Examine the problems found in the cross-cultural management of joint ventures and mergers.

Unit learning outcomes
1 Demonstrate the following knowledge and understanding
• Identify culture specific preferences in international business context and develop appropriate rapport management strategies.
2 Demonstrate the following skills and abilities
• Demonstrate to cultural differences in impression management and ethical considerations in international management.
What am I required to do in this assignment?
This is an example of intercultural incident; is an example of different behavioral and communication problems. You are asked to apply your understanding of relevant theories, frameworks and ideas and propose solutions to demonstrate the extent of your intercultural awareness in different business interactions. All theories and frameworks should be referenced correctly using the Harvard system.
Apply your understanding of relevant theories, frameworks and ideas and propose solutions to demonstrate the extent of your intercultural awareness in different business interactions.
Case study:
Stefan Phillips, a manager for a large U. S. airline, was transferred to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, to set up a new office. Although Stefan had had several other extended overseas assignments in Paris and Brussels, he was not well prepared for working in the Arab world. At the end of his first week, Stefan came home in a state of near total frustration. As he sat at the dinner table that night, he told his wife how exasperating it had been to work with the local employees, who, he claimed, seemed to take no responsibility for anything. Whenever something went wrong they would simply say “Inshallah” (“If God wills it”). Coming from a culture that sees no problem as insolvable, Stefan could not understand how the local employees could be so passive about job-related problems. “If I hear one more inshallah,” he told his wife, “I’ll go crazy.”
• Where did Stefan go wrong?
• How could you help Stefan better understand this cross-cultural problem?
• Use intercultural theories to explain it and support your discussion.
• What would be your advice to Stefan?
What do I need to do to pass? (Threshold Expectations from UIF)

In order to pass Assessment 2 you will need to:
• Research and produce current data on international organisations to support your arguments.
• Examine the problems found in the cross-cultural management of joint ventures and mergers.
• Compare and contrast the distinctive features of different management behaviour across two different cultures and draw on cultural frameworks in your analysis.
How do I produce high quality work that merits a good grade?
We will be filling this section in together in class on Click or tap to enter a date. make sure you have downloaded/printed out the Assignment Brief and bring it to the session with you.
How does this assignment relate to what we are doing in scheduled sessions?
This assessment provides a grounding in the intercultural frameworks relevant to international business environment. Mainly it will involve frameworks related to communication, homogeneity versus diversity, tradition and change, dimensions of culture and so on. The frameworks are discussed in scheduled classes.