What advice would you give her on how toimprove the situation and establish her authority?
Case:Sharon has worked for a large charitable organisation, ABC International, for six years, mostly in their US offices. Now she has been promoted to become Director of the Manila office in the Philippines – an opportunity that excites her because her father emigrated from the Philippines to the US before she was born and she has never connected with that side of her family. However, her first few months are not going well. Sharon is single and in her thirties, and the women in the office keep asking her if she has a boyfriend, when is she getting married, and why she doesn’t have children. In contrast, the men in the office seem to be avoiding her. In fact, she heard from one of her assistants that some of the men refer to her as “that pushy American girl”. Sharon’s predecessor was also American, around the same age, and single. When she talked to him about his experiences running the Manila office, he never mentioned any of these issues. Then again, he was a man.Why is Sharon facing these difficulties in her new role? What advice would you give her on how to improve the situation and establish her authority?
