CHAPTER 2

Chapter 2: The Cultural Environment of International Business

1.       What does it mean by cross cultural risks in business?

A situation/event where cultural miscommunication puts some human value at stake.

2.       What does it mean by culture?

It refers to the learned, shared, and enduring orientation patterns in a society.

3.       What three types are of cross cultural risk exacerbation?

i)                    Ethnocentric Orientation

Using our own culture as the standard for judging other cultures.

ii)                   Polycentric Orientation

A host country mindset where the manager develops a greater affinity with the country in which she or he conducts business.

iii)                 Geocentric Orientation

A global mindset where the manager is able to understand a business or market without regard to country boundaries.

4.       What are culture are not?

i)                    Not right/wrong

ii)                   Not about individual behavior

iii)                 Not inherited

5.       What is the meaning of socialization?

The process of learning the rules and behavioral patterns appropriate to one’s given society.

6.       What does it mean by acculturation?

It is the process of adjusting and adapting a culture other than one’s own.

7.       What is cultural metaphor?

A distinctive tradition or institution strongly associates with a particular society.

8.        What does it mean by stereotype in culture?

Generalization about a group of people that may or may not be factual, after overlooking real, deeper difference.

9.       What does it mean by idiom?

An expression whose symbolic meaning is different from its literal meaning.

10.   What is the difference between Hall’s high and low context cultures?

Low Context	High Context
-          A culture that relies on elaborate verbal explanations, putting much emphasis on spoken words -          Get down to business first -          Expertise & performance are valued -          Agreement emphasize specific, legalistic contract -          Negotiation are efficient as possible	-          A culture that emphasizes nonverbal messages and views communication as a means to promote smooth, harmonious relationship -          Establish social trust first -          Personal relations and goodwill are valued -          Agreement emphasize trust -          Negotiations are slow and ritualistic

11.   What are the key dimensions of culture? (MR V P PD)

i)                    Value and attitudes

ii)                   Deal Vs relationship orientation

iii)                 Manners and customs

iv)                 Perception of time

v)                  Perception of space

vi)                 Religion

12.   What is monochronic and polychronic?

Monochronic	Polychronic
It is a rigid orientation to time, in which the ind. focused on schedules, punctuality, and time as a resource.	It is a flexible, nonlinear orientation to time, in which the individual takes a long term perspective and is capable of attending to multiple task simultaneously.

13.   What are the managerial guidelines for cross-cultural success?

G1:   Acquire factual and interpretive knowledge about the other culture, and try to speak to  

         their language.

G2:  Avoid cultural bias

G3: Develop cross-cultural skills