Chapter 04 - Sociocultural Forces
9. Some societies view change differently than do Americans. What impact does this have on
the way
Americans operate in those areas?
10. Discuss the role of gift-giving in high context societies.
globalEDGE
Exercise One
Assume you own an exporting company that specializes in consumer products. You have been
selling your products in several different countries but have yet to enter the Asian market. You
have chosen Singapore as the first Asian country to enter. Since you have not previously sold
your products in any Asian market, you think it would be a good idea to form a strategic alliance
with a local firm. You strongly believe that first impression is important. Therefore, you have
decided to collect some information regarding the business culture and local habits of Singapore
from the “Kwintessential” website. Prepare a short report on the most shocking characteristics
that may influence business interactions in this country.
Answer
http://globaledge.msu.edu
Exercise Two
The cultural distance of countries in which your firm operates is one of the many explanations of
significant differences that your U.S.-based employees face when travelling to different affiliates
worldwide. Typically, an index of cultural distance can be determined by summing the
differences of country-level scores such as those introduced by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions.
At the present time, your firm has operations in Turkey, Poland, Costa Rica, South Africa, and
Indonesia. Using the Hofstede Cultural Dimensions Resource Center based on studies involving
cultural dimensions to assess all five countries, determine which affiliates are located in a culture
that is least and most similar to the U.S. As there are four main components of each overall
cultural distance score, which component(s) can be considered most influential for each country?
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