|Ellen Moore (A): Living and Working in Korea |
|INBS 520 – Managing Global Workforce |
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|Ellen Moore, a co-senior consultant, is assigned to work in Korea and lead a project |
|with her Korean counterpart Jack. Being a woman and having no experience with the |
|Korean culture puts her at an early disadvantage which she tries to overcome during |
|the first few weeks of her assignment. |
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|Petra Schiffner-Jimenez …show more content…

Due to the constant disagreements and power struggles between Ellen and Jack, the group building process is majorly interrupted. No trust can be built between the team members and the leaders and will eventually cause the failure of the project.

The last challenge is the low emotional and cultural intelligence in the group (EQ and CQ). In order for all members of the group to feel comfortable around the other members of the team, trust has to be developed and a sense of group identity and group efficacy has to be established. This would convey the efficiency and productivity of the team and the awareness of cultural differences. In this case, Ellen destroys the chance to get closer to an integrated group when she interrupts Jack during a meeting and makes him “lose his face” in front of his subordinates. In the Korean culture this is a huge sign of disrespect and she will be not able to regain trust or authority without any intervention from the management team.

Q2:

The 1st alternative would be to remove either Jack or Ellen from the team. Ellen’s removal would appease the Korean hierarchy and would give the team a unified leadership under Jack. Nevertheless, removing Ellen from the team would challenge the successful completion of the project since her expertise and experience is needed. Even if a suitable