ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

Case2:

THE CASE OF THE WRONG MANGOES

In due course, you find yourself out of school and holding a good ‘’normal’’ job working for a firm that specializes in producing canned fruit. Your boss calls you in and announces that the firm has made a major decision: it will be moving immediately to set up a subsidiary in Jamaica  to produce canned  mangoes.  ‘’It’s  a  whole new concept,’’  your  boss  explains.

‘’Nobody else is canning mangoes, so we should make a fortune. Did you know that the Jamaicans grow over thirty varieties of mangoes?’’ You didn’t and furthermore you don’t even like mangoes but you agree to go and help with the start-up.

When you reach Jamaica, however, it’s clear that all is not well. The firm is getting ready to start production and the employees and the management team (consisting of a group of British, Australian, and American managers from the firm’s home location) are already at odds. You discover that while the top management team was regarded as excellent at home, none of the team has even been to Jamaica before. ‘’Shouldn’t be a problem, though,’’ remarks the British general manager. ‘’After all, Jamaica was a colony of ours for years. They’ve inherited our laws and customs, and they even speak our language.’’ The last comment, you soon discover, is something of an overstatement. In fact, the Jamaicans speak a patois, a combination of French, Spanish, African, and English, the result of their slave heritage. They can understand ‘’standard’’ English when it is spoken slowly and clearly but are also masters at not understanding when it seems convenient.

As for the customs and manner of thinking of the people, you are somewhat at a loss. As best you can tell, their religion consists of a veneer of Christianity overlaying several forms of voodoo-like worship stemming from their African heritage. In addition, Rastafarianism has

taken on an important role. It  is a highly passive-seeming worship the ‘’Rastas’’ simply smoke the local “ganga’’ all day and await the second coming of Christ, who is to be incarnated in the form of an emperor of Ethiopia. Things reach a crisis when the first canning operation  is  an  utter  failure.  The  mangoes  taste  all  right  (though  you  still  don’t  like mangoes), but the texture is terrible a ghastly, stringy, soupy mixture. You are present when the general manager holds a fact-finding meeting. The few Jamaicans who are present say nothing. Finally, under intense questioning, one of them offers, “Well, saar’’ (this is how they refer to anyone perceived as a “boss’’), “the problem is the mangoes, you know.’’ “What on earth do you mean?’’ bellows the general manager. “They were plenty fresh and ripe, because we checked carefully.’’ “Of course, saar,’’ replies the subordinate, “but they were the wrong kind, you know. Those were sucking mangoes, not chewing mangoes. The chewing ones are the only kind you can eat. “Insubordination!’’ responds the general manager. “What now?’’ you wonder.

Questions:

1. There’s clearly a communication problem in the Jamaican operation. What factors are contributing to the lack of communication between the Jamaicans and the management team? What should be done?

2. Perhaps differences in values are creating problems. How would you guess that the Jamaicans would rate on the values that Hofstede talks about? What about the British general manager?

3. The British general manager believes that the Jamaican subordinate is “insubordinate.’’ Is this true? Why does the manager believe it? Explain in terms of the attribution process and communication.