Cultural Insensitivity at the TopAs Wilde travelled with Lars and the rest of the senior leadership, he saw problems that stretchedall the way to the highest levels. While in St. Lucia, Lars, Wilde, and two salespeople went out todinner with some clients to finish plans for a new deal. After working out the details, theclients wanted to celebrate with vodka. It was a strong local tradition, essentially necessary toclosing the deal. When Mohamed, a member of the team, politely declined to drink for religiousreasons, Lars told him to just do it and then Guyanese loudly said that he “didn’t know when theGuyanese would enter the 21st century.”Wilde had previously heard rumours about Lars being insensitive towards his immediateteam’s social and cultural practices. He heard that Lars sometimes mocked local practices publiclywhile on business travel and derided colleagues’ poor English skills. Wilde knew if he acceptedthe position, dealing with Lars would be one of the first major challenges.
Cultural Insensitivity at the Top
As Wilde travelled with Lars and the rest of the senior leadership, he saw problems that stretched
all the way to the highest levels. While in St. Lucia, Lars, Wilde, and two salespeople went out to
dinner with some clients to finish plans for a new deal. After working out the details, the
clients wanted to celebrate with vodka. It was a strong local tradition, essentially necessary to
closing the deal. When Mohamed, a member of the team, politely declined to drink for religious
reasons, Lars told him to just do it and then Guyanese loudly said that he “didn’t know when the
Guyanese would enter the 21st century.”
Wilde had previously heard rumours about Lars being insensitive towards his immediate
team’s social and cultural practices. He heard that Lars sometimes mocked local practices publicly
while on business travel and derided colleagues’ poor English skills. Wilde knew if he accepted
the position, dealing with Lars would be one of the first major challenges.
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