For the exclusive use of s. alabdulkarim, 2023.
9-480-076
MAY 1, 1980
GARETH EVANS
The Road to Hell. . . (C)
The following morning, Baker had some farewells to make, so he arrived at the office
considerably later than usual. He had no sooner sat down at his desk than his secretary walked into
the room with a worried frown on her face. Her words came fast. “When I arrived this morning I
found Mr. Rennalls already waiting at my door. He seemed very angry and told me in quite a
peremptory manner that he had a vital letter to dictate which must be sent off without any delay. He
was so worked up that he couldn’t keep still and kept pacing about the room, which is most unlike
him. He wouldn’t even wait to read what he had dictated. Just signed the page where he thought the
letter would end. It has been distributed and your copy is in your ‘in tray’.”
Puzzled and feeling vaguely uneasy, Baker opened the “Confidential” envelope and read the
following letter:
From:
Assistant Engineer
To: The Chief Engineer, Caribbean Bauxite Limited
14th August, 196_
ASSESSMENT OF INTERVIEW BETWEEN MESSRS. BAKER AND RENNALLS
It has always been my practice to respect the advice given me by seniors, so after our
interview, I decided to give careful thought once again to its main points and so make sure
that I had understood all that had been said. As I promised you at the time, I had every
intention of putting your advice to the best effect.
It was not, therefore, until I had sat down quietly in my home yesterday evening to
consider the interview objectively that its main purport became clear. Only then did the full
enormity of what you said dawn on me. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I was
that I had hit upon the real truth—and the more furious I became. With a facility in the English
language which I—a poor Barracanian—cannot hope to match, you had the audacity to insult
me (and through me every Barracanian worth his salt) by claiming that our knowledge of
modern living is only a paltry fifty years old whilst yours goes back 200-300 years. As if your
materialistic commercial environment could possibly be compared with the spiritual values of
our culture. I’ll have you know that if much of what I saw in London is representative of your
most boasted culture, I hope fervently that it will never come to Barracania. By what right do
you have the effrontery to condescend to us? At heart, all you Europeans think us barbarians,
or, as you say amongst yourselves, we are “just down from the trees.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This case was prepared by Mr. Gareth Evans for Shell-BP Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, Limited, as the basis for class discussion
in an executive training program. It has been divided into three parts: (A) 9-480-074-9 (B) 9-480-075: (C) 9-480-076.
Copyright © 1980 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685,
write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School.
This document is authorized for use only by summia alabdulkarim in TGM 506 Communicating & Negotiating Across Cultures (MGM SP23) taught by DENIS LECLERC, Thunderbird School of
Global Management from Jan 2023 to May 2023.
For the exclusive use of s. alabdulkarim, 2023.
480-076
The Road to Hell. . . (C)
Far into the night I discussed this matter with my father, and he is as disgusted as I. He
agrees with me that any company whose senior staff think as you do is no place for any
Barracanian proud of his culture and race—so much for all the company “clap-trap” and
specious propaganda about regionalization and Barracania for the Barracanians.
I feel ashamed and betrayed. Please accept this letter as my resignation which I wish to
become effective immediately.
c.c. Production Manager
Managing Director
2
This document is authorized for use only by summia alabdulkarim in TGM 506 Communicating & Negotiating Across Cultures (MGM SP23) taught by DENIS LECLERC, Thunderbird School of
Global Management from Jan 2023 to May 2023.
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
9-480-076
MAY 1, 1980
GARETH EVANS
The Road to Hell. . . (C)
The following morning, Baker had some farewells to make, so he arrived at the office
considerably later than usual. He had no sooner sat down at his desk than his secretary walked into
the room with a worried frown on her face. Her words came fast. “When I arrived this morning I
found Mr. Rennalls already waiting at my door. He seemed very angry and told me in quite a
peremptory manner that he had a vital letter to dictate which must be sent off without any delay. He
was so worked up that he couldn’t keep still and kept pacing about the room, which is most unlike
him. He wouldn’t even wait to read what he had dictated. Just signed the page where he thought the
letter would end. It has been distributed and your copy is in your ‘in tray’.”
Puzzled and feeling vaguely uneasy, Baker opened the “Confidential” envelope and read the
following letter:
From:
Assistant Engineer
To: The Chief Engineer, Caribbean Bauxite Limited
14th August, 196_
ASSESSMENT OF INTERVIEW BETWEEN MESSRS. BAKER AND RENNALLS
It has always been my practice to respect the advice given me by seniors, so after our
interview, I decided to give careful thought once again to its main points and so make sure
that I had understood all that had been said. As I promised you at the time, I had every
intention of putting your advice to the best effect.
It was not, therefore, until I had sat down quietly in my home yesterday evening to
consider the interview objectively that its main purport became clear. Only then did the full
enormity of what you said dawn on me. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I was
that I had hit upon the real truth—and the more furious I became. With a facility in the English
language which I—a poor Barracanian—cannot hope to match, you had the audacity to insult
me (and through me every Barracanian worth his salt) by claiming that our knowledge of
modern living is only a paltry fifty years old whilst yours goes back 200-300 years. As if your
materialistic commercial environment could possibly be compared with the spiritual values of
our culture. I’ll have you know that if much of what I saw in London is representative of your
most boasted culture, I hope fervently that it will never come to Barracania. By what right do
you have the effrontery to condescend to us? At heart, all you Europeans think us barbarians,
or, as you say amongst yourselves, we are “just down from the trees.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This case was prepared by Mr. Gareth Evans for Shell-BP Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, Limited, as the basis for class discussion
in an executive training program. It has been divided into three parts: (A) 9-480-074-9 (B) 9-480-075: (C) 9-480-076.
Copyright © 1980 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685,
write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School.
This document is authorized for use only by summia alabdulkarim in TGM 506 Communicating & Negotiating Across Cultures (MGM SP23) taught by DENIS LECLERC, Thunderbird School of
Global Management from Jan 2023 to May 2023.
For the exclusive use of s. alabdulkarim, 2023.
480-076
The Road to Hell. . . (C)
Far into the night I discussed this matter with my father, and he is as disgusted as I. He
agrees with me that any company whose senior staff think as you do is no place for any
Barracanian proud of his culture and race—so much for all the company “clap-trap” and
specious propaganda about regionalization and Barracania for the Barracanians.
I feel ashamed and betrayed. Please accept this letter as my resignation which I wish to
become effective immediately.
c.c. Production Manager
Managing Director
2
This document is authorized for use only by summia alabdulkarim in TGM 506 Communicating & Negotiating Across Cultures (MGM SP23) taught by DENIS LECLERC, Thunderbird School of
Global Management from Jan 2023 to May 2023.
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
