Amex Hungary free essay sample

He is faced with a variety of challenges such as high employee turnover, high percentage of unemployment with a large number of unmotivated burned out workers and bureaucracy in the public sector. He underestimated the challenges and was overconfident on his abilities and now it seems like the issues are mountains that needs to be moved. Analysis The issue with staffing is really obvious due to the fact that he has hired sixteen employees, four quit within three days and six were let go after the trial period due to absenteeism (Larson, E. W. , amp; Gray, 2011). His existing staff were no where to be found and will not even call him and let him know personally why they are not at work. This shows lack of respect, professionalism, structure and discipline on the part of his staff. It is also a reflection and indication of his leadership and management skills. We will write a custom essay sample on Amex Hungary or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page On his main job of establishing 10-14 stations he met with a prospect that he met from a reception sponsored by the US Embassy and Hungarian business people. Zoltan Kodaly owns three gas stations. Instead of trying to get to know the Kodaly who brought in a young daughter to translate he went straight to discussing how much AMEX is willing to pay for two of his stations. And went on to tell them about franchising that it is similar to McDonalds you pay a franchise fee, share profits with AMEX, and adhere to AMEX procedures and practices. I n exchange, AMEX would provide petroleum and funds to renovate the stations to meet AMEX standards (Larson, amp; Gray, 2011 p. 562). When he was asked what will happen to his employees Thomas said that they were overstaffed by 70% and must eliminate at least 15 people to make a profit. He knew from the reaction of Kodaly and his daughter that his focus is only for AMEX to take over the business and not to help them. Another interesting subject is the bureaucracy that is plaguing the public sector. They were expecting new tanks that they ordered from Vienna. It took several phone calls to find out that it didnt arrive because it is being held at customs. He was promised by local officials that everything is taken care of. This is another waste of time and resources because the workers didnt have anything to do that day. Thomas should have anticipated these types of problems prior to him arriving in Hungary. Understanding the culture especially the way the public sector operates is crucial in being a project manager abroad. Solution Thomas should review his entire project from beginning to end. He needs to involve, train and motivate his current staff and lay down his new vision and mission. He needs to empower each and every single staff to be responsible and accountable for their own projects. Conduct regular meeting updates and practice effective communication all across the board. Thorough research needs to be done prior to setting up a meeting with a prospect. A concise plan needs to be prepared and presented to a prospect with a complete detail of what option is best for their situation. They need to know what the major challenges are and present it that emphasize value that by partnering with AMEX their business will be better and become more profitable. His best resources are his staff when it comes to learning the ropes on how to deal with the local authorities so as to avoid frustration and delay. He needs to learn more about the current job market situation by talking to his staff and local establishments to help him align his recruitment activities and attract the right people for his staff. Thomas needs to lead by example keep focus on the goals and objectives of the project he is set out to accomplish. Justification * The first thing that Michael Thomas needs to do is to go back and review the vision and mission of this project. Once he has a clear plan it might be a good idea to put in a visual format such a flowchart with time frame and names of people involved in each project stage. Present this idea with his staff with enthusiasm and get everyone excited about the new vision. He needs to reiterate that respect, discipline, professionalism, responsibility and accountability are expected from everyone. * Employee training is very important. It will improve skills, improve motivation and generate individual leaders and contributors to the project. Communications should flow effortlessly from amongst peers and other departments or division. This can also be improved through regular meetings updates or lunch and learn activities and make it fun for everyone. Prospecting can also be improved and at the same improve understanding the culture by venturing out and participate in worthwhile programs out in the community. This can be done by sponsorship with the Embassy, the local business groups and schools. By establishing and nurturing relationship in the community AMEX will have a positive impact and perception on local business owners and these would be improve the c hances of attracting prospects tremendously. Research should be done on each individual prospect and find out what they biggest challenges are and customize his presentation based on this data. By focusing on how they can help business owners better manage their business and maximize profits is a winning proposition for both parties. * Recruitment and staffing also need to be improved by partnering with social media, on-line job posting sites and local universities and colleges. By offering good employment package, training and promotion this should attract the right kind of staff he is looking for. * Bureaucracy in the public sector can be resolved by understanding the inner workings of each department that you are dealing with. Its best to understand by doing your homework and research. Listening, learning the jargon and showing respect to the local authorities is very important but at the same you need to show that you have deliverables that are time sensitive and you need their help to achieve that goal. By establishing good relationship and focusing on how you are helping the community will melt the red tape barriers. Summary Differences within and among countries and cultures are numerous and complex. Project managers need to accept these differences and treat them as real or live with the consequence (Larson, , amp; Gray, 2011 p. 558). Leading a project internationally can be really exciting and daunting at the same time if you dont do your homework. Project manager often face obvious and unexpected challenges. But with careful planning and preparation this experience can propel you to extraordinary opportunities. There are two important set of skills a project need to have to lead a successful project overseas are organization skills which include ability to prioritize work with the appropriate timelines. The second skill is interpersonal the ability to establish good relationship with different authority figures that will influence the success or failure of your project. . What are the issues confronting Thomas in this case? Michael Thomas is confronted by a lot of issues in this case. His job was to established 10-14 gas stations in the region by purchasing existing stations, building new ones, or negotiating franchise arrangements with existing owners of stations (Larson, amp; Gray, 2011 p. 560). Aside from thi s tall order he is challenged by trying to find the right people for his staff, the frustrating bureaucratic system that plagues government offices. 2. How well is Thomas dealing with these issues? Thomas does not have a good handle of the issues he has on hand. I believe he overestimated his abilities. If he had planned, researched and prepared prior to accepting this project he would have been in a less stressful situation. It is evident that he does not know how to deal with all the problems he is facing by ignoring the email asking for status. He took some aspirin for his headache prior to his meeting with Kodaly. 3. What suggestions would you have for Thomas in managing this project? At this point I am optimistic that Thomas can still turn things around. He is actually doing the right thing by reading up on the current events and getting honest feedback from expats like him. Now, the next step for him is formulate a better deal so station owners such as Zoltan Kodaly will be more excited to convert his station as a franchise and focus on all the benefits of having all the sales, marketing and infrastructure covered by AMEX which will make three stations state of the art and modern. He need to focus on all the other benefits and privileges Kodaly will get by agreeing to becoming a franchisee. These will include less stress as a business owner because it will be easier for him to run his 2 stations backed with 100% support from AMEX. This includes training, accounting, sales, advertising, marketing and merchandising. Another advantage is they can help in negotiation better rates from a financial institution. Define territories of operations with the Franchise can help Franchisee from the competition. They can speak with the franchisor to discuss their business challenges or problems something a non-franchised business can almost never do (â€Å"MMamp;A,† n. . ) . On the current challenge of staff turnover and unmotivated workers, Thomas needs to do an extensive research and find out how to attack the right workers for his staff. It would probably help to consider applicants past the 30 age range and see if that will work. Motivation and positive energy should come from him and radiate that to everyone he deals with. Check the status of social media in Hungary, on-li ne job posting and create partnership with Universities and Colleges and use this as a recruiting tool for him. He needs to be creative and sweeten the deal to be able to attract the right people for his staff. And finally, he needs to research more on the culture and figure out how to cooperate with the bureaucracy in all the government agencies that they need to deal with. He should have a never ending supply of first hand information from his friends, staff and local paper which he is already doing. Instead of being bogged down by the negative reports he should turn them into challenges because this is what project management is all about. It is the ability to adapt and conduct business in a totally different environment and culture. This is the main reason why he signed up for this job anyway. This is a very challenging but the rewards are unlimited once he managed to break down all the barriers. References Larson, E. W. , amp; Gray, C. F. (2011). Project management: The Managerial Process (5th ed. ). New York: McGraw Hill. MMamp;A. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. franchiseconsulting. net. au/Advantages-of-the-Franchise-System/Advantages-of-the-Franchising-System/Advantages-of-the-Franchise-System. asp