AMIR, a British financial conglomerate with a large telecommunication
division, was interested in further expanding its business operations and was
investigating opportunities in the former Soviet Union for its financial services
division. AMIR’s Board of Directors sought information on the current state of
CRM practices in Russia with particular interest in any specific challenges that
might be faced in implementing CRM strategies in Russian firms.
James Williams, a senior project advisor with AMIR’s international division
was tasked with developing a presentation on CRM in Russia for the Board of
Directors. Prior to joining AMIR, Williams had been program manager at
Mashkin and a member of the task force that had steered the unsuccessful CRM
project.
Williams was given the following report prepared by a manager at AMIR’s
telecommunications division who had been given a similar research task focusing
on the communications market.