Answers for Case 1 Write-up

Q1. What mistakes did Chalon make as he took over the large North American division?

Although North American division’s staff is different to that of the French division, Chalon

expected them to behave and react like his French employees. His Be Like Me approach is the

reason why Chalon is unable to understand and explain why the American staff is demotivated

given his expectation for them to excel under high demands and low positive feedback. Although

Chalon had worked in a multicultural environment for his entire career, he did not have the skill

to transfer knowledge about one culture to another culture. Chalon also failed to recognize how

his cultural orientation influenced his conduct. Behavior that Chalon considered normal, such as

staff counter-arguing directly, was not considered as normal in the North American division.

Chalon was unaware of the key biases stemming from his French culture, which resulted in the

mistakes made at the North American division:

 Mistakes in Chalon’s leadership style:

- Chalon was demanding and set very high standards. His heuristic gained through

experience had him think that the greatest results can be achieved by being a leader

who demands the most from his people. Thus he gave little or no positive feedback

and wanted relentless improvement. Chalon’s method of motivation was not suitable

for North America where staff respond to more positive feedback than negative.

- Chalon only considered actual performance. There was no praise given for effort,

whereas in US, commendation of A for effort is common

- Even if Chalon did give positive feedback, it was not explicit. (French read between

the lines but US expects explicit appreciation)

 Mistakes in Chalon’s interaction with employees:

- Chalon was blunt and direct with criticism and disapproval. This made him come

across as arrogant to the Americans (French culture: blunt = expected, American:

being polite/courteous = normal)

- Chalon was regarded as cold and distant because employees felt he did not make an

effort to get to know the people at work. In Chalon’s mind, his open-door policy and

walking around the office was equal to being open. However, for Americans being

open was considered as getting to know each other on a very personal level.

- Chalon mistook employees’ silence with his feedback/criticism as a sign of

agreement, when in reality they were not happy. (French present counter arguments)