Subject category:
Strategy and General Management
Published by:
International Institute for Management Development (IMD)
Version: 26.01.2009
Length: 2 pages
Data source: Field research
Abstract
This is the first of a two-case series (IMD-3-0963 and IMD-3-0964). A Dutch partner in a Big 5 professional services firm is experiencing difficulty in getting his Mexican partner''s co-operation in serving a British multinational client. Since part of the firm''s competitive positioning is seamless global service, the customer is getting more and more angry. After a particularly hostile exchange with the customer, Johannes van den Bosch writes a very angry email to his Mexican partner, cools off for an hour and then edits his original email to stick to ''facts and figures''. He sends it off expecting to receive the required information and future co-operation soon. The question is whether the medium and the message are appropriate for the circumstances. There is a French translation available ''IMD-3-0963-FR''.
About
Abstract
This is the first of a two-case series (IMD-3-0963 and IMD-3-0964). A Dutch partner in a Big 5 professional services firm is experiencing difficulty in getting his Mexican partner''s co-operation in serving a British multinational client. Since part of the firm''s competitive positioning is seamless global service, the customer is getting more and more angry. After a particularly hostile exchange with the customer, Johannes van den Bosch writes a very angry email to his Mexican partner, cools off for an hour and then edits his original email to stick to ''facts and figures''. He sends it off expecting to receive the required information and future co-operation soon. The question is whether the medium and the message are appropriate for the circumstances. There is a French translation available ''IMD-3-0963-FR''.