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Essay on Sealed Air Taiwan Case Analysis

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Case Summary:

The central issue Sealed Air Taiwan is currently facing is how to determine if the newly hired, Paul Huang, can produce the necessary sales results and whether he fits the mold for his position as sales manager. Historically, Sealed Air Taiwan was struggling with both stagnant sales and high operating costs. The branch was not adapting well to the Sealed Air’s established business model and there were even talks of shutting the branch down. Bob Kayser was brought in to turn things around and quickly realized that the problem this branch was facing was a cultural divide between Taiwanese beliefs and the current United States business model. After training and extensive work improving the sales team, Kayser was …show more content…

There are, however, legitimate concerns if Huang’s personality and management style will fit the Sealed Air mold of what a sales manager needs to accomplish. Huang seems very data and numbers driven, while Sealed Air was really looking for someone who could spend their time in the field managing the representatives rather than analyzing data. Although some of Steinke’s issues with Huang seem to be mere cross-cultural misunderstandings there does seem to be disconnected between Huang’s personal strengths and the desired expectations as a sales manager.

Recommendations:

It is our recommendation to remain with Huang and keep him in his current role as sales manager. The first reason for this recommendation is that in the past Sealed Air and Kayser have made the mistake of trying to solve the problems in Taiwan with American solutions. Steinke’s problems with Huang are primarily based on what is expected from an American sales manager. He is not taking into consideration that Taiwanese employees are motivated by different types of leaders and respond to different types of management styles. Kayser, for example, was only successful when he gave up the idea of employee empowerment and realized that these employees preferred to be given specific instructions.

Huang is also an appropriate fit for this role because he understands Chinese culture. He has already been successful in a Chinese sales environment

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