Argamassa Construction Materials (a)

Abstract

How does a high-performing manager move from admiring his boss to feeling like walking away from the position and company? This is a powerfully rich case that describes a manager's leadership style in the context of a construction materials company in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Eduardo Santiago, plant manager at Argamassa, disagreed with the cost-cutting strategy his boss and company owner had implemented. And he believed more recent changes had created an adversarial environment between management and labor. Santiago decided to arrange a dinner meeting with his boss. In the A case, he wonders whether he should go ahead with his plan to give feedback or keep his thoughts to himself and view the outing as a personal dinner between friends. The text is enriched with embedded videos in English and Portuguese to bring the discussion to life. Excerpt UVA-OB-1076 Aug. 12, 2015 Argamassa Construction Materials (A) At what point had Eduardo Santiago, plant manager at Argamassa, a construction materials company in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, moved from admiring his boss to feeling like walking out? After all, if it weren't for Leandro Giuntini, the director of Argamassa, Santiago may not have had the opportunity to move into management—something he deeply wanted. Yet by the end of 2010, Santiago was feeling something less than gratitude toward Giuntini, who also happened to be a longtime friend. Santiago disagreed with the cost-cutting strategy Giuntini had implemented the previous year. And he believed that other more recent changes Giuntini had made had created an adversarial environment between management and labor. Struggling with the situation while trying to remain professional, Santiago decided to arrange a dinner meeting with Giuntini. Now he wondered whether he should go ahead with his plan to give feedback to his boss or keep his thoughts to himself and view the outing as a personal dinner between friends. Brazil and the Labor Market . . .