Please read the case study carefully, and answer the three questions completely related to the case study.

The individual Sun Mei Ling is a 32-year-old microbiologist working in Beijing in an R\&D centre belonging to a major German pharmaceutical company. Before getting this job, she worked in a government laboratory. Her work involves testing new substances, and her role is critical in many projects. She works daily with Helga Schreiber, a German project manager with a similar scientific background. They are both members of a team of scientists, most of whom are Chinese nationals but also including about a third who are expatriates, mainly from Germany and other European countries. Sun Mei Ling is a quiet person who takes pride in the quality of her work. She took this new job because it is much better paid. However, she finds that it is not clear what is expected of her, and she is becoming increasingly frustrated, although she does not show this. The team Helga Schreiber, aged 35, has been expatriated to China for a 3- to 4-year assignment. This is her first long-term international posting. Back in Germany, in the main R\&D centre, Helga quickly rose to become a senior project manager with responsibility for some major initiatives. China is critical to the company's future, and the new R\&D centre in Beijing has been set up to adapt products to the local market and innovate expressly for China. Helga has recruited Sun Mei Ling to take over responsibility for microbiological lab testing. She wants to free herself up to concentrate on building a network with Chinese labs and external partners. Six months later, she is finding it very difficult to get Sun Mei Ling to take the initiative and run things on her own. She thinks she has explained in detail what needs to be done but finds that Sun Mei Ling does it just once and then waits to be told the next time again. The organization The R\&D centre in Beijing is finding it challenging to maximize the potential of its Chinese staff. The centre is run by a German with international experience but not in China. Three years after setting up the centre, the results have been disappointing, and head office in Hamburg is wondering whether this investment was worthwhile. It seems that the two groups - Chinese and expatriates - have not found a way to work together. Reflections Sun Mei Ling (speaking to her husband): 'Helga leaves me on my own. There is often nobody else in the lab. I don't like to complain, but I don't have a good feeling.' Helga to the head of the centre: 'This is not working. I want Sun Mei Ling to take the initiative. I want to feel confident that I can leave her alone and that she will get the job done. Every time I come back, I have to start again and explain it all over. She seems very clever but doesn't take responsibility.' The head of the centre: 'Our European scientists are used to getting on with their work. They don't like supervision much - in fact, they resent it if you interfere. I don't know how to motivate the Chinese staff. They keep themselves apart.' Questions to consider 1. Looking at the German and Chinese culture: why did the situation get as tricky as it is? 2. What could Sun Mei Ling do to improve her working situation? 3. What could Helga do to achieve her objectives