International Organizational Behavior 2e Chapter 1 Activities Page 1
CHAPTER 1
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR:
CHALLENGES AND OPTIONS FOR MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER ACTIVITIES
DEVELOPING YOUR INTERNATIONAL CAREER – Do You Have a “Global Mindset”?
One of the themes in this book is that success in an international context requires a deep
understanding of cultures, organizational behavior, and yourself. Having self-insight
sufficient to grasp your strengths and weaknesses is the key to effectively managing
organizational behavior, especially on an overseas assignment. But how can you build self-
insight? Moreover, what specific strengths or attributes are critical for successful overseas
leadership, broadly defined—and how can you actually assess them? Individuals who
possess the three elements of a global mindset—social, psychological, and intellectual
capital—are most likely to do well abroad.
Psychological capital has to do with your openness to new experiences—being energized
by foreign contexts, having a sense of adventure, and being passionate about engaging with
other parts of the world.
Fortunately, an instrument has been created to measure the elements of a global mindset.
It has over 70 items and has been tested on nearly 1,000 executives. Indeed, executives
who had higher scores also tended to receive better performance evaluations in
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Global Mindset Sampler
Please answer the following questions according to the scale below.
1
2
3
4
5
Not at all
Small extent
Moderate extent
Large extent
Very large extent
Element 1—Social Capital Questions: Do You …
_____ 1. understand the nonverbal expressions made by people in several different cultures?
________Total Social Capital Score
Element 2—Psychological Capital Questions: Do You …
_____ 1. feel comfortable even when you aren’t in control of a situation?
_____ 2. seek to challenge yourself in new ways?
________Total Psychological Capital Score
Element 3—Intellectual Capital Questions: Do You …
_____ 1. discuss ramifications of world evens with friends and colleagues?
_____ 2. know about major religions in the world and their impact on society?
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________Total Intellectual Capital Score
Interpreting Your Scores
The questions above will give you a snapshot of how likely you are to perform at a high
level in an international position. Consequently, we suggest you add up your scores and see
how well you did in each of the three elements associated with a global mindset.
MAKING THE CASE FOR INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING – The New BRIC Giants:
Following the Path of Japan Inc.?
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, every other magazine cover seemed to feature a new
management technique that was helping Japanese firms succeed internationally. We heard
all about the Toyota Way, the Honda Way, and the Mitsubishi Way—and with good reason
slide—these BRIC countries saw their combined share of Global 500 revenues rise by
nearly ten times. But do firms that rise meteorically fall rapidly as well? If so, what does
this mean for the recent success of companies from BRIC countries and other developing
nations? Will they lose steam as Japan did or find ways to adjust and protect their gains, a
trajectory followed by some American and European firms?
Several factors will determine whether BRIC countries can stay globally competitive over
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unable to adapt their management approaches and cultures—features responsible for the
growth of their export economy—into something sustainable. Japanese firms gave too
much credit to their cultures, as defined by corporate policies and ways of viewing
problems (“Devotion to the Way”).
But while their methods helped Japanese firms grow exports, they hindered success in
setting up foreign operations. The automatic application of “The Way” was a mistake
reflecting the assumption that what worked at home would also work in foreign
operations. In exporting their methods, Japanese firms sent many more expatriates
overseas than did their U.S. and European counterparts—on average, twice as many. Once
abroad, Japanese expats searched for loyal adherents—as one Japanese manager said, “I
don’t want to hire someone who is too American or German. They will not fit our company
and way of doing things.” Subsequently, Japanese firms began to stumble. In the mobile
phone industry, firms such as Sharp, Panasonic, Fujitsu, NEC, Toshiba, and Sony all tried to
replicate abroad what had worked in Japan using home-market thinking. The results were
phones not tailored to specific foreign markets. All of these firms eventually lost their
shirts.
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But a homogenous, cooperative workforce at home did not help prepare Japanese firms for
their ventures abroad. Indeed, many Japanese firms encountered human resource
management setbacks overseas. Take the masculine culture that characterizes many
Japanese firms for example. These views, and the behaviors that accompany them, might be
overlooked, if not appreciated, in Tokyo. But in the U.S. such attitudes can prove costly and
damage reputations. For instance, at a Mitsubishi plant in Illinois, sexist attitudes in
employment ads led to lawsuits about systematic harassment of women and resulted in a
$35 million fine. Other Japanese firms have experienced similar problems.
So the question remains—are BRIC countries and the companies that call them home well
positioned for the future or do they have big challenges to face down the line? Japan Inc.
rose to international prominence in a short period of time, only to fall back. Perhaps the
BRIC countries can learn from this cautionary tale—and your analysis.
ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
1. Identify one firm on the current Global 500 list from each of the four BRIC
countries. Do these firms rely on and promote a set of “Ways” for operating? If
so, what are those ways? Do they parallel what we saw in Japanese firms?
2. What is the nature of the domestic markets in BRIC countries? How are foreign
the implications of this in your view?
4. For the four BRIC-based firms identified in Question 1, what is the makeup of
their top management? How much foreign experience is represented?
5. Taking everything into consideration, how likely is it that BRIC countries, and
the firms based there, will eventually experience what happened in Japan?