Attn Collen: 2part assignment E

#1. DUE Thursday 1/ 08 /2015 NOON…. Continue working with the company you originally chose from the Fortune’s 500 Best List ( Johnson & Johnson) http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/2006/best_worst/worst8.html

Detail Directions (See Below) – CLASSROOM FORUM DISCUSSION

1.      Perform research (minimum of 2 sources in APA format).

2.      Identify the country cluster (as identified in the text) for both your Domestic and Global environments.

3.      Include sociocultural factors that may help and hinder the company and its operations in 2 different cluster countries.

4.      Evaluate their successes and/or failures.

5.      Minimum 4 complete paragraphs; a paragraph is a minimum of 100 words.

*****Use this as one of the References: Use at least one of the sources provided below in “Reading / Resources: “.

#2 . DUE Saturday 1/ 10 /2015- NOON . Continue working with your chosen company from Fortune’s 500 Worst List ( Chosen Company is “Google”)

http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/2006/best_worst/worst8.html

Detail Directions (See Below) – FORMAL PAPER

Assignment Instructions

 

1.      Using your Domestic and Global Environments (countries) and the opposing cultural clusters (as identified in International business: theory and practice) identify which cluster(s) your two countries fit.

2.      Identify the socio-cultural parts of each country as related to business for your company.

a.       You will need to examine these with the aid of Geert Hofstede.

3.      Identify and discuss the various sociocultural aspects of each country. Do they differ? How? What are the similarities?

4.      How would these factors affect your company’s business in your Domestic and Global Environments (countries)?

5.      Research requirement: minimum 2 sources PLUS the text and Hofstede.

6.      Page requirement: 3 pages in APA format.

 

Note: ALL Assignments are submitted to turnitin.com and checked for originality.

 

****Use this as one of the References: Use at least one of the sources provided below in “Reading / Resources: “.

ADDITIONAL NOTES / INFORMATION:

The Social environment consists of how consumers, households and communities behave and their beliefs. For instance, changes in attitude towards health, or a greater number of pensioners in a population. The sociocultural environment will be language, aesthetics, education, religion, attitudes, values, social groups & organizations, and business custom practices. You will now begin to compare the social and cultural environments of the domestic and global cultures of your chosen Fortune 500 Best List Company. Continue to Lesson 6 for more information and details.

What is sociocultural? Just as the political/legal environment had many facets to it, so too does the sociocultural environment. Its two main categories are society and culture. Society can be defined as a political and social entity defined by its geography. For instance, we have the US society, but we also have the society of the south, the north, Midwest, and west. For this week, just focus on the overall country’s society (i.e. the US). Since people make up a society, the cultures will be vastly different depending on where you go, even with countries that speak the same language. Take the US and England, for instance. Both speak English, but both are vastly different. There is a cultural barrier that exists. A culture is comprised of its attitudes, beliefs, and customs of its people. The International business: theory and practice text incorporates a great table (9.1) that symbolizes some common things in all cultures, like time.

 When deciding to become a global company, it is important to understand the sociocultural factors of the country you want to enter. For instance, what are the attitudes and beliefs about work and leisure time? In the US, it’s work, work, and work. In France, for instance, they are required to take a month for vacation and it is usually in the summer (July or August). Their typical work week is 35 hours. 

Geert Hofstede is a well known researcher on various aspects of this topic for numerous countries. He created 5 cultural dimensions and shows where each country is with each dimension. For instance, the Power Distance Index (PDI) identifies how the power is distributed in the country among its members (family and organizations, women and men). Japan, for example, values the power of seniority; it is expected the lower level workers show respect to the higher level employees and the higher up you are the more power you have. How is this helpful for a global environment? If you are an American business person going into Japan to conduct business, you need to be very aware of their hierarchy. Certain people can make decisions. Certain people are not included in negotiations. Remember, you are in their country. In addition, use the BUSN310 guide for additional resources.

  All Sources must be “Scholarly Article or Book”. A scholarly article or book generally is based on original research or experimentation. It is written by a researcher or expert in the field who is often affiliated with a college or university. Most scholarly writing includes footnotes and/or a bibliography and may include graphs or charts as illustrations as opposed to glossy pictures. In addition, articles that appear in scholarly journals or book that are published by academic presses, are subject to a peer-review process, which means that other "experts" or specialist in the field evaluate the quality and originality of the research as precondition of publication. The peer-review (as opposed to editorial review) process is also one thing that sets scholarly journals apart from journals that may otherwise seem quite similar. Journals such as Foreign Affairs, for instance, are generally not considers "scholarly journals," because many of the articles are solicited by the magazine's editors; in addition many of the articles are written by policy-makers who may be expressing an informed view, but whose article may not be based on original research.Scholarly research is typically published by a academic association or a university/academic press. In international relations and comparative politics, representative scholarly journals include Asian Survey, Comparative Politics, International Organization, International Security Studies, Journal of Comparative Politics, Journal of Democracy, and World Politics.

Reading / Resources:

You are not limited to the below:

· Global Agricultural Marketing Management: Cultural environment Chapter 3 http://www.fao.org/docrep/W5973E/w5973e00.htm#Contents

 

· Export Help: Socio-cultural environment thttp://www.exporthelp.co.za/modules/1_considering_exporting/env_sociocultural.html

 

· Geert Hofstede: http://geert-hofstede.com/

 

· Fish, A. (2005). Assisting cross-border manager adjustment: Psycho-cultural and socio-cultural interventions. Personnel Review, 34(2), 225-245, located in BUSN310 campus course guide, articles.

 

· Mariana, C. L., Raluca, G. I., & Gratiela, G. (2009). Culture - major determinant of the European consumer behavior. Annales Universitatis Apulensis: Series Oeconomica, 11(2), 1019-1024, located inBUSN310 campus course guide, articles.

 

· Livermore, David. Leading with cultural intelligence: the new secret to success. New York: American Management Association, 2010. Chapters 1, 2, 4, located in BUSN310 campus course guide, eReserves.

· Thomas, David C., and Inkson, Kerr. Cultural intelligence: Living and working globally. Williston, Vermont: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2009. Chapters 1, 4, 5, located in BUSN310 campus course guide, eReserves.  

· Keping, Yu; Thornton, John L.; Li, Cheng. Democracy is a good thing: Essays on politics, society, and culture in contemporary china. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2009. Chapters 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 11, located in BUSN310 campus course guide, eReserves.