It was a hot summer day in May 2016 when Li An, the president of the Pakistani branch of the China Guangxi Corporation for International Techno-Economic Cooperation (GCITEC), received a startling phone call. He was informed that an important international joint venture between his enterprise and a local Pakistani partner was in imminent danger of collapsing. The call came from Fang Yang, the leader of the Chinese team. Yang shared the news of an ongoing standoff between the two sides. An embarrassing and unprofessional public altercation between Kazen Assif, the head of the Pakistani partner, and Han Chen, the chief engineer of the Chinese team, had poisoned the relationship between the two sides. Unfortunately, this was just the latest in a string of interpersonal conflicts between the two teams—interpersonal issues and cultural misunderstandings had festered for months—and was the most serious to date.

Question 1: What were the cultural differences that created tension within the joint venture?

Question 2: Was the behavior of Kazen Assif, of Assif & Sons, representative of Pakistani national culture?

Question 3: What tensions arose from the institutional environment?

Question 4: What alternative solutions might have solved the problems between the two sides?

Question 5: Should An dissolve the partnership? Justify your opinion.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Question 1 One cultural difference that may have created tension within the joint venture is that in Chinese culture it is generally more acceptable t... View the full answer