International Management 8th Edition by Fred Luthans,Jonathan Doh

Exercise 1

As Jim Reynolds looked out the small window of the Boeing 757, he saw the glimmer of lights in the distance.After a five-hour flight, he arrived in Bogotá, Colombia, at 9:35 p.m.on a clear Friday evening.It had been nearly five years since Jim had seen his best friend, Rodrigo Cardozo.The two had met in college and kept in touch over the years.During their school years, Rodrigo would often accompany Jim when he went home to Chicago for the holidays.
Entering the main terminal, Jim found himself in what looked like a recently bombed building.Piles of debris were everywhere.Lights hung from the ceiling by exposed electrical wires, and the walls and floors were rough, unfinished concrete."Certainly, aesthetics are not a major concern at the Bogotá International Airport," Jim thought.
As he came to the end of the long, dimly lit corridor, an expressionless customs official reached out his hand and gestured for Jim's travel documents.
"Passaporte, por favor.Bienvenidos a Bogotá, Señor Reynolds.Estás en vacacciones?"
"Sí," Jim replied.
After a few routine questions, Jim was allowed to pass through customs feeling relatively unscathed.
"Loquillo! Loquillo! Estamos aquí! Jim, Jim," a voice shouted.
Trying to find the origin of the voice among the dense crowd, Jim finally spotted Rodrigo."Hey, man.How've you been? You look great!"
"Jim, it's so good to see you.How've you been? I would like you to meet my wife, Eva.Eva, this is my best friend, Jim.He's the one in all those pictures I've shown you."
Late Night Begins the Day
Close to an hour later, Jim, Rodrigo, and Eva arrived at Rodrigo's parents' house on the other side of Bogotá from the airport.As Jim was aware, it is customary for couples to live with their parents for a number of years after their marriage, and Rodrigo and Eva were following that custom.
Darío, Rodrigo's father, owned an import/export business in Bogotá.He was a knowledgeable and educated man and, from what Jim knew, a master of business negotiations.Over the years, Darío had conducted business with people in nearly every country in Central and South America, the United States, Europe, Hong Kong, and some parts of Africa.Jim had first met Darío with Rodrigo in Boston in 1989.
"Jim, welcome to my house," Darío boomed effusively as the group walked in."I am so pleased that you're finally in Bogotá.Would you like something to drink-whiskey, bourbon, Aguardiente?"
"Aguardiente!" Rodrigo urged.
"Yes, Jim would like some Aguardiente.I understand you're going to Bahía tonight," Darío added.
"Where?" Jim asked, looking around."I didn't know we were going anywhere tonight."
"Don't worry, Jim, todo bien, todo bien," Rodrigo assured him."We're going dancing, so get dressed.Let's go."
The reality of being in Colombia hit Jim at about 11:15 that night when he and his friends entered Bahía, a Bogotá nightclub.The rhythms of salsa and merengue filled the club.Jim's mind flashed back to the Latin dance parties he and Rodrigo had had in Boston with their friends from Central and South America.
"Jim, this is my cousin, Diana.She'll be your partner tonight," Rodrigo said."You'll get to practice your Spanish too; she doesn't speak a word of English.Have fun."
For the next six hours, they danced and drank.This is the Colombian way.At 5:30 the next morning, Rodrigo decided it was time to leave to get something to eat.On the drive home, they stopped at an outdoor grill in the mountains where many people had congregated for the same reason.Everyone was eating arepas con queso and mazorca, and drinking Aguardiente.
Next, they continued to an outdoor party just down the street.Here, they danced and drank until the sun crested over the mountains of Bogotá.It was about 7:00 A.M.when they decided to conclude the celebration-for now.
Saturday was spent recovering from the previous evening and also touring some local spots in the country.However, Saturday night was a repeat of Friday.After being in Colombia for three days, Jim had slept a total of about four hours.Fortunately, Monday was a national holiday.
Business Before Pleasure Before Business?
Although Jim was having a great time, he had also scheduled a series of business meetings with directors of business schools at various Bogotá universities for the week to come.Jim worked as an acquisitions editor for Academia Press, a major publisher of college-level business textbooks.The purpose of the meetings was to establish business contacts in the Colombian market.It was hoped that these initial contacts would lead to others in Latin America.
At Academia Press headquarters in New York, Jim and Caroline Evans, his boss, had discussed the opportunities in Latin America.Although Academia Press routinely published international editions of its texts, total international sales never represented more than 15 percent of their gross.Consequently, international markets had never been pursued aggressively.Caroline, however, saw the Latin American markets as having a lot of potential within the next three to five years.She envisioned this market alone, in time, representing 15 to 20 percent of gross sales.Moreover, she felt that within the next ten years, international sales could reach 40 percent if developed properly.With numbers like that, it was evident to Jim that this deal was important, not only to the company but to his career as well.If Jim was able to open these markets, he might receive a promotion and be able to continue to work in Central and South America.
Jim's first meeting was scheduled for 11:00 A.M.on Tuesday, the second on Wednesday at 11:00 A.M., and the third on Friday at 3:00 P.M.At precisely 11:00 A.M.on Tuesday, Jim arrived at Javeriana University, where he was to meet with Professors Emilio Muñoz, Diana Espitia, and Enrique Ronderos.When he arrived, Professor Muñoz was waiting for him in the conference room.
"Señor Reynolds, I am delighted to meet you.How was your flight?"
"Wonderful," Jim replied.
"And how do you like Bogotá so far? Have you been able to sightsee?"
"No, I haven't had the chance to get around the city yet.I hope to see some things later in the week."
"Well, before you leave, you must visit El Museo de Oro.It is the finest collection of gold artifacts from the various indigenous Indian tribes in Colombia.Although much of the gold was stolen by the Spanish, many pieces have survived." For the next thirty minutes, Professor Muñoz spoke of everything from the upcoming presidential elections to World Cup soccer.
Jim looked at his watch, concerned about the other professors who had not yet arrived and about the meeting for which he had prepared.
"Is there something wrong, Señor Reynolds?"
"No, no, I was just wondering about the others; it's 11:30."
"Don't worry.They'll be here shortly.Traffic in Bogotá at this hour is terrible.They're probably caught in a traffic jam."
Just then, Professors Espitia and Ronderos walked in.
"Muy buenas, Señor Reynolds," Professor Espitia said warmly."Please forgive us for the delay.Traffic is simply awful at this time of day."
"Oh, that's not necessary.I understand.Traffic in New York can be absolutely horrendous as well," Jim replied."Sometimes it takes two hours to get from one end of the city to the other."
"Have you had lunch yet, Señor Reynolds?" asked Professor Ronderos.
Jim shook his head.
"Why don't we go to lunch, and we can talk there?" Professor Ronderos suggested.
After discussing the restaurants in the area, the professors decided on El Club Ejecutivo.It was nearly 12:30 p.m.when they arrived.
"It's been an hour and a half, and we haven't discussed anything," Jim thought.He was concerned that the Colombians were not very interested in what he had to offer.Throughout lunch, Jim grew increasingly concerned that the professors were more interested in his trying typical Colombian dishes and visiting the sights in Bogotá than in Academia's textbooks.They were fascinated that Jim knew how to dance salsa and merengue and impressed that he spoke Spanish with a slight Colombian accent; Señorita Espitia said she found it amusing.That seemed much more important than his knowledge of business textbooks and publishing in general.
By the end of lunch, Jim was nearly beside himself.It was now after 2:30 P.M.and nothing had been accomplished.
"Why don't we all go to Monserate tomorrow? It's absolutely beautiful up there, Señor Reynolds," Professor Ronderos suggested, going on to describe the mountain that overlooks Bogotá and the myths and traditions that surround it.
"That's a wonderful idea," Professor Espitia added.
"Monserate it is then.Jim, it has been a pleasure.I look forward to our meeting tomorrow," Professor Ronderos said with a slight bow.
"Señor Reynolds, would you like a ride home?" Professor Muñoz asked.
"Yes, if it's not too much trouble."
On the way home, Jim was relatively quiet.
"Do you feel okay?"
"It must be jet lag catching up to me.I'm sure it's nothing," Jim responded.Concerned about the way the meeting had gone, Jim realized that he had never even had a chance to mention Academia Press's various titles and how these texts could be used to create a new curriculum or supplement an existing curriculum at the professors' business school.
When in Bogotá
On arriving at the house, Jim went upstairs and sat in the living room glumly sipping a cup of aguapanela."I just don't get it," he thought."The Colombians couldn't have been happier with the way the meeting turned out, but we didn't do anything.We didn't even talk about one book.I just don't understand what went wrong."
In a short time, Darío arrived."Muy buenas, Jim.How did your meetings go today with the directors?" he asked.
"I don't know.I don't know what to think.We didn't do anything.We didn't talk about business at all.We talked more about the sights I should see and the places I should visit before I leave Colombia.I'm supposed to call my boss this afternoon and tell her how the initial meeting went.What am I going to tell her? 'Sorry, we just decided to plan my vacation in Colombia instead of discussing business.' I can't afford to have this deal fall through."
Darío laughed.
"Señor, I'm serious."
"Jim, I understand.Believe me.Tell me about your meeting today."
Jim recounted every detail of the meeting to Darío, who smiled and nodded his head as he listened.
"Jim, you have to understand one thing before you continue negotiating with the directors."
"What's that?"
"You're in Colombia now," Darío said simply.
Jim stared at him with a puzzled look."And?"
"And what, Jim?"
"Is there something else I should know?"
"That's where you need to start.You let the directors set the tone of the meeting.It's obvious they felt very comfortable with you, or they wouldn't have invited you to Monserate.Here in Colombia, Jim, we do business differently.Right now, you're building friendship.You're building their trust in you.This is very important in doing business in all of Latin America."
After a moment's pause, "Jim," Darío continued, "would you rather do business with a friend or someone you hardly know?"
As Darío went on to analyze the meeting, Jim realized that his perception of the situation had been formed by his experiences in the United States."When in Bogotá," he thought, "I guess I had better think like the Colombians."
"Jim, you've gained the respect and the trust of the directors.In my opinion, your first meeting was a complete success."
"What should I expect in the meetings to come?" Jim asked.
"Don't worry," he responded."Just let the directors worry about that.You'll come to an agreement before the end of the week.I guarantee it."
What differences does Jim notice between life in the United States and life in Colombia?