Karen Leary Case
Summary The case of Karen Leary illustrates the implications cultural conflict can have on business organizations and office culture. A common mistake managers make is undermining the power of cultural constraints at the organizational level. After six years as a financial consultant at Merrill Lynch, Karen Leary was promoted to general manager at the Elmville branch in Chicago. Leary wanted to achieve success at the branch office by building high-producing, successful group of professionals who work together to provide clients with complete service in meeting long-term financial goals.
Leary was able to lead her branch toward impressive results and success; business increased by 30% in the first year due to her aggressive sales approach. Although Leary had much success, she was still unable to be completely effective with all her employees because she lacked cultural awareness in her management style. Developing the Taiwanese Market During the 1970s, numerous Taiwanese-owned businesses sprung up throughout the Chicago area and had strong social networks along with sufficient capital.
Leary realized the market potential with the Taiwanese businesses and began her intensive hiring process, which she thought was the most important function of branch manager. For Leary, developing the Taiwanese market involved hiring and training a financial consultant with a Taiwanese background who spoke fluent Chinese. Since the Taiwanese were not assimilated into the American system, it was important to her to hire an individual who shared some of the same values and beliefs. According to Pfeffer & Veiga (2007), selective hiring helps to ensure that the organization recruits the right employee according to distinct guidelines.
For selective hiring to be successful, several things need to occur such as: large applicant pool, clear critical skills and attributes needed, and skills and abilities must be consistent with job requirements and the organization’s strategic approach, Hofstede (2007). Leary decided to interview Ted Chung because he was born in Taiwan yet was westernized in many ways. After eight interviews, Karen decided to offer him the position because he was very successful in his own moving business along with real estate; however she still felt she did not really know the whole person.
From Chung’s initial days forward, Leary had made no effort to educate herself more on the Chinese culture and way of business, and it eventually led to the disconnect in their relationship. According to Hofstede (2007), the bipolar dimensions are references to the different ways different societies operate and can be effective when managing across different cultures. Overseas Chinese prefer economic activities that will generate large capital with little expenditure and employ few professional managers according to Hofstede (2007).
The Chinese tend to be low-profile with a strong power distance that find values oriented towards the future like thrift and persistence. Based on some of Chung’s actions like refusing to sit at the sales assistant’s desk and requesting a private office, it can be noted that he values status and recognition. Chung worked hard on increasing his visibility in the Taiwanese community unlike his other peers who made cold calls during which is another example that illustrates he is oriented towards the future. Management Style
Leary was known for having an aggressive approach to sales and compliance and worked the FCs hard. Leary was also very active with her FCs and made it a point to get out on the floor and work directly with them and navigate them through any issues. Training the younger brokers was a main priority for Leary and she set high expectations for them. Leary had effective management skills; however lacked Chinese cultural knowledge and in turn negatively impacted her working relationship with Chung. Communicating effectively across different cultures begins with strong cultural awareness according to Adler (2007).
When it came to managing Ted Chung, Leary did not understand the cultural aspects of the Taiwanese people or their language and was unable to effectively communicate the organization’s strategy. During communications with Chung, Leary could never gauge exactly what Chung was thinking and never recognized that communication constraints could have been causing a barrier between them. Instead Leary kept her suspicions about Chung and checked over his work on a daily basis to ensure compliance but never had Chung’s full commitment. Leary isolated Chung from the beginning by having him solely manage the Taiwanese market.
Instead, Leary should have involved other employees to work on a team with Chung to help develop new business with the Taiwanese market. By building team collaboration, Leary would have helped Chung assimilate into the organization’s culture and feel a part of the team. Challenges and Dilemmas Organizational culture according to Hofstede (2007) “is a much more superficial phenomenon residing mainly in the visible practices of the organization, acquired by socialization of new members who join as young adults. Culture helps define what behavior gets recognized and rewarded along with appropriate actions taken by top management.
When Leary was introduced into the Elmville office, she knew that in order for her to build a winning team she would need to change the culture because the current one would not allow for such growth. According to Pfeffer & Veiga, (2007) successful organizations engage in high involvement, high performance, and high commitment management practices. In other words, effective managers are able to put their employees first by using participative management and employee involvement, Pfeffer & Veiga (2007). Leary was very hands on with her FCs and did a lot of coaching and counseling informally.
Informal management to Leary was more effective because it was less threatening and allowed for more open communication. Karen Leary faced several challenges at Merrill Lynch in her new general manager position. Hiring Ted Chung was an extensive process for Karen and after eight interviews she decided to offer him the position even though she still felt uncertainty about him. While Karen was aware that Ted Chung came from a different cultural background, she made no effort to address the possible cultural constraints leading her to feel uncertainty.
Leary and Chung were never able to fully develop a working relationship and concerns about his performance constantly strained what little relationship there was. Managers not only have to factor cultural differences into their management style, but they also have to have a basic understanding of motivation and what factors influence their employee’s motivation. Chung came from a cultural background where building strong relationships came before business deals and it was the Chinese way of doing business.
Leary took it as though Chung might not be as capable of finding new business as he assured her because only one account was opened. If Karen would have been more aware of his cultural background and motivational influences, she would have been able to develop a strategy that would have helped him achieve his goals along with the organization’s goals. Decision There are many strategies available for managers to practice when dealing with tough decisions in regards to long-term development and growth within the organization.
When Chung made the request for the private office, it was no surprise that Karen was concerned about the implications her decision would have on the culture of the office and organization. Leary had reservations about Chung and his ability to generate future success in the Taiwanese market even though he opened a profitable account with decent investments his first year. Leary made management errors with Ted that could have led him to feel more deserving of a private office than the other financial consultants.
Leary would praise Chung and help push him along but never followed through with a plan on how to continue expansion and increase productivity. Chung made the request for the private office because he felt that his work was exceptional especially for the short amount of time being at the company, and the other FCs were impressed with his achievements. Leary on the other hand high expectations for the Taiwanese market and was taken aback by Chung’s request for a private office because she felt uncomfortable with several aspects of performance and thought it was inappropriate at that time.
Conclusion I would decline Chung’s request for the private office and instead suggest on working together an action plan that is integrated with the organization’s strategies along with the Chinese strategies. By doing so, Leary could begin to effectively communicate with Chung and hopefully ease some of her uncertainty. Chung would have to continue to meet the organization’s goals through the new developed action plan. Managing people is not a simple job with clear cut guidelines and rules, but rather situational depending on the employee’s background.
Effective managers have to be aware of any cultural constraints otherwise communication and motivation barriers can be formed only causing problems for the future. It is key for managers to recognize that the effective management of employees requires a comprehensive and systematic approach that ultimately lies in the manager’s perspective and with the right perspective anything is possible, (Pfeffer & Veiga (2007). References Adler, N. J. (2007). Communicating across cultures. In J. S. Osland, M. E. Turner, D. A. Kolb, & I.
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