Decision Making for Global Expatriates Essay
The training manager that you assisted in Module 3 has returned to you for further assistance. He was quite impressed with the research and profile you offered for making expatriate assignments to China. He is asking for your guidance to be able to make better global expatriate assignments.
To perform this service for him, you need to apply Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to organizational behavior in the United States and a country of your choosing. To obtain a greater depth of information about your chosen country and its cultural practices you need to draw from at least two additional external scholarly references as well as the Hofstede model. A scholarly reference consists of journal articles from the Excelsior College library or Google Scholar. You may also use websites that are from .edu, .org, or .gov. Please avoid using .com websites. To be thorough, your analysis needs to include a variety of relevant areas such as business, communications, social, and familial, etc.
Before You Begin
Review the assigned articles:
• Sanderson, G. (2007). The strengths and limitations of using essentialist cultural theory to understand international students. (Links to an external site.) (Doctoral dissertation, ISANA International Education Association). http://isana.proceedings.com.au/docs/2007/isana_sanderson (Downloadable PDF Version) Download (Downloadable PDF Version)
• Signorini, P., Wiesemes, R., & Murphy, R. (2009). Developing alternative frameworks for exploring intercultural learning: a critique of Hofstede’s cultural difference model. (Links to an external site.) Teaching in Higher Education, 14(3), 253-264.
• Taras, V., Rowney, J., & Steel, P. (2009). Half a century of measuring culture: Review of approaches, challenges, and limitations based on the analysis of 121 instruments for quantifying culture. Journal of International Management, 15(4), 357-373.
ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS
Being that you already analyzed China in the Module 3 discussion forum, you need to select another country via Hofstede Insights: Country Comparison. (Links to an external site.) To compile this additional analysis for the training manager, synthesize what you learned from Hofstede’s website about both the U.S. and the country you selected by providing the following:
Section A
1. Provide a comparison of at least three cultural examples of your chosen country with the U.S. For example, a handshake is appropriate as a business greeting in the U.S. In China, however, one might bow, and a kiss on either cheek would be extended as a greeting in Spain. (about 300 words)
2. Justification for three recommendations you have made for training US expatriates to work in the country you have selected. (about 400 words)
Section B
Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are a useful tool in terms of providing insights into cultural differences across the globe. Nonetheless, this framework has a number of limitations and it is important for managers to be aware of these limitations as part of decision making. In this section, you should discuss:
3. Any two limitations of Hofstede’s model. (Hint: see the included readings. In particular pay attention to the discussion on pp. 4-7 of Sanderson (2007). (about 300 words)
4. How these limitations will influence anyone of your recommendations in Section A-Question 2. (about 300 words)
Where needed, strengthen your report by citing examples.
Tips for Students
Historically, students that have done well on this assignment have conducted outside research on cultural practices of both the chosen country and the US and have compared them side by side in each of those examples. It is important to provide creative and insightful comparisons of the same scenario for both countries and to include current issues where relevant. Thinking about things that are relevant to the time frame that someone will be abroad:
• What does it mean for their families?
• How does this manifest itself in the country of comparison?
It is beneficial for you to use fewer generic answers and instead, provide more details that indicate that thought critically about the subject and your chosen country. Generic answers receive lower grades.
You will also notice that Part B, focuses on limitations. We want to ensure that students are aware of theory but at the same time that students can consider the decision-making implications of these limitations.
Your analysis should be approximately 1200-1400 words, have a title page, and include a minimum of 3 references formatted in APA style.
This course has Turnitin® fully integratcgoed into the course dropbox.
