Cisco Switches in China: The Year of the Manager – Case Solution

Case questions answered:

Not the questions you were looking for? Submit your own questions & get answers.

Cisco Switches in China: The Year of the Manager Case Answers

Discuss some of the challenges Raznjevic faced as an expatriate when Cisco switched to China. How did he convince others to join him on this foreign assignment?

Ivo Raznjevic, an engineering director of the Cisco China Research and Development Centre, basically played a significant role in the development of the Cisco industry. When Cisco switched to China, he decided to move to Shanghai as an expatriate, where he faced numerous challenges. He had the intention of improving technologies in the country.

One of the challenges that Raznevic faced was the fact that in Shanghai, Cisco is not so much known by the people, making it initially difficult for Raznevic to introduce the system in the country and be allowed to improve the operations in the nation (Chen, 2017).

Another great challenge is basically language. Raznevic was an American, and he used to speak native English. When he moved to China, the accent of the Chinese when speaking English was a problem for him. He experienced certain discrimination as a result of his accent, and this created some form of loneliness that affected his morale.

Additionally, Raznevic faced financial problems in China because Cisco did not have enough funds. He was required to change every document that was used in the United States to match the needs of the Chinese. This was not an easy process.

Raznevic managed to convince others to join him on a foreign trip by telling them the visit was already organized. He explained how this visit to Shanghai was going to benefit Cisco.

At the same time, he was also open to letting the members know the challenges that they would likely face and the possible interventions. As a result, the other members joined him for the foreign assignment, knowing what benefits the company would get from it.

What are some of the implications of the move of the office in San Jose? Would this move be viewed positively by the home office, given that some R&D work was being transferred to Shanghai?

Moving the offices to San Jose would have positive and negative effects. Some of the positive impacts include cost reduction, the emergence of a new market, having an image of international presence and growth, and the development of various talents among the people in the country.

The headquarters of Cisco was actually based in San Jose. Moving to the office in San Jose would mean that all the leaders of Cisco will be based here.

The implication that comes with this is that all the major activities of the company will be…