A mid$-$sized financial software development firm, The Financial Enterprise Group $($TFEG$)$ specializes in creating technology solutions for financial institutions such as banks and brokerage firms. Like many of its competitors trying to survive in difficult economic times, TFEG had cut its full$-$time workforce in half. The organization had kept the younger $($and cheaper$)$ employees as well as the senior talent while laying off much of its mid$-$level staff. And with fewer fulltime employees, TFEG now relied heavily on lower$-$priced contractorsskilled technology professionals hired on a project$-$by$-$project basisto fill the void. Contractors were often hired from outside the United States on temporary work visas, with the vast majority from India. As a result, half of TFEGs current workforce was American$-$born, while $40\%$ were from India and the remaining $10\%$ of workers came from other parts of Asia and Eastern Europe.To improve their software development process while minimizing costs, TFEG had recently purchased a new program called Vue. Vue was vastly different from other types of software and required extensive implementation training. One of Vues brightest consultants, Imani Williams, along with a team of several others, was assigned to train with TFEGs employees over a twelve$-$month period. Although only $27$ years old, Imani was an expert in software implementation and held an MBA along with a masters degree in technology engineering. She could answer virtually any question, and better yet, she could explain technology in a very direct and easy$-$to$-$understand manner. She knew that as an African American woman in the tech field she faced a number of preconceived notions, so she knew that she had to work harder than everyone else, but she also made sure to communicate in an open and authentic fashion.Each time Imani began a new training session, she would explain to the employees that Vue was radically different from the traditional software development process. Instead of a single developer owning the product through all development stages and operating with a great sense of autonomy, Imani described Vues team$-$based approach. Each person on the team had a single, specific role in the technology development cycle, and each person had narrowly defined goals related only to that development component. Imani also emphasized that Vue required careful documentation of each stage in the development cycle. This documentation allowed the project manager to supervise the work closely during each phase.As the training progressed, Imani and the other consultants noticed discernible differences between the Indian and American workers. Indian employees completed the required self$-$managed training modules, not only in advance of their American colleagues but also ahead of deadline. An online bulletin board that Imani had created to share ideas and best practices was heavily utilized by Indian employees but was virtually ignored by American employees. When a new utility for logging hours was introduced, it was widely disregarded by American employees but used faithfully by Indian employees. Similarly, the requirement to create documentation was closely adhered to by Indian employees, but once again ignored by American employees. The weekly briefings she and her colleagues held to keep employees informed of the progress of the Vue rollout were attended almost exclusively by Indian employees. Because she spent so much time communicating with the Indian employees $($and so little with the American employees$)$ Imani found herself communicating more and more like the Indians; she started being more polite and indirect.Uncomfortable chastising the employees behavior directly, Imani scheduled a meeting with the companys CEO, Phil Moore. The other consultants and I are all noticing a problem with the employees lack of compliance, she began. Phil interrupted What exactly do you mean by lack of compliance? Imani responded I mean, half of the trainees actually follow our protocols. The other half seem to do whatever they please. And who are some? probed Phil. Imani hesitated, desiring to remain polite and indirect. Imani, stop beating around the bush. I cant help if I dont know the problem, Phil insisted. Imani acquiesced, Look, Phil, it seems to be mostly the Americans. Especially the TFEG veterans. They just dont do what we require. Maybe theyre overworked or arent used to having consultants tell them what to do$,$ she hedged. Im sure theyre good at their jobs, its just that without their compliance, well never finish this training on schedule.Phil was astounded, Get me a list of their names! he demanded. We cant afford delays in implementation. Imani carefully explained that it wasnt her intent to embarrass anyone or get anyone in trouble. She just wanted management to encourage everyone to participate, at least for the weekly meetings. If we could all routinely meet together, Imani reasoned, I think we could get past some of these tensions. Vue depends on people working together, not against one another. Persuaded, Phil seemed agreed to assist, and Imani left the meeting hopeful.Her hopes sank the next morning when she read the company$-$wide memo Phil sent, stating that weekly meetings were now mandatory. This wasnt what she had in mind when she said she wanted Phil to encourage participation. And if things werent bad enough before the mandate, subsequent weekly meetings dissolved into gripe sessions, with American employees candidly expressing their displeasure with the new process, while openly questioning whether Vue could produce the desired results. They also challenged Imani and her ability to lead the team, arguing that she lacked credibility and was too unassertive.By the end of the year, the disparity in Vue adoption between Indian and American employees was common knowledge. When conducting year$-$end performance appraisals and calculating bonus awards, management made good on their threat to penalize employees who had failed to achieve the stated adoption goals. As a result, many American employees received unflattering performance reviews and a corresponding reduction in their level of compensation. Although contractors employed on a temporary basis were not eligible for the companys salary bonus program, many Indian employees were recognized by their immediate managers for their success with Vue adoption, and were compensated with paid vacation days, gift certificates, and public recognition of their achievement at the year$-$end Town Hall meeting. The difference in $($perceived$)$ compensation and public recognition frustrated the younger American employees and angered the senior American workers, who already bore strong feelings of resentment at the role lower$-$priced foreign workers were playing in displacing US$-$born technologists from their jobs. Meanwhile, a number of the younger American employees left TFEG for opportunities elsewhere. Imani left the company after her contract ended feeling like a failure; she was so confident before taking on this position, but the experience left her doubting her skills. What strategies has imani used when engaging is co$-$cultural communication?