Chapter 4
Chapter 4 Discussion Questions
1. What specifically would the experience of living and working in another country contribute to your skills and effectiveness as a manager in your own country? 2. What might be some long-term ramifications of the war in Iraq for U.S. managers and companies operating internationally? 3. What do you think is your strongest component of cultural intelligence? Your weakest? How would you go about shoring up your weaknesses? 4. What steps could a company take to avoid making product design and marketing mistakes when introducing new products into East Germany? How would you go about hiring a plant manager for a facility you are planning to build in East Germany? 5. Compare the advantages associated with the foreign-market entry strategies of exporting, licensing, and wholly owned subsidiaries. What information would you need to collect and what factors would you consider when selecting a strategy? 6. Should a multinational corporation operate as a tightly integrated, worldwide business system, or would it be more effective to let each national subsidiary operate autonomously? 7. What does it mean to say that the world is becoming borderless? That large companies are stateless? 8. Two U.S. companies are competing to take over a large factory in the Czech Republic. One delegation tours the facility and asks questions about how the plant might be run more efficiently. The other delegation focuses on ways to improve working conditions and produce a better product. Which delegation do you think is more likely to succeed with the plant? Why? What information would you want to collect to decide whether to acquire the plant for your company? 9. What is meant by the cultural values of individualism and power distance? How might these values affect organization design and management processes? 10. How do you think trade alliances such as NAFTA, the EU, and ASEAN might affect you as a future
1. What specifically would the experience of living and working in another country contribute to your skills and effectiveness as a manager in your own country? 2. What might be some long-term ramifications of the war in Iraq for U.S. managers and companies operating internationally? 3. What do you think is your strongest component of cultural intelligence? Your weakest? How would you go about shoring up your weaknesses? 4. What steps could a company take to avoid making product design and marketing mistakes when introducing new products into East Germany? How would you go about hiring a plant manager for a facility you are planning to build in East Germany? 5. Compare the advantages associated with the foreign-market entry strategies of exporting, licensing, and wholly owned subsidiaries. What information would you need to collect and what factors would you consider when selecting a strategy? 6. Should a multinational corporation operate as a tightly integrated, worldwide business system, or would it be more effective to let each national subsidiary operate autonomously? 7. What does it mean to say that the world is becoming borderless? That large companies are stateless? 8. Two U.S. companies are competing to take over a large factory in the Czech Republic. One delegation tours the facility and asks questions about how the plant might be run more efficiently. The other delegation focuses on ways to improve working conditions and produce a better product. Which delegation do you think is more likely to succeed with the plant? Why? What information would you want to collect to decide whether to acquire the plant for your company? 9. What is meant by the cultural values of individualism and power distance? How might these values affect organization design and management processes? 10. How do you think trade alliances such as NAFTA, the EU, and ASEAN might affect you as a future