国际管理CHAPTER 3答案.docVIP

CHAPTER 3 UnDERsTANDING THE ROLE OF CULTURE CHAPTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS What is meant by the culture of a society, and why is it important for international managers to understand it? Do you notice cultural differences among your classmates? How do those differences affect the class environment? Your group projects? The culture of a society comprises the shared values, understandings, assumptions, and goals that are learned from earlier generations, imposed by present members of a society, and passed on to succeeding generations. It is important for managers to understand the cultural variables because these determine basic attitudes toward work, time, materialism, individualism, and change. Such attitudes affect an individual’s motivation and expectations regarding work and group relations, and ultimately affect the outcomes that can be expected as a result of those work and group relations. Students will have differing perceptions of their international classmates. It is important to foster an appreciation of those differences early in the semester. The answers to this question may uncover stereotypes that need correction. Describe the four dimensions of culture proposed by Hofstede. What are the managerial implications of these? Hofstede’s research identified the four value dimensions of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity. Power distance is the level of acceptance by a society of unequal distribution of power in institutions, and it determines the extent to which subordinates accept unequal power. Uncertainty avoidance refers to the extent to which people in a society feel threatened by ambiguous situations. In a business context, this value results in formal rules and procedures designed to provide more security and greater career stability. Individualism refers to the tendency of people to look after themselves and their immediate family only and neglect the needs of society. Countries scoring high on individ