Case Name :      Ellen Moore (A): Living and Working in Korea

Authors :           Henry W. Lane, Chantell E. Nicholls, Gail Ellement

Source :             Ivey Publishing

Case ID :            97G029

Discipline :        General Management

Case Length :    20 pages

Solution Sample availability : YES

Plagiarism : NO (100% Original work)

Ellen Moore, a systems consultant, was sent to Korea to manage a project involving a team of three North American and five Korean consultants representing a joint venture between a major Korean conglomerate and a significant North American information technology company. The Americans were to be involved for the first seven months in order to transfer expertise and knowledge to the South Koreans, who had little experience in this area. Andrew Kilpatrick, Ellen’s superior, had played an integral part in securing the contract in Korea due to his depth of knowledge on the subject. Andrew chose Ellen Moore to be the key north American project manager because she had significant project management skills and impressive international experience. Upon Ellen’s arrival, she discovered that the Korean consultants were far less skilled than she had expected. In addition, Ellen had understood that she and the Korean manager, Jack, were to be co-managers, but tensions immediately arose between them regarding who was given direction to the team and the scope of the project. Tensions escalated until it was clear that the project was behind schedule and the Koreans were not taking direction from Ellen. The Koreans insisted that Ellen was the problem. Andrew strongly disagreed. Andrew and Ellen must decide how to proceed.