Premium Essay

The Road to Hell

In:

Submitted By Frida
Words 866
Pages 4
Building an Enjoyable Workplace
--Case of “The Road to Hell”

What’s happened?

The case “The Road to Hell” is a story of two individuals with different backgrounds and points of view having different interpretations of an interview. John Baker is a successful western chief engineer of the Barracania’s branch of a multinational company. He is an English expatriate, and had served his 23 years with Continental Ore in many different places which made him quite confident in understanding a regional staff’s psychology and knowing exactly how to get along with locals. On the other hand, Rennalls is an assistant engineer and one of the brightest Barracanian prospects on the staff of Caribbean Bauxite. He graduated with honors from London University and he is also the son of the minister of finance and economic planning, which made him especially sensitive to political and racial issues involving relations between his culture and western influence. Through the interview, Baker tried to solve a complaint that he has received from Mr. Jackson – one of the European employees who reported that Rennalls had been rude toward him. While the misinterpretation occurs during their communication process and finally the interview ended up in a disaster.

What cause the disaster?

The primary cause of the problem, in my opinion, is that John compared the Barracanians experience to the European experience. In the case he mentioned that, “My ancestors have all been brought up in this environment of the past 200 or 300 years, and I have, therefore, been able to live in a world in which commerce (as we know it today) has been part and parcel of my being. It has not been something revolutionary and new that has suddenly entered my life. In your case, the situation is different, because you and your forebears have only had some 50 and not 200 or 300 years.”

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Road to Hell

...Tom White Advanced Organizational Behaviour Road to Hell     Description   John Baker is the Chief Engineer of the Caribbean Bauxite Company of Barracania in the West Indies, he has been with the company for 23 years, in many different countries. John Baker is being promoted and he needs to prepare his successor, known as Rennalls. Rennalls is a fairly young and new to the company; Baker suspects he has a repressed racial consciousness.  Baker wants to sort this issue out and get to the bottom of it. However, during the interview Rennalls gets offended and decides to put in his resignation.   Diagnosis   Renalls resigned due to the verbiage in the interview by Baker.  Baker offended Rennall’s country and culture. Baker received word from expartriate that Rennall’s was rude. Baker has noticed a difference of actions when Rennalls is involved with Barracanians and Europeans. Baker told Rennalls about the incident and how great it would be if he could get past it. Rennalls immediately denied the claim. Instead of letting it go, Baker decided to give one last shot at getting the point across to Rennalls. Baker said Europeans have had 200 to 300 years experience in the commercial world while the Barracanians had only had 50 years. Baker states, ‘In your case, the situation is different because you and your forebears have only had some 50 or 60 years in this commercial environment’.   Theory   The conflict theory is a great evaluator for this case. The Conflict theory...

Words: 570 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Road to Hell

...Road to Hell An academic essay Today we bear the burden of older generations’ ecological mistakes. The industrialisation brought many machines and factories and since then, technology has progressed enormously both for the good – and bad. The spoiling of the nature does not stop there, however, because we continue in their footsteps, not caring whether or not our grandchildren will ever know a green forest or a sparkly river. “It is not my problem,” some people say, and maybe that is true. But that will change if we do not do something. Many organisations – like Green Peace – work towards living on a better planet and treating the world with care. One might walk outside today and think: ”This looks nice, I do not see a problem with nature as it is”, but that is only true to an extent. Many of the major changes, which happen in nature, are not visible in the western world. For instance, the polar ice caps are melting, which some day may cause the sea levels to rise and flood coastal cities. That is not something we can see when we look out the window, and that makes it hard to relate to. Many rainforests are cut down to grow fields, use the wood for paper and such and to build cities and factories (resulting in extinction of many animal and plant species) but it is not something we see with our own eyes, so it might as well not happen in the first place. Furthermore, flushing soap, chemicals, etc. down the drain, damages the ecosystem because clean water is spoiled –...

Words: 891 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

The Road to Hell

...Case Summary The case “Road to Hell” by Gareth Evans is a story that involved two characters with different backgrounds, personalities and points of view. John Baker, an English expatriate, is a successful western chief engineer in the Caribbean Bauxite Company of Barracania. Baker thinks he has an edge in working in a foreign country because he was experience in understanding a regional staff’s psychology and knowing exactly how to get along with locals. Bakers has been working hard to prepare Matthew Rennalls, on the other hand, is a young engineer who represents the new generation of patriotic, well-educated Barracania’s professionals. His four years as a student at London University made him highly sensitive to political, racial and equality issues involving relations between his culture and western influence. The last meeting between two case characters ended up in a disaster and causes a lot of negative consequences. Instead of accepting the chief engineer position, Rennalls turns in his resignation because he felt insulted by Baker’s farewell interview and advices. This incident not only puts Baker puzzled about what he might have said wrong but also puts the future of the company’s relations with its regional staff and authorities in jeopardy. Problem Statement The main problem of the Rennalls is over racial consciousness. He had been exposed to the historical facts that West Indie was colonized by Europe. Rennalls could not accept...

Words: 1742 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Road to Hell

...Intro To Sociology Unit one- -Sociology is the scientific study of social relations, behaviors, and arrangements. Sociology is one of the social sciences -Socialization is a life-long learning process, which inc. the process by which infants become adults -Auguste Comte was the first person to use the term sociology in 1838, He was a French Philosopher -The early sociologist were concerned with the study of moral statistic, and the first among these was Suicide rates -Emile Durkheim studied the relationship between suicide and social forces, he held that behavior should not be considered an individualistic matter, but in a broader social context. He argued that there is a link between the degree of social integration and suicide. He believed the greater the autonomy or Independence of a category of people, the higher the suicide rate. He came up with the term Anomie, which is a floundering, or loss of purpose and direction people experience during periods of extreme social change. -Max Weber's theory was that social behavior can only be understood when the meanings of the people's actions are known, it is necessary to understand the attitudes, feelings, and beliefs. He called this Verstehen, a German word for understanding. -Karl Marx focused on the struggle between social classes of people. Marx called owners of the means of production the bourgeoisie and the non-owners the proletariat. Marx believed that a social class was determined...

Words: 20445 - Pages: 82

Premium Essay

Road to Hell

...1 THE ROAD TO HELL John Baker, chief engineer of the Caribbean Bauxite Company of Barracania in the West Indies, was making his final preparations to leave the island. His promotion to production manager of Keso Mining Corporation near Winnipeg – one of Continental Ore’s fast-expanding Canadian enterprises – had been announced a month before, and now everything had been tidied up except the last vital interview with his successor, the able young Barracanian, Matthew Rennalls. It was crucial that this interview be successful and that Rennalls leave his office uplifted and encouraged to face the challenge of a new job. A touch on the bell would have brought Rennalls walking into the room, but Baker delayed the moment and gazed thoughtfully through the window, considering just exactly what he was going to say and, more particularly, how he was going to say it. John Baker, an English expatriate, was 45 years old and had served 23 years with Continental Ore in East Asia, several African countries, Europe, and for the last 2 years, the West Indies. He hadn’t cared much for his previous assignment in Hamburg and was delighted when the West Indian appointment came through. Climate was not the only attraction. Baker had always preferred working overseas (in what were termed “the developing countries”), because he felt he had an innate knack – better than most other expatriates working for Continental Ore – of knowing just how to get along with the regional staff. After...

Words: 2997 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Road to Hell

...SOLVE THE FOLLOWING CASE SYSTEMATICALLY USING CASE STUDY MEHODOLOGY INDIVIDUAL SUBMISSION TO BE UPLOADED THROUGH MOODLE IN WORD DOCUMENT ON SUNDAY 29th June 2014. John Baker, chief engineer of the Caribbean Bauxite Company Limited of Barracania in the West Indies, was making his final preparations to leave the island. His promotion to production manager of Keso Mining Corporation near Winnipeg—one of Continental Ore's fast-expanding Canadian enterprises—had been announced a month before, and now everything had been tidied up except the last vital interview with his successor, the able young Barracanian Matthew Rennalls. It was vital that this interview be a success and that Rennalls leave Baker's office uplifted and encouraged to face the challenge of his new job. A touch on the bell would have brought Rennalls walking into the room, but Baker delayed the moment and gazed thoughtfully through the window, considering just exactly what he was going to say and, more particularly, how he was going to say it. Baker, an English expatriate, was 45 years old and had served his 23 years with Continental Ore in many different places: the Far East; several countries of Africa; Europe; and, for the last two years, the West Indies. He had not cared much for his previous assignment in Hamburg and was delighted when the West Indian appointment came through. Climate was not the only attraction. Baker had always preferred working overseas in what were called the developing countries because...

Words: 3018 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

The Road to Hell Case

...Case 1: Road to Hell Description The “Road to Hell” case is about two professional engineers that came from different backgrounds, have different personalities, but with similar educational background as far as their work goes. Based on the description of the two professionals, John Baker comes across as a white man from either Europe or the Americas and Matthew Rennalls is a minority, presumably black, from a developing country. Diagnosis The problem is that there are apparent cultural differences between the two professionals. This cultural difference can be perceived as racism based on the way these two professionals interact with each other. Europeans and Americans tend to have a lot of pride and can make themselves seem superior to others. This superiority that is portrayed can be looked at as racial. First, John Baker initial approach when he called Matthew Rennalls into his office for a meeting was not welcoming. After offering Matt a cigarette, which is a tactic to bring down his guard, he started off by saying he’s older and more experienced which came across as if he’s looking down on Matthew. Secondly, his choice of words, like when he compared the longevity of his ancestors in the industry to that of Matthew Rennalls’s was very insulting. Again, he came across like he was better and more superior to Matthew because his ancestors have been in the industry for some 200 to 300 years compared to 50 to 60 years that Matthew’s ancestors have been in the industry...

Words: 696 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

The Road to Hell Case

...1. During a vital final interview of John Baker, an European English expatriate and chief engineer of the Caribbean Bauxite Company of Barracania in West Indies who was about to leave its current position because of a promotion, and Matthew Rennalls, a young Barracanian who was his prominent successor, John Baker made the mistake to unintentionally insult to Rennalls, by made him feel ashamed and betrayed in trying to make him understand that the European commercial environment is much better than his Barracanian commercial environment just because there is gab from 200 or 300 years of experience by the Europeans compared with only 50 years of the Barracanian experience. Baker also reproached Rennalls that is friendlier and gets along better with his fellow Barracanians than with Europeans. Baker, based on appearance of some attitude taken by Rennalls, has the strong believe that Rennalls has a racial prejudice, and the worst thing is that he feels disappointed and frustrated because Rennalls denies that this is true. Baker did not know very well in that moment that for the Barracanians, the issue of race and the European alleged superiority was a big deal for them. And this is something that chiefs and executives must have always clear when they are working in host countries, they must know perfectly the values, beliefs and cultures of these countries. So, in consequence, Baker did not realize this mistake when it occurred because he did not think that he was saying anything...

Words: 729 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

The Road to Hell Case Study

...1. Briefly summarize the case: • John Baker, English expatriate and the chief engineer of the Caribbean Bauxite Company of Barracania in the West Indies, conducted an interview with Matthew Rennalls – a Barracanian and who is also Baker’s assistant and successor. • Matthew Rennalls was very racial conscious; his four years studying at London University made him sensitive to any sign of condescension on the part of expatriates. • Matt Rennalls would be taking over John Baker’s position once he left the company to go work as a production manager of Keso Mining Corporation in Canada. • Baker accused Rennalls of racism towards Europeans after receiving complaints from his co-workers in addition to noticing this behavior himself. • Baker conducted an interview with Rennalls which lead to accusation of Rennalls being racist in an indirect method. • Rennalls composed a letter of resignation the very next day after Baker conducted the interview. 2. Identify Key Facts: • Baker believes he has a knack of dealing with people of color, which can be attributed to his 23 years of work experience of working in developing countries. • Despite the fact that the company has more Barracanian managers than Europeans, some Barracanian feel that the company has unjust partiality towards the Europeans. Rennalls was one of the brightest Barracanian prospects on the staff of Caribbean Bauxite. • Rennalls wanted nothing to do with Baker and the rest of his people (Europeans) after feeling...

Words: 511 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Mba633 Case 1 Road to Hell

...DESCRIPTION: Baker decided to initiate a job performance discussion in his waning days at the facility in Barracania with Rennalls to discuss the issue that Rennalls treats the European employees differently than the Barracanian employees. However, in Rennalls’ eyes, Baker’s own repressed sense of race consciousness, and his portrayal of the company’s views and stance on diversity, effectively caused Rennalls to resign. DIAGNOSIS Baker’s idea that Rennalls and the rest of Barracania, have had to face the challenge of bridging the commerce gap between themselves and Western civilization, shows his own lack of diversity. Continental Ore’s management saw that Baker had the knowledge and skillset to “groom” Rennalls as the next chief engineer, but what they did not see was that Baker himself needed to be more diversified and had his own repressed sense of race consciousness, proving that the company as a whole was lacking as a multicultural organization. “The true multicultural organization is characterized by core cultural values and an ongoing commitment to eliminate social oppression and promote dignity and respect for everyone throughout the organization” (Luthans, 2011). They thought they had a diversified mentor in Baker given his background and professional history in the various countries. THEORY A theory of diversity is what is in question between Baker and Rennalls. Both Baker and Rennalls have their own flaws in diversification. As a mentor, Baker should have realized...

Words: 1430 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

William Blake

...Katrina Jabbari Professor Scott-Curtis English 46B 3 Feb. 2015 “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” by William Blake The poem, “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” by William Blake, largely expresses Blake’s views and feelings regarding the social and political situation going on at the time the poem was written and engraved in the late eighteenth century. The poem is a satirical work and a bit of a mockery of the bible—a “bible” in which Hell is portrayed as being the place of interest, with the author being the Devil’s disciple. Themes in the poem strongly suggest Blake’s feelings of anti-conformity and anti-institutionalized religion. Blake feels as though institutionalized religion represses people and inhibits creativity and happiness. In the portion of the poem titled “The Proverbs of Hell,” almost all of the proverbs portray ideas of pro-indulgence and giving in to one’s desires. For instance, “The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom…” or, "The tigers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction." Blake advocates for the arts and leading an uncensored life led by one’s desires, as opposed to following “instruction” and conforming to religious ideals of what is “good.” Blake is an intellect and believes in the power of art. He states that “Improvement makes straight roads; but the crooked roads without improvement are roads of Genius.” He seems to have believed in the madness of art over the “advances” made with science and “good” which is guided by...

Words: 253 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Death Is Around the Corner

...Misfit is on the loose. While on the road, the grandmother asks to stop at an old house. As they are going down the road they wreck, but little do they know that the Misfit is waiting around the corner to help them. O’Connor symbolizes death by foreshadowing the graves, purgatory, and the hearse. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” while the family is traveling to Florida, grandmother keeps saying she does not want to go. She is ruining the trip before it even gets started. On the way they pass a grave site, symbolizing that they are about to die because there are six members of the family and six graves about to be dug, “They passed a large cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it… that was the old family burying ground” (23). The grandmother points the graves out which mean she is going to be a big part of why they die. They continue down the road, as they do, they come to a restaurant called Red Sammy’s which symbolize the purgatory. When they get to Red Sammy’s they see him working under his truck in front of the Tower. The Tower represents Dante’s Inferno and the upper and lower levels of hell. While the family is waiting Red Sammy’s wife comes out, she is a “Tall burnt brown woman with hair and eyes lighter than her skin” (30). The word burnt foreshadows hell and the devil. Red Sammy’s symbolizing the purgatory. The purgatory is the between of heaven and hell, where you go if your sins are not bad enough to go to hell but are not good...

Words: 746 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Astray In Dante's Inferno

...In The Inferno it illustrates Dante and Virgil’s journey through Hell, and results in Dante understanding sins. According to the Bible, sinners will be punished for eternity, and those who follows good Christain values will live in eternal happiness, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life,” (Revelation 21.8) Dante’s journey allows him to see the pain that sinners go through for eternity, and learns about how sins can cause an eternity of pain. In the beginning of the poem, we see that Dante has lost his way of life, Midway in our life’s journey, I went astray From the straight road and woke to find myself alone in a dark wood. (The Inferno, 16) Dante has lost his way to salvation, and Virgil...

Words: 262 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Personal Narrative: The Hero's Journey

...soul to a demon for one year to live in order to save Sam’s life. Thus, when Dean is out of time, he is sent to Hell. He is tortured by strong demons and has to learn the new rules and living in this tortured environment. Dean’s torturers offer him a deal everyday he’s in Hell to stop torturing him if he tortures people instead. Dean refuses for what is thirty years in Hell. So, this can flow right into Campbell’s sixth step of “Tests, Allies, and Enemies.” After being tested for thirty years, Dean finally gives in and begins torturing people in Hell for another ten years. Mysteriously, Dean then wakes up in his own grave back on Earth. After some time and mystery it becomes apparent that God commanded that the angel Castiel was to save him from Hell in order to stop the apocalypse on Earth. Reluctantly, he begins helping Castiel and occasionally other angels to stop the first demon, Lilith from raising Lucifer in order to bring about the end of the world. After fighting his enemies of the demons who tortured them in Hell, Dean learns his decision in Hell was the ultimate test. If Dean hadn’t said yes to torturing, it wouldn’t have been possible for Lucifer to be released. Leading right into the seventh step of “Approach,” Dean, Sam, Castiel, and Bobby work together to deal with the consequences of each of their past actions that lead to the release of Lucifer from Hell. This includes finding a way to put him back in the cage prison that holds him. Subsequently, this step leads...

Words: 1133 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Inferno

...Inferno, is an epic poem that has thrilled and informed the common man for centuries. He portrays a vivid description of one man's journey through hell and back with the past poet Virgil at his side. This epic has lead many through the depths of Medieval Christianity, displaying its importance on every society since then. With this description, man is awakened to the ethical, political, social, and philosophical aspects of Dante's time, later introducing the Renaissance era. Society in the Middle Ages consisted of two focuses; survival and God. These focuses lead many to forget the developed areas of knowledge and reason before their time. This society's people were believed to be laborers, or otherwise known as the hands of God, as displayed in their art work and literature. All actions were taken not for themselves but for God alone. This was described clearly, by Dante's witnessing of the thirteenth circle of hell containing the suicides. Those within this circle committed an act completely self centered, altering their intentions from God to themselves, leading them to a circle lower then murder. God and the church were not only a primary religious focus, but a structured hierarchy system for all society to follow. With God at the absolute highest position, his principles created an ethical map structuring nine circles of hell along with a social structure in the Middle Ages. This social structure was a fixed hierarchy where individuals never questioned there status or holding...

Words: 1230 - Pages: 5