Case Study: Into the Fray

Into the Fray

In the given case study Into the Fray ' the situation in which Michael finds himself is a common occurrence in the international business scene today . He is employed by Lafleur , a corporation with existing overseas operations . While a global company like Lafleur usually hires local talents to form the bulk of its workforce in a certain country , the accepted practice has been to send some of its managers abroad to oversee operations in its offshore units . In fact most managers today welcome a foreign posting because it is now

br considered not only as a vital step but a necessary step towards senior management positions . The primary reason is that global corporations consider exposure to different cultures and business environments essential to a successful global operation

Michael 's is a typical situation . Perhaps Pierre , the CEO of Lafleur would like to send him to China because of two reasons . Michael is not only new to the organization - he was a part of an acquired company and therefore not an actual `insider ' As far as Pierre and the company are concerned , he is a relatively unknown entity when compared to the other senior managers who had been with the original company . It is therefore important that Michael should prove himself - hence , the posting to a new undertaking in China . It is very likely that the CEO is convinced that if Michael proves his worth in China , people from Lafleur might stop treating him as an outsider and really consider him as one of the family . The second possible reason could be that Pierre considers Michael a very promising executive . Because of this , it is imperative for Michael to have an overseas assignment so that he will be exposed to another culture and experience an altogether different business environment . Together with his United States experience , the China posting should boost his qualifications for a higher management position in Lafluer 's headquarters in Paris (Peebles , Widmann , Kopelan , Hassan Cohen , and Rhodes , 2005

Michael should think along these lines and not dwell too much on the position vacated by Lucien . It is not as important as far as gunning for a Paris executive position is concerned . Michael should do better by giving up the New York post to Danielle and opting for an overseas placement like China which could yet give him a better opportunity of landing a higher post at the home office in Paris . With his two years experience in the country , an overseas experience would now be more profitable for him (Peebles et al , 2005

Michael seems to be dependent on Albert because of his belief that Albert is in possession of information that he does not know - particularly when it comes to Danielle 's plans regarding the job vacated by Lucien . Albert has worked with Danielle in the past and claims to know her well so Michael wants to know everything he knows about Danielle . The information , in his reckoning , would be very helpful in countering whatever moves...