QUESTIONS:
3-1. Why are the Chinese such heavy users of the Internet?
(LO 3.2; LO 3.5; AACSB: Reflective thinking)
■ Government bans Western social media sites that may be critical of the Chinese government,
3-2. What are the characteristics of a collectivistic society such as China?
(LO 3.2; LO 3.5; AACSB: Reflective thinking)
■ There are few things that exemplify Chinese culture better than its collectivistic society
■ The premium placed upon group membership, emphasizing tradition, interdependence,
■ China has a collectivist mindset, which emphasizes conformity, duty, prescribed roles, and
■ Families are at the center of Chinese culture. In society, family members “know their place”
3-3. In what ways does social media reflect cultural values in China?
(LO 3.2; LO 3.3; LO 3.5; AACSB: Reflective thinking)
■ 2000– Baidu (search engine) established-has more than 500 million users in China. The word
■ Social media also provides the means to build Guanxi, by fostering relationships with others.
■ Confucian philosophy teaches that people play different roles in society. Unlike in many
■ In China, social media allows people to express their views without causing others to lose
■ One child policy- China’s family-planning policy restricted many Chinese couples to having
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3-4. Most aspects of foreign culture, like language, religion, gender roles, and
problem-solving strategies, are hard for the casual observer to understand. In what ways
do Hollywood movies affect national culture outside the United States? What aspects of
U.S. culture do Hollywood films promote around the world? Can you observe any
positive effects of Hollywood movies on world cultures?
(LO 3.1; LO 3.2; LO 3.4; AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environments)
What aspects of U.S. culture do Hollywood films promote around the world?
■ Hollywood films promote all aspects of culture. Everything depicted in the iceberg model
Can you observe any positive effects of Hollywood movies on world cultures?
■ Hollywood movies impact foreign cultural values, i.e. the ‘Americanization’ of global values
and beliefs. If they did not, then French officials would not have labeled Jurassic Park a threat to
■ Culture refers to learned, shared, and enduring orientations of a society that are expressed in
■ Conversational patterns and high/low context environments: Helen Hunt in This Is As Good
As It Gets and Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson in Something’s Gotta Give – both of these films
ebb and flow between explicit and implicit communication, illustrating the value of clarity. Both
■ The Godfather and Pearl Harbor illustrate decision-making patterns. Cultures outside of the
■ The Lord of the Rings, by J&R Tolkien, is essentially about the struggle between good and
■ There are certain dimensions of culture, like the sense of style or aesthetics that might be
■ More importantly, cultures are not right or wrong, just different. Thus, advocating that
■ Hollywood is not as “American” as it once was. The Passion of Christ, funded by its Australian
■ Two of the seven major film companies collectively known as Hollywood aren’t even U.S.
Do films have the power of transmitting its cultural values to other cultures?
■ When “eyeballs1” are watching a movie they will somehow relate to it and may even want to
3-5. Culture plays a key role in business. In what ways have movies influenced
managerial tasks, company activities, and other ways of doing business around the
world? Can watching foreign films be an effective way of learning how to do business
abroad? Justify your answer.
(LO 3.2; LO 3.4; LO 3.6; AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environments)
■ Socialization: The process of learning the rules and behavioral patterns appropriate to one’s
given society. This cultural learning is facilitated through film.
1“Eyeball” is a term used to name the audience in movie and TV industries.
■ Movies are both dependent and independent variables when it comes to national, professional
Can watching foreign films be an effective way of learning how to do business abroad?
Justify your answer.
■ We emulate role models, whether they perform in films or in corporations. Indeed, we can
■ Watching foreign films can be an effective way of learning about:
◘ Interpersonal exchanges- greeting and parting rituals
■ Corporations value cross-cultural proficiency training program-
Examples-
◘ Assigning work- Indian workers often agree to aggressive timelines but may not inform
■ Culture matters in international business in areas such as developing products and services;
■ Cross-cultural differences complicate workplace issues such as teamwork, employment, pay
3-6. Hollywood movies are very popular abroad, but foreign films are little viewed in the
United States. What factors determine the high demand for Hollywood films? Why are
they so popular in Europe, Japan, Latin America, and elsewhere? Why is there such low
demand for foreign films in the United States? What can foreign filmmakers do to
increase demand for their movies in the United States?
(LO 3.2; LO 3.4; LO 3.5; AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environments)
What factors determine the high demand for Hollywood films? Why are they so popular
in Europe, Japan, Latin America, and elsewhere?
■ Possibly ethnocentricity? Americans like Hollywood movies because they are made the right
way, i.e. the American way. Europeans tend to make more thought-provoking movies.
Why is there such low demand for foreign films in the United States?
■ If you consider how much Americans generally know about other countries and cultures- very
What can foreign filmmakers do to increase demand for their movies in the United
States?
■ Two suggestions for European filmmakers to help sustain their industry:
◘ Alliances–
Considering the relative scarcity of resources in Europe, one strategy would be to form
alliances. The value chain may be regionalized so that the more efficient country within the
◘ Better films–
As Eric Rohmer, the French director stated in an interview with The New York Times, his
countrymen should fight back with high-quality movies, not protection. “I am a commercial film
V. END OF CHAPTER QUESTIONS
● TEST YOUR COMPREHENSION
3.7. Describe culture and cross-cultural risk.
(LO 3.1; AACSB: Application of knowledge)
■ Culture is the values, beliefs, customs, arts, and other products of human thought and work
■ Cross-cultural risk arises from a situation or event in which a cultural misunderstanding puts
3.8. Describe the characteristics of high and low context cultures.
(LO 3.5; AACSB: Application of knowledge)
High- and Low-Context Cultures – Hall
■ Low-context cultures rely on elaborate verbal explanations, putting much emphasis on
spoken words.
■ High-context cultures emphasize nonverbal messages and view communication as a means
■ They prefer an indirect, polite, “face-saving” style that emphasizes a mutual sense of care and
■ This helps explain why it is difficult for Japanese people to say “no” when expressing
■ In East Asian cultures, showing impatience, frustration, irritation, or anger disrupts harmony
and is considered rude and offensive. Asians tend to be soft- spoken, and people are sensitive
to context and non-verbal cues (body language).
■ Negotiations tend to be slow and ritualistic, and agreement is founded on trust.
■ To succeed in Asian cultures, keen navigation of nonverbal signs and body language is
critical.
3-9. What are the six dimensions that make up Hofstede’s model of culture?
Visit MyManagementLab for suggested answers.
(LO 3.5; AACSB: Application of knowledge)
3-10. What are the two major perceptions of time, and how does each affect international
business?
(LO 3.2; AACSB: Reflective thinking)
■ Monochronic – rigid orientation to time in which the individual is focused on schedules,
■ Example– the U.S. has acquired a reputation for being hurried and impatient; the word
■ Polychronic- A flexible, non-linear orientation to time in which the individual takes a long-term
■ Punctuality per se is relatively unimportant, time commitments are flexible, relationships are
■ Examples– Africa, Asia, Latin America, China, Japan and the Middle East- in the Middle East,
3-11. Distinguish between socialization and acculturation.
(LO 3.1; AACSB: Application of knowledge)
■ Socialization: The process of learning the rules and behavioral patterns appropriate to one’s
■ Acculturation: The process of adjusting and adapting to a culture other than one’s own,
3-12. What are the major religions and how do they affect international business?
(LO 3.3; LO 3.4; AACSB: Reflective thinking)
■ Religion deeply affects culture and international business. The four main religions are
■ Religion influences ethics, social responsibility and culture- therefore business and consumer
■ Exhibit 3.11 displays the dominant religions worldwide- Christianity (2 billion), Islam (1.5
■ Religions:
◘ Foster bonds of trust and shared commitment, which facilitate lending and trade.
■ Religion appears to have a positive effect on economic activity
■ Religion alone is insufficient to support economic development.
■ Examples:
◘ Societies with strong religious values have not produced high living standards –
Middle Eastern countries embrace Islam; southern African countries embrace Christianity.
Other key factors for economic development: strong private property rights, political and
economic freedom, and an entrepreneurial spirit, are also important.
■ Major Religions:
Christianity
■ Christians (followers of Jesus Christ) are concentrated in the Americas, Europe, Australia,
South Korea, and southern Africa.
◘ Protestant work ethic emphasizes individual achievement, orderliness, and hard
◘ These views are the underpinnings for the political and economic freedoms that
encouraged the rise of capitalism in advanced economies, especially in Northern Europe and
Islam
■ Islam- based on the Qur’an, the religion’s holy book. Muslims believe the Qur’an was
revealed by God to the prophet Muhammed in the 7th century.
■ Primarily- two denominations: Sunni and Shia.
■ Most Middle East countries- Islam is the basis for government, legal, social systems and
cultural order.
■ Globalization has exposed the Islamic world to outside cultural influences.
■ Strict Islamists view Western ideals as a threat to their values.
■ Liberal Muslims reconcile religious traditions with Western values and secular governance.
The Qur’an condemns charging interest for money loaned.
■ Banks in Islamic countries have devised methods for financing debt without violating Sharia
law.
■ The Qur’an prohibits drinking alcohol, gambling, and showing too much skin.
■ Such restrictions affect firms in alcoholic beverages, resorts, entertainment, women’s clothing,
ad agencies, and banks/lending institutions.
■ Islamic market– MNEs reaching out:
◘ Nokia- launched a mobile phone that shows Muslims the direction toward Mecca,
Islam’s holiest site, when they pray.
◘ Heineken- Dutch brewing giant- rolled out the nonalcoholic malt drink Fayrouz for the
Hinduism
■ Hinduism- dominant religion of South Asia, especially India
■ Hinduism is not connected to any one prophet and lacks a unified belief system.
Hinduism- Negative business impact:
■ Critics argue the caste system promotes slower economic growth because it hinders
advancement from one social level to another in organizational settings, i.e. advancement is a
function of social level, rather than merit or potential.
Hinduism- Positive business impact:
■ Business can be enhanced by embracing Hinduism’s teachings in areas such as self-control,
Buddhism
Buddhism- Positive business impact:
■ Buddhism promotes harmony, inner happiness, peaceful relations, tolerance for others,
mutual cooperation, and commercial stability – all good for business.
Buddhism- Negative business impact:
■ This focus on spirituality and moderation might also restrain entrepreneurship.
3-13. Identify the world’s major languages.
■ There are nearly 7,000 active languages in the world, of which Mandarin Chinese, Hindi,
English, Spanish, and Arabic are among the most common.
3-14. Distinguish the three layers of culture. What are the major elements of country-level
and professional culture?
■ Employees are socialized into three overlapping cultures; national culture, professional
culture, and corporate culture.
■ The influence of professional and corporate culture tends to grow as people are socialized
into a profession and workplace.
■ National (country-level) culture:
Nationality
Ethnicity
Educational Systems
■ Professional culture:
Academe
3-15. Explain why culture matters in international business. In what types of contexts
can cross-cultural differences cause concerns for managers?
3-16. How does a manager with a “deal orientation” differ from a manager with a
“relationship orientation”?
■ Deal-oriented cultures– managers focus on the task at hand, are impersonal, typically use
legalistic contracts and prefer just “getting down to business.”
■ Examples- Australia, northern Europe, and North America
■ Relationship-oriented cultures– managers value affiliations with people, rapport, and getting
3-17. Summarize the three major guidelines for success in cross-cultural settings.
Guideline 1:
Acquire factual and interpretive knowledge about the other culture; and try to speak their
language.
Guideline 2:
Avoid cultural bias.
Self-reference criterion: The tendency to view other cultures through the lens of one’s own
culture.
Critical incident analysis –a method for analyzing awkward situations in cross cultural
interactions by developing empathy for other points of view.
Guideline 3:
Develop cross-cultural skills. Cross-cultural proficiency is characterized by four key personality
traits: