MBA 670 Strategic Decision Making Assignment- University of Maryland Global Campus
Assess the Characteristics of MediCorp's Potential Customers in the Selected Country
International Cultural Differences
Communications, teamwork, organizational hierarchy, and positive attitudes toward management roles are essential in any organization. These are crucial in international business, as problems are often exacerbated by subtle cross-cultural differences. When defining roles in multinational teams whose members have diverse attitudes and expectations about organizational hierarchy, these cultural differences can present a challenge.
Culture is a system of values and norms that is shared among a group of people. The ways people interact socially, their mutual expectations, and the values they share all have consequences for doing business and managing across cross-cultural boundaries.
How a country's cultural differences relate to international business can be seen in the following examples:
1) In Japan, social hierarchy and respect for seniority are highly valued and are reflected at the workplace. Those in senior management positions command respect and expect a formality and deference from junior team members.
2) In Scandinavian countries, societal equality is emphasized. Workplaces therefore tend to have a comparatively flat organizational hierarchy. In turn, this organization can result in relatively informal communication and an emphasis on cooperation across the organization.
3) The way to address colleagues and business partners varies in different countries. While Americans and Canadians tend to use first names, in Asian countries such as South Korea, China, and Singapore, colleagues tend to use the formal address, Mr. or Ms. So do Germans and many Europeans.
4) The concept of punctuality also differs between cultures. Where an American may arrive at a meeting a few minutes early, an Indian or Mexican colleague may arrive well after the scheduled start time and still be considered on time.
5) Attitudes to work also differ. While some may consider working long hours a sign of commitment, others may view it as an encroachment on their personal time and a sacrifice of essential family time.
6) Greeting customs are highly culture- and situation-specific. In the United States and Canada, a simple handshake while looking a person in the eye is the norm. In Japan, bowing is the traditional greeting-the deeper the bow, the greater the respect shown. In India, you put hands together as in prayer and say "namaste." In Arab countries, men might hug and kiss each other (but not a woman) on the cheek.
7) In Latin America and the Middle East, the acceptable physical distance needed to respect someone's personal space is much shorter than what most Europeans and Americans feel comfortable with.
8) Different cultures have different meaning for identical words. The Swedish vacuum cleaner manufacturer Electrolux introduced a print advertisement with the tagline "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux." While the ad was successful in Britain, it was a disaster in the US market.
Several scholar-practitioners have studied cultural differences and their influence on international business. At the end of the 1970s, the Dutch social psychologist Dr. Geert Hofstede published an internationally recognized standard for understanding cultural differences. Hofstede studied IBM employees in more than 50 countries. Initially, he identified four dimensions that could distinguish one culture from another. Later, he added fifth and sixth dimensions, in cooperation with Dr. Michael H. Bond and Dr. Michael Minkov.
• The six dimensions of national culture are as follows:
• power distance index (high vs. low)
• individualism vs. collectivism
• masculinity vs. femininity
• uncertainty avoidance index (high vs. low)
• long- vs. short-term orientation (also known as pragmatic vs. normative)
• indulgence vs. restraint
Hofstede demonstrated that there are national and regional cultural groups that influence the behavior of societies and organizations. The table below describes these dimensions of country cultures and their implications for international business.
Format your assignment according to the give formatting requirements:
1. The answer must be double spaced, typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the course title, the student's name, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.
Attachment:- Project-Report-Template.rar