Global Information Technology Company, Ltd

摘要

In 2005, Global Information Technology Company Ltd was facing a situation where a personal dispute had escalated out of control in one of its China-based units. Mr. Liao, the Executive Vice President for Product Development, based in Zhuhai, had just received the resignation of two key employees - Mr. Ping Chen and Mrs. Juan Huang -a husband and wife team who had been department heads of the R&D and Services departments respectively. Their resignations had been sparked by a personal dispute between Mr. Chen and another senior employee. The dispute had resulted when the other employee was passed over for a promotion in favor of Mr. Chen. The promotion of one employee over another, while seemingly innocuous, was interpreted as a loss of face by the other employee, who was slightly senior and had more experience. As a result, the delicate social harmony that had existed was thrown off balance. As the normal formal courtesies that govern relationships dissolved, the organization threatened to devolve into chaos. Now that the couple had submitted their resignation, Mr. Liao knew that the situation had the potential to spiral out of control and perhaps even paralyze the entire company. Still, he felt the whole situation might be a misunderstanding over perceived loss of face rather than actual harm to either party.