International Business Chapter 3 Homework The purpose of this exercise is to become knowledgeable about how people in different cultures and countries negotiate

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International Organizational Behavior 2e Chapter 3 Activities Page 1

CHAPTER 3

MANAGING CONFLICT WITH EFFECTIVE

COMMUNICATION AND NEGOTIATION

CHAPTER ACTIVITIES

DEVELOPING YOUR INTERNATIONAL CAREER – Researching a Foreign Language

Purpose and Instructions

The goal of this exercise is to examine a few basic elements of a language with which you

are not familiar, and to recognize problems that foreign nationals might have as they apply

their basic language tools to English.

It is unlikely, for example, that many students (or professors) are very familiar with

languages such as Afrikaans, Arabic, Dutch, Farsi, Hindi, Japanese, Russian, Swahili, Turkish

(among many others), and this site will provide numerous such choices.

Once you choose a language, you should begin to gather information that will give you a bit

of insight into some basic features of the language and those individuals who speak it. In

• What are the origins of the language? How is it related to other language families?

International Organizational Behavior 2e Chapter 3 Activities Page 2

• What is unique or specific to the language (e.g., its grammar, syntax, accent marks,

• What types of challenge might native speakers of this language face when

communicating to English speakers? That is, what are some transfer issues if they

tried to speak in English (e.g., their tones, accents, sounds that are wildly different)

and if their communication was translated into English by others?

• Do you have any recommendations for communication training, or a possible set of

guidelines or advice to give speakers of this language?

Once you’ve chosen a language and considered the above questions, you can begin your

research. There are several good sources to begin your work on this assignment:

nearly 200 such dictionaries offer complete translations of phrases that you enter in

English.

information provided on the site. So, we draw your attention here also. Presented

here are a large number of links to language families and many language meta-sites.

Some of these will be helpful for the background research required in this

assignment.

• Other Sources for Your Research

International Organizational Behavior 2e Chapter 3 Activities Page 3

MAKING THE CASE FOR INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING – Improving

International Communication at Teknovus Inc.

The communication challenges were formidable, many centering on the need to respond

better to clients’ needs. International management expert Mary Brannen, a professor at the

prestigious INSEAD Business School in France, has advised companies such as Cisco on

multicultural problems like those faced by Teknovus. Her experience suggests that many

integration problems in cross-national operations are exacerbated by the mistrust and

frustration that comes with long-distance communications across different languages. The

Teknovus experience seemed to fit the mold. Company executives targeted customers in

Japan, South Korea, and China for their semiconductors because of the product’s

to seek help from Teknovus’ engineers. Tensions rose on both sides, especially among the

engineers at headquarters who expressed frustration over repeated changes made to the

technical specs from the various overseas offices in South Korea and China, among others.

The engineers did not understand the reason for the requests—requests that required

significant attention and time, and which could have been avoided in the initial design go-

around. As a result, when overseas customers requested new features or bells and whistles,

Teknovus engineers sometimes resisted. For example, when Japanese engineers sought

detailed reports for problems they experienced, U.S. engineers were puzzled and irritated.

International Organizational Behavior 2e Chapter 3 Activities Page 4

based in China and Japan, most recently as general manager for a telecom firm. Thus, Mr.

Caltabiano fit the position “specs” well. But, it was not the technical side per se where

changes were made by the new CEO. Indeed, over the last two years he has begun building

Assignment Questions

1. Given what you know from your reading in this chapter, what do you think Greg

Caltabiano did to improve communications, which in turn had these positive effects on

company performance?

3. In your answer to #2, consider the different communication modes (written, verbal,

and nonverbal) as sources of both the communication problems and the possible

solution.

International Organizational Behavior 2e Chapter 3 Activities Page 5

DEVELOPING YOU INTERNATIONAL CAREER – Characteristic Negotiation Styles

around the Globe

Purpose and Instructions

The purpose of this exercise is to become knowledgeable about how people in different

cultures and countries negotiate, as well as why they seem to prefer a particular style. The

answers to the “why” question can help you avoid difficulty in negotiation or, if it occurs,

can help you manage your way out of that trouble.

Several web sites might be useful in your research. Your instructor might also suggest

other sites at which to find information. Consider the following:

• Global Negotiator. This is a useful site for those interested in cross-cultural

• U.S. Department of State Country Background Notes. Like most pages maintained

• The Economist Country Profiles. The Economist magazine is well known, but its

• The CIA World Factbook This is a complete and detailed source of information about

Based on your research, each group should:

• Meet to discuss the cultural values of your location, and some of the possible behaviors

these values might produce in a negotiation setting.

• Next, make some predictions about how negotiators from that culture act as a result.

International Organizational Behavior 2e Chapter 3 Activities Page 6

• Additionally, make predictions about how this style might mesh with those of business

people from the U.S. (or your own home country).

• Finally, come up with a strategic negotiating response for each of the predicted

negotiating behaviors.

International Organizational Behavior 2e Chapter 3 Activities Page 7

MAKING THE CASE FOR INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING – Conflict Crosses the

Border: Negotiations between Mexicans and Americans

Two companies—one from the U.S. and the other from Sweden—were vying for a lucrative

contract from the Mexican government, and both firms had already jumped several hurdles

in efforts to get the business. Each was invited to Mexico City to present proposals to

Ministry officials as a start to the process of negotiating the terms of the proposed deal.

Arrangements for a fancy hotel conference room were made so that they could make the

best possible presentation to the Ministry officials. In a demonstration of due diligence, and

to impress their potential customer, they brought all the necessary equipment with them,

and had mailed outlines of the presentation to officials two weeks ahead of time. Likewise,

they proposed a detailed schedule and other arrangements in a memo to the officials along

with the presentation. For their part, the Mexican officials dutifully thanked the Americans

for their information and said they looked forward to meeting with them and finding out

more about their proposal and their firm. They provided information about the history of

their agency and the top members of the current Ministry.

Proceedings began with informal introductions of the team members by the presenter. The

presentation itself was flawlessly delivered, thanks to endless practice. But, about 20

minutes into the presentation, the Minister himself, with an entourage of other officials,

walked in. When he figured out what was going on, his demeanor turned unpleasant.

Angrily, he asked the Americans to start the presentation over, with which they complied.

Once more, the presentation was going well until about 10 minutes later when an aide

International Organizational Behavior 2e Chapter 3 Activities Page 8

Later, during lunch, the Americans felt that they had to be very forceful about keeping the

conversation focused on the topic at hand—the contract and any outstanding issues or

problems they could address. Most of the conversation was again seemingly casual, having

little or nothing to do with the business at hand—not unlike earlier during the

presentation. The Americans were surprised by the many questions about their individual

backgrounds and personal experience, including their qualifications. The Minister breezed

in during the lunch, had a brief but casual conversation with the American team leader, and

then left—not to return.

ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

1. Summarize how the reactions of each side may have been influenced by cultural

differences, including the culture issues at work here and the typical Mexican and U.S.

approaches to these issues. Put differently, what is your diagnosis of the problems here

and the reasons for the breakdown in the process?

2. Provide suggestions about how each side could respond better and adapt to the other