Business Communication Chapter 3 Homework The late marketing guru Theodore Levitt, who coined the term globalization, argued that the customer is central to all business endeavors

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Solution and Answer Guide

Table of Contents

Zooming In—Critical Thinking Answers …………………………………………………………………………… 1

Walmart: Global Expansion Marred by Intercultural Blunders and Legal Woes …………………………………. 1

Zooming In—Your Turn Solution ……………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Applying Your Skills at Walmart ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

Ethics Check Answers …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Cultural Change: From Sexist to Gender-Neutral Language ……………………………………………………………. 4

How Ugly Are Today’s U.S. Tourists? …………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

Critical Thinking Answers ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6

Activities Solutions …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9

Zooming In—Critical Thinking Answers

Walmart: Global Expansion Marred by Intercultural Blunders and Legal Woes

• 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?

Solution

Many of our Critical Thinking questions and Ethics situations could be staged as student

the past. Convenience may be a shared desire of consumers worldwide, but the solutions for

delivering it are different in each market.

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

This question has no right or wrong answer. Its goal is to make students think about the

significance of culture in the increasingly global and hyperconnected business environment.

• What domestic and global changes enable the international expansion of companies

such as Walmart?

Solution

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. To

do this, companies need to expand. As domestic markets mature and growth declines,

• What other businesses have merged with overseas companies or expanded to become

multinational or global? Have you heard of any notable successes or failures?

Solution

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 Disney Company, Xerox, and many more. Nearly every large company is now

multinational, although not all of them are enjoying success in their global ventures. One

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Zooming In—Your Turn Solution

Applying Your Skills at Walmart

• 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 many with suspicion. As a

team, discuss the global effect of Walmart’s admirable sustainability effort. Create a

communication plan that includes answers to questions such as the following: How

should Walmart spread the news about its sustainability policies to reach the broader

public and young people in particular? Consider the use of social media such as

Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Your team may be asked to explain its decision to

the class or to write a summary of the pros and cons of each option. Be prepared to

support your choice.

Solution

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.

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Ethics Check Answers

Cultural Change: From Sexist to Gender-Neutral Language

• Businesspeople used to be businessmen, police officers were policemen, and flight

attendants were stewardesses. In its style guide, NASA stipulates that human, piloted

as well as unpiloted, robotic be used for manned or unmanned space missions. A sea

change in language now dictates gender neutrality to avoid typecasting. In business,

the honorific Ms. is used for all women, regardless of their marital status. Does

language reflect just the current culture, or does it have the power to effect change

Solution

Introduce examples of other changes in language use that were the result of conscious

efforts to reflect equality between genders or were designed to show greater respect of

discussed in Chapter 4.

How Ugly Are Today’s U.S. Tourists?

• Sixty years ago the blockbuster novel The Ugly American exposed arrogant,

ethnocentric U.S. diplomats in Southeast Asia. Today’s ugliest tourists may be Chinese,

British, German, or Russian, depending on whom pollsters ask. Rowdy and drunken

behavior is the most frequently mentioned infraction. And Americans? Here are a few

behaviors that others find annoying: Referring to oneself as “American” in South

America, where Argentines or Chileans are Americans, too; being indignant that the

locals don’t accept dollars in Ireland, a eurozone country; infuriating Czechs for

confusing them with Russians, their problematic neighbor; puzzling Austrians for

choosing McDonald’s over one of the country’s legendary cafes; treating medieval

European cities like theme parks; taunting the Queen’s Guard in London; and insisting

on sightseeing in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. Most common criticisms of U.S. visitors

include sloppy attire, ignorance of local customs, and over-the-top patriotism. Are

such perceptions fair?

Solution

In the past, some surveys called out French tourists as the most odious for being cheap and

unwilling to learn foreign languages. However, 90 percent of the French vacation at home

and may, therefore, lack flexibility abroad. They are used to service charges being included

in restaurant bills, which may explain the small tips.

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Critical Thinking Answers

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

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

picture of a stork delivering a baby. Why were Japanese parents perturbed? It turns

out that the myth of a stork carrying babies to expectant parents is unknown in

Japan. Instead, according to Japanese lore, giant floating peaches deliver offspring.

Can you explain what may have caused the intercultural blunder? How could Procter

& Gamble have avoided it?

Solution

Procter & Gamble’s misstep shows a lack of preparation on the part of a multinational

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

but as members of racial, ethnic, or national groups. For example, when visiting

Europe, Americans can expect to be questioned on U. S. foreign policy, military

actions, and economic influence. How can you ensure that you function as an effective

ambassador of your country when working and traveling overseas?

Solution

Students may need to learn that when traveling or working abroad, they will be perceived as

representative of the larger U.S. culture and held responsible for or confronted about the

3. 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; Americans are loud, friendly, and impatient;

Canadians are polite, trusting, and tolerant; Asians are gracious, humble, and

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

Solution

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. When

we discuss cultures, we need to be able to make cautious generalizations. However,

unfounded and rigid generalizations about an entire people or culture can lead to bias and

prejudice.

4. 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. How

do you respond? Do you remain silent and change the subject, or do you speak up?

What other options do you have in dealing with such a coworker? Consider whether

your answer would change if the offender were your boss.

Solution

Answers will vary. Students will probably realize that they will have to choose their battles

wisely; in other words, sometimes they may want to signal to the bigot that they disagree.

5. Ethical Issue: Transparency International, the global antibribery watchdog, severely

criticizes wasta, a social norm common in many Arab countries. It is the practice of

using family and social contacts to speed up government paperwork or improve

access to schools, hospitals, or jobs. Whom people know determines the speed and

quality of services they receive. Wasta is deeply ingrained in the fabric of society.

“Wasta is a way of life.… I expect that even on Judgment Day we will need wasta too,”

said a young Arab man in an interview with Vice Magazine. After reading this chapter,

can you explain why using one’s connections to receive preferential treatment may

cause harm?

Solution

On its website, Transparency International explains why wasta is harmful to the Arab

societies that practice it. The NGO argues that favoritism based on personal connections

threatens “social and economic equality, basic human rights and the rule of law.” If some

individuals owe their success not to merit but to favoritism, the practice undermines trust in

government and jeopardizes the health and economic security of those who do not receive

preferential treatment.

It may also be valuable to address cultural relativism, an important sociological idea. It is the

concept that morals are all equal, and that no cultural system is superior to others.

Adherents refuse to judge even practices they may find morally reprehensible when they

encounter them abroad. They may be inclined to excuse even abhorrent customs in the

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Activities Solutions

3.1 Intercultural Missteps and Bias Amplified on Social Media

Solution

a. Advertising experts recommend that organizations imagine worst-case scenarios before

each launch to anticipate Internet memes and trolls who thrive on negativity. Social

media listening tools help ensure that if a crisis breaks, keywords can trigger alerts

based on those hypothetical scenarios. WW pulled the plug on the ill-fated promotion

right away. The company signaled that it knows what is happening in the world and it

cares. [Schneider, E. (2020, January 10). 4 lessons from WW’s unfortunate promoted tweet

that ran while WWIII was trending: How to be nimble when the unexpected happens. Adweek.]

Lesson: Although global events cannot be foreseen, social media launches require

monitoring 24/7. Businesses must pay attention to developments around the world to

allow swift and decisive action.

d. Facebook’s image has suffered tremendously, not least because the company has only

half-heartedly addressed political disinformation and propaganda ads on its platform.

Lesson: Don’t share customers’ data without their approval; don’t try to cover up the

misuse of private information or data breaches.

3.2 Learning From Epic Intercultural Fails

Solution

a. As a visitor in India, Jack Dorsey should have stayed out of the touchy subject of the

Hindu caste system in his public appearances. His company can institute equality–

friendly policies, but taking a public stand is risky and unseemly. Imagine foreign visitors

publicly endorsing a side in a raging, polarizing debate in the United States. Such

involvement by outsiders is mostly unwelcome.

d. Face-saving is important in China. People frown on psychological counseling because it

admits weakness and loses face. Chinese culture also values harmony. People prefer to

discuss workplace harmony than workplace conflict. In addition, China is a collectivist

culture; meeting in groups is more acceptable than one-on-one counseling.

3.3 Connecting Across Time Zones

Solution

a. Students will find a number of definitions. UTC stands for Coordinated Universal Time. It

represents the international time standard and replaces GMT (Greenwich Mean Time or

Greenwich Meridian Time). UTC is midnight in Greenwich, England, which is located at 0

degrees longitude. Everything east of Greenwich is ahead in time; everything west is

behind UTC. Weather and radar maps around the world always use this standard time

that is also called Zulu Time in aviation (zero time, in Greenwich). UTC does not observe

countries. They proposed TUC, which matches the French expression temps universel

coordonné. In the end, UTC was adopted, so that the abbreviation would be the same

globally, in any language.

d. The best time is 8 a.m. New Orleans time (UTC -6), which is 5 p.m. in Mombasa, Kenya

(UTC +3). However, calling at 7 a.m. in New Orleans would be a more courteous

connection, reaching the businessperson in Mombasa at 4 p.m., not precisely at the end

of business.

e. The Nevada-based businessperson (UTC-8) should be ready before business at 7 a.m.

her time (UTC-8), and the Colorado associate (UTC-7) would start the Zoom conference at

8 a.m. Their Dutch partner would be able to join the Zoom conference at the end of

business, at 5 p. m., or 17.00 (UCT +1) in the Central European Time zone (CET). Business

partners generally compromise on the times, so that the burden of staying late or

coming to work very early is shared equally.

3.4 Twitter: A Window to Other Countries and Cultures

Solution

To benefit fully from the follow function, students should open a Twitter account if they don’t

already have one (as should you). The account can be set up allowing varying degrees of

privacy. The short introductory training video is helpful in jump-starting competent use.