Case Study Report-Alice Li(201030500748)
Ugandan cultural attributes that affect operations of a foreign company operating
Alice Li (李丹阳)
201030500748
School of Business Administration
SOUTH CHINA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Abstract
International business includes people from different cultures, and every business function is subject to potential cultural problems. An international company must be sensitive to these cultural differences in order to predict and control its relationship and operations. Hydro Generation (HG), the multinational company, was also faced with a new cultural environment in Uganda due to its first dam project in Africa. The present study was conducted to describe Ugandan cultural attributes that might affect operations of a foreign company operating. The paper starts with conceptual study, in which major dimensions of cultural attributes were summarized as well as the way they affecting a foreign company, then it came to a detailed discussion in cultural attributes based on Uganda’s background. Finally it was concluded that the international business requires thorough research of the other country’s culture and there is a need for the multinational company to accommodate to different standards of doing business in the foreign country.
Introduction
Increased global activity has led firms around the world often in collaboration with partners to seek new markets for their products, new sources of raw materials, parts, and components, and new, more cost-effective locations for manufacturing and assembly operations, some of these foreign ventures succeed, but many do not, and the inability of firms and their managers to adjust to the demands of the international business environment has been advanced as a primary cause of international business failures (Apud et al., 2003). Indeed, a best-selling compilation of international business failures (Ricks, 1999) is now in its third edition and, in many documented cases, a major factor in the failure
Alice Li (李丹阳)
201030500748
School of Business Administration
SOUTH CHINA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Abstract
International business includes people from different cultures, and every business function is subject to potential cultural problems. An international company must be sensitive to these cultural differences in order to predict and control its relationship and operations. Hydro Generation (HG), the multinational company, was also faced with a new cultural environment in Uganda due to its first dam project in Africa. The present study was conducted to describe Ugandan cultural attributes that might affect operations of a foreign company operating. The paper starts with conceptual study, in which major dimensions of cultural attributes were summarized as well as the way they affecting a foreign company, then it came to a detailed discussion in cultural attributes based on Uganda’s background. Finally it was concluded that the international business requires thorough research of the other country’s culture and there is a need for the multinational company to accommodate to different standards of doing business in the foreign country.
Introduction
Increased global activity has led firms around the world often in collaboration with partners to seek new markets for their products, new sources of raw materials, parts, and components, and new, more cost-effective locations for manufacturing and assembly operations, some of these foreign ventures succeed, but many do not, and the inability of firms and their managers to adjust to the demands of the international business environment has been advanced as a primary cause of international business failures (Apud et al., 2003). Indeed, a best-selling compilation of international business failures (Ricks, 1999) is now in its third edition and, in many documented cases, a major factor in the failure
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