Business Communication Chapter 3 Homework Doing the right thing can result in serious economic consequences, but fighting corruption may offer tangible rewards such as the recovery

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ii. Harmful pesticides may be used because crops would otherwise be

consumed by insects.

g. Doing the right thing can result in serious economic consequences, but

fighting corruption may offer tangible rewards such as the recovery of lost

tax revenues and the restoration of public trust.

h. Use these suggestions to acknowledge different values while emphasizing

moral initiative:

i. Broaden your view.

ii. Create virtuous incentives for staff.

i. When faced with an intercultural ethical dilemma, use the five-question test

from Chapter 1, Figure 1.14:

i. Is the action legal?

j. Small Group Activity: 90 minutes total. Activity 3.13—Gifts and

Entertainment Limits: What Is Nominal Value?

Break class into groups of three. Have each small group complete the activity

found at the end of the chapter and be prepared to share their answers with

other organizations. In particular, they should find comparison information

on gifts, gratuities, kickbacks, and entertainment limits.

• What companies or organizations did you choose?

V. Evaluating Benefits and Challenges of Workplace Diversity (3-5, PPT Slides 42–48,

DISC: Cultural imperatives; Gender differences)

a. Workplace diversity has many dimensions—race, ethnicity, age, religion,

gender, national origin, physical ability, sexual orientation, and others.

d. As society and the workforce become more diverse, successful interactions

and communication among identity groups bring distinct advantages in three

areas: consumers, work teams, and business organizations.

i. Diverse teams are better equipped to respond to diverse consumer

demands.

ii. Team members with different backgrounds and perspectives may

result in more innovative and effective solutions.

e. Diversity may also lead to divisiveness, discontent, and clashes.

i. Women face the glass ceiling (invisible barrier of attitudes,

prejudices, and old boy networks blocking them from reaching

important corporate positions).

f. Organizations must commit to diversity.

g. How companies deal with diversity will determine how well they compete in

a global environment.

h. Organizations can use these suggestions to improve communication and

interaction among diverse workers:

i. Seek training.

i. Small Group Discussion Activity: 60 minutes total. Chat About It Topic #1:

“It’s Time for ‘They’”

Break class into small groups of three to five students. Have students read

the New York Times opinion piece titled “It’s Time for ‘They’“ referenced at

• What does the author of the opinion piece mean?

• What might be the response from the perspective of a gender-

nonconforming person?

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Discussion Questions

You can assign these questions several ways: in a discussion forum in your LMS; as whole-

class discussions in person; or as a partner or group activity in class.

I. Discussion: Intercultural Blunders (Critical Thinking #1, 3-3, PPT Slides 24 & 28)

Duration 15 minutes.

a. When Procter & Gamble launched its Pampers brand in Japan, the diaper

package confused and disturbed customers. As in the United States, the

b. Can you explain what may have caused the intercultural blunder?

i. Answer: Procter & Gamble’s misstep shows a lack of preparation on

c. How could Procter & Gamble have avoided it?

i. Answer: A simple way to prevent it would have been to test the

packaging with Japanese audiences before launching Pampers in the

Japanese market.

II. Discussion: Being an Effective Ambassador When Abroad (Critical Thinking #2, 3-3,

PPT Slide 24) Duration 15 minutes.

a. When we travel or work abroad, we tend to be perceived not so much as

policy, military actions, and economic influence.

b. How can you ensure that you function as an effective ambassador of your

country when working and traveling overseas?

i. Students may need to learn that when traveling or working abroad,

they will be perceived as representative of the larger U.S. culture and

ii. Answer: The best way to proceed when challenged abroad is to avoid

being dragged into arguments, remain genial and friendly, and

III. Discussion: Stereotypes (Critical Thinking #3, 3-3, PPT Slide 25) Duration 20 minutes.

a. A stereotype is an oversimplified perception of a behavioral pattern or

characteristic applied to entire groups. For example, the Swiss are

hardworking, efficient, and neat; Germans are formal, reserved, and blunt;

and tolerant; Asians are gracious, humble, and inscrutable.

b. In what way are such stereotypes harmless or harmful?

i. Answer: These attitudes may or may not accurately describe cultural

norms. As we have seen, stereotypes often do contain a grain of truth

because they originate as observations leading to generalizations.

After all, generalizations help us make sense of the world we live in.

IV. Discussion: Inappropriate Cultural Jokes (Critical Thinking #4, 3-5, PPT Slide 45)

Duration 20 minutes.

a. You know that it’s not acceptable to make ethnic jokes, least of all in the

workplace, but a colleague of yours keeps invoking the worst ethnic and

racial stereotypes.

b. How do you respond?

c. What other options do you have in dealing with such a coworker?

d. Consider whether your answer would change if the offender were your boss.

i. Answer: Answers will vary. Students will probably realize that they will

V. Discussion: Cultural Differences in Ethics (Critical Thinking #5, 3-4, PPT Slide 39)

Duration 30 minutes.

a. Transparency International, the global antibribery watchdog, severely

b. Can you explain why using one’s connections to receive preferential

treatment may cause harm?

i. Answer: On its website, Transparency International explains why

wasta is harmful to the Arab societies that practice it. The NGO argues

treatment.

ii. Wasta reinforces economic inequality. According to the World Bank,

more than half of the labor force in many Arab countries is

unemployed, because wasta is a major hurdle to getting a job. Skills,

education, and experience are unimportant. When surveyed, 60

percent of young people in the region agreed that knowing someone

in a position of power is key to obtaining employment. [Transparency

International. (2019, December 11). Wasta: How personal connections

are denying citizens opportunities and basic services.]

favoritism is at work in the United States or in the countries they may

hail from, if they are international students or immigrants.

iv. It may also be valuable to address cultural relativism, an important

sociological idea. It is the concept that morals are all equal, and that

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Additional Activities and Assignments

1. Case Study: Zooming In—Walmart: Global Expansion Marred by Intercultural

Blunders and Legal Woes: In this case study, students will read a description of

a. The late marketing guru Theodore Levitt, who coined the term globalization,

argued that the customer is central to all business endeavors. However, his

most provocative assertion, debated to this day, is that the “global

corporation” of the future would sell standardized consumer products, not

cater to local differences in taste. Walmart’s JP Suarez believes that all

customers want the same. Should companies stick to a standardized

approach or adapt to local markets?

i. Many of our Critical Thinking questions and Ethics situations could be

ii. Levitt stirred a huge controversy by arguing that global markets would

run on standardized goods at low prices due to economies of scale,

making the localization of products unnecessary. He conceded that a

different in each market.

iii. Some analysts believe that multinational companies with a proven

business model, such as Walmart’s discounting strategy, will be most

successful if they implement the techniques that made them

iv. An example of a company striking a balance between global and local

might be KFC, currently the largest fast-food enterprise in China,

which supplements its standard menu with local food items. Another

example is IKEA. The Swedish furniture behemoth has successfully

b. What domestic and global changes enable the international expansion of

companies such as Walmart?

i. Like Walmart, many domestic as well as multinational companies are

expanding their operations overseas. This expansion is largely

motivated by a desire to increase profits. As domestic markets mature

c. What other businesses have merged with overseas companies or expanded

to become multinational or global? Have you heard of any notable successes

or failures?

i. Students should be able to name many U.S. companies that are

multinational, such as Apple, Comcast, Dole Food Company, IBM,

Johnson & Johnson, Mattel, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, The Walt

2. Case Study: Zooming In—Your Turn: Applying Your Skills at Walmart: In this

case study, students will read a description of Walmart’s evolving image. They are

then asked to take on the role of a member of a team working to improve the image

of the global retailer and create a communication plan that addresses a specific

question. Break students into groups of three to five and have them complete the

assignment as a team. You may wish to have students present their work to the

class or submit their responses electronically.

a. As a junior member of a task force assembled by EVP for Corporate Affairs at

Walmart, Dan Bartlett, you are working to improve the image of the global

retailer. Despite many praiseworthy initiatives, Walmart is still viewed by

i. Walmart has struggled with image problems at home and abroad,

mainly as a result of its cost-cutting approach, strong-arming of

suppliers, displacing local businesses, conservative human resources

policies, low wages, lack of health insurance, and what some perceive

as corporate hubris.

ii. Whatever its motives, the company has launched significant green

initiatives and encouraged others to collaborate on making global

consumption more sustainable. Thanks to its immense size, Walmart

3. Chat About It: At the end of each chapter, you will find additional open-ended

questions related to the chapter material. You may assign these topics for

discussion in class, in an online chat room, or on an online discussion board. You

may also ask students to read and respond to postings made by their classmates.

(Topics #1–3 can be found in the Chapter Outline above as PPT activities.)

Topic 4: Netflix is admired for a lengthy manifesto that describes its culture.

Workers are asked to be “curious about how our different backgrounds affect us

at work, rather than pretending they don’t affect us.” “You recognize we all have

biases, and work past them. You intervene if someone else is being

marginalized.” How do you interpret these statements? What do they mean?

4. Test Your Workplace Etiquette IQ: New communication platforms and casual

workplace environments have blurred the lines of appropriateness, leaving workers

wondering how to navigate uncharted waters. Have students check their workplace

etiquette IQ by deciding whether the following statements are true or false.

Scenario 1: The best way to show confidence and friendliness when greeting

people in other countries is by shaking hands and making direct eye contact.

Answer: False. Americans tend to assume that others around the world

Intercultural Communication

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Scenario 2: When representing your organization abroad on business, you

should show your enthusiasm and friendliness with expansive gestures and first–

name conversations.

Answer: False. When abroad, it’s wise to remember that Americans are

Scenario 3: If you are traveling abroad, open doors and allow older

businesspeople to enter a room and be seated before you.

Additional Resources

Cengage Video Resources

• MindTap Videos:

o Learn It: Chapter 03 Intercultural Communication

▪ Learn It: Video Lesson 3-1

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Appendix

Generic Rubrics

Providing students with rubrics helps them understand expectations and components of

assignments. Rubrics help students become more aware of their learning process and

progress, and they improve students’ work through timely and detailed feedback.

Standard Writing Rubric

Criteria

Meets Requirements

Needs Improvement

Incomplete

Content

The assignment clearly

and comprehensively

addresses all questions

in the assignment.

conclusions are logically

related and consistent.

arguments, and

conclusions are mostly

logically related and

consistent.

7 points

logically related and

consistent.

0 points

The assignment partially

addresses some or all

questions in the

assignment.

The assignment does not

address the questions in

the assignment.

0 points

Research

The assignment is based

upon appropriate and

adequate academic

literature, including peer

reviewed journals and

other scholarly work.

5 points

The assignment is based

upon adequate

academic literature but

does not include peer

reviewed journals and

other scholarly work.

3 points

The assignment is not

based upon appropriate

and adequate academic

literature and does not

include peer reviewed

journals and other

scholarly work.

0 points

The assignment follows

the required citation

guidelines.

5 points

The assignment follows

some of the required

citation guidelines.

3 points

The assignment does not

follow the required

citation guidelines.

0 points

and spelling errors.

unintelligible.

Standard Discussion Rubric

Criteria

Meets Requirements

Needs Improvement

Incomplete

Participation

Participates in or

submits discussion by

the posted deadlines.

Follows instructions for

initial post and

responses.

Comments motivate

other students to

respond.

20 points

discussion topic.

Comments may not

motivate other students

to respond.

Does not participate in

or submit discussion by

the posted deadlines.

Does not follow

instructions for initial

post and responses.

Does not participate in

discussion.

0 points