Students are to write an individual essay of minimum 1500 and maximum 2000 words.
QuestionsPart A: Answer the questions below (using a maximum of 120 words).1) When communicating in an international environment, the potential of misunderstandings and misinterpretations is very high. Name at least two possible ways to overcome this obstacle. Then explain, which solution you declare as the best one.2) We have various ways of communication and especially in international contexts we need to be aware of our non-verbal communication. Provide three differences between Germany and China. Also describe how such misunderstandings could affect negotiations.3) Define the term “culture” in your own words. Then think about Schein’s (1992) view of culture as a product of external adaptation (how to survive) and internal integration (how to stay together). In regard of this definition, discuss reasons for “co-ownership” culture in organisations (e.g. John Lewis’ department store in London).
4) Assess the importance of having managers with Theory X and Theory Y viewpoints. When is the Theory X effective and what are the risks of the Theory Y? Exemplify your answers and give reference to literature.
Part B: Deal with the case studies (using a maximum of 150 words).1) A formal commitment Rick, a financial manager from the US, has to implement a customer profitability system at a Swedish company in Amsterdam. The system should be long-lasting even after Rick has returned back home. The Dutch team and Rick worked well together, however, the Swedish branch head asked for a commitment paper.Rick set up the paper and asked every individual to sign the paper. He realized that one of the Dutch managers felt unease by signing the document and describing it as “un- Dutch”.Rick’s situation is a dilemma. On the one hand he is sure the Swedish manager is convinced of the commitment paper, whereas his Dutch partners believe it is a sign of distrust.a) Analyse the situation by using Tropenaars’ dimensions to describe Rick’s situation in detail.b) Explain what you would have done in Rick’s situation to gain the team’s formal commitment.
2) Hotel Principe 5* Hotel “Principe” is a 5-star hotel situated at the Adriatic coast of Italy. Over the past few months, the hotel’s guest relation and reservation office has been in home office due to the pandemic. Mrs. Manzetti, who is the 56-year-old Human Resource (HR) manager, is confronted with employees who want to introduce new home office guidelines. The employees, who are Italian, Austrian and Ukrainian are between 20 and 35 years and enjoy the possibility of working remotely. The guest relation manager, Florian Weitzer (30 years), who speaks for the employees, agrees to establish a new home office guideline with Mrs. Manzetti.Both are working on a new policy regarding working remotely. Mr. Weitzer strongly believes that giving the employees the opportunity to work from home may increase productivity and performance. Meanwhile Mrs. Manzetti believes that being physically present at work will increase the outcome.a) Identify the cultural differences between Italy and Austria as per the GLOBE project.b) Offer reasons, apart from cultural differences, for having different attitudes towards new home office regulations.c) Regarding cultural differences and coming from different generations, how would you prepare yourself for the appointments with the HR manager? In your explanation cite various methods we discussed in class.
3) Only a matter of time Walter Finish, a 45-year-old English businessman, was on his way to Lebanon. His task was to close the deal with Fahid Bagnosh. Walter’s plane was late but he managed to arrive on time at the mansion. Before ringing the bell, Walter tightened his tie and tucked his shirt in. Just a few seconds later, two servants opened the door and led him to a waiting room. It was already 10:45, 15 minutes past the arranged meeting and no one seemed to be bothered.After a while, Walter asked about the appointment with Mr. Bagnosh. A servant told him that Mr. Bagnosh is still in another meeting, but Walter was asked to follow the servant into another room for lunch. There Walter was asked to have lunch with Mr Bagnosh’s sons. He denied lunch due to politeness and just asked for a glass of water.At 14.30 Mr. Bagnosh was ready to meet Mr. Finish and offered the conversation on first name basis. This made Walter feel inconvenient. Mr. Bagnosh seemed very relaxed andasked Walter to sit down. Mr. Bagnosh asked, if Walter enjoyed dinner with his sons and if he had a good time. Walter was very confused and wanted to go straight to business because he has arranged other meetings as well and did not want to reschedule. However, Mr. Bagnosh was surprised that Walter wanted to rush through the appointment and told him that they would have the whole afternoon. Mr. Bagnosh also asked when Walter’s clients would arrive; however, in England it is not common that the agent arrives with the client.Mr. Bagnosh was surprised again and did not really continue the meeting but agreed to talk. Mr. Bagnosh asked his sons to join. This distressed Walter, since he was afraid that secrets could be leaked, and that Mr. Bagnosh and his sons could overrule him in the negotiations. After an hour our negotiations ended which was a total surprise for Walter, but he could not understand that Mr. Bagnosh and his sons would not want to fix financial matters.a)Identify the obstacles Mr. Finish and Mr. Bagnosh experience.B)Different cultural values have had an impact on the negotiations between Mr. Finish and Mr. Bagnosh. According to the following dimensions analyse their differences and describe in which ways these differences influenced the negotiation process.I. Time focusii)Competitioniiii)Actioniv)Spacev)Communicationvi) Structurec) Speculate how Mr. Finish could still close his deal with Mr. Bagnosh.
4) Stereotyping at a workplace. Diversity has become more and more accepted in our society. However, various studies among Western countries show that members of the LGBTIQ+ community are afraid of telling their co-workers about their sexuality and private life. For example, many politicians, teachers and athletes keep their relationships and interests secret. The results show that people are afraid of losing their face and trust of their co-workers.a) Offer ways to help dealing stereotypes at workplaces.b) Give examples of stereotypes about your country of origin and explain why they exist
5) Working Hours Franziska, a German, arrives in the US to work on a project as marketing expert. She has towork closely with Valentino, who is an experienced team member from Italy. Franziska stick strictly to her working hours due to a well-managed work-life balance. However, her colleagues, including Valentino, come later and leave later. Due to this, she misses much information and changes that happen in the late afternoon. Therefore, she cannot keep up with her work because she misses information. Franziska asks their team leader to share some information about the project and to provide local data but does not see him rushing to do so. Moreover, she is invited to attend a few meetings at the last moment. It makes her feel unprepared and unprofessional.How can Franziska and Valentino reconcile this cross-cultural conflict? Consider the 5 stages of the reconciliation process developed by Estienne (1997) when solving the conflict.
Part C: Comparing countries.1) You are working for a well-known booking platform that acts globally and has its headquarters in Austria. The firm you work for is planning on taking over a successful start-up from South Korea. The start-up offers an app that allows travelers to find last- minute rooms for very cheap prices and easy rating and evaluation processes.You are responsible for preparing various managers regarding potential cultural differences and misunderstandings that might occur in the negotiation process. Therefore, you use https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/ to compare Austria and South Korea. Think about Hofstede’s dimensions, by dealing with potential challenges.a) Fill in the following grid and summarise the six dimensions for each country in your own words (max. 50 words/dimension).b) After having done so, analyse which differences could appear and offer ways to overcome potential misunderstandings (max. 70 words/dimension).c) Shortly outline the limitations and advantages of Hofstede’s approach to describe organisational culture. Also reflect on the criticism on Hofstede and compare it to the GLOBE project (max. 70 words/dimension). Cultural Dimension:Austria & South KoreaPower distanceIndividualism MasculinityUncertainty AvoidanceLong TermOrientation Indulgence