Leading Across Culture, Constraint, and Trust: A Doctoral Case Portfolio in Global Leadership and Management
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Introductory Excerpt
CROSSWINDS AT PORTO CALIMA AIRLINES
Christmas at the PCA Check-In Counter
Date: December 23, 2019
Location: Washington Dulles International Airport
The check-in area for the Porto Calima Airlines (PCA) flight had been crowded for more than an hour. Families stood beside suitcases and taped cardboard boxes stacked on luggage carts. Several passengers pressed close to the counter, speaking over one another as agents weighed bags and printed boarding passes.
A counter agent lifted one of the larger boxes onto the scale. The number flashed on the screen. Without looking up, the agent pointed to a printed baggage policy taped beside the counter and slid the box to the side. Another passenger stepped forward with a second box before the scale had reset.
The flight was departing from Washington, D.C., bound for the Federal Republic of Kambara. Many of the passengers were members of the Kambara diaspora traveling home for the holidays. Much of what they carried were Christmas gifts.
At the counter, the arguments intensified.
Passengers opened suitcases on the floor, shifting packages between bags in an effort to reduce weight. One man pulled sweaters from his suitcase and tried to wrap smaller gift boxes inside them. Another passenger asked whether he could simply pay an excess baggage fee. A woman demanded to speak with someone from the airline who could authorize an exception.
The agents continued weighing bags and pulling excess items aside. The pile of boxes along the wall grew larger.
PCA operated only a handful of flights from Dulles Airport and had no permanent staff there. The agents working the counter were contract employees who rotated between airlines, working one carrier's check-in desk for a few hours before switching uniforms and moving to another airline. When the confrontation escalated, there was no PCA manager on site with authority to intervene.
Christmas at the PCA Check-In Counter
Date: December 23, 2019
Location: Washington Dulles International Airport
The check-in area for the Porto Calima Airlines (PCA) flight had been crowded for more than an hour. Families stood beside suitcases and taped cardboard boxes stacked on luggage carts. Several passengers pressed close to the counter, speaking over one another as agents weighed bags and printed boarding passes.
A counter agent lifted one of the larger boxes onto the scale. The number flashed on the screen. Without looking up, the agent pointed to a printed baggage policy taped beside the counter and slid the box to the side. Another passenger stepped forward with a second box before the scale had reset.
The flight was departing from Washington, D.C., bound for the Federal Republic of Kambara. Many of the passengers were members of the Kambara diaspora traveling home for the holidays. Much of what they carried were Christmas gifts.
At the counter, the arguments intensified.
Passengers opened suitcases on the floor, shifting packages between bags in an effort to reduce weight. One man pulled sweaters from his suitcase and tried to wrap smaller gift boxes inside them. Another passenger asked whether he could simply pay an excess baggage fee. A woman demanded to speak with someone from the airline who could authorize an exception.
The agents continued weighing bags and pulling excess items aside. The pile of boxes along the wall grew larger.
PCA operated only a handful of flights from Dulles Airport and had no permanent staff there. The agents working the counter were contract employees who rotated between airlines, working one carrier's check-in desk for a few hours before switching uniforms and moving to another airline. When the confrontation escalated, there was no PCA manager on site with authority to intervene.
