1990S - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- CEO of Car Makers Renault
Job Titles:
- Director of Human Resources at Olvea Brasil
ELIANA SCHAEFFER, Director of Human Resources at Olvea Brasil, stood at her window and stared out pensively at the mountains rising above the city. On her table were four employee files; each had been put in the ‘concerns' category at last Friday's six-monthly staff review. Eliana knew very well that although a ‘concern' tag was supposed to be an early warning, all too often it meant that a crisis was just waiting to happen.
Olvea Brasil was the Brazilian subsidiary of an international group which supplied components for the automobile industry. Aware that they relied heavily on the skills and creativity of their engineers for survival, Olvea's management encouraged a culture that was officially firmly people-oriented. At the same time, Eliana understood that in a field where competition was fierce, and customers more and more demanding, productivity was crucial; results often took precedence over people's feelings.
It was going to be a tough morning; Eliana had made appointments with each of the four ‘concerns' in turn. After reading their manager's comments in their files, she liked to hear the employee's side of the story before reaching any conclusions. ‘More often than not it's the manager who's the real concern!' she thought as she sat down at the table to review the four files.
Natasha is pleasant and compliant. However she lacks initiative and seems frightened of making mistakes. She seems unable to make decisions herself; she phones me several times a day to ask for instructions when a little common sense is all that is necessary. Her work is acceptable but never excellent. Although she is much more willing than the rest of my department, I am not sure that she possesses the qualities we expect in an administrative assistant.
In the film, Nelson Mandela delivers a television address to the people of South Africa at a time of extreme tension. During his address, he mentions that many of his supporters urge him to reject the call for peace. He responds, "There is only one way forward - and that is peace." He reminds the viewers that he has given his life to the struggle for freedom-twenty-seven years of that in prison-and that he is willing to die for the cause. He tells viewers that in spite of all this, he can forgive the white population for their treatment of him and black South Africans. What do such comments say about Nelson Mandela as a leader?
Susan is very experienced and autonomous (13 years with Olvea) but she seems unhappy. No obvious problems - her work is satisfactory, but people in the department say she's miserable and demotivated. Isabel Correia, my boss, said she asked to speak to her, so I thought I'd better bring it to your attention.