Page 19 - DCAP208_Management Support Systems

Management Support Systems

Notes

Case Study Managerial Decision Making

n May 1994, Gao Feng, a devout Christian, was arrested in Beijing for planning a
private worship service and candlelight vigil to commemorate the fifth anniversary
Iof the Tiananmen Square massacre. Gao was a 26-year employee of Beijing Jeep,
Chrysler’s joint venture with the Chinese government. Gao was accused of violating
Chinese laws against the practice of religion outside of a state-authorized venue. Article
36 of the Chinese Constitution nominally provides for freedom of religious belief; however,
the government restricts religious practice to government-sanctioned organizations. State
Council Regulation 145 requires all worship-places to register with government religious
affairs bureaus and thereby to come under the supervision of official ‘patriotic’ religious
organizations. There are almost 85,000 approved venues for religious activities in China.
Many religious groups have been reluctant to comply, either out of opposition to state
control of religion or due to fear of adverse consequences if they reveal, as the regulations
require, the names and addresses of church leaders. The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, endorsed by UN resolution in 1948, states: “Article 18. Everyone has the right to
freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his
religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or
private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes
freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information
and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to any association. According to press reports,
Gao was detained by the government for 5 weeks, without formal charge. In early July, he
returned to work at Beijing Jeep and told his supervisor that the Chinese Public Safety
Bureau had imprisoned him for over a month. Chrylser asked Gao to produced proof of
his detention. The Chinese police gave Gao a note that said he had been detained for 3 days
and then released without trial. Beijing Jeep’s general manager was faced with a tough
decision. The Chinese joint venture partner was pressuring Chrylser to fire Gao. If the
manager did not fire him, millions of dollars of Chrysler’s invested capital in China
would be put at risk. If, however, Chrysler fired Gao Feng, the company would become
complicit in the violation of his rights to religious freedom and political expression. One
of the keys to success in the Chinese market is good relations with the Communist Party,
which keeps rigid control over the economy. Multinational corporations spend years
cultivating good guanxi or connections in China. They are thus extremely vulnerable to
retaliation. At the time of the Gao Feng incident, for example, Chrysler was aware that
failure to accede to the government’s request could result in losing a valuable minivan
contract to its German competitor Daimler – Benz.
Question
What would you do if you were in the general manager’s position?
Source: http://besatuva.com/2011/09/05/chrysler-case-study-managerial-decision-making/

1.6 Summary

Business environments are constantly changing. New developments in technology, politics,
customer preferences, and regulations happen all the time.

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