Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Case Studies PDF
Case Studies PDF
Who we are BTS provides a full range of corporate travel services. We are highly
experienced in handling the requirements of teday's business traveller. Among our many
clients are multinational companies which are household names.
What we do Our travel consultants work to produce top-value fares and the best itineraries
to suit the needs of your staff. We will minimise your expenses by arranging your staffs
travel at the right price, getting additional discounts for you and establishing direct contact
with the best service providers. All our overseas partners are selected because of their high
standard of service, attention to detail and quality of product.
We offer: Flights , Hotel bookings, Car rental, Conference bookings, Insurance
Stage 1 The Head of Travel at NeoTech phones the Account Manager of BTS to set up a
meeting, so that they can discuss the problems that executives have had while on business
trips.
Stage 2 NeoTech's Head ofTravel phones BTS's Account Manager to change the time of the
meeting. Some equipment has been stolen from their office, and the police are investigating.
The Head ofTravel suggests meeting in two weeks' time on a Wednesday. BTS's Account
Manager cannot meet on the Wednesday - he/she is giving a speech at an international
travel conference. He/She suggests an alternative day and time.
Stage 3 Following a request from BTS's Account Manager, NeoTech's Head ofTravel sends
summaries of four problems which senior executives at NeoTech had during recent
business trips
Hotel problem: They upgraded to a rom that had no safe for his money and bad lightening.
Also noisy people next dor.
The new room was no better. No wáter for four hours. Coffee machine didn’t wor, the ice
machine was out of order and the des kwas too small. No response from receptionist
because she was busy
Lost luggage: Three pieces of luggage didn’t arrive. He reported the loss to the airline. They
promise to find the bags and send them to him. Some weeks later, they say didn’t find the
bags and ask to fill out a claim form. Month later, they ask to send receipts for all missing
articles. He didn’t have the receipts. Three monts later, no news, no response to emails and
letters, the airline has merged with nother company, can be this part of the problema?
Car Rental Problem: They rental office didn’t give him the car reserved (médium price range
at 250 a week). They offerd: a smaller cark uncomfortable and small trunk OR bigger car for
an extra $20 a day.
He expected a free upgrade but the attitude of the Clerk on the desk was take it or leave it.
He hire the bigger car and they he ended up paying 490 for the car.
Diverted Flight: he was on a flight to MoscOW, but the flight was diverted to Helsinki
because of bad weather. There was a lot of confusion at Helsinki because the airline sent all
the passengers to the same hotel for the night. Some passengers became very aggressive
when they tried to get a room. He had to share a room with another passenger. The hotel
made all passengers pay for their rooms. The next morning, they had to walt SIX hours in a
cold terminal for the flight to Moscow. The airline wouldn't pay for their hotel expenses.
They said the circumstances were 'beyond their control'. He think we should be
compensated for all the inconvenience
As the Account Manager for BTS, write an e-mail to NeoTech's Head of Travel,
apologising for the inconvenience. Offer some compensation and explain what steps
BTS has taken to make sure a similar problem does not happen again.
• They're trying to do things too fast - there's a new computer system we don't
understand; and they're ordering lots of Australian films for our rental service, but
we know nothing about the films.
• They want an informal atmosphere, but we don't want to use first names - we're not
used to that.
• The food in the staff restaurant is awful. The new manager's Australian, she's
changed most of the dishes. We have to eat a lot of food we're not used to. There are
too many dairy products and not enough fresh vegetables and fish.
• Most of the management jobs have been given to Australians. There are not many
Chinese in senior positions - everyone's complaining about it.
• We don't know what's going on. We don't know where the company is going and
what our strategy is. Quite a few of us don't who our boss is, or what our duties are.
• We feel we're lOSing our Chinese identity. Our bosses don't understand us, our
customs are so different. Our new managers are only interested in results.
A group of senior managers meets to resolve the problems.
1 Work in two groups.
Group A: new Australian managers led by Scott Henderson
Group B: senior executives from Asia Entertainment who have kept their jobs following
the merger.
Each group prepares separately for the meeting.
2 Hold the meeting as one group.
The agenda is as follows:
• Background: why are staff resisting the changes?
• What mistakes is the new management making, if any?
• What practical action(s) can be taken to improve the situation?
• What can be learned from this experience? How can the company manage change
more effectively in the future?
Write the action minutes for the above meeting.
A US-based shoe manufacturer must decide whether to relocate the head office of its
European subsidiary, InStep, from Paris to a small industrial town 1 20 kilometres away.
Background Three years ago, InStep moved its factory to Beauchamp, a small, industrial
town in northern France. The plant is modern with new equipment. A large warehouse and
distribution centre were built near the factory.
InStep is now considering moving staff from the Paris office to a purpose-built, six-storey
building in the same town. Beauchamp has a population of 25,000, with a high proportion
of young people. The relocation, if it goes ahead, will create employment opportunities for
local inhabitants . How do you think staff will react to the proposed relocation? What reasons
might some staff have for opposing the relocation?
A 'getting to know you' meeting The Vice-President of the parent company has come to
Paris to discuss the proposed relocation with two senior managers from the Paris
subsidiary and an independent relocation consultant. This group will discuss the relocation
and make a recommendation to the Board of Directors on whether to go ahead with the
relocation or not.
Panther Air:
• On-demand jet chárter service based in Hamburg, Germany
• High standards of safety, quality and service
• Expert on choice of plane; competitive prices
• Target consumers: top business executives and VIPS
Aim: To target the worlds top business people.
E-book:
• An electronic book recently launched - slim; it can fit into a pocket or handbag .
• It has a 200-novel memory and sells at 250 euros.
• When turned on. it takes readers straight to the last page they were reading.
• A 'next read' feature: the E-Book consults a database of related titles which may be
of interest to the reader. It then makes recommendations for downloading or
purchase .
• The E-Book is pre-loaded with 150 books.
Aim: An international press and TV campaign