
London, going back to his family's business will give him an opportunity to run the entire
family-business.

4) Financial security to his family - Though Bai's family is wealthy, the decline in profits
for several years in the family's business would have affected the financial stability of the
family. Going back could help ease the situation.

5) Liu Bai's career - There's a fair possibility that after coming back to run the family
business, Bai might not be able to recover the business, as a result of which his career will
take a hit, given that he already left his job in London.
 Evaluation of Alternatives

Serial No. Options for Evaluations Run his Stay back Help
family in London hiring a
business person

1. Responsibility for the family enterprise ✓ × ✓

2. Personal relationship with his father and ✓ × ×

family

3. Chance to become the successor ✓ × -

(subjective)

4. Financial security to his family ✓ - -

(subjective) (subjective)

5. Liu Bai's career - ✓ ✓

(subjective)

 Going back to Malaysia and running the family business will give Liu bai a very good
chance to revive the family business, save the family’s reputation and improve his
relationships with his father and other members of the family. Also, he can regain his
comfort of life in Asia. Moreover, his MBA and his experience at Tate & Lyle especially
would be of great help as Tate & Lyle is a competitor of the family business. He would be
in a better situation to analyze the competitor and could incorporate some successful and
valuable practices of Tate & Lyle in his family business to recover it. There's also a
possibility that his father gets back to following his old ways of life and yet again create
disturbance and problems for Liu Bai.

 Staying back and continuing to work in London would be the safest option for Liu
because he has a happy and successful career in London. Also, given that Hong has a
history of being manipulative, mistrustful and controlling, it is possible that if Liu goes
back, he will be running the business under his father's authority. And his father mentioning
that he is old and incapable could just be a manipulation. But simply staying back in
 London could put the family's business legacy and financial security in danger and Bai will
have lost a great opportunity to reconcile with his family.

 Helping hire a trustworthy third person with a suitable business acumen to handle the
business will allow Liu Bai to stay back in London and continue his happy life and
progressive career. Also, the third person could help revive the business. But it would be
difficult to convince Bai's father regarding the same. Moreover, the extent to which Liu
Bai recovers his family relationship wouldn't be significant.

Recommendation

I recommend that Liu Bai go back to Malaysia and run the family business. Though he has
a happy and successful life in London, that he brought a bit of life in Aisa to England and
his openness about being a member of a wealthy Chinese family indicate that he respects
his family roots and his connections in Asia. And the third option, though it might seem
good, is not a pragmatic approach.

Plan of Action

Liu Bai should inform Tate and Lyle that he has to go back to Malaysia to handle the
family's personal and business problems. And also tell the company that he thoroughly
enjoyed working in the company.

Bai should tell his father that he is going to come back to Malaysia to run the family
business and also subtly mention that they should start proceedings that allow Bai to be the
legal successor of the business.
He can then start working towards improving the family business with his valuable
experience and eventually build his relationship with his father and other members of the
family.
In case his father tries to exercise unfair authority and create a lot of havoc, he can return
to London and find a job. Given his experience and past career progress, finding a job
wouldn't be very difficult.