Chapter 04 – International OB: Managing across Cultures
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(b) People with realistic expectations tend to quit less often and be
more satisfied than those with unrealistic expectations.
(c) Cross-cultural training: structured experiences to help people
adjust to a new culture/country.
(d) The Real World/Real People: Training Needs to Fit the Local
Culture provides training tips for different cultures.
(e) Cross-cultural training can be costly but companies believe
cross-cultural training is less expensive than failed foreign
assignments.
(f) Training programs vary in regard to type, rigor, time and
expense.
(i) Predeparture training is the easiest approach and it focuses
on informational materials, including books, lectures, films,
videos, and Internet searches.
(ii) Experiential training is moderately difficult and it is
conducted through case studies, role playing, simulations,
and introductory language instruction.
(iii)The most difficult training would include informational and
experiential training plus comprehensive language
instruction and field experience in the target culture.
(g) Significant research findings on cultural research include:
(i) Prior international experience aids adjustment to a foreign
culture.
Chapter 04 – International OB: Managing across Cultures
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(ii) All types of cross-cultural training help adjustment, but in-
host country training is best.
(iii)Technical positions need less cross-cultural training than
high-social contact positions in management, marketing, and
public relations.
(iv)Experiential training focused on the host country culture,
involving active participation in real-life simulations,
enhances adjustment more than one-way presentations
about cultures in general.
(h) The Table 4-5: Key Cross-Cultural Competencies identifies
beneficial cross-cultural competencies. See Slide 4-37
(3) Avoiding Culture Shock
(a) Culture shock: anxiety and doubt caused by an overload of
unfamiliar expectations and social cues. See Slide 4-38
(b) Employees experiencing culture shock often return home early
from their international assignments.
(c) Comprehensive cross-cultural training including intensive
language study is the best defensive against culture shock.
(4) Support during the Foreign Assignment
(a) A support system needs to be in place when everything is new
to the expatriate and when even the smallest errand can turn
into an utterly exhausting challenge.
Chapter 04 – International OB: Managing across Cultures
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(b) Host country sponsors are recommended because they serve
as “cultural seeing–eye dogs” for the expatriate. See Slide
4-39
(5) Avoiding Reentry Shock
(a) Otherwise successful expatriate managers sometimes
encounter their first major difficulty only after their foreign
assignment is over when they have difficulties returning to their
own native culture.
(b) Reentry shock may occur in work, social activities, or the
general environment.
(c) Reentry shock may be reduced through career counseling and
home-country sponsors.
BACK TO THE CHAPTER-OPENING CASE
1. What should Sue do to increase her cultural intelligence?
a. Cultural intelligence can be fostered by learning about other
cultures, including information about their history, geography,
2. What role does the distinction between monochronic and polychronic time
play in this case?
Chapter 04 – International OB: Managing across Cultures
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structured presentation. She expects that those in her audience
share her same views of time and that they will arrive on time,
3. What does Sue need to do right now, following the break, to salvage this
day of training? What does she need to do to be better prepared for her
next training session in Israel in three months?
a. Student responses may vary, but it seems Sue needs to change
her views of how the training is going. Her Israeli counterparts may
1. Has this presentation challenged any assumptions you had about China
and the Chinese people? Explain.
a. Student responses will vary based on the students’ knowledge of
the Chinese culture and their experiences interacting with people
from China.
4–20
2. Using your best cultural intelligence, how would you adjust your behavior
on a business trip to China?
a. Cultural intelligence is the ability to accurately interpret ambiguous
cross-cultural situations. When interacting with someone from
behavior.
3. What cultural adjustments will Chinese managers need to make if they
want to effectively manage Americans in the rapidly growing number of
Chinese-owned businesses in the United States?
a. A Chinese manager will have to display cultural intelligence when
4. Based on what you just learned in this chapter, are you more or less
interested in getting a foreign assignment some day? Explain.
Chapter 04 – International OB: Managing across Cultures
4–21
LEGAL/ETHICAL CHALLENGE: 3M Tries to Make a Difference in Russia
Should 3M Export Its American Ethical Standards to Russia?
1. If 3M doesn’t like the way things are done in Russia, it shouldn’t do
business there. Explain your rationale.
2. 3M should do business in Russia but not meddle in Russian culture.
“When in Russia, do things the Russian way.” Explain your rationale.
3. 3M has a basic moral responsibility to improve the ethical climate in
foreign countries where it does business. Explain your rationale.
4. 3M should find a practical middle ground between the American and
Russian ways of doing business. How should that happen?
5. Invent other options. Discuss.
Discussion:
When analyzing cultural differences in ethics, one variable that is used in
determining if a proposed action would be ethical is to determine the cause of the
local difference in behaviors. Are differences in behaviors due to differences in
Chapter 04 – International OB: Managing across Cultures
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way violated someone’s basic rights. Thus, if the people of Russia believe that
payments made to government officials are just a part of doing business and this
view were not to change with Russia’s continued economic prosperity, than some
would likely argue that it is unethical for 3M to attempt to change Russia’s
behavior around the world. This perspective would hold that bribery is always
wrong regardless of the context. There is some comfort in the view that there is
always a certain best way to act, but the limitation of ethical imperialism is that
there is no universal consensus as to right or wrong.
All of these ethical perspectives can leave an American manager conflicted on
http://www.worldcitizensguide.org
Many Americans do not create a favorable impression when they travel
internationally. We lack cultural empathy and do not appreciate cultures different
from our own. People from other countries often do not like the personality of
many Americans, as we frequently come across as loud, arrogant, uninterested
Chapter 04 – International OB: Managing across Cultures
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Guide. There is a version for business travelers and one for study-abroad
participants. Go to the organization’s website at:
http://www.worldcitizensguide.org and download and read both the “student” and
“business” traveler guides.
Questions:
1. Summarize several of the 16 simple suggestions for business travelers.
Which one(s) did you find most useful?
2. Summarize several of the 25 simple suggestions for Americans traveling
abroad. Which one(s) would you find it most difficult to follow?
3. Referring to the last page in the student version, what “global village”
statistic surprised you the most?
4. Do you think that the information provided in these publications would help
prepare you for an overseas assignment? Explain.
INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES
1. For a great source for world travel information see “The Traveler’s
Handbook, 9th: The Insider’s Guide to World Travel” edited by J. Lorie,
and A. Sohanpaul (Globe Pequot, 2006).
2. See “Topic 4: International Management” (p. 96) in An Instructor’s Guide
to an Active Classroom by A. Johnson and A. Kinicki (McGraw-Hill/Irwin,
2006)
3. Helping students gain knowledge of other cultures and understand the
relationship between culture and management practices is the focus of the
exercise in “The Art of Dialogue in Building Cross-Cultural Sensitivity in
the Classroom” by U. Anakwe, pp. 291-306. Differences between Eastern
and Western learning traditions are covered in “Chinese Perspectives on
the Important Aspects of an MBA Teacher” by E. Thompson, pp. 229-258.
Crisis management planning in a teaching setting is discussed in
“Preparing for the Unexpected: Managing Low Probability, Disruptive
Events in Student International Travel Courses” by T. Nelson and S.
Ornstein, pp. 259-273. All articles are found in Journal of Management
Education, 2002, Vol. 26(3).
4. Chinese learning perspectives are discussed in “The Silent Chinese: The
Influence of Face and Kiasuism on Student Feedback–Seeking Behaviors”
by A. Hwang, S. Ang, and A. Francesco in Journal of Management
Education, 2002, Vol. 26(1), pp. 70-98.