Who is responsible for the situation and why? As Ben, what advice you will give to Barney and How would you follow up on your advice to Barney?
3:30 am. California time, USA. Ben received a message, Ben has a problem with his a-star recruit.
“Hi Ben, sorry for bothering you. I can’t handle it anymore, call ASAP when you are up, Barney”
Pinning Industry (PI) a Korean conglomerate need to hire an international employee for their headquarters. U.S Country manager, Ben was the right person for the job. While he was assigned the task, his immediate first choice was Barney, an eighteen months old employee, Ben's subordinate. Due to conservative, military-style Korean corporate culture, hiring A star Harvard graduate was a challenge. PI owners, compare it with the likes of Apple and Google, open culture, and contemporary global players. Barney was the right fit for PI’s mobile business negotiation with companies in the Middle East, because of his excellent presentation skills and out-of-the-box design approach. To PI, that deal was an ice-breaker to step into the Middle East.
Ben’s meeting with the US, HR manager, Emma to discuss that Barney is bisexual and his transfer to Busan: Emma’s response “It would be a challenge for Barney to settle in Busan, but if you educate him on the culture he might work it out, things are moving well at PI and cultural perspectives are also changing”. Finally, Ben moved Barney to Busan, Korean headquarters.
The initial two months were hard for Barney, to learn Korean culture. He had been part of presentations to Middle East customers, but slowly and gradually felt ostracized by the management. One day on a mega dinner with his boss Mr. Jang, he opened his mouth in response to Jang’s question; Did Busan treated you well? Barney: It was fun in California, but Busan is not what I expected. I am not satisfied here.
The next day Mr. Jang summoned Barney to his office and after kept him waiting for 15-minutes, he said that my expectations from you were pretty high and I wanted you to be the face of PI’s international mobile business, but I hesitate to put you in front of clients. Can you be a little less girly? Barney left bamboozled, shocked with his mouth zipped, he walked back to his office and texted Ben with his hands shaking in anger and aw!
Ben sitting on his bed at 4:30 am, and multiple questions are rushing through his head. He doesn’t know what should be his reply to Barney.
- Who is responsible for the situation and why?
- As Ben, what advice you will give to Barney and How would you follow up on your advice to Barney?
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