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MIBS6002
Global Management and
Culture
Lecture 3
Complexities
Dr Lee Martin
Discipline of International Business
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Agenda (3 hrs)
Case discussion: Ellen Moore
(1.5 hrs)
Cultural changes &
wrap up: Cultural
Frameworks and
complexities
Guidelines for
Group Project
Team building
activity: Team
charter
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Housekeeping
– Newly arrived CC classmates: Please say hi!
– Roomies: When speaking up, please say your PREFERRED first
name so we can record participation and remember your
names.
– Canvas pre-class activities: Must be completed before class.
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Case discussion:
Ellen Moore
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Ellen Moore
– How was the case preparation for you? (Use Emojis in Reactions)
– What to expect in class?
– You will be the center of discussion.
– We want to hear your views. You bring a unique perspective.
– Zoomies:
– Use “Raise Hand” to talk (preferred), or
– Use Chat to provide some key words and I’ll call on you to elaborate.
– Use Reactions in Zoom to engage, e.g, “do we all agree with XX?”
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Ellen Moore
– I ask questions and facilitate the discussion. I take notes on my “board”,
but I don’t write down everything.
– When I wrap up the case, I build on all the discussion points from you – I
do not have slides prefilled with key take-aways.
– You are not recommended to take a lot of notes during the discussion
because it interrupts your flow. Instead, pls write down some keywords
and then take a few minutes afterwards to reflect on the learning points
from the discussion.
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Ellen Moore
Breakout room discussion (10 min)
1. If you were
Andrew, what
are the problems
you need to fix?
2. What are the
reasons for the
conflict between
Ellen and Jack?
3. What should
Andrew do?
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Problems
– Language barrier – Andrew and Ellen (rely on translator;
incomplete translation)
– Project behind schedule
– Inexperienced consultants & don’t ask questions
– External market research outside of original scope
– Clients giving extra work
– Cultural difference in gender attitudes – Koreans can’t
accept a female leader
– Korean consultants can’t accept?
– Korean consultant listened to Jack not Ellen?
• But listened when Jack was away
• Hierarchy? Loyalty? Jack’s reaction when
they don’t listen to him.
– Leadership structure – co-managers
– Ellen not part of discussion
– Jack aware?
– Client-customer relationship – understanding is different
– Koreans don’t interview customers
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Conflict between Jack & Ellen
– Jack
– No experience consulting/managing
– Asks consultants to do unnecessary work?
(market research)
– Jack has more power (man, bilingual fluency,
PhD) → Korean ascription based culture
– Saw Ellen’s leadership style of coaching as a
challenge to his leadership (paternalistic
leadership?)
– Lack of communication
– Arrogant (speaking Korean in front of Ellen),
self-righteous
– Deliberating excluding Ellen from conversation
– Ellen
– Didn’t reach out to Jack about market
research
– Power struggle…
– Lack of communication
– Didn’t understand Korean culture?
– Made effort to understand
Business etiquette
– Language difficulties
– Confucianism beliefs
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Conflict between Jack & Ellen
– Market research project
– Time limit
– 1 month behind schedule
– US: 7 months
– Korea: 10 year
– Time orientation differences?
– Analytical/holistic thinking
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Actions
– Cultural training to Ellen
– Clarify co-manager
structure to the team
– Andrew more active role,
present, facilitate
communication.
– Cultural understanding to
consultants –
communication style.
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KCI WSI
JVI
SI team Andrew
Jack Ellen
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Hangul
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Trust
Saudi____
US Demark Germany UK Poland France Italy Mexico Brazil Arabia
__Netherlands Finland Spain Russia Thailand India
Australia Austria Japan Turkey China Nigeria
Task-based
Built through business-
related activities
Form and drop easily
You do good work
consistently
You are reliable
Relationship- based
Built through sharing meals,
evening drinks, etc.
Slowly over long time
I’ve seen you at a deep level
I’ve shared personal time with
you
Meyer (2014)
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Context of Communication
US Netherlands Finland Spain Italy Singapore Iran China Japan
Australia Germany Denmark Poland Brazil Mexico France India Kenya Korea
Canada UK Argentina Peru Russia Saudi Indonesia
Arabia
Low-Context
Precise, simple, clear
Face value
High-Context
Sophisticated, layered, implied
Read between the lines
Meyer (2014)
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Many Ways to Say “No”
In response to “Has my proposal been accepted?”
- If everything proceeds as planned, the proposal will be approved.
- Yes, approval looks likely, but…
- Your question is very difficult to answer.
- We cannot answer this question at this time.
- You should know shortly.
Engholm (1991)
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Take a break…
But make sure you have
finalised your group in Canvas!
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Groups
– Pls check whether you are in the correct group. Canvas -> People ->
Groups
– 15 people have not self-selected into a group
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Cultural frameworks and
complexities
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Rosa Martinez goes to Singapore
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Discussion Questions: If you were Rosa…
– Would you use Hofstede’s framework to help you prepare for
the upcoming business trip? Why or why not?
– Benefits: good starting point; some useful dimensions
– Limitations: sample; measurement; within-culture
variation; cultural stereotyping; cultural change
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Are cultures changing? If so, how?
Polling
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Are cultures stable or changing?
– Stable
– traditions
– Changing
– Internet
– Cultural contact, crossover
– Media (pop culture, food –
to an extent)
– Younger generation more
curious about other
cultures
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Are we becoming more similar or more different?
– Similar (converging)
– Globalisation – standard
goods –food (bread)
– English - ideas
– Different (diverging)
– Protective of own
culture
– Indigenous cultures –
preserving culture
– Culture in
workplaces/industries –
competitive advantage
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Are cultures stable or changing?
Stable (Beugelsdijk & Maseland, 2011; Hofstede, 2001)
– Culturalist perspective
– Values are deeply rooted in
history and ecological system
– E.g., East vs. West Germany
– E.g., tightness vs. looseness
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Rice Versus Wheat Culture (Talhelm et al., 2014)
Collectivistic
cultures
Individualistic
cultures
Farming
wheat
Farming
rice
Polling
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Are cultures stable or changing?
Stable (Beugelsdijk & Maseland, 2011; Hofstede, 2001)
– Culturalist perspective
– Values are deeply rooted in
history and ecological system
– E.g., East vs. West Germany
– E.g., tightness vs. looseness
– E.g., growing rice vs. wheat
– Create formal institutions and are
passed on through generations
– Reinforce values
Changing (Inglehart & Baker, 2000; Leung, 2006)
– Economic development -> changes in
norms, values, and beliefs, for
example:
– Industrial: rational, hierarchical,
authority
– Post-industrial: self-expression,
autonomy
– Material security -> quality of life,
freedom, etc.
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Are we becoming more similar or more different?
– Similar (converging)
– More goods, services,
knowledge, education,
training, and people crossing
borders -> smaller cultural
diversity (Govindarajan &
Gupta, 2001)
– Managers receive similar
MBA training and work in
MNEs -> internalized Western
values (Ralston et al., 1997)
– Different (diverging)
– Only a small fraction of
world’s population is truly
globalized (Leung et al., 2005)
– In many developing countries,
people take actions to
distinguish themselves from
the West and assert their
cultural uniqueness (Thomas &
Peterson, 2020).
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Santos, Warnum, & Grossmann (2017)
1960 - 2010
1980 - 2010
Global Increases
in Individualism
Practices
- household size
- living alone
- older adults living alone
- divorce rate
Values
- importance of friends vs
family
- Independent children
- Preference for self-expression
34 out of 41
countries ->
increase in
individualist
practices
39 out of 53
countries ->
increase in
individualist
values
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We’ve (almost) all become more individualistic.
But are there still differences among countries?
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Santos, Warnum, & Grossmann (2017)
Cultural
differences
remained
sizeable
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Taras, Steel, & Kirkman (2012)
Cultural change
is not uniform
across
countries
South Korea’s
Individualism score:
18 (1980) - > 61 (2000)
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Discussion Questions: If you were Rosa…
– Would you use Hofstede’s framework to help you prepare for
the upcoming business trip? Why or why not?
– Benefits: good starting point; values -> behaviors
– Limitations: sample; measurement; within-culture
variation; cultural stereotyping; cultural change
– Go to Hofstede’s and GLOBE websites and compare Spain and
Singapore on collectivism. What do you find?
– What other cultural dimensions might be relevant for you to
prepare for your trip?
What other cultural dimensions might be relevant for
you to prepare for your trip?
What might be relevant to a negotiation?
– Communication (low vs. high context of communication)
– e.g., do they say “no” directly? How do I know if they agree or not?
– Emotional expressiveness (neutral vs. affective cultures in Trompennar’s dimensions)
– e.g., do they reveal emotions? Can I manipulate my emotional expression to
influence them?
– Persuasion
– e.g., do I use rational persuasion or emotional appeal?
– Time orientation (sequential vs. synchronic in Textbook Ex. 2.5)
– e.g., negotiating one issue at a time or multiple issues simultaneously?
– Task vs. relationship-orientation
– e.g., starting business right away or having some informal social activities first?
– Decision-making
– e.g., who makes the call? Is it a top-down or consensual decision?
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What other factors would be important in a cross-
cultural management problem?
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Other factors to consider…
National & Cultural
Contexts
e.g., economic, political, and social
environments, values, beliefs, worldviews, etc.
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Other factors to consider…
Industrial &
Organizational Contexts
National & Cultural
Contexts
e.g., business environment, competition,
stakeholders, strategies, structures, org culture, etc.
e.g., economic, political, and social
environments, values, beliefs, worldviews, etc.
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Other factors to consider…
Managerial &
Interpersonal Dynamics
Industrial &
Organizational Contexts
National & Cultural
Contexts
e.g., business environment, competition,
stakeholders, strategies, structures, org culture, etc.
e.g., role expectations, tasks, followers,
relationships, power dynamics, situational factors
such as urgency, etc.
e.g., economic, political, and social
environments, values, beliefs, worldviews, etc.
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Other factors to consider…
Personal Characteristics
Managerial &
Interpersonal Dynamics
Industrial &
Organizational Contexts
National & Cultural
Contexts
e.g., business environment, competition,
stakeholders, strategies, structures, org culture, etc.
e.g., role expectations, tasks, followers,
relationships, power dynamics, situational factors
such as urgency, etc.
e.g., economic, political, and social
environments, values, beliefs, worldviews, etc.
e.g., personalities, experiences, personal values
& beliefs, etc.
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Other factors to consider…
Personal Characteristics
Managerial &
Interpersonal Dynamics
Industrial &
Organizational Contexts
National & Cultural
Contexts
e.g., business environment, competition,
stakeholders, strategies, structures, org culture, etc.
e.g., role expectations, tasks, followers,
relationships, power dynamics, situational factors
such as urgency, etc.
e.g., economic, political, and social
environments, values, beliefs, worldviews, etc.
e.g., personalities, experiences, personal values
& beliefs, etc.
A cross-cultural management problem is beyond
(national) cultural differences.
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How to better use cultural frameworks and
dimensions?
– Keep in mind that cultural dimensions/values are country-level knowledge
– Helps us
– Understand patterns of a cultural group
– Identify cultural influences on our behaviors
– Develop an appreciation of different worldviews
– Be attentive to biased judgment
– Be cautious
– Methodological limitations of the research
– Within-cultural variation: not everyone endorses a high level of the
societal value
– Cultural stereotypes: use them as working hypotheses
– Cultural change
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How to better use cultural frameworks and
dimensions? (cont’d)
– Start with your problem
– Negotiating vs. motivating
– Motivating the entire workforce vs. motivating one employee
– When does national culture matter most? (Taras, Steel, & Kirkman, 2011)
• Level of analysis, outcome type, personal characteristics, environmental
characteristics
– Focus less on the country scores and more on the effects of cultural values on the
outcomes
– A country’s average score conveys limited information and does not reflect
within-country variation (there may be large differences and diversities within
a country)
– Some countries may be ranked in the middle
– Effects of cultural values: e.g., future orientation -> long-term planning and
investing vs. short-term return -> company strategy and reward system
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Guidelines for Group
Project
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Group Project Briefing and Team Charter
– Group project (30%)
– Group video case (20%, group mark)
– Individual presentation (5%, individual mark)
– Peer evaluation (5%, individual mark)
– Instructions will be available on Canvas after class.
– Team building activity: Getting Organised Team Charter
– Canvas > Assignments > Getting Organised Team Charter
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Group Project (Group Video Case: 20%)
– This group project assignment consists in producing a video-case
that contains two parts
– Part 1 (case description): a 5 min video-based dramatisation of
a cross-cultural management problem. It should end with the
question: "what should the protagonist do?“
• This part should only tell the story of what happened. You
should not do any analysis here such as identifying the key
managerial issues.
– Part 2 (case analysis): a 15 min segment in which you analyse
the described problem.
– The content of the video should be related to the topics discussed
in the course.
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Format
– Part 1 (case description): you can use either narratives or
acting.
– Narrative
– Acting
– Note: In Week 12 we will watch your Part 1 Videos and
discuss your cases in class. Consider: whether your Part 1
Video provides sufficient information for the audience to
have a meaningful discussion.
– Part 2 (case analysis): business presentation (imagine you are
a group of consultants and are presenting your analysis and
recommendations to a client)
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Where can I find a good case?
1. Your interview with a real person.
• In the interview, you will gather the background information and the cross-
cultural management problems the interviewee has experienced. You will then
summarize the case and present it in the first part of the video (5-10 min case
description).
2. A book or a journal.
• E.g., A case study article from Harvard Business Review: Your star salesperson lied.
Should he get a second chance? Or The Expat Dilemma
• Note: you cannot use these ones because we will discuss them in class.
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Search for cases in hbr.org
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Where can I find a good case?
1. Your interview with a real person.
• In the interview, you will gather the background information and the cross-
cultural management problems the interviewee has experienced. You will then
summarize the case and present it in the first part of the video (5-7 min case
description).
2. A book or a journal.
• E.g., A case study article from Harvard Business Review: Your star salesperson lied.
Should he get a second chance? Or The Expat Dilemma
• Note: you cannot use these ones because we will discuss them in class.
3. A movie.
• E.g., American Factory by Netflix
4. News:
1. The downfall of Carlos Ghosn in Financial Times, Tesla is the hot spot for young
job seekers in the Wall Street Journal (will be discussed in Week 5)
• Note: this only serves as a starting point for you to gather more information
to make a case.
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Marking Criteria
Part 1: Case description (6 points)
– Clear description of facts related to key management issues,
including two or more topics covered in this course.
– Topic 1 (2 points)
– Topic 2 (2 points)
– Note: You should NOT label these topics in the Part 1 Video
but provide sufficient details in the video for the audience to
identify them, e.g., communication styles -> act out a
conversation.
– Clear description of different layers of problems other than the
national cultural environment (e.g., what do we know about the
industry, the company, and/or the main people involved?) (2 points)
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Marking Criteria
Part 2: Case analysis (14 points)
– Appropriate application of relevant cross-cultural management theoretical
concepts (2 points)
– Critical thinking and creativity in analysis and development of arguments
(2 points)
– Use of relevant data from the case and further research (2 points)
– Well justified action plans (2 points)
– Concrete, and practical action plans (2 points)
– A clear link between action plans and problems identified (2 points)
– A coherent and smooth presentation (2 points)
– Similar marking criteria for Individual Assignment.
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Deliverables: Five files
1. Video Part 1, Name this video with your group name and "Video Case Part 1", e.g., "Fantastic
5 Video Case Part 1".
2. Video Part 2. Name this video with your group name and "Video Case Part 2", e.g., "Fantastic
5 Video Case Part 2".
3. The script (if you are acting) or the transcript (if you are doing a narrative) of Part 1 case
description, with the source of the case (for me to write feedback on)
• If the case comes from an interview, then include the position of the interviewee and
the company (I will not disclose this information to anyone. You don't have to disclose
the name of the interviewee).
• If the case comes from a book, a movie, or news, then include the links to the original
source.
4. PowerPoint slides of Part 2 case analysis (for me to write feedback on)
5. A Team Logbook that records your main team activities (see template on Canvas). We’ll do a
team building activity today to get your started. The logbook will be used when a peer
assessment is lodged.
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Group Project (Individual Presentation: 5%)
– Marking criteria: Engage with the audience (use notes
sparingly), eye level camera shot, confident and relaxed
delivery, effective use of body language and voice, show
enthusiasm for the topic, clarity and pace are appropriate.
– Reading your notes will result in a very low grade.
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Group Project (Peer Evaluation: 5%)
– FeedbackFruits
– 5 marks:
– Average peer rating on
three criteria
– Completing and reading
peer reviews
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Group Project (Peer Evaluation: 5%)
– Three criteria:
– Proactive, organized, takes a fair share of work
– Respectful & harmonious interactions; resolve problems
– Information elaboration: generate, build on, integrate ideas
– Qualitative feedback
– Provide meaningful and actionable feedback to each of your group
members after completing the project. Examples will be provided.
– If you experience challenges in your group work, pls address the issues
as early as possible.
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Team Building: Getting Organized Team Charter
– It is one of the best ways to get teams off to a good start and
avoid difficulties.
– Think about the group project you will complete for this unit
and answer the questions in the handout.
– You may want to discuss how your cultural values will
influence the way you work together.
– Submit the completed Team Charter handout to Canvas by
Mon 13 March.
– Only one member from the group needs to submit it.
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Next Week
– Canvas Online Module 4 (Decision-making) will become available
tomorrow.
– Read the case Your star salesperson lied. Should he get a second chance?
and prepare for class discussion.
– What do you recommend?
– What are the reasons supporting your recommendation?
– What is the opposing position?
– What are the reasons supporting the opposing position?
– How do you refute the opposing arguments?