XCO CHINA CASE STUDY

523 WD

Case discussion Questions

1. Why do you think John Ross ‘prior expatriate experience failed to prepare him for the task of managing XCO China?

I consider that John Ross prior experience may failed in China because the Asian culture differed a lot from Mexico and Hungarian culture and he did not have a cultural training for Asian markets. If you are assigned to work overseas you need training in the culture of the place where you are going.

In his previous experience, Ross probably did not face the difficulty of having to consult with partners from the other country. For example, Ross wanted to cut the workforce but XCO’s partners objected.

I also think that Ross was not prepared for the low skill level of the Chinese workforce. He did not take in consideration that he would need to keep training the employees continually to improve productivity.

Ross was not aware that XCO China was not using the latest developments in manufacturing technology in their operation.