Scenario: Cheri was a quality control supervisor for the manufacturing company C

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Scenario: Cheri was a quality control supervisor for the manufacturing company Corley Lawn Mower based in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Corley specialized in small push lawn mowers that were gas powered, but eco-friendly. Cheri began her career at Corley immediately after high school by working on the assembly line. Her first role was organizing the parts of the lawn mower for shipping, and ensuring every part was included and boxed before sealing. Similar to many manufacturers, Cheri moved from area to area in the plant, and she was eventually promoted to the Quality Control Unit.
The Quality employees were responsible for warranty testing. Its employees examined the engines for safety and “guaranteed performance” for four lawn cutting seasons. The testing protocol required the team to start and stop a mower’s engine 10,000 times without fault. The team tested the mowers on rocks, branches, thick grass, and other objects that a lawn mower would scrape when cutting grass or lawns. Cheri enjoyed what she did and was satisfied with the job. Her career path was slow but steady, and she continuously learned something new each day.

Once Cheri was in the Quality Control Unit, she networked and made extensive contacts throughout the organization as quality and safety were the key attributes of the Corley product lines. In fact, Corley’s sales and marketing brochures featured Cheri’s department and emphasized the rigorous quality initiatives of their machines.
One of the Corley Vice Presidents, James Harlan, was impressed by Cheri’s high energy, and they started dating. He was fascinated by her creative marketing ideas and often set up extra discussion time to understand the reasoning behind her marketing suggestions. After a year and a half of courtship, Cheri and James were married in Las Vegas in a small but lavish wedding with several of the Corley senior executives in attendance.
Not long after, James was offered and accepted a position in Shanghai, China as a Senior Vice President for a three-year assignment. It was a difficult decision because Cheri was two months’ pregnant. This meant she must stay back in the United States or have the baby in China. She was apprehensive about the medical care in China, only because she had an established obstetrician back in Minnesota. Cheri was familiar with the local hospital and knew what to expect during the delivery of the baby. After much soul-searching, the couple decided that they wanted to be together. Both Cheri and James would have jobs in China, and each would be garnering a salary with potential performance bonus incentives. They would be expatriates and the experience would be foundational for additional promotions in the future.

Since Cheri was also pregnant, Corley would pay for all health care costs, a full-time live- in nanny, and private educational costs (up to $15,000 annually) for their child once old enough to attend school. This relocation assistance also included a “double move package.” Because Cheri and James were both employees of the company, this meant they received a moving allowance for two employees, instead of one. The second relocation payment, worth several thousand dollars, was an unexpected surprise and was put aside for their child’s college education fund. Although there was no job opening for a Quality Controller at the Shanghai plant, Corley Lawn Mower Company created a position for Cheri as a Quality Control Reviewer.
Cheri had never lived in Shanghai, so she was worried about creating a support network. Fortunately, she befriended a neighbor at the local coffee and tea shop and they became confidants. She learned that Padama, an engineer and Xpat from India, lived with her family on the same street as Cheri’s family. This comforted her. She also discovered that they lived in a neighborhood that included expatriates from different English-speaking countries, and all children from kindergarten through high school attended the same private school. Padama reassured Cheri she would assimilate quickly into the new culture and make friends.
In China, Cheri and James had different work schedules, and they were driven to the factory at separate times by a professional car service. It allowed Cheri to get ready in the morning leisurely. As Cheri approached her first day of work, she set aside the same clothing she would wear back home, namely a short skirt and tight-fitting top. Many might consider her choice inappropriate for a manufacturing facility.
At the Shanghai Corley factory, the workers wore company-provided uniforms (coveralls) with flat shoes. This included all middle management. Cheri barely noticed this, but her husband was very aware of her differences in work attire. He mentioned to Cheri how unusual it was that the employees in China wore the Corley uniform and that the company paid for laundering. Each person changed into the coveralls daily in the morning and out of them at the end of workday. However, Cheri was oblivious to her husband’s gentle suggestions, and continued to wear her personal clothing to the factory. Gossip was frowned upon in the workplace, but Cheri’s clothes seemed disrespectful to many employees and they were unsure of how to behave around her.
Cheri often came in late and had a short workday because the job created for her was very basic and could be completed very quickly. She was to review quality results twice weekly and recommend changes. Since the Corley Company had focused on quality as its foundation for success, it was rare that Cheri needed to provide a recommendation. After four weeks (which was only eight working days), Cheri knew that she had much free time. Most of the expatriate wives on her street did not work, so when Cheri was invited to attend a lunch or a book club “get together,” she left the factory early and enjoyed a relaxing time with her Xpat friends.
While overseas, Cheri and James took advantage of their free weekends and visited other parts of China. James also traveled to other countries in Asia, and since he was a Senior Vice President, he was allowed to invite his wife to accompany him. This meant that Cheri would miss work, but she already knew her work could be finished easily and rapidly. She assumed missing work would not be an issue because she was an efficient employee.
On these “business” trips, Cheri enjoyed shopping and visited many historical and tourist landmarks. Even though she had not delivered her baby yet, their nanny traveled with them and acted as a translator. The nanny also provided help if Cheri needed assistance with her pregnancy or running the household. She was told by Corley management to respond to any of Cheri’s special requests. As Cheri tired more easily during her last trimester, Corley Lawn Mower Company wanted no distractions for James while working abroad. So, the nanny serviced the couple with cleaning, cooking, shopping, and entertaining (although this only happened one time).
In anticipation of her child’s birth, her neighbor Padama planned a baby shower for Cheri. To her surprise, the decorations followed an American nursery rhymes theme, and the food and dessert (cupcake mix and frosting) were all from the United States. Finding familiar products from the United States in China was difficult, but Padama had secured a way that Cheri soon learned was common practice. Padama coordinated with another friend, an expatriate’s wife visiting California, and the items traveled back with her. Some of the items were used to coordinate the baby’s new nursery which couldn’t have made Cheri any happier! It was like being home in the United States. Cheri delivered her baby one week later, and the couple was thrilled with their new daughter, Anita.
Life was pleasant in China and James thrived in his position at the Chinese Corley plant. Cheri couldn’t believe that they had been in China for over two years now. She continued to work two days a week, and their new baby kept her busy while James traveled. The nanny was a tremendous help to Cheri, and she depended on her not only as the baby’s caregiver, but to be a translator at Anita’s regular doctor’s visits.
At twenty-two months old, Anita became very ill and developed unusual swelling of her cheek and neck. Cheri was very worried about Anita as she was crying constantly and not eating. She and the nanny took Anita to the pediatrician who referred her to an oncologist. Tests were performed and the conclusion was that Anita suffered from a rare form of mouth cancer! Cheri was devastated and Corley immediately arranged for her to return home. She was granted a family leave of absence from work, and quickly flew back to the United States.
Once home, Cheri was referred to a pediatric oncologist at Mayo Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota. Thankfully, Anita received an expedited appointment to see the doctor that week. Sheri provided the diagnostic paperwork that had been translated into English by the nanny. After reading the documents and evaluating the blood test results, the doctor was surprised that the lab values contradicted a cancer diagnosis. On further physical examination, the oncologist determined the young girl had infected gums and an abscessed baby tooth—not cancer! The diagnosis was incorrect. It had caused much emotional turmoil and lost work days for Cheri. Although relieved with the positive health outlook, Cheri told Corley she wanted to leave her position in Shanghai immediately.
Corley Lawn Mower Company, however, wanted her to return to China. They had invested in both her husband and her, and the factory was exceeding its production target for the year. Cheri conceded and after spending a month in the United States arrived back in Shanghai. She did not want to return to work at the factory and leave her daughter with the nanny after the trauma of her illness. Fortunately, Corley allowed her husband to bring the quality reports home to Cheri, and he would return the documents the following day to Cheri’s supervisor, Shao Fen. Her manager did not have any Chinese employees working from home, so he was angered that she was given permission to handle her work in this manner. Mr. Fen was exasperated because Cheri rarely came to the factory before the baby was born, and now without his permission, she was working from home! He was also frustrated because he did not speak English, and she did not speak Chinese, and to communicate they required the assistance of an interpreter. Cheri seemed happy with this arrangement but clearly her supervisor was not!

Questions:

1. Corley was a multinational company that transferred both Cheri and James overseas, and created a special job for Cheri. Is it possible that Cheri was a “pawn” to ensure her husband’s acceptance of the job abroad? Explain.

2. Cheri ignored the required work uniform (coveralls) provided by Corley Lawn Mower Company. Do you believe she made a conscious decision to wear her own clothes daily, or was she simply ignorant of the custom?

3. Assume Cheri knew of the dress decorum. What would be her motives for wearing her own clothes? What negative consequence occurred or could have occurred because of her refusal?

4. Cheri seemed to come and go to work as she pleased. For more than two years, she did not advance within the company, and her job status remained static. Is there any evidence she preferred or negotiated this freedom and independence?

5. If Cheri wanted her career in China to grow as it did in the United States, what actions or behaviors should she have exhibited to help her succeed? What would have been the advantages of immersing herself with her Chinese colleagues and their culture?

6. Near the end of the case, Cheri’s supervisor reveals his anger toward Cheri. Do you think it was warranted? Support your decision by reviewing facts from the last two years.

7. An enormous obstacle for Xpats is communication. Beyond having a nanny as a translator, how could Cheri have improved her communication skills at work? And, vice versa, how could Mr. Fen have improved his communication with Cheri?

Explanation / Answer

1. Surely Cheri can be used as a pawn to ensure James acceptance of the offer in Shanghai. We could see that James was offered a very high position (Senior Vice President) in the organization. This being a very high role in the organization demands some compensation if James is to accept the offer as expats.

So is the reason that Cheri was offered a position that was not previously available and which required only 2 days of work a week

2. Cheri was clearly consicious while preferring to wear her own clothes. She was not very well informed about the coverall custom in China. Only James was very well aware of this and the custom followed in China facility and Cheri was not concerned of his suggestions.

3. Cheri didn't want to adapt to the formal customs of China and wanted to continue the same attire followed by her in US. Some of the negative consequences were -

4. We cannot see any direct evidence of her negotiation with the company in the passage. But it is obviously evident that Corley has created a dummy position for her. She too doen't want to stress her too much as she was a pregnant and used this to her advantage. Many a times she didn't show up to office too and her productivity was very less.

5. Cheri should've done the following things for successful career,

Some of the advantages of Cheri adapting to culture followed in China are as follows -

6. Yes Cheri's manager Shao Fen was clearly angry towards her for the following reasons,

All the above reasons made the manager show his anger as it were never followed in China

7. Cheri could have tried to learn the worlds that were repeatedly used in her working environment for effective communication. She should have spent more time in office to understand the language better. Though writing is not always necessary, she should have atleat tried to understand the conversation.

Mr.Fen should understand that 'English' is the officail medium of communication in many parts of the globe and learning that will always help in succeding in his career.

Please rate quality of this answer :-)

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