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Cisco Switches in China: The Year of Ass...

Isabella, Lynn A.,...

Case

Cisco Switches in China: The Year of Assurance

Isabella, Lynn A.; Yemen, Gerry

OB-0977 | Published January 26, 2009 | 25 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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This case describes the establishment of a new Cisco Systems R&D facility in Shanghai, China, and the great concern that arises when a collaborating R&D site in the United States is closed down. What will that closure do to relationships between the Shanghai and San Jose business units? Will they be blamed and accused of replacing the U.S. engineers? How will it affect other projects? The case also covers aspects of the site's establishment, such as securing an appropriate building, assembling a workforce, seeking appropriate projects, developing managers, building teams, evaluating performance, protecting intellectual property, and managing growth. Suitable for use in organizational behavior, human resource management, and strategy classes at the MBA and executive education levels, the material dramatizes the challenges of changing a U.S.-based company into a global competitor.

?Explore macro issues around being a remote site of an American company ?Develop practices that mesh with the intent of the team ? Learn to relationships between headquarters and offsite business unit ?Explore practical issues of designing a new organization and building a culture ?Develop an appreciation for what it is like to be a first-time manager ?Recognize variations in international human-resource-management functions ?Support and appreciate the global context in which a business operates ?Examine the challenges and rewards of managing in China ?Provide students with an opportunity to wrestle with managing international human-resource issues