Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Argamassa Construction Materials (A)

Hernandez, Morela,...

Case

Argamassa Construction Materials (A)

Hernandez, Morela; Yemen, Gerry; Santiago, Eduardo; Almandoz, John

OB-1076 | Published August 12, 2015 | 5 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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How does a high-performing manager move from admiring his boss to feeling like walking away from the position and company? This is a powerfully rich case that describes a manager's leadership style in the context of a construction materials company in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Eduardo Santiago, plant manager at Argamassa, disagreed with the cost-cutting strategy his boss and company owner had implemented. And he believed more recent changes had created an adversarial environment between management and labor. Santiago decided to arrange a dinner meeting with his boss. In the A case, he wonders whether he should go ahead with his plan to give feedback or keep his thoughts to himself and view the outing as a personal dinner between friends. The text is enriched with embedded videos in English and Portuguese to bring the discussion to life.

? Practice developing an action plan around managing difficult conversations and leading up ? Introduce elements of effective leadership while examining a leadership style in a non-American cultural context ? Encourage students to observe their own leadership philosophy, clarify it, and consider what works and what doesn't.