Thu Trang

This case illustrates managerial dilemmas that might arise when a company's offices are located in different countries, with different cultural and social styles and practices. The case also highlights how one might deal with personnel issues when many factors--including leadership, employee well-being, and different cultural norms--all present problems. Excerpt UVA-E-0232 THU TRANG I was in the hotel lobby, three hours away from leaving Vietnam on my way back to Paris. I had been talking to Thu Trang, the person in charge of imports and logistics for our company. She was very upset, even crying out of anger and frustration, and she had a compelling story. What was I supposed to do? After a four-month search for the right candidate, I had hired Le Loi as division manager of our Vietnamese operations, to build our business in that country, educate our clients, and develop the staff. During my interviews with him and at the start of the assignment, I had clearly defined the limits of his authority and his responsibilities, and he reported to me weekly by telephone. I was pleased with him and increasingly certain that I had hired the right candidate. Le Loi, however, had not had an easy start. The team had challenged his authority and even turned to me in critical cases because I was their former manager, and they felt more comfortable dealing with me. This was my second visit to Vietnam since I had hired Le Loi. On my arrival, I had learned that he had hired a staff member without my approval or knowledge. The new staff member's assignment was to assist Thu Trang, although her work load and efficiency had not suggested that she needed any help. She was very good at her job, and I could not figure out why Le Loi felt she needed an assistant. When I questioned him about it, his explanation was not persuasive: He said he was not entirely comfortable that he could trust Thu Trang, particularly given the sensitive company information with which she dealt. He explained that the new hire was a cousin, and therefore he could trust him totally. During my prior experience managing the team in Vietnam, I never had any concerns about the issue of Thu Trang's trustworthiness. Throughout my stay in Vietnam, I had sensed a heavy malaise within the team. Now, standing in the hotel lobby a few hours before my departure, I questioned the crying Thu Trang. She was convinced that the new staff member had been hired to ultimately replace her, and she felt that her boss Le Loi's reasons for wanting to do so were unfair. Finally, she got to the crux of the matter: that he knew she had been recently diagnosed with tuberculosis and, because of her illness, planned to fire her as soon as the new staff member's evaluation period ended. That revelation shocked me, but, based on my experience in Vietnam and with her and the team, I trusted that she was correct in her assumptions. . . .