Research Assignment
Managing Overseas
You are a manager preparing to run one of your US company’s overseas operations. You
are
being offered this opportunity in one of four countries and the choice is yours: Egypt,
Hungary,
Sweden and Taiwan. You are aware of the fact that many cultural influences have shaped
your
approach to managing a workforce in the US, but now you are going to manage in a
different
culture and deal with a workforce that may have different values, norms and expectations
for a
leader/manager.
This Assignment has Three Parts:
Part One:
A. Compare and contrast your company’s country cluster (US) to the country cluster of
your
chosen country among the five cultural dimensions listed below, and determine how you
would
have to adapt your leadership style to fit in the new cultural setting. For example, if you
choose
Taiwan as your country you will need to compare and contrast Anglo (US) and
Confucian Asia
(Taiwan) country clusters among five cultural dimensions, and determine how you would
have
to adapt your leadership style in this new setting. Review Northouse pages 388-390.
Cultural Dimensions
1. Power distance
2. Uncertainty Avoidance
3. Gender Egalitarianism
4. In Group Collectivism
5. Future Orientation
B. What implications do these differences have for how you must lead in your chosen
country?
Part Two:
List at least five cultural norms for conducting business in your chosen country and
explain how
those norms would impact your leadership style or actions.
Part Three:
What expectations do workers in your chosen country have for their leaders and how do
they
differ from the expectations that American workers have for their leaders? How would
these
different expectations impact the way you would lead the workforce in this country?
Assignment Criteria:
The assignment should be between (10 -12 pages), excluding the cover sheet &
references page.
Include an abstract and a conclusion.
Your paper should contain at least five references published within the last 5
years; three of the references should be academic journals (i.e., not your textbooks).
Prepare your paper in MS Word with 1-inch margins on all sides, double-spaced and 12
pt. Times New Roman font or 10 pt. Arial font.
Submit the assignment to Turnitin.com prior to submission for grading, and make any
revisions, if needed. Put your Turnitin Originality Score on the cover page.
Your paper must be original to this course and section.
Assignment Due Dates:
Optional – Submit a draft of your paper to the Research Draft folder by July 15,
11:59 PM EST.
Submit the final version of the Research Assignment to the Research folder by July 20,
11:59 PM EST.
Late assignments are subject to a penalty. See the section on Assignment Due Dates
and Submitting Late Assignments in the Syllabus.
