Let's Have a Word - Essay Example

?Let’s Have a Word “And he said the objective is to just boil the pasta, right? As if it is popcorn that you can make it in the microwave.” Roberto Sinesi uttered the words in disgust as his teammates roared in laughter in the cafeteria. They understood the emotions behind his outrage for his Italian passion behind cooking and a general attitude towards neighbors, but they could not help but be amused by the liveliness of their boss. Despite living in New York for past seven years, working for Mango, Roberto was a true Italian at heart. Middle-aged but still with black shiny hair, and a great sense of food and humor would describe him in a nutshell. As the general manager of finance, Roberto was in charge of the financial accounting of all Mango stores located in New York. He was a kind man, though some may say that he spoke a bit too much, perhaps a tad too expressive. He loved having team meetings, both official and unofficial, where he could crack jokes; talk about his hometown Naples and food, the passion of his life. Roberto was good at his work and had just pulled off a portfolio expansion of Mango’s investments. Nadia, the charming financial analyst from Minnesota and Roberto’s executive assistant was enthused to be working with Roberto. Working with Roberto for so many years made her accustomed to his mannerisms, especially the Italian undertones in his work. She knew he was an attention-seeking child at heart that enjoys sharing and discussing every thought on his mind. She did not mind that since she learnt a number of things from him whether it is financial management or classical music. Continuing the five year of tradition, the team – Roberto, Nadia and two investment managers, Eric and Kishan sat together for lunch, discussing the proceedings of the day as Roberto shared angry stories of his newly moved in neighbors. “So, we hear that our new boss is coming?” asked Eric, putting an end to the rumors floating around in the office. Roberto stalled the question for a while and then replied, “Yes, you have heard it correct. The head of Finance, Leon Copra would be joining us from next week.” Next Monday, Roberto restlessly tapped on his desk as he prepared himself of meeting with Leon. He did not know much about the fellow except that he was on a senior management rotation and has just moved from Hamburg. Roberto had never worked with a Norwegian and felt excited to be finally sharing his overload. It would be an important relationship with Leon, since Roberto was planning to move back to the corporate headquarters in Barcelona that were closer to this home. Nervously, he went through the presentation once again. A moment later a six feet tall blonde man entered the room, blue eyes and hardly any expression on his face. Roberto jumped from his seat, “You must be Leon. Very pleased to meet you.” “Thanks”, said Leon hardly showing any traces of excitement. “Before we start our presentation, you must taste this Nutella cake that my wife baked. It is stupendous. A sugar start to a great day”, smiled Roberto. “No, thanks, lets get to the meeting. I have another one following this.” Roberto’s presentation lasted 45 minutes, where Roberto explained the situation of the company in New York, often digressing to other topics and engaging Leon in conversations, but Leon quietly sat there, observing the work and replying in monosyllables. It was hard for Roberto to comprehend not to get laughs and at his best jokes or his observations. It seemed that tough times are about to come. Months passed and tensions between Leon and Roberto grew bigger and bigger. It was a clash of personalities, a clash of civilizations – an Italian who cannot stop talking and a Norwegian who treasured his spoken words like gold deposits. It was hard for Roberto to remain silent for 30 minutes at a stretch in their daily one-to-one updates. A year passed by as Roberto remained consistently uneasy about his relationship with his new boss. Amongst the relationship crisis for Roberto, another issue was brewing at Mango corporate office in New York. A year ago, Roberto had invested money in real estate as a part of company’s investment policies. His business school buddy and now a financial broker in Citibank, Stefano Cinquetti, had strongly advised him to invest in certain mortgage-based securities that had high returns on investments. The year 2008 turned out to be extremely difficult for Roberto. His risk taking ability backfired as company’s investments worth millions of dollars was worth nothing in present day. He paced around nervously as he thought about the upcoming presentation to senior management, petrified at the idea of presenting in front of Leon who has spoken not more than 100 words since he arrived to New York. For the tenth time, he went through the presentation outlining the rationale behind his decision-making. At 3:00 PM sharp, the presentation began. Roberto cleared his throat and started with a weather joke. No response from the board. He looked over at Leon for some encouragement and found his deep blue eyes expressionless. So, Roberto continued with his presentation and one by one provided his rationale behind his investment decisions. “I not only updated the management about our current portfolio, but was also backed by our financial advisers at Citibank and Morgan Stanley. E’ pazzesco (It is crazy),” exclaimed Roberto. Upon the end of the meeting, senior management, though fairly convinced of Roberto’s business acumen, looked over at Leon for his viewpoint. “Ah here goes my work to the dumps.” Roberto thought in his mind. After a long pause, Leon focused his attention to the pile of notes lying on the table. “ I understand your concerns Norman but I personally believe that the market and banks are to be blamed for these losses. The records show that Roberto, or for that matter anyone in the industry, had anticipated that these investments were based on sub-prime mortgages with high default rate. I would actually point out that of our competitors, we are lucky to be exposed to this mess far less than our competitors.” “Whoa, Che sorpresa (What a surprise)” thought Roberto with a shocked expression on his face. A wide experience at the trading flour, yet he had not speculated that Leon would side with him at such crucial time. Overwhelmed, he almost felt choked and excused himself to his office. An hour later, Leon came up to him and invited him for a drink. Roberto was not only excited by also deeply grateful for what Leon had done from him. Few drinks later, Leon, a bit tipsy smiled at Roberto and said, “You know why I speak so less? I come from freaking Norway and you come from Italy. I would blame the weather for our cultural differences. In Norway, people remain within themselves probably there is no other choice. We stay at our homes, and as a matter of fact Norwegian vocabulary is perhaps one-tenth in size that of Italian. So, my friend it has nothing to do with you, it's the weather. Hope we will have a fun time ahead. Cheers. “Cheers” said Roberto as his eyes became moist and he started telling stories about his two adopted daughters from Colombia. Read More