When in Romania, do as Romanians do?

Summary

Martin Lechner 32 year old, graduate of the Vienna University of Economics and
Business Administration. He has worked for an Austrian chemical company for six
years.
He is marketing director, but his enthusiasm has decreased during last months,
because he does not have real promotion opportunities. And his financial situation is
not really good, in fact his pay increases have been smaller than expected.
The companys management offers to install Martin as the supervisor of a new
subsidiary to be established in Bucharest. His job will manage the representative
office. Which will investigate possible distribution structures and sales potentials
and is eventually to be converted into a manufacturing plant.
The company has dropped the initial plan to set up subsidiary in the Ukraine and
had chosen Romania. Because the organization is better in Romania.
A friend of Martin tells about his last trip to Romania. And his friend tells that it
was extremely difficult to do business with the people there.
He is married, and has got two kids, one eight year old son and one three year old
daugther. His wife is an artist and wants to go back to the university for finish her
degree. So it is going to be difficult for his family to move to an other country.

Identification of the problem

Martins lack of incentives due to the fact thatat the moment there are no real
promotion opportunities and besides that, he is feeling threatened by a colleagues
advancement in position.
Identification of the potential negative effects
His family might not be able to adjust to the Romanian culture
Problems could appear between Martin and his wife
Due to the unclear situation in Romania and his lack of information regarding its
culture, he might not be able to successfully do his job
Identification of the causes
Only very general statements are made concerning Martins movement to
Bucharest, therefore he feels is not being sufficiently informed;
After Martins friend told him his opinion about Romania, Martin doubt whether he
made the right decision;

 The insecurity Martin feels when it comes to how his family will manage in a
foreign country is making him to ponder upon his decision;
His wife want to go back to studies and finish her degree and a move to Romania
will cancel her plans; that is why Martin is feeling insecure about his decision.

Alternative solutions
a. Health care benefits for all family members, 25% off for children education at any
of the following schools: X, Y, Z and free counseling for his wife from the Goethe
Institute on her artistic initiative for the first 6 months of stay in Romania
b. Free classes and trainings regarding the Romanian culture and its language for all
family members, as well as putting them in contact with local families which could
ease their transition
c. Receive more information regarding Romania and the implications of the new
office established there, as well as postponing his familys move until he is able to
assess the present situation
d. Receive more information regarding Romania and the implications of the new
office established there, as well as postponing his familys move until he is able to
assess the present situation. In the meantime, the company should offer free
classes and trainings regarding the Romanian culture and its language for all family
members, as well as putting them in contact with a local family which could ease
their transition.
Optimal Solution
We believe the optimal solution to be receiving more information regarding Romania
and the implications of the new office established there, as well as postponing his
familys move until he is able to assess the present situation. In the meantime, the
company should offer free classes and trainings regarding the Romanian culture and
its language for all family members, as well as putting them in contact with a local
family which could ease their transition.
Demonstration that the chosen solution is the optimal one
This we believe to be the optimal solution because it gives Martin the possibility of
choosing to stay or to leave after being well prepared. Compared to the first option,
which ascertained the leave of Martin within those specific conditions, this options
still gives him the necessary time to think and inform over the situation in Romania.
The second option, as well, starts form he premise that Martin is will leave for
Romania and should learn as much as possible about the country and the culture, to
get accustomed to the local habits

On the other hand, the third solution starts with the premise that he is still in Austria
and he should get more information about Romania. Our optimal solution also starts
with this premise, but not only have we offered him the time go get to know more
about Romania, but also time to discuss with his family issues regarding this topic.
Compared to the others, Martin has more way of information: the classes and
trainings regarding Romania culture to real life market information, from the families
that he would be put in contact with.
A downside of this will be that when he got enough information he might not wish to
leave anymore, so the company is taking some risks here; but it helps Martin
perspective and helps him decide what he should do.
Implementation of the optimal solution
- In order to minimize costs for the company, we will enrol Martin, his wife and his
son in Romanian language classes offered by the Romanian Cultural Institute in
Vienna (his daughter is too young to participate in a structured learning
environment).
- An added benefit is the fact that the Institute promotes culture and all forms of art,
which would help Martins wife with her artistic endeavours. This would allow her to
continue her studies in the field of art in Bucharest, by providing information on
what courses are offered by Romanian universities.
- The Romanian family we intend to put them in contact with could actually be the
family of one of their teachers at the Institute (Dr. Florin Oprescu or Claudia Nistor).

5.2
Thank you for your attention :)
One of Martins biggest problems concerning the move to Romania comes from the
fact that he is unsure what to think about the country . This uncertainty is inherent
when dealing with subjective information , generalizing the country as a whole , due
to a particular bad or good experience . Each nation has its ups and downs and two
stories are in no way enough to form an educated opinion.
The free classes of Romanian culture , these including general information , tradition
, habits , language and so on , represent a more than sufficient way to fully assess
the general situation in Romania and help the family as a whole understand what to
expect from the move.
Contact with a family from Romania , even before the actual move , will also help to
make sure that he will be fully informed upon his arrival and aid in his integration
and accommodation .
Unbiased and generous information and a few local friends add up to a significant
improvement of ones perception of a different country.