Cultural Comparison

Overview

Over the past two modules, you have explored the fundamentals of global business, such as key drivers for expansion of domestic business and cultural considerations. In this milestone, you will complete the first part of your course project by explaining what you have learned about global business thus far.

Scenario

You are a business analyst working at a small domestic organization that produces high-quality baseball bats. Your organization has begun to see its sales flatten in the domestic market. While the organization is not losing money, leadership would like to explore options to continue to grow. One option that leadership has noticed competitors attempting is entering international markets.

You have been asked to examine the benefits, drawbacks, and key considerations for your organization to enter one of the global markets below, and to summarize your findings in a business brief for leadership.

Select one of the following international markets to use for your course project:

• Republic of Korea
• Canada
• Germany

If you would like to use another country for your course project, please reach out to your instructor.

Prompt

In this milestone, you will complete Section One of the Business Brief Template (located in the Guidelines for Submission section of this document).

Drivers for Global Entry: Develop the first section of the Business Brief Template that explains the purpose of global expansion, business impacts of global business, societal impacts of global business, and cultural considerations using evidence from course and outside resources to support your explanations. Make sure to use evidence from course resources to support your responses.

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:

• Country Selection: State the country you have selected to use for your course project.
• Purpose of Global Expansion: Explain key benefits of successful global expansion for domestic organizations.
• Business Impacts of Global Business: Explain how global expansion of a domestic organization can impact business operations such as strategic planning, marketing, supply-chain management, human resources, and so on.
• Societal Impacts of Global Business: Explain how the global expansion of organizations has impacted society, citing specific examples regarding culture, transportation, employment, infrastructure, and environmental climate.
• Cultural Considerations for Global Business: Explain the importance of researching the culture of a potential global market prior to market entry, as well as key cultural considerations to explore to inform expansion decisions.

Guidelines for Submission

Template: Business Brief

Submit Section One: Drivers for Global Entry of this template as a 350- to 500-word Word document. Sources should be cited according to APA style.

Overview

Doing business in a foreign country can be fraught with pitfalls, from culturally inappropriate hugging to accidental obscene hand gestures. By researching and understanding the culture of a foreign country, you can better prepare yourself and your team to avoid mistakes and leverage cultural protocols to your advantage.

In this assignment, you will compare the culture of the United States against the culture of the country you chose in Milestone One to show how doing business can be very different from one country to another.

Prompt

Use the Module Two Assignment template located in the Guidelines for Submission section to create a cultural comparison guide between the country you selected for your course project and the United States. In Part One of the template, you will identify common information about both countries, including their cultural backgrounds and business etiquettes. In Part Two of the template, you will identify the six dimensions in the Hofstede model of national culture for both countries. In Part Three of the template, you will draw conclusions on how doing business in the country you selected will differ from doing business in the United States and tips for individuals doing business in your selected country.

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:

• Basic Country Facts: Identify government types, languages, and religions for both countries.
• Business Etiquette: Identify common business etiquette in both countries (e.g., common greetings, differences in communication toward men and women, negotiating styles, and acceptable business attire).
• Tips for Doing Business: Identify three tips you would give to individuals doing business in the non-U.S. country you selected. Tips could be about behaviors to avoid (e.g., items as innocent as posture or body language or attitudes regarding punctuality or approaches to business).
• Cultural Dimensions: Identify and examine the six dimensions in the Hofstede model of national culture for both countries.
• Conclusions: Conclude how doing business in your new country will differ from doing business in the United States.

Guidelines for Submission

Submit your completed Module Two Assignment Template as a Word document. Sources should be cited according to APA style.