Questions
2.1 Assume you are a manager in a multinational company that needs to send a team of three
to five people to Saudi Arabia for about two weeks to investigate the feasibility of selling
your products there. What advice would you give them to help assure that cultural
problems do not impede their success in this task?
2.2 Assume your company is from North America or Europe and considering the
establishment of an office in Saudi Arabia. What additional operating costs might it have
to assume because of the Saudi culture?
TEACHING TIPS: Carefully review the PowerPoint slides for Chapter Two. An
additional source of information on Saudi culture, as well as other cultures, can be
found at www.executiveplanet.com.
Questions
2.3 The United States and France are more culturally similar to the UK than are Thailand and
Malaysia, yet TESCO failed in the former two and has been highly successful in the latter
two. How might you explain this difference?
2.4 What is the role of global teams in sharing best practices across a firm’s global operations?
What advice would you give to make the teams more effective?
2.5 Look at the Tesco PLC website (www.tescoplc.com). What exactly are its businesses and
what do you think this tells us about its international strategy today?
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2.6 How would Tesco’s business model translate into policies of recruitment, training and
development, and career management across the Group?
ADDITIONAL EXERCISES: Cultural Challenge
Exercise 2.1.Ask students to outline the reasons why the various elements of culture (social
structures and control systems, language and aesthetics, religion and other belief systems,
educational systems, etc.) might increase the cost of doing business in a country. Be sure
that the students illustrate their ideas with concrete examples of both cultural elements and
specific countries. (LO: 3, Learning Outcome: To discuss behavioral factors influencing
countries’ business practices, AACSB: Analytical Skills.)
Exercise 2.2.Choose two to five countries that are culturally diverse. Ask students to
compare the cultures of those countries and to discuss the ways in which cultural differences
will affect the cost of doing business in each. Conclude the discussion by examining the
ways in which business practices and ethics vary across the cultures. (LO: 1, Learning
Outcome: To understand methods for learning about cultural environments, AACSB:
Analytical Skills.)
Exercise 2.3 In many countries religion has a dramatic effect on people’s attitudes,
customs, and behavior. Lead students in a comparative discussion of the potential effects of
the basic beliefs of the world’s major religions upon international business opportunities and
operations. (LO: 2, Learning Outcome: To analyze behavioral factors influencing countries’
business practices, AACSB: Dynamics of Global Economy.)
Exercise 2.4. Pop culture can influence the development of global preferences in a number
of ways. Lead students in a discussion of the ways in which movies can affect the cultural
dimensions of a society. (Select particular movies, examine various values embedded in
them, and discuss the nature of their impact upon the lifestyles of people around the world.)
(LO: 4, Learning Outcome: To understand cultural guidelines for cultural adjustment,
AACSB: Multicultural and Diversity Understanding.)
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