Assignment Brief MGT3146

2014/15

CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT

Comparison exercise exploring theory and

This assignment is worth 30%

empirical evidence and relating this to a practical

critical incidents in cross-cultural settings. This

of the overall unit mark

version is also for resit and deferred students.

THE BRIEF
Scenario Tulip International
You work for an international company, which provides management advice to a
number of multinational organisations, such as Al Jazeera, Google, Shell
International and a new ICT company called Tulip International.
Your company has been invited to write a report and deliver cross-cultural training to

this major new client Tulip International.

The client is expanding its international activities and needs to send a manager from
Morocco to Amsterdam, The Netherlands for a 2-year assignment.
The manager to be transferred is female, Muslim and in her mid- thirties. She joined the
company four years ago and has performed exceptionally well, earning two promotions in
that period. Company evaluations (which you have been permitted to read) indicate that
she has the right skills-set and that she would be an ideal candidate for this assignment.
However, no formal training has been carried out, and this would be her first international
work assignment. Your company has been invited

by the client to deliver a cross-cultural briefing report to this new manager from Tulip
International. You MUST make reference to the industry of Tulip International in
each section.
The relevance of the reading must be made clear for an Executive (guide the
reader, answer the So What question).
The report should include the following sections but make sure you guide the reader
by linking (sub)sections and present the report in a structured way:
Section A (25%)
a brief introduction of a) the current state of globalization and b) the aim of the report
on behalf of Tulip International.
a brief overview of macro-level facts of The Netherlands (e.g., socio-political
environment, economic facts, etc.) that are relevant for an executive to know. Useful
information can be obtained from The Financial Times, CIA Handbook and
government websites.
a brief value comparison of the country of The Netherlands based on Hofstedes work
in comparison to Morocco. You should also include a graph as shown in class and
ensure that you make the analysis relevant to the reader.
Section B (45%)
a critique of Hofstedes work and an analysis of the business and management
challenges that an international manager faces, using the readings from the Module,
integrating appropriate cross cultural theory and evaluating the challenges the manager is
likely to face. For example: As a manager about to

move to The Netherlands, it is useful to be aware that decision making is based on

XXXX theory, unlike the decision making process in Morocco, with which you are
more familiar (Author, 2013).
Do not carry on with the Hofstede style comparison, but give culturally intelligent
advice.
You must use practical examples to illuminate your point and use articles discussed
in the seminars to make any point about business and management. You cannot
use Wikipedia and/or any other non -academic sources, unless they are anecdotal
or current affairs. You may also use practical experience but keep it professional.
Your subheadings must relate to seminar topics
Globalization
Decision Making
Negotiation & Communication
Leadership & Cultural Intelligence
Section C (15%)
a conclusion (summary) taking into consideration section A and B above and three
key points of advice, presented as bullet points for impact.
Professional delivery Max word count 2000. Over or under 10% allowed. More
than that, you are subject to the critique that you cannot focus (over) or read to little
(under) and this will affect your grade. Ensure you do a grammar & spell check, use
a professional lay out with subheadings, include an accurate reference list and at
least 5 articles from the relevant Seminar Reading Lists. (15%)
Marking Criteria
Evidence that you have systematically researched the assignment and covered
required areas to the expected standard. Comprehensiveness (breadth and depth)
of information. Evidence that you have understood key issues and been able to
effectively integrate theory and practice. Relevance and balance of contents.
Integration and coherence of component parts. Evidence of effective use of a range
of relevant resources. Coherence, synthesis and integration of contents. Creativity
and innovation. Further information on the assignment and marking criteria are
provided in the Module Handbook, which was given in class and via
MyUniHub.
SUBMISSION DETAILS
th
Online via Turn It In. Due date for Submission is Thursday 13 August by 4:30pm
UAE time.
Recommended Reading Materials:

Textbook
Thomas, D. and Petersen, F. (2014), Cross-Cultural Management: Essential Concepts,
3rd Edition, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Seminar Materials:

Graded Seminar
1: Globalisation
The Economist
Intelligence Unit (2011)
Competing across
borders. How cultural
and communication
barriers affect business.
http://www.jku.at/zsp/c
ontent/e48784/e164612
/Competing_across_bor
ders.pdf
Jordan I. Siegel, Amir
N. Licht, Shalom H.
Schwartz,
Egalitarianism and
international
investment, Journal of
Financial Economics,
Volume 102, Issue 3,
December 2011, Pages
621-642, ISSN 0304405X,
http://dx.doi.org/10.101
6/j.jfineco.2011.05.010.
Thomas, D.C. and
Peterson, M. (2014)
Cross Cultural
Management. 3rd
edition. Sage. Chapters
1, 2, 3, 4
Hofstede, G. (1993),
Cultural constraints in
management theories.
Academy of
Management Executive,
7(1), 81-94.

Graded Seminar
2: Decision
Making
Coldwell, D.A.L.,
Billsberry, J., van
Meurs, N. and Marsh,
P.J.G. (2008) The
effects of personorganization ethical fit
on employee attraction
and retention: Towards
a testable explanatory

model. Journal of
Business Ethics, 78 (4),
611-622
Thomas, D.C. and
Peterson, M. (2014)
Cross Cultural
Management. 3rd
edition. Sage. Chapter 5
Selmer, J. & Lam, H.
(2004) Third Culture
Kids: Future Business
Expatriates? Personnel
Review, 33, 4, P 430445
Aguinis, H., Joo, H, &
Gottfredson, R. K.
(2012). Performance
management
universals: Think
globally and act locally.
Business Horizons, 55,
385-392.

Graded Seminar
3: Negotiation and
Communication
Van Meurs, Nathalie
and Spencer-Oatey,
Helen (2010)
Multidisciplinary
perspectives on
intercultural conflict:
the "Bermuda
Triangle" of conflict,
culture, and
communication. In:
Matsumoto, David,
(ed.) APA Handbook of
Intercultural
Communication.
American
Psychological
Association. ISBN
9781433807787
Thomas, D.C. and
Peterson, M. (2014)
Cross Cultural
Management. 3rd
edition. Sage. Chapter 6
Imai, L. & Gelfand, M.
(2010) The culturally
intelligent negotiator:
The impact of cultural

intelligence (CQ) on
negotiation sequences
and outcomes
Organizational
Behavior and Human
Decision Processes 112
(2010) 83 98
Gelfand, M. J., Leslie,
L. M., Keller, K., & de
Dreu, C. (2012).
Conflict cultures in
organizations: How
leaders shape conflict
cultures and their
organizational-level
consequences. Journal
of Applied Psychology,
97(6), 1131-1147

Graded Seminar
4: Leadership and
Cultural
Intelligence
Fischer, Ronald and
Ferreira, et al and Van
Meurs, Nathalie. (2011)
Are perceptions of
organizational justice
universal? An
exploration of
measurement
invariance across
thirteen cultures. Social
Justice Research, 24
(4). pp. 297-313. ISSN
0885-7466
Thomas, D.C. and
Peterson, M. (2014)
Cross Cultural
Management. 3rd
edition. Sage. Chapter
7, 10, 11
Triandis, H.C. (2006)
Cultural Intelligence in
Organizations. Group
and Organization
Management, 31, pp
20-26
Aycan, Z., Schyns, B.,
Sun, J., Felfe, J. &
Saher, N. (2013).
Convergence and
Divergence of
Paternalistic

Leadership: A crosscultural Investigation of

Prototypes. Journal of
International Business
Studies, 44, 1962-969.

Blasco, M., Egholm Feldt, L. & Jakobsen, M. (2012) If only cultural chameleons could fly too: A critical
discussion of the concept of cultural intelligence International Journal of Cross Cultural Management 12 (2)
229 - 245.
Lee, L & Sukoco, B (2010) The effects of cultural intelligence on expatriate performance: the moderating
effects of international experience, The International Journal of Human Resource Management Vol.21, Iss.
7, (p963-981).