A Global Partnership at Gfac Consulting

Case Study Report:

A Global Partnership at GFAC Consulting

Brandi Moore

Bethel College

BADM 320- Organizational Development and Change

February 28, 2018

Professor David E. Smeltzer

A Global Partnership at GFAC Consulting

GFAC is a financial services consulting firm with headquarters in New York City.  It has additional offices in London and Tokyo.  GFAC provides outsourced financial services to multinational corporations.  GFAC is structured as a set of global consulting teams led by a senior consultant that work with only a few clients closely to best understand their business structure and detailed financials.  Every GFAC employee undergoes a rigorous training and orientation program to understand the company’s core values.  These values are:

1. Above all, client partnerships and satisfaction
2. Operate with agility
3. Dedication to team
4. Respect and integrity
5. Sustainable long-term results

Two years ago, the company opened a shared service center in India.  GFAC hired a staff of advanced professionals to work at the India center.  Most of them had accounting degrees and/or certifications from India’s best business schools.  The global consulting teams were to share a team of analysts who would produce reports for the senior consultants. The intention was to create a more efficient process and provide consistency throughout the company by having one team provide the reports for all of the consulting teams.  This was to be implemented while creating a multi-cultural environment that continued to practice the company’s core values.  However, this change has not been embraced very well by the New York office.  

Question One

What are the different sources of conflict between the two groups?

Answer:   The creation of the Shared Service Center in India has not been widely accepted or embraced with any enthusiasm at the New Your Office.  This change has been difficult and conflicts arise for the following reasons:

Conflicts from Shared Services Center in India’s View:

1. The New York team speaks too fast during conference calls.  They forget that English is not the first language of the team members in India.  They need to slow down and allow time for the India team members to process what is being said.
2. The time difference is a big problem for the team members in India.  The fact that conference calls are always conducted on American time and not India’s time is very one sided and inconsiderate.  It requires them to work very late and takes them away from their families at times they should be home.
3. New York staff appears to have little patience when asked to repeat things because they are speaking too fast.
4. There may be a misunderstanding of what the Shared Service Center employees are capable of doing.  They feel that they can provide more services to New York office than just routine reports.
5. New York office also does not recognize Indian holidays and frequently makes India staff come to work instead of celebrating with their families.

Conflicts from New York Office’s View:

1. Unable to get a direct answer when Shared Services Center is asked.
2. Unable to get reports turned in on time so they can prepare for meetings.
3. When reports are going to be late, it is never communicated.
4. The reports turned in are not professional quality
5. Never know who to talk to when calling the Shared Services Center because it has a very high turnover rate.  Feels like it is not the same person who handles the files from beginning to end.
6. Average length of time an employee stays in Shared Services Center is six months.

Question Two

What role do national culture and organizational culture play in this conflict?

Answer:   National culture and organizational culture play a significant role in the conflict taking place between the two offices.  

The differences or neglect to acknowledge the differences between American culture and Indian culture are described when the India team is required to work when their family and friends are celebrating an important holiday. The time difference is not taken into account for their difficulties.  The work culture is more demanding in America.  In comparison, India places a very large value on its family time and this is different from American value systems.  This creates conflict between the two teams.  The New York office seems to patronize the Indian office by making the American organization seem strong and perfect with direct communication with the clients.  Whereas, they view the culture in India as weak and borderline incompetent, so they talk to the India team this way and it creates conflict.