problems and solvs

The Maharaja Manager

"How was the trip, J.B.?" Loran Roberts asked as they settled back in the car coming back from the airport.

"Fine, Loran, fine—the overseas branches are doing very well. Oh, there are a few problems, but generally they look very good." J.B. lit his cigar. "You know, Loran it still seems strange, having all that stuff overseas. When I first went into business, going abroad was something you did after you made a million. You made the Grand Tour. Later, you went as a GI. Now fifteen plants in ten countries, and sales there rising twice as fast as at home. It seems strange."

"We go where the profit opportunities are, J.B. You said that yourself over ten years ago."

"Yes, I suppose we have to. Say, Loran, how much do we pay that fellow Winslow—you know, the Indian manager?"

Why, I'd have to look it up, J.B. Perhaps $28,000, plus our standard overseas allowances."

"That stop in India bothered me, Loran."

"Why?"

"Well, Winslow's a good man—you know that. The plant there is doing well. And you remember how dubious we all were when it was proposed. But he's got everything going pretty well, and 30 percent return on equity isn't anything to laugh at."

"It's one of our most profitable operations, J.B."

"Winslow, of course, had me out to his house, near Bombay. They have suburbs there too, you know. I must say I was a bit shocked."

"Why? Winslow's very sound."

"Oh, he's a delightful host. But good Lord, Loran, you should see his establishment! I counted eleven servants before I got confused. The house is twice the size of mine—and mine's not so small, you know. I have only one servant, and my wife thinks she's lucky. Why, Winslow lives like a maharaja!"

"I suppose $28,000 goes a long way in India, J.B."

"I guess it does. We had a feast the likes of which I've never seen before. Twenty courses at least. But that's not really what bothered me. During the visit, several Indian officials politely indicated that while we were most welcome in India, and while we were contributing to the economic development of the country, it might be better for foreigners not to display so much wealth. By that I'm inclined to think they meant our manager's living style."

"We never have tried to tell any manager how he should spend his money."

J.B. sighed. "I know—and Winslow's wife obviously loved it all. She's a nice midwestern girl, and I think that all those servants are going to her head. It'll be tougher to get Winslow back next year than it was to persuade him to go to India—and you remember how tough that was. But I saw some local newspaper clippings—most papers are in English, you know—commenting at length about wealthy Americans exploiting India while the country starves. Stinking poverty—and Winslow living it up like an old English aristocrat. It doesn't make us look very good."

"I suppose we could talk to Winslow."

"It was quite a difference in Iran, where Alinson is. He's exactly the opposite—has a small house in town, his wife speaks the native language well and is teaching in a well-baby clinic, and Alinson rarely entertains. Everyone I spoke to in Iran was very high on him. He seems to be locked into the local culture well—maybe too well. I think he might be making some decisions too much for the benefit of the Iranians, and not enough for us. Already his wage rates are twice the local standard."

"His profits are way up too, J.B."

"I know, and I really can't complain. He obviously knows what he's doing. But perhaps we should get him back for a while, too—I sense that he is getting too locked in. His wife is more Iranian than American now, and after only four years."

Loran smiled. "It seems that you can't have it both ways, J.B. Here you are, worried because in Iran Alinson is maybe becoming local, while in India Winslow is spending too much living it up like a foreigner."

J.B. laughed. "You're right, Loran. But darn it, you know as well as I that we have to watch our image, particularly in those poorer countries. The local citizens are sensitive and becoming more so—the left wing can always make political hay by accusing us of exploiting them, taking the life blood out of the country, and all that. Winslow may be putting us in a vulnerable position. One of the officials I talked to suggested that we might expect serious labor trouble if the unrest goes on much longer the way it has been. I visited his house, too—he's a very important man, and he lives about one-tenth as well as Winslow. It seemed obvious to me that this irritated him."

"Well, what do you suggest we do?"

J.B. sighed and leaned forward. "Darned if I know. I hate to get into the business of dictating the life style of any manager—they're spending their own money, which they work hard to earn. Also, they frequently have to put up with problems they would not have here in the states—poor medical facilities, great distances from relatives and friends, shortages of quality consumer goods…I suppose they have to make up for such disadvantages somehow. But we wouldn't hesitate here if a manger came in with a beard and sandals, or if he got on dope or drank too much or did something else that might interfere with Servex's business. Maybe the overseas people should have similar constraints."

"I don't know, J.B. The overseas stuff seems different."

"Well, we should do something."