Reference no: EM133095115

Cesar and Tess have been married for 12 years. They have three children. The oldest one is an 11- year old boy with autism. He attends a school for special children and is accompanied to a therapist on weekends. The younger ones are fraternal twins, a boy and a girl, 8 years old, both in Grade 3.

Cesar has an MBA degree and works as a marketing manager in an Australian multinational firm. Tess has a degree in Legal Management and opted to be a full-time housewife when her twins were born. When her mother retired from work at age 60 two years earlier, Tess took the opportunity to resume her studies and go to Law School. Her mother lives a block away and comes to take care of the children on call. Tess dreams of a career of her own. She has in fact accepted a job offer at a law firm as a legal assistant. She will be reporting for work once she completes all pre-employment requirements.

Just then, Cesar was called to the General Manager's office. The General Manager made Cesar an offer to head the sales and marketing office in Abu Dhabi which started operation two years ago. The General Manager confided that the assignment was a great opportunity to gain international executive experience. The assignment is estimated to last from three to four years. No promises beyond that, he was told. When informed of the compensation package including expat perks1, Cesar's immediate impulse was to accept. He moreover imagined that if he refused, his career might suffer in the long run. There were other marketing managers in the company who would grab that opportunity if offered to them. The thoughtful General Manager was giving him a week to make a decision. Consult the wife, he told Cesar.

Cesar phoned Tess to break the good news. Her immediate response was one of concern. When informed of the expat pay and perks package, she coldly murmured, "Oh, I don't know..." Cesar took note of her lukewarm response, and assured her that the two of them can manage whatever obstacles may be on the way.

Cesar approached the head of HR for advice. Instead, the HR Head referred him to your team. "They're an interdisciplinary group of MBA students whose members are just about your age. Why don't you and your wife meet with them over coffee? Get their perspective."

-What are the options of Cesar? For each option, what are the favorable (i.e., push to take the assignment) and unfavorable (i.e. pull to decline the assignment) considerations?

-If the couple's decision were up to you, what would it be and why?

-If you were the Head of HR, what else would you do? Will you persuade Cesar to take the job?

-What's your takeaway from this case?