1. Explain the different categories of cultural shock that may be experienced by people working overseas. (Topic 1)

As businesses go overseas, there is a tendency to send workers from the home country to manage or complete assignments at the foreign subsidiary. These workers are also known as expatriates. The ability of expatriates to complete their tasks and assignments depends very much on their ability to respond and adjust to the local culture. Failure to do so will result in culture shock, a situation where expatriates feel upset, confused, disoriented and face emotional upheaval. Those experiencing culture shock might fail to assimilate into a different culture and return to their home country without completing their given tasks

2. List several ways to reduce cultural differences. (Topic 5)(a) Interpersonal skills(b) Linguistic ability(c) Cultural empathy(d) Patience and respect

3. 3. List some characteristics of Latin American leaders. (Topic 7)a) Flexibility to face uncertainty; (b) Vertical hierarchy; (c) Work groups; (d) Good personal relations over performance

4. Describe the general guidelines that international managers should know regarding cross-culturalcommunication. (Topic 5)(a) Host Country Managers Managers who are nationals of the host country recruited by the company. (b) Third Country Managers Managers who are nationals of a third country (other than the home country and host country).

(c) Inpatriates Managers from the host country or third countries recruited to work in the home country. This group is also known as inpatriates.

5. Describe some factors to consider in intercultural negotiations. (Topic 9)(a) The players and the situation(b) Methods of decision making(c) National character(d) Cultural noise

1. An international manager plays many roles which are not played by a manager in a local organisation.a) Describe the general roles played by an international manager.(15)(a) Manage Operations and Ensure CompaniesÊ Goals are Achieved Businesses have become more international and interdependent for a few decades now. Thus, international managers have an important role to assume in managing operations abroad and ensuring that all the goals and objectives of their companies are achieved. (b) Initiate the Management, Process and Technology Transfer Process Usually, managers are the ones who make the first move in the company. They initiate the management, process and technology transfer process as the company tries to transfer its core competencies to the foreign subsidiary. (c) Fill in Positions International managers are expected to fill in positions in countries where qualified people are not available. (d) Secure Headquarter Control over Foreign Subsidiaries Managers are expected to secure the headquarterÊs control over foreign subsidiaries, especially in the context of management, administrative, financial and corporate culture. (e) Learn Foreign Cultures and Acquire New Knowledge Managers need to learn foreign cultures and environments as well as acquire new knowledge and skills from foreign countries that might be useful and applicable to the headquarters itself or the other subsidiaries.

b) Explain two traits of a good international manager. (5)(a) Management Principles International managers must not depend solely on universal management principles as a guideline for their behaviour and conduct in foreign countries. This is because management principles were created by Western theorists such as Peter Drucker and Michael E. Porter, while societies in other countries have different cultures and ideologies. Besides this, in multinational companies, managers interact with people from several cultures from time to time. Such conditions constitute a challenge for managers to perform their duties and solve problems in different situations. Therefore, the ability to manage differently in other countries based on the situation is an important trait for international managers. (b) Contingency Leadership In terms of leadership, international managers must have the contingency role. The contingency leadership concept suggests that good international managers will always prepare a management plan or alternative leadership method to overcome unexpected situations in the event of the failure of the original plan. With this concept, managers will be more prepared with a backup plan which will support the original plan. This effective method can help international managers to act rationally in critical times.

2. Multinational corporations can choose to ignore, minimise or utilise cultural differences as strategies tomanage these differences.a) Explain how a multinational corporation could ignore or utilise cultural differences and give someexamples to support your answer. (Topic )(8)Even in this era of globalisation, we can still see global products like LeviÊs jeans and McDonaldÊs burgers or a 200-year-old global organisation which has no indication of an international mindset. Head offices and most of the product/ business unit heads often remain firmly planted in the home country. When companies choose to ignore cultural differences, they are operating on the assumption that business is business and that managers, engineers or bankers are the same throughout the world. Companies assume that policies and practices developed in the home country are readily transferable. The host country subsidiaries feel that they have to maintain product quality to uphold customer service and technological standards, and ensure that the corporate culture is shared by all employees. Such companies might even create their own training centres or universities to inculcate the necessary management practices and behaviour, core beliefs and values.While compliance may be achieved at the surface level of behaviour, values and beliefs, it is not evident that underlying assumptions are truly shared. Some companies develop their own beliefs, values and identity. For example, IBM managers worldwide share th b) Show several ways that multinational corporations could minimise cultural differences. (12)

(a) Create a Corporate Culture This can be done by developing a corporate culture globally but this is difficult to accomplish. Companies believe that a strong corporate culture can be designed to be a melting pot to reduce cultural differences. They also assume that subsidiaries can implement it on their own (polycentric approach), provided that they can show good results. However, implementing similar systems and procedures or creating a global corporate culture which does not reflect the practices and culture of the headquarters is quite difficult. For this reason, global corporate values, systems and practices are often unacceptable.

(b) Assign Senior Management from the Parent Company Senior management from the parent company can be assigned to head up the local subsidiary to serve as a cultural transfer agent. Parent company executives may frequently visit subsidiaries and meet with local managers to discuss how things are going. In this way, problems can be resolved immediately. Local managers, on the other hand, must adapt themselves to the policies and procedures of the parent company so that they can understand the attitude and values practised by the parent company. Creating a strong corporate culture to reduce cultural differences is challenging as the culture of the parent company is seen as permanent and dominant. This makes local managers feel isolated in their own country. For example, many Japanese companies have tried to minimise the influence of local cultural differences by combining frequent personal interaction between the head office and expatriate Japanese with strong socialisation practices for locals. The heads of the subsidiary, who are mostly Japanese nationals, will remain in close contact with the headquarters. It is vital to keep informed and to maintain the network of contacts in order to get things done, mainly by making frequent trips back to the home country. Local nationals are carefully screened to ensure that they match the companyÊs values and behaviour.

(c) Provide Intensive Training to Local Workers Local workers are given intensive training not only in work techniques but also in company philosophy. They are often sent to the companyÊs home country to observe and experience the way things are done at the headquarters. For example, Sony sends managers from their subsidiary in Malaysia to Japan to learn the latest Japanese quality practices in manufacturing. However, success is not always guaranteed as non-Japanese managers, even those who speak fluent Japanese, are not able to develop the necessary personal network. They also would never really be able to understand the Japanese way of doing things. Local managers would not have the essential experience that is needed to build relationships and understand management processes. While these approaches may take into account national cultural differences, they aim to assimilate these differences into an overriding corporate culture. Efforts to create a strong corporate culture in order to reduce cultural differences often meet with resistance because the parent company culture remains dominant.

3. Leadership may differ across regions and also according to the type of leadership. (Topic 7)a) Differentiate between leadership styles in the United States and Japan.(10)United States Leadership Styles The United States is a highly individualistic and masculine-oriented country where the culture emphasises the active recognition of their peopleÊs roles and contributions. In reference to the collected literature, the American leadership style is seemingly participative and supportive as it provides strong support in carrying out organisational objectives and targets. The participative leadership style involves strong roles played by subordinates. American leaders are able to use this style, specifically in the decision-making processes. There are four types of participation approaches: (a) Quality circle; (b) Self-directed work teams; (c) Quality of work-life programme; and (d) Scale on gain-sharing plans.

Japanese Leadership Styles Japan is well known for its paternalistic approach to leadership. Japanese leaders will usually try to establish an atmosphere of respect and obedience from their subordinates. However, they do not impose more rules and laws on their subordinates that affect overall working relationship and conditions. Their paternalistic history emerges in the manner they manage their subordinates. While most Japanese organisations are highly hierarchical and rigidly organised, the leaders have an outstanding concern for the personal lives of their subordinates. Trust plays a vital role as most Japanese leaders leave their

subordinates with a set of instructions and it is up to them to carry out the work. Most Japanese managers believe that their employees are so motivated by teamwork that they want to share in the responsibility for attaining group goals. Thus, Japanese workers seek opportunities to participate in the management process. In terms of decision-making, they similarly acknowledge the consensus of everyone particularly during extensive consultation. In addition, the leadership process used by Japanese managers places a strong emphasis on ambiguous goals. Subordinates are typically unsure of what their managers wants them to do and as a result, they spend more time preparing their assignments. Though it seems like wasting the subordinatesÊ time, it gives the leaders stronger control over the followers because the latter do not know with certainty what is expected from them. Therefore, the workers will prepare themselves for every eventuality (Luthans & Doh 2010). b) Distinguish between transformational leader and charismatic leader.

Transformational Leaders This type of leader can be associated with visionary agents with a sense of mission and capable of motivating their followers to accept new goals and new ways of doing things. They always build commitment to the mission and always try to achieve the objective of the organisation. Working for a transformational leader can be a wonderful and uplifting experience as they put passion and energy into everything and care about subordinates and their need to succeed. Leaders also guide or motivate their followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements. At the same time, they will try to create awareness of issues by helping subordinates to look at old problems from a new perspective, and they are able to excite and inspire followers to put in extra effort to achieve group goals.

Charismatic Leaders Now, we will look at the third type of leader. Charismatic leaders inspire and motivate employees through their charismatic traits and abilities. Leaders demonstrate charm, grace and self-belief, which are needed to create followers as people follow others whom they personally admire. There is a personal magnetism among these leaders that contributes to remarkable ability to get other people to endorse to their vision and promote it passionately. Charismatic leaders use a wide range of methods to manage their image and, if they are not naturally charismatic, may tirelessly practise developing their skills. They may engender trust through visible self-sacrifice and taking personal risks in the name of their beliefs. Charismatic leaders will always show these traits: (a) Inspire great confidence in their followers; (b) Very persuasive; and (c) Make very effective use of body language and verbal language when communicating.