The managing director, the financial director, and the technical director of a large construction and property firm in Hong Kong are in disagreement. The firm is being squeezed and needs to free cash to pay maturing loans that the banks are calling in in response to the Asian financial crisis. The two senior officers, both from mainland China, agree on deferring payments to their major suppliers, whereas the technical officer, an expatriate from the United Kingdom, insists that the supplier contracts must be honored. Differing ideas regarding relationships and control are rooted in their different cultural traditions. The managing director and his financial director have to decide what to do.

A Dutch partner in a Big 5 professional services firm is experiencing difficulty in getting his Mexican partner's cooperation in serving a British multinational client. Because part of the firm's competitive positioning is seamless global service, the customer is getting more and more angry. After a particularly hostile exchange with the customer, Johannes van den Bosch writes a very angry e-mail to his Mexican partner, cools off for an hour, and then edits his original e-mail to stick to facts and figures. He sends it off expecting to receive the required information and future cooperation soon. Are the medium and the message appropriate for the circumstances?

The Mexican partner in a Big 5 professional services firm reacts angrily to his Dutch partner's e-mail about providing information for their British multinational client. Puzzled by the response to his e-mail, Johannes van den Bosch takes his original e-mail to two of his partners in adjoining offices and asks their opinion. They see nothing wrong and are surprised when he shows them Pablo Menendez's reply. He wonders what to do now.

Discusses Schneider Electric's shift from local to global account management. Focuses on the experience of Fritz Keller, international account manager in Switzerland. Covers the main challenges a global account manager faces, including internal issues and client examples. Looks at organizational issues, local vs. global issues, defining and setting up a global account structure, information management issues, as well as internal buy-in issues. Ends with the current challenges the global account manager faces when attempting to reconcile local and international priorities.