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Prepare Case: Karen Leary (A) (course pack) a. How has Leary taken charge of the Elmville branch office? y Leary terminated eight financial consultants whom had been with the company for over six years y Cost Merrill Lynch $30,000 to train an new employee, six to eight months to be productive y Aggressive approach to motivate the financial consultants: two hours on the floor observing FC on the phone with clients, monitor market indicators and current events on Quotron screens y Coaching and counseling in cubicles instead of calling people to the office y Developed training program for the young brokers to train with more experienced FCs who were complacent with their careers. y Hired a chief compliance officer to evaluate the trades and monitored the brokers y Business increased by 30% in her first year y Micromanaged her FCs b. What is your evaluation of Chungs performance? y Chung is very private and territorial over his space and accounts. He prefers to work independently and not a team player. He dislikes close supervision and works for himself instead of the company. Respect is important to him and does not react well taking tasks that he perceives as beneath him. Chung works on his own accord, not following the companys guideline. He would go out of his way to please his clients. Chung is ambition, aggressive and egotistical. His demand for an office when he is still new to the company shows that he thinks he has earned it by bringing in one $6 million account. He is not taking Learys business advice, perhaps he is not subjective to a woman superior.

c. If you were Leary, how would you respond to Chungs request for a private office? What factors would you consider? What specific actions would you take to improve Chungs performance, as well as your working relationship with him? I would set up conditions for the request, first to bring in a substantial amount of business and establish longevity with the company. He has to prove his value to Merrill Lynch before getting his private office. d. If you were Learys regional director (her immediate supervisor), how would you evaluate her performance? I would suggest to Leary that she should give her team some space and room to develop themselves. It is important to give e. What are the particular challenges and dilemmas in managing subordinates who have different cultural backgrounds and working styles from yours? y Language can cause communication problem. Tones from different cultures can be interpreted differently.

Eye contact and body language differ from culture to culture. Some perceived having eye contact with the superiors as a sign of disrespectful or can be interpreted as not engaged in the conversation. Women can be considered as inferior in some cultures. Taking orders from female boss could be disagreeable to some men from different cultures.

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