Use the globalEDGE™ site
to complete the following exercises:
1. Assume you own an exporting company that specializes
in consumer products. You have been selling your
products in several different countries but have yet to
enter the Asian market. You have chosen South Korea
as the first Asian country to enter. Since you have not
previously sold your products in any Asian market, you
think it would be a good idea to form a strategic alliance
with a local firm. You strongly believe that the
first impression is important. Therefore, you have decided
to collect some information regarding the business
culture and local habits of South Korea from the
“Kwintessential” Web site. Prepare a short report in
terms of the most shocking characteristics that may
influence business interactions in this country.
2. The cultural distance of countries in which your firm
operates is one of the many explanations of significant
differences that your U.S.-based employees face
when travelling to different affiliates worldwide. Typically,
an index of cultural distance can be determined
by summing the differences of country-level scores
such as those introduced by Hofstede’s cultural
dimensions. At the present time, your firm has operations
in Austria, Guatemala, Iran, Malaysia, and South
Africa. Using the Hofstede Resource Center based on
studies involving cultural dimensions to assess all five
countries, determine which affiliates are located in a
culture that is least and most similar to the U.S. As
there are four main components of each overall cultural
distance score, which component(s) can be considered
most influential for each country?
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