Rank Xerox (B): Is "Telemarketing" the Answer? (Condensed)

Fournier rejected Carlos’ request to re-implement Wave II. Carlos visited Colombia and Dubai to determine whether to apply their telephone selling approach (“Telemarketing”) elsewhere. Carlos had to decide whether to tell Fournier of Dubai’s revolutionary tool that could transform Rank Xerox’s sales operations or put the idea aside.

The case demonstrates several points regarding knowledge management and best-practice transfers: a company often “does not know what it knows”; best practices can arise from unexpected places; and tension exists between copying a practice exactly and making changes to a practice to meet local requirements.