Boss, I Think We Have a Problem Central steel door corporation has been in business for about 20 years, successfully selling a line of steel

Boss, I Think We Have a Problem Central steel door corporation has been in business for about 20 years,successfully selling a line of steel industrial-grade doors, as well asthe hardware and fittings required for them. Focusing mainly in theUnited States and Canada, the company had gradually increased itspresence from the New York City area, first into New England and thendown the Atlantic coast, then through the mid west and west, and finallyinto Canada. The company’s basic expansion strategy was always thesame: choose an area, choose a distribution center, hire a regionalsales manager, and then let that regional sales manager help staff thedistribution center and hire local sales reps.Unfortunately, the company’s traditional success in finding sales helphas not extended to its overseas operations. With the introduction ofthe new European currency, Mel Fisher, president of central steel door,decided to expand its company abroad, into Europe. However, theexpansion has not gone smoothly at all. He tried for two weeks to find asales manager by advertising in the International Herald Tribune, whichis read by businesspeople in Europe and by American expatriates livingand working in Europe. Although the ads placed in the tribune also runfor about a month in the tribune’s internet web site, Mr. Fisher sofar has received only five applications. One came from a possible viablecandidate, whereas, four came from candidates whom Mr. Fisher refer as“lost souls”- people who seem to have spent most of their timetraveling restlessly from country to country sipping espresso insidewalk cafes. When asked what he had done for the last 3years, onetold Mr. Fisher he had been on a “walk about”Other aspects of his international HR activities have been equallyproblematic. Fisher alienated two of his US sales managers by sendingthem to Europe to temporarily run the European operations, butneglecting to work out a compensation package that would cover theirrelatively high living expenses in Germany and Belgium. One ended upspending the better part of the year, and Mr. Fisher was rudelysurprised to be informed by the Belgian government that his salesmanager owed thousands of dollars in local taxes. The managers had hiredabout 10 local people to staff each of the two distribution centers.However without full-time local European sales managers, the level ofsales was disappointing, so fisher decided to fire about half thedistribution center employees. That’s when he got an emergency phonecall from his temporary sales manager in Germany: “I’ve just beentold that all these employees should have had written employmentagreements and that in any case we can’t fire anyone without atleast1year’s notice, and the local authorities here are really up inarms. Boss, I think we have a problem.” Case StudyRead the case incident "Boss, I Think We Have a Problem". Then, answer following questions: What are some international HR mistakes that Mr. Fisher has made? How would you have gone about hiring a European sales manager? Why? What would you do now if you were Mr. Fisher?