Ste. Basil Hotel - Moscow: Struggling with Values in a Post-Communist State

This cases study examined the challenges of operating a business in a foreign country. The case study presents a specific business situation in Moscow, describes the prevailing conditions which needed to be addressed, relates the decisions that were made, and examines the consequences of failing to apply sound business and management principles. This case exemplifies many of the themes in international HR management including recruiting, onboarding, training and development, motivation and rewards/compensation, ethics, performance management, and cultural differences between the home country and host country.

In a foreign business environment there is
The influence of values and attitudes towards work were other themes presented in the case that if Greg and LLC had recognized would have helped to alleviate the situation instead of making it progressively worse. According to Caligiuri et al, "cultural differences will influence how you gain credibility, communicate effectively, and work with people from diverse cultures" (page 97). It was apparent that this was not done successfully with the implementation of the programs meant to motivate the employees. Although Greg came to rely on Svetlana he should have gained an understanding of the culture before the Ste Basil opened, not after.

Strategic human resource management, as defined by Caligiuri et al (page 11), was not implemented from the very beginning of this case. "Firms may benefit from capitalizing on differences presented in the local labor market in terms of competence, capabilities, wages, and the like" (Caligiuri et al, page 23), however, this was not done by the management of the Ste. Basil. Greg may have blinded by his preconceived conceptions during the initial screening for candidates to hire. The elimination based on too much experience may have proved detrimental to Greg's ability to run the hotel smoothly. However, this was not entirely Greg's fault. Victor as General Manager was appointed to work with Greg and he was not involved in the process, this was a very serious mis-step by LLC. It is critical for Greg and Victor