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Chapter 04 - Sociocultural Forces
Answers to Questions
1. Drawing on Hall's High and Low Context, describe some of the communication issues that might well
arise when an Arab company officer who has spent his career in the Middle East is sent on temporary
2. If you are a Mexican who has just accepted a short-term assignment in Ireland, what are some of the
expectations you may have about Irish behavior, drawing on Hofstede's cultural dimensions?
3. Thinking about the definitions and descriptions of culture offered in this chapter, would you expect the
4. If you had the choice of sending either an American or a Mexican, both equally qualified and at about
the same level and in the same functional areas, to Japan for a three year assignment, why might sending
the Mexican offer less risk?
5. How could Trompenaars' universalism-particularism dimension be helpful in sorting out confusion in
the intenational division over ethical behavior?
6. Give a short description of an example of Trompenaars' achievement-ascription dimension.
7. If you were advising a French colleague on her first work assignment to your home culture, and she
asked you what aspects of the material culture she should pay attention to, what advice would you give
8. Is the practice of yoga part of the material culture of Western countries if it actually originates in the
East and has been imported and corrupted by Westerners?
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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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Chapter 04 - Sociocultural Forces
Answer
http://globaledge.msu.edu
Go to Resource Desk: http://globaledge.msu.edu/ResourceDesk/
Minicase 4.1
There are many ways to approach this case. One would be to weigh the strengths
and weaknesses of each candidate. In that approach, Gunther has had the success
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