Chapter 3

Question 1

Expatriate assignments:

Answer 1

A temporary job abroad with a multinational company

Question 2

Informal institutions:

Answer 2

Rules that are not formalised but exist in, for example, norms, values and
ethics

Question 3

Artefacts of culture:

Answer 3

Physical objects that represent the visible surface of culture

Question 4

Power distance:

Answer 4

The extent to which less powerful members within a country expect and accept
that power is distributed unequally

Question 5

Individualism:

Answer 5

The perspective that the identity of an individual is fundamentally their own

Question 6

Collectivism:

Answer 6

The idea that the identity of an individual is primarily based on the identity of their
collective group
=> People coming from collectivists are more collaborative when dealing with in-group members compared to people coming from individualistic cultures

Question 7

In-group:

Answer 7

Individuals and firms regarded as part of ‘us’

Question 8

Out-group:

Answer 8

Individuals and firms not regarded as part of ‘us’

Question 9

Masculinity:

Answer 9

Values traditionally associated with male role such as assertive, decisive and aggressive

Question 10

Femininity:

Answer 10

Values traditionally associated with female role, such as compassion, care and quality of life
=> Example society is Sweden
Hofstedes feminity dimension:
- In a feminine society a stylised manager is lead visible, intuitive rather than decisive and accustomed to building consensus
=> The Netherland’s is an example of a feminine culture

Question 11

Uncertainty avoidance:

Answer 11

The extent to which members in different cultures accept ambiguous situations and tolerate uncertainty
=> High uncertainty avoidance: Sweden
=> Low uncertainty avoidance: Singapore

Question 12

Long-term orientation:

Answer 12

A perspective that emphasizes perseverance and savings for future
betterment

Question 13

Holy

Answer 13

Holy: An item or activity that is treated with particular respect by a religion

Question 14

Secular societies:

Answer 14

Societies where religion does not dominate public life

Question 15

Language:

Answer 15

A system of shared meanings that enables people to effectively communicate

Question 16

Language barriers:

Answer 16

Communication barriers between people who speak different mother
tongues and lack a shared language in which all are fluent

Question 17

Corporate language:

Answer 17

The language used for communications between entities of the same MNE
in different countries

Question 18

Lingua franca:

Answer 18

The dominance of one language as a global business language

Question 19

Subcultures:

Answer 19

Groups within a nation sharing a culture that substantially varies from the national
average

Question 20

Cultural convergence:

Answer 20

Hypothesis that cultures are becoming more similar

Question 21

Cultural divergence:

Answer 21

Hypothesis that cultures are becoming less similar

Question 22

Organizational culture:

Answer 22

Culture shared by people working in the organization

Question 23

Cultural tightness-looseness:

Answer 23

The strength of social norms and the degree of sanctioning within
societies

Question 24

Cultural cluster:

Answer 24

Countries that share similar cultures

Question 25

Cultural distance:

Answer 25

The difference between two cultures along sone dimensions of value or subjective affinity

Question 26

Institutional distance:

Answer 26

The extent of similarity or dissimilarity between the **regulatory**, **normative** and **cognitive institutions of two countries**

Question 27

Ethics:

Answer 27

The principles, standards and norms of conduct governing individual and firm behaviour

Question 28

Ethical relativism:

Answer 28

The idea that what is considered morally right or wrong can **vary from one culture or society to another**—there are **no universal ethical standards** that apply to everyone

Question 29

Ethical imperialism:

Answer 29

The absolute belief that ‘there is only one set of Ethics and we have it’ => An American operating in the Middle East is trying to enforce rules against sexual discrimination against Muslim women working in its management

Question 30

Code of conduct:

Answer 30

Written policies and standards for corporate conduct and ethics

Question 31

Corruption:

Answer 31

The abuse of public power for private benefits, usually in the form of bribery

Question 32

Cultural intelligence:

Answer 32

An individual’s ability to understand and adjust to new cultures

Question 33

The Local

Answer 33

A person who works well with people from similar backgrounds but doesn't work effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds

Question 34

The Analyst

Answer 34

A person who observes and learns from others and plans a strategy for interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds

Question 35

The Natural

Answer 35

A person who relies on intuition rather than on a systematic learning style when interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds

Question 36

The Mimic

Answer 36

A person who creates a comfort zone for people from different cultural backgrounds by adopting their general posture and communication style. This is not pure imitation, which may be regarded as mocking

Question 37

The Chameleon

Answer 37

A person who may be mistaken for a native of the foreign country, He/she may achieve results that natives cannot due to his/her insider's skills and outsider's perspective. This is very rare

Question 38

Stereotypes:

Answer 38

A set of simplistic and often inaccurate generalisations about a group that allows others to categorise them

Question 39

Hofstede identified five dimensions:

Answer 39

(1) power distance, (2) individualism/collectivism, (3)masculinity/femininity, (4) uncertainty avoidance and (5) long-term orientation.