Van West

Melvin Bahrain CCC Professor G 03/14/2013 Case 1 1. What are the underlying cultural issues contributing to the problems? In this case the cultural issue is that Van West didn’t speak Spanish that well. Gonzalez actually spoke a little bit of English, so they could communicate. However, if Van west would speak better Spanish, then it might have solve a lot of problems even quicker. Furthermore, both Hernandez and Van West grew up differently so they had different visions of approaching problems with workers, and production issues.
Van West was looking for solutions with enthusiasm, while the other thought that everything will solve by itself. 2. What should Van West have done when he first came to Mexico? In my opinion everything what he did went pretty well beside one thing. He shouldn’t let Hernandez take care of things while he was getting comfortable. I think he should start looking out for the problems right away to solve them a bit earlier. Hernandez is the person who said that the place where they both work does not have that performance that Van West got used to back in Taipei.
Also, when he heard about the strike possibility he should act immediately to try to prevent it. It is also a culture issue, some people need some time to adjust to place and they work better, but some of them can start hard work right away. 3. How should Van West deal with Hernandez? Address the role of the boss in Mexican culture. Address the relationship between superiors and subordinates. I think that Van West should be more assertive towards Hernandez. They became friends, which affected the workplace.

I think that Van West was just too nice about Hernandez, and he couldn’t tell him what was wrong or what was right. Van West should have more attitude of a boss while he was talking to Hernandez in a business place. Of course it is hard to act like a boss toward friend, but lets face the reality. It is work, and one has to be professional in what one does for living. Otherwise you can lose a job. Subordinate Hernandez was playing smart because obviously no one likes to get orders from other people so he became friends with Van West to have him on his side.
Van West supposed to bring his problem solving, and enthusiasm for work to Hernandez’s life. 4. How can Van West deal with the labor issue? How does this relate to attitudes toward change, the relationship between the individual and the group, and hierarchy? Van West should be the person who would show more interest in the issues that occur inside the company. He probably would have to organize meetings between workers, and workout some even solutions for everybody. It is hard to make everyone happy at the same time, but there is always a chance that all of them would agree on something.
Van West figured out that there were some issues between Gonzales and Hernandez. He decided to solve problems by going to see production issues by himself without Hernandez. Gonzales was the one who helped him se the clear vision of what is going on. This was a good move from Van West side because he got a little bit friendly with Gonzales who helped him find problems inside the company. The meeting that Van West made in the end of the case was a great choice because he is going to have all of the workers in one place so it will be easier to find out problems that may delay orders.