SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

Case Study: UltraDecker

Decker is a Colombian diversified media group with interests in

broadcasting, entertainment and Internet services.

Recent developments

In September 10th, 2017,Decker merged with an American based media

company, Ultra Entertainment. In a press release on October 1 st, the
deal was sealed and it was described as a merge..

Reasons for Deckers acquisition

The first conferences announcing the brand relaunch was held in October, 24 th, There, they
announced their new brand name: UltraDecker, and new major stock holders announced that
the main objectives of the company were:

1. To expand the company’s presence in a dynamic new market, China.

2. To use Ultra Entertainment human talent for further expansion into South American and
North American markets such as Colombia , Chile and Argentina .
3. To increase Ultra Entertainment online presence through its social networks under the new
name: UltraDecker.

On March 1st, 2018, the board appointed to Alberto Camelo, to graduate from Business
administration from the University of Antioquia to be the new Chairman and Chief Executive will
be. Mr. Camelo has a reputation for being a strong leader who is not afraid to make difficult
decisions.

Ultra Entertainment seems to be a good fit with the Decker Group. However, on January 28 th
2018, some unconformities were manifested: Cindy Nero, representative of the staff union
asked for a meeting with the main board. They agreed, and this was held On June17 th, 2018.

The management asked Miss Nero to wait and see how the situation evolved.
An agreement between management and staff was sign on July 17 th, 2018-

Problems
Almost two years have past. The rise of Covid-19 virus outbreak has stopped the expansion
plan. As Word Health Organization announced the Coronavirus pandemic on March 12 th, 2020 ,
Colombian government implemented some regulations including quarantine a countrywide
obligatory lockdown making most of the staff to be sent at home starting March 24, and
extended to April 27.

The situation has caused many problems. The email below illustrates some of the difficulties.
To: Alberto Camelo, CEO, UltraDeck, Inc
From: Cindy Nero, Staff Union representative
Subject: UltraDeck Covid-19 situation
Date: March 18th, 2020

Greetings Mr Camelo,

Staff are very worried about the current Covid-19 situation and the decisions implemented to
overcome the crisis years clearly affected the company, specially the staff. As you know,
president Duque announced on April 6th, some decrees extend the countrywide obligatory
lockdown and I am worried about the staff’s low morale. Workers and me had a virtual meeting
on April 7th to discuss the situation, and the following is a summary of what they feel.

 The management sent most of Colombian workers home to unpaid leaves without their
consent, through a letter sent on April 3rd, 2019 and most Americans workers were given
the option of telecommuting. Employees feel particularly threatened. Many employees
from these departments started looking for new jobs, which will affect productivity.
Administration argument is that the selection was based on the English level, which is
clearly discriminatory
 Administration implemented a new online platform system to adapt to this situation but
staff do not understand; It is only available in English and interface is not friendly
 Worker have no certainty where the company is going and what the strategy to overcome
this crisis will be. They request for help to overcome the situation, in terms of salary and
continuity.

Task. You are part of the Human Resources team. As a team, the HR department is going to
have a meeting on google meets on April 24 th, 2020. The meeting’s objective is to analyze the
and agree on some proposal to be discussed. A further meeting will be held with the
management department on April 26th.

 Write an email answering Miss Nero about what the management is going to do to solve
each of the points mentioned by workers. Invite her to have a meeting. What practical
actions can be taken to surpass the situation?
 Make a timeline, tracking all the events in all this process.
 Use online tools to make your time-line.