Interview essay
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cross_national_paper_2016.pptxCross National Write Up due on Wednesday, December 7 by 11:59 pm.
Submit electronically
Attach a picture or photo copy of the business card and attach it to the paper file or email it to Dr. Wenzel
Or email me a web address or link to Linked In profile
Cross National Paper
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Cross National Paper
The purpose of this assignment is to increase your awareness and understanding of national culture and related theories of culture as they apply to management and work in an increasingly global business environment.
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This assignment involves an interview of someone of one of these three profiles:
Someone born and raised outside the U.S. and outside your own family’s national cultural background(s) (if different from the U.S.) that came here to live/work as an adult. The person should identify strongly with his/her native country. Your interview for this option should focus on the person’s experiences and observations working in an organization in the United States.
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2. Someone who has significant international business experience that has involved direct collaboration or coordination with individuals abroad to accomplish organizational goals.
Examples would include someone who works for a multinational organization and manages a team in Buenos Aires or someone who has negotiated a deal with a supplier in China. You are also free to interview someone who has done international humanitarian work (e.g., Peace Corps, Doctors Without Borders).
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3. A non-American business person (working in another country but who has worked with Americans) and can speak to similarities and differences between the US and his/her country – or between his/her country and other countries in the world in terms of work and managing people.
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Interviews should last 20 – 40 minutes
Start the process by telling the person the goals of the paper
Arrive prepared with a list of questions to ask (and some back up questions).
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Do you think understanding national cultures or cultural backgrounds is relevant to managers? Do you think management styles, effective management practices, and/or what it means to be a good teammate at work differs across the world? If so, how/why?
What differences and what similarities do you perceive between yourself and members of other national cultural groups in your workplace, in terms of:
How you prefer to communicate? (e.g., direct communication vs. indirect/non-verbal communication)
How you handle conflict or negotiate with others?
How you behave (i.e., what to say or not say) around people with positions of authority/senior titles?
Whether/how to express emotions at work?
Whether/how you would give other people performance feedback?
How you tend to prefer to make decisions?
How you would manage other people?
How you behave in larger group settings or team meetings?
How to motivate or persuade others?
Sample Questions
Have you found there to be any cultural differences in perceptions of the boundaries between what is considered ethical vs. non-ethical behavior in the business or work world?
What challenges have you discovered in working with people from other national cultural groups? How have you worked through these challenges?
What is the best thing about working with people from other national cultural groups? What are the opportunities and how have you made the most of those opportunities?
Are there any aspects of your culture or identity that you find yourself trying to downplay or contain at work? Why or why not?
Are there any aspects of your national cultural identity that you have found useful in your work with others? Have you noticed that your cultural upbringing has given you any advantages at work?
Sample Questions
The number of questions you ask will depend on how the conversation is going and how much you’re learning. You'll have to feel it out. Usually you'll want to be able to keep the conversation going for 20 – 40 minutes. You may find that one or two questions end up leading to a long and rich discussion. Alternatively, you may find that you need to ask a bunch of questions before you find one or two that really resonate with the person and give him/her something substantive to say.
Advice for the Interview
The vast majority of people can just use the questions in the syllabus and learn all they need. But, you are free to ask other questions that you come up with on your own – or if the syllabus or your own questions aren’t getting you to a good discussion, to ask them what they think the relevant questions about the topic are.
Advice for the Interview
If after trying to get the person to open up for 5 minutes, you still find that your interviewee is highly reluctant to discuss culture (which may happen for various reasons), you should call it quits and find someone else to interview. You can begin your essay by talking about the initial experience and how/why you think the reluctance happened.
Advice for the Interview
5-6 page paper
Start with a brief explanation of the person you interviewed.
Include their past or current work experiences that relate to this topic
Include why they fit into one of the 3 categories of people you were instructed to interview
Beyond a brief introduction to the person, don’t regurgitate their stories for 3 pages.
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What did you learn from the person about working in a diverse and multinational context?
How you can apply what you learned to your future workplace experiences?
How what you learned connects to the readings for class and the lecture on 11/28.
Your essay should involve reflection about at least 2-3 theories and/or empirical findings covered in class or in readings.
(if possible) - How what you learned from this interview connects to what you are learning this semester in general.
Do you see connections between this person’s experiences and the management content we have been discussing all semester?
You will be graded on the following:
