Minicase 19. Casey Miller: Should She Accept an International Assignment? Casey
ID: 326960 • Letter: M
Question
Minicase 19. Casey Miller: Should She Accept an International Assignment? Casey Miller, a 37-year-old manager with Techtonics Inter and was now the vice president in charge of North Ameri- national, had just returned to her office early on a Thursday can operations for one of Techtonics's main business areas, afternoon. During a lunchtime meeting in the company's overseeing a workforce of more than 2,100 people and sales executive lunchroom, her boss had just offered her a chance in excess of $500 million Identified as one of the "rising to move to Shanghai, China, where she would be in charge stars in Techtonics, and mentored by one of the senior vice of establishing the company's new office for the East Asia presidents of the company, she seemed to have no limits to region. As she sat at her desk looking out over the Los Ange her career path les skyline, she was filled with a mix of excitement and trepi Miller had always dreamed of living and working abroad with a mix of excitement and trepi Miller had always dreamed of living and working abroad dation. Should she accept the position she was offered? Or As a student, she studied abroad for a semester in Spain and should she pass on this opportunity and wait for something spent a month afterward traveling around Europe with several else in the future? What factors should she consider in mak friends. After graduation, she worked on a six-month intern- ship with AIESEC, working for a small exporting company ing this important decision? Miller had joined Techtonics shortly after completing her based in Poland. Since joining Techtonics, her international bachelor's degree in business, starting as an assistant sales experience had primarily consisted of business trips to Can- manager. Since then, she had been promoted several times ada or Mexico, attending several conferences and visitinga Human Resource Management Chapter 19 593 few selected client companies in Europe and Asia, and going that he would like to have Miller's decision within about on two extended vacations: one to Thailand and another to week and that she the Caribbean. When her boss mentioned the possibility of four to six months if she accepted the job. going to China, she could barely contain her enthusiasm would need to move to Shanghai within As she watched the traffic begin to jam up on the freeway However, Miller also began to think about her family and outside her office building. Miller thought about reaching for how an international assignment might affect them. Her hus her cell phone and calling her good friend for advice on hom band, Jerry, was an accountant in the Los Angeles office of a to deal with the job opportunity that she had been offered large accounting firm. Although he had a successful career she thought that he might be open to a change. She also had Discussion Questions two children: Jerry Jr., who was 8, and Susan, who was 12 How would they respond to moving to a new country? Would now be a good time for such a move, or would it be better to wait for a few years? 1. If you were a good friend of Casey Miller, what rec- ommendation would you give regarding whether she should accept the international assignment that has been offered to her? And what if she was to accept the offer to go to China? What issues would she need to discuss with the company regarding the implications of a move to China? Her boss said 2 What issues she should focus on in making such a decision?Explanation / Answer
1. I would recommend Casey Miller to take a decision that would help her to grow in the current role. Moving to China and establishing the company’s new office for East Asia region would be a challenging opportunity to prove her abilities. As of now she has no specific international experience and the role is a stepping stone for her to prove that she can excel in any role including handling of global operations. She would be able to head the company globally by best utilizing this opportunity. Moreover it is her long term dream to live abroad and the movement to China would help her to understand the traditions and culture in China. Hence I would suggest Casey Miller to accept the opportunity and move to China.
2. The issues Casey Miller should focus on while making the decision includes the cultural differences she needs to face in China that may affect her way of doing work. There is lot of difference between Chinese and American customs and she needs to learn the differences to handle the team effectively. The chances of conflicts are more in the new office and handling them may be difficult if she does not learn the Chinese culture. Another issue she may face is the issues related to her family. Her kids are studying and Casey Miller needs to find better school for continuing their education. Her husband also require new job in the accounting industry and the opportunities that are available for him needs to be identified. Her family also should be able to adapt to the Chinese culture to make the expatriation successful.