Assignment Task :

Working with Virtual Partners, Netherlands and Argentina 

Roos Dekker works as a home country manager for Philips Healthcare, a division of the large Dutch multinational Philips. Her job responsibilities include logistical coordination for the company’s Healthcare@home products, including supplies and product deliveries to and from Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Dekker was born and raised in the Netherlands and attended Erasmus University Rotterdam. While she has travelled throughout Europe, she has never left the continent. Like many Dutch people, she speaks fluent German and English, as well as a little French, in addition to her native Dutch. Dekker took the job at Philips because she enjoyed working with people from different cultures, thought she was a good problem-solver and had good communication skills. She had also studied logistics and supply chain management as part of her business degree and was confident this would help her in her daily challenges. Still, she understood that global travel would be problematic in view of her two young children at home. 

As part of her job, Dekker she must coordinate her efforts with other logistics managers around the world, including Javier Gutiérrez. Gutiérrez works in Buenos Aires and is involved in the company’s manufacturing, import and export, and distribution operations throughout South America. Operating through about a dozen plants in the region (mostly Brazil and Argentina), Philips makes components and products specializing in consumer electronics, small appliances, lighting equipment, and electronic medical equipment, which are then distributed and sold under the Philips brand. 

Although Dekker and Gutiérrez are both logistics coordinators, they report to different supervisors in different divisions of the company. Organizationally, they are on the same level in the company hierarchy. Still, they must coordinate their efforts and work together to achieve maximum results for the entire enterprise. Dekker and Gutiérrez both speak fluent English, and have worked together several times, although they have never met in person and each knows very little about the other. 

Recently, Roos Dekker was given an assignment involving major product deliveries from South America to the European Union. For reasons she did not understand, these deliveries arrived in Europe at a slower pace than was scheduled, and she was under considerable pressure to hasten these deliveries. Her point of contact for this problem was Javier Gutiérrez. Dekker tried several times to contact Gutiérrez, mostly by email, but failed to get any definitive response regarding the late shipments. 

 

Case Questions 

Question 1 

What are the challenges in managing virtual teams? How can organisations manage these challenges? Use examples from the case study to justify your answer. 

Question 2 

Discuss the key cultural differences between the Netherlands and Argentina. In what ways might the key differences reduce message-clarity in the exchange between Roos Dekker and Javier Gutiérrez? 

Question 3 

Using the Attention-Interpretation-Action (AIA) model of interpersonal communication, explain the communication episode or cycle involving Dekker and Gutiérrez. 

Question 4 

Using this case study as an example, explain the common process strategies used for resolving conflicts, and suggest a strategy (ies) from the common process strategies that you deem most appropriate to resolve the conflict between Dekker and Gutierrez. 

 

This Business Assignment has been solved by our Business Experts at UniLearnO. Our Assignment Writing Experts are efficient to provide a fresh solution to this question. We are serving more than 10000+ Students in Australia, UK & US by helping them to score HD in their academics. Our Experts are well trained to follow all marking rubrics & referencing style.

Be it a used or new solution, the quality of the work submitted by our assignment experts remains unhampered. You may continue to expect the same or even better quality with the used and new assignment solution files respectively. There’s one thing to be noticed that you could choose one between the two and acquire an HD either way. You could choose a new assignment solution file to get yourself an exclusive, plagiarism (with free Turnitin file), expert quality assignment or order an old solution file that was considered worthy of the highest distinction.

Eureka! You've stumped our genius minds (for now)! This exciting new question has our experts buzzing with curiosity. We can't wait to craft a fresh solution just for you!

  • Uploaded By : Grace
  • Posted on : July 03rd, 2019

Whatsapp Tap to ChatGet instant assistance