Short Answer Question CM

Student’s name: _____________________
Chapter 4
1) Define culture and list its characteristics as agreed by most scholars.
2) In the context of the cultural impact on international management, list some specific
examples where the culture of a society can directly affect management approaches.
3) Briefly describe the original four dimensions that were examined by Dutch researcher Geert
Hofstede.
4) In the context of Trompenaars's relationship orientations, differentiate between an

achievement culture and an ascription culture.
An achievement culture is one in which people are accorded status based on how well they perform their
functions. An ascription culture is one in which status is attributed based on who or what a person is.
Achievement cultures give high status to high achievers, such as the company’s number-one salesperson
or the medical researcher who has found a cure for a rare form of bone cancer. Ascription cultures accord
status based on age, gender, or social connections. For example, in an ascription culture, a person who
has been with the company for 40 years may be listened to carefully because of the respect that others
have for the individual’s age and longevity with the firm, and an individual who has friends in high
places may be afforded status because of whom she knows. As shown in Figure 4–10, Austria, the United
States, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom are achievement cultures, while Venezuela, Indonesia, and
China are ascription cultures. Trompenaars recommends that when individuals from achievement
cultures do business in ascription cultures, they should make sure that their group has older, senior, and
formal position holders who can impress the other side, and they should respect the status and influence
of their counterparts in the other group. Conversely, he recommends that when individuals from
ascription cultures do business in achievement cultures, they should make sure that their group has
sufficient data, technical advisers, and knowledgeable people to convince the other group that they are
proficient, and they should respect the knowledge and information of their counterparts on the other team
Chapter 6:
5) What is organizational culture, and what are some of its major characteristics?
6) Discuss findings of Hofstede and Andre Laurent about the relationship between national and
organizational culture.
7) What are the four types of organizational cultures identified by Fons Trompenaars? Provide a
brief description of each of these cultures.
8) Discuss some of the potential problems associated with diversity.

Diversity may cause a lack of cohesion that results in the unit’s inability to take concerted action, be
productive, and create a work environment that is conducive to both efficiency and effectiveness. These
potential problems are rooted in people’s attitudes. An example of an attitudinal problem in a diverse
group may be the mistrust of others. For example, many U.S. managers who work for Japanese
operations in the United States complain that Japanese managers often huddle together and discuss
matters in their native language. The U.S. managers wonder aloud why the Japanese do not speak
English. What are they talking about that they do not want anyone else to hear? In fact, the Japanese
often find it easier to communicate among themselves in their native language, and because no
Americans are present, the Japanese managers ask why they should speak English. If there is no reason
for anyone else to be privy to our conversation, why should we not opt for our own language?
Nevertheless, such practices do tend to promote an atmosphere of mistrust. Another potential problem
may be perceptual. Unfortunately, when culturally diverse groups come together, they often bring
preconceived stereotypes with them. In initial meetings, for example, engineers from economically
advanced countries often are perceived as more knowledgeable than those from less advanced countries.
In turn, this perception can result in status-related problems because some of the group initially are
regarded as more competent than others and likely are accorded status on this basis. As the diverse group
works together, erroneous perceptions often are corrected, but this takes time. In one diverse group
consisting of engineers from a major Japanese firm and a world-class U.S. firm, a Japanese engineer was
assigned a technical task because of his stereotyped technical educational background. The group soon
realized that this particular Japanese engineer was not capable of doing this job because for the last four
years, he had been responsible for coordinating routine quality and no longer was on the technological
cutting edge. His engineering degree from the University of Tokyo had resulted in the other members
perceiving him as technically competent and able to carry out the task; this perception proved to be
incorrect. A related problem is inaccurate biases. For example, it is well known that Japanese companies
depend on groups to make decisions. Entrepreneurial behavior, individualism, and originality are
typically downplayed.49 However, in a growing number of Japanese firms, this stereotype is proving to
be incorrect.
Still another potential problem with diverse groups is miscommunication or inaccurate

communication, which can occur for a number of reasons. Misunderstandings can be caused by a
speaker using words that are not clear to other members. For example, in a diverse group in which one of
the authors was working, a British manager told her U.S. colleagues, “I will fax you this report in a
fortnight.” When the author asked the Americans when they would be getting the report, most of them
believed it would be arriving in four days. They did not know that the common British word fortnight (14
nights) means two weeks. Another contribution to miscommunication may be the way in which situations
are interpreted. Many Japanese nod their heads when others talk, but this does not mean that they agree
with what is being said. They are merely being polite and attentive. In many societies, it is impolite to say
no, and if the listener believes that the other person wants a positive answer, the listener will say yes even
though this is incorrect. As a result, many U.S. managers find out that promises made by individuals from
other cultures cannot be taken at face value—and in many instances, the other individual assumes that the
American realizes this! Diversity also may lead to communication problems because of different
perceptions of time. For example, many Japanese will not agree to a course of action on the spot. They
will not act until they have discussed the matter with their own people because they do not feel
empowered to act alone. Many Latin managers refuse to be held to a strict timetable because they do not
have the same time urgency that U.S. managers do.
Chapter 7
9) Briefly describe the three degrees of communication quantity.
There are three degrees of communication quantity— elaborate, exacting, and succinct. In high-context
societies, the elaborate style is often very common. There is a great deal of talking, description includes
much detail, and people often repeat themselves. This elaborate style is widely used in Arabic countries.
The exacting style is more common in nations such as England, Germany, and Sweden. This style
focuses on precision and the use of the right amount of words to convey the message. If a person uses too
many words, this is considered exaggeration; if the individual relies on too few, the result is an
ambiguous message. The succinct style is most common in Asia, where people tend to say few words and
allow understatements, pauses, and silence to convey meaning. In particular, in unfamiliar situations,
communicators are succinct in order to avoid risking a loss of face.
Researchers have found that the elaborating style is more popular in high-context cultures that have a
moderate degree of uncertainty avoidance. The exacting style is more common in low-context, low-
uncertainty-avoidance cultures. The succinct style is more common in high-context cultures with
considerable uncertainty avoidance.
10) What is the difference between downward communication and upward communication?
What is the primary purpose of each?
11) How does culture impact communication?

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Student’s name: _____________________

4) In the context of Trompenaars's relationship orientations, differentiate between an

8) Discuss some of the potential problems associated with diversity.

Still another potential problem with diverse groups is miscommunication or inaccurate

11) How does culture impact communication?

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