Executive Summary
Sophia Tannis, an expert working for the global firm CPA Solutions (CPA) headquartered in the US, who had operated worldwide, was requested by the company’s leader to intervene in a challenging business operation in Moscow. Namely, an independent local rival had been using multiple techniques to harm CPA’s public image in Moscow (Blanchard, 2017). Tennis had to choose between using the traditional approaches intended by her leaders—courts, newspapers, and client outreach—or taking a more indirect, relationship-based strategy, as her Moscow-based partner incentivized.
The following analysis of the case and alternatives assessment indicates that the best recommendation is to adhere to Vujevic’s (a local representative of the company) advice and build a trusting relationship with the Russian authorities. The approach includes a slow but meaningful solution that establishes guaranteed support from the important players in the region. Tannis should learn as much as possible about the culture and history of Russia and interview Vujevic about the locals’ values, traditions, and beliefs. Moreover, she must inform the headquarters about the effectiveness of the method and investigate controversial discussion topics so that to avoid them and mitigate risks. As a result, Tannis will communicate the needs of the company directly to the people who will listen to her due to the established relationship. These people will reach the other figures and officials in a top-down manner to resolve the issue. Tannis should monitor the situation and interact with her new acquaintances to ensure that the plan works.
Introduction
When the CPA, an international company, tried to expand into Russia, it met an obstacle. A well-known local competitor sought to smear CPA’s reputation by making derogatory remarks in order to push CPA out of Russia. Tannis was tasked with flying to Moscow and immediately resolving the crisis through media interviews, a tactic that has produced results in North America and Europe (Blanchard, 2017). The critical concern of the situation is the conflict between the approaches that Tannis can apply for the resolution, which is an illustration issue of the cultural appropriateness of business transactions.
Tannis faced a challenge when adapting to the social environment of Russian executives, which was caused by her incompetence in understanding the local internal culture. Yet, she had an opportunity to enhance the case by using consultation from her more knowledgeable colleague, Vujevic. Tannis, could either follow the strategy supported by her superiors at headquarters, or she could rely on Vujevic’s (a competent local supervisor) slow-paced relationship-based policy, which was sensitive to local conditions in Russia. Therefore, to address the business issue, Tannis should upgrade her cultural adaptation to Russian realities, investigate the local community, and make a decision concerning the situation.
Analysis
Tannis performed effectively in the early phases of the case by concentrating all of her efforts on the pertinent subject of CPA in Russia and delegating her other obligations to her coworkers. When she came and completed her preliminary investigation, she recognized she might need more work and attention to grasp Russian culture (Blanchard, 2017). It should be mentioned that culture is a collection of behavioral patterns that individuals learn and embrace in accordance with their community’s values, ideals, and customs (Bolman & Deal, 2017). Culture consists of the exterior component, which may be theoretically taught. Music, dancing, customs, objective knowledge, and so forth are examples of external culture. However, the interior culture, which is the majority of culture, is concealed behind the surface of the community. The internal environment takes far longer to examine and comprehend since it includes attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, manner of speech, and subjective knowledge (Bolman & Deal, 2017). As a result, Tannis’ choice to invest extra focus and effort in working with a cross-cultural business issue that required a well-thought-out approach was a wise one.
However, Tannis thought there were not many variations between business in Moscow and transactions in her domestic economy. Hence, Tannis had done a poor job of her goal of being open-minded and seeing beyond her “marching orders” (Blanchard, 2017, p. 6). A notion that surprised Tannis was that the society was distinct in that they had regular feasts to establish relationships. As Vujevic remarked, “This is not a place you fly in one day and get what you want…tonight you eat and meet some of our friends” (Blanchard, 2017, p. 5). The Russians appear to be wary, and her partner, Vujevic, seems to be initiating the niceties rather than her. This circumstance disrupted Tannis’ work and confidence since she was usually at ease in this atmosphere.
Tannis was more about the business substance of the arrangement, and she almost failed the dining the following night. She did not investigate how diverse cultures may be and how expectations, both practically and emotionally, might vary considerably. She understood, after more thinking, that she would have to adjust to the Russians’ way of doing business and societal practices rather than the attitude of the Americans away at head office. Vujevic and her ate dinner with their Russian counterparts again, and Tannis managed to break the barrier with a hockey chat (Blanchard, 2017). This was an excellent transition into discussing business and resolving this complex problem.
The analysis of the facts of the case supposes the presence of several problems that can be defined. The first issue is the contrast between the possible approaches to fixing the situation, one of which is based on transformational leadership and the second on relationship establishment. Transformational leadership is described as a style of leadership that affects both individuals and societal systems. Its optimal form produces meaningful and positive development in people, with the ultimate objective of growing adherents into stakeholders and representatives (Bolman & Deal, 2017). Although this charismatic approach has proven its worth in the US, Tannis recognized its uselessness in Russia. In contrast, the leadership relationship approach focuses on managers who are primarily concerned with their connections with others (Chimenson et al., 2022). It implies a more personal connection between the participants of the deal, which is supported by the locals. However, the constraint of the method lies in the disapproval of slow and indirect problem-solving techniques by the CPA’s headquarters. Moreover, it is questionable in terms of visibility and transparency, which are the core value of the organization.
The other significant concern is the internal structure of the culture that differs from Northern American and European. It seems that Russian culture is collectivist rather than individualist, which means that it prioritizes the group’s aims over the interests and wishes of each person. Connections with other community members and interconnection among people play a significant part in each specific individual in such societies (Bolman & Deal, 2017). Next, Russians are mainly concerned with unclear circumstances and have built one of the world’s most complicated bureaucracies, which means that their culture is built around uncertainty avoidance (Hemsley et al., 2017). When negotiations begin, they emphasize relationship development, or they are exceedingly thorough and well-arranged (Hofstede Insights, 2021). When Russians deal with persons who are considered outsiders, they look stiff and aloof. Finally, Russia is a country where influential leaders are distanced from others (Shalin, 2018). The significant disparity seen between less and more influential people makes status symbols extremely important. In all aspects of company contacts, the behavior must represent the status positions; the strategy must be top-down and offer clear directives for every work.
Alternatives Analysis
Tannis had two alternative approaches in this situation, which have been partly described before. The first solution is the one that the headquarters recommended, which includes communication with the media and locals, guarantees of the firm’s responsibility, and assurance of beneficial influence on the city’s economy through charismatic talks. The advantage of this approach is that it is in accordance with the brand’s image and the top office’s demands, although it might damage the reputation of CPA in the eyes of leaders in Russia. Moreover, it is not guaranteed that the media’s presentation of the case will change the waters even for the citizens. In turn, the top-down and relationship-based approach provides more certainty regarding the locals’ approval. Yet, it might cause the need to resolve the business problems similarly in the future, which is a time-consuming practice that diminishes the firm’s transactions transparency.
Recommendations
The decision criteria for the case include ease of implementation, risk levels, and effectiveness. Since the costs of relationship-based and transformational approaches are assumed to be equal, it was not included in the criteria. In turn, the most relevant measure is the ease of implementation since the headquarters want the problem to be solved quickly. Moreover, risk levels and effectiveness determine the actual use of an alternative in a particular situation. Considering the facts of the case discussed earlier, it is better to use Vujevic’s advice and participate in the establishment of trusting relationships with local officials and influential figures.
The strength of this recommendation lies in the possibility of effective results that will last for a long if Tannis manages to come to terms with the local authorities via Vujevic’s help. Vujevic seems to be a perfect opportunity to gather knowledge and find support in the issue due to his experience and existing relationship with Russians. However, there is a risk of culturally inappropriate statements that Tannis might make or prolonged periods of meetings that will disrupt Tannis’s deadline. If Tannis can effectively communicate with the locals and establish shared values, interests, and views, she can expect that the leaders will reach other top players in the business, and the issue will resolve. However, if Tannis cannot manage to complete the meetings in a week or ruins the trust with some culture-insensitive comments, she will probably be sent back home since her approach does not satisfy her boss. One can assess the level of implementation of the approach by contacting Vujevic and Russians about the situation, as well as monitoring the development of the solution.
Conclusion
Tannis’s actions should be coordinated with Vujevic’s recommendation and preliminary discussions for each event. Moreover, Tannis should consult Vujevic about the most important and the most controversial topics that she might encounter during dining with new acquaintances. It is also necessary that Tannis learn the history and culture of the region, at least in brief. After that, she should engage in meetings regularly and participate in personal conversations to establish trust; for example, drinking with the authorities is an appropriate way of completing such a task. Next, she should directly inform the partners about her and the company’s needs in the situation. To mitigate risks, Tannis can ensure the headquarters of the plan’s benefits, as well as avoid all controversies as much as possible.
References
Blanchard, K. (2017). Working cross-culturally: Forget “Business as usual.” Ivey Publishing.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations.P. Web.
Chimenson, D., Tung, R. L., Panibratov, A., & Fang, T. (2022). The paradox and change of Russian cultural values.International Business Review, 31(3), 101944. Web.
Hemsley, J., Cappellini, V., & Stanke, G. (2017). Digital applications for cultural and heritage institutions. Taylor & Francis.
Hofstede Insights. (2021). Country comparison. Web.
Shalin, D. N. (2018). Russian culture at the crossroads. Taylor & Francis.