AMEX, Hungary Michael Thomas shouted, \"Sasha, Tor-Tor, we\'ve got to go! Our dr

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AMEX, Hungary Michael Thomas shouted, "Sasha, Tor-Tor, we've got to go! Our driver us." Thomas's two daughters were fighting over who would get the lunch that day. Victoria ("Tor-Tor") prevailed as she grabbed the oran door to the Mercedes Benz waiting for them. The fighting continuedi as they drove toward the city of Budapest, Hungary. Thomas finall grabbed the orange and proclaimed that he would have it for lunch. is waiting for ld ge last orange for and ran out the the back seat and n International School of y turned a became deadly silent as they made their way to the American International Schol at After dropping the girls off at the school, Thomas was driven to his office in Belvéros area of Budapest. Thomas worked for AMEX Petroleum and had been sent Budapest four months earlier to set up business operations in central Hungary. His i was to establish 10 to 14 gas stations in the region by purchasing existing stations building new ones, or negotiating franchise arrangements with existing owners of tions. Thomas jumped at this project. He realized that his career at AMEX was goin nowhere in the United States, and if he were going to realize his ambitions, it would he in the "wild, wild east" of the former Soviet empire. Besides, Thomas's mother was Hungarian, and he could speak the language. At least he thought he could until he arrived in Budapest and realized that he had greatly exaggerated his competence. Budapest. As he entered the partially refurbished offices of AMEX, he noticed that only three of his staff were present. No one knew where Miklos was, while Margit reported that she would not be at work today because she had to stay at home to take care of her s mother. Thomas asked Béla why the workmen weren't present to work on finishing the office. Béla informed him that the work had to be halted until they received approval from the city historian. Budapest, anxious to preserve its historical heritage, required that all building renovations be approved by the city historian. When Thomas asked Béla how long it would take, Béla responded, "Who knows-days, weeks, maybe months." Thomas muttered "great" to himself and turned his attention to the morni business. He was scheduled to interview prospective employees who would tion managers and staff personnel ng act as sta- The interview with Ferenc Erkel was typical of the many interviews he held that morning. Erkel was a neatly dressed, 42-year-old, unemployed professional who could d had speak limited English. He had a masters degree in international economics an orked for 12 years in the state-owned Institute for Foreign Trade. Since being la two years ago, he had been working as a taxicab driver. When asked about his the Institute, Erkel smiled sheepishly and said that he pushed paper and spent most the time playing cards with his colleagues work at To date Thomas had hired 16 employees. Four quit within three days on the job. six were let go after a trial period for being absent from work, failing to perform duties. or showing a lack of initiative. Thomas thought that at this rate it would take him o a year just to hire his staff and Thomas took a break from the interview schedule to scan the Budapest Bus Journal, an English newspaper that covered business news in Hungary caught his eye. One article was on the growing threat of the Ukrainian Two items inflation had risen to 32 percent. This last item disturbed Thomas because at ung ed extortion attempts in Budapest. The second story that

Explanation / Answer

Q1) Below are the issues confronting Thomas -

1. Delays in hiring and staffing individuals for the gas stations in Hungary due to the unavailability of young and motivated workforce who have the initiative and drive to work.

2. Difficulty in acquiring gas stations from the owners through negotiations and franchisee proposals.

3. Delays in setting up the office due to the unavailability of staff and equipment.

Q2) Below is how Thomas is dealing with the issues -

Thomas didn't create any strategies on how to handle the issues. He started with office setup, didn't follow up on it, moved to interviews and took a break from the same after realizing that there is not much progress and then started with negotiating with the gas station owners for acquiring the stations or bringing them under franchise, which is not that successful as well. Thomas is yet to work on strategies to handle the issues considering the constraints and the deadlines.

Q3) Below are the suggestions for Thomas for managing the project -

1. Ensure that the office is setup by talking to the existing employees and finalizing deadlines for the same with the team. Thomas should directly talk to the city historian for approval to setup the office.

2. Thomas should visit the gas stations in the region to diretcly talk to the onwers, explain them the deal, highlight the advantages of being a franchisee owner and talk through to negotiate and acquire the stations.

3. Thomas should look for maximum count of young employees under age 30 to recruit. He should provide above the industry average pay to ensure individuals are motivated to join the firm.

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