APPENDIX B COUNTRY REPORT INSTRUCTIONS

Transcription

1 APPENDIX B COUNTRY REPORT INSTRUCTIONS Objective The purpose of the assignment is to work in a multicultural team to research a country and figure out how to do business in a foreign country. Your team wi ll be responsible for 1) a report (a compendium of information in bullet-point format 2) a 1S-minute training session on the management practices section of you r report. The grading criteria for your report are thoroughness, accuracy, and ab il ity to app ly correctly the course frameworks and concepts. The grad ing criteri a for you r training session are: informative, interactive, creative, and well organized Team members will determine how much of the team grade each member deserves, based on their contribution. REPORT FORMAT: Type the category names in th e same order as shown be low and list the information for each category and cite all the references at the end of each bu llet point, as shown below. Include all the references in a bibliography at the end; use APA format for the bibliography. Since you will be graded on the thoroughness of your work, find the correct information for each category. Submit with the report, a list of which students were responsible for wh ich categories Example: Key holidays o All Saints Day in October when fam il ies visit their ancestors' graves and leave them food (Wagner, ). SECTION I - MACRO DESC RIPTION OF THE COUNTRY Demographics popu lation.. birth and death rates age categories by percentage gender composition impact of demographics on busin ess (e.g, scarcity of labor?) Natural Resources (What are key resources, their location and extent?)

2 Economic Environment Economic indicators, GDP, inflation rate, unemployment rate, growth rate, etc. Currency reg ulations Exchange rate Financial system.. Tax system Stock market Key prod ucts or business segments (economic basis) Major imports and exports Standard of living Hou sin g cond itions History.. key historical facts/events - These can be ill ustrated in a time line most importa nt curren t events Political System.. type of government key political issues and controversies at present state of civil li berties (Is there free speech, legal protection of rights? What does Amnesty International say about th is country?) risk factor - how stable is this cou ntry? What risk factors are present and how is it rated by risk analysts? Legal System historical basis effective ness relation to business Geography Climate En vironmental Issues environmenta l cond itions - how does the country rate in terms of climate cha nge, pollution, water resources, etc.?

3 e key environmental cha llenges response to environmental pro blems Key Advantages in the Eyes of Foreign Business Why is this a good country in wh ich to invest or set up business? SECTION 2 - SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS Family Structure parental rol es (who does whap) child rearing practices (How are ch ildren treated, disciplined, etc? What values do pa rents inculcate in child ren?) e living arrangements Class Structu re o categories and characteristics th at may affect business presence of class barri ers? status of ethnic grou ps ethnic issues gender statu s and issues Religion e world view rites and rituals taboos Education Is the emphasis on public or private schooling? Does schooling vary by social class, etc.? Statistics on ed ucationa l attainment levels (what percentage of people rea ch elementary, high school, college, graduate levels?) Literacy rate Resources ava ilable fo r government education system (well-funded, strugg ling, etc.) Characteristics of the higher education system (number of universities, re putation of universities, etc.) Are employees well trained before they begin working for businesses? Leisure Acti vities View of leisure

4 Sports and recreation o Vacation practices and schedules Arts Important art form s Famous artists SECTION 3 - CULTURAL ASPECTS Cultural Groups Ethnic composition (type and percentage of the popu lation) Regional subcultures Cultura l Dimensions Prepare a table includ ing all the etic (comparative) cu ltural va lu es frameworks stud ied in class Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck Hofstede Trompenaar and Hampden-Turner's Laurent Important emic (unique to that cu lture) va lues Internal logic of the culture - why are these values preferred by this culture? What about their history, geography, etc. made these val ues significant to them? Consequences of non-conforming behavior (what happens to deviants who don't act in accordance with these va lues?) Work eth ic Attitude toward change Customs greetings gift giving re lated to business key holidays and ceremonies tipping Communication Lan guages spoken and in what setting business language acceptable and unacceptable topics of conversation

5 nonverbal communication used personal space distance In tercultural communication styles - prepare a table of the styles listed in the 10/6 handout Conflict Style - How do they ha ndle conflict? (e.g., direct, indirect, third party mediation, etc) Negotiation Style Food & Eating etiquette SECTION 4 - BU SINESS ENVIRONMENT Technology Availability Level of sophistication Distribution Issues Infrastructure conditions Tariffs Ethics.. bri bery or the use of influence level of corruption (see the Transparency Index) eth ical consideration s of doing business in this country Bu siness Relationships With whom do they tend to do business and why? Impression of Americ ans prevalent stereotype this country has of Americans and their business practices SECTION 5 - MANAGEMENT ASPECTS Management Practi ces Employee/employer re lations Importance of personal re lationsh ips at work Typical management style Typical leadership style

6 Decision making practices View of authority Pri mary means of motivating employees Common types of organ izational structure Role and view of women in business Human Resource Practices Hiring practices and preferences " Compensation structure Minimum wage Key employment laws " Advancement practices (who gets promoted and why?) Benefits for employees Business Practices Appropriate business dress Business cards Work schedule Measurement system (metric versus English) Busin ess meeting behavior (eg., seating arrangements, etc) After-meeting etiquette Do's and don 'ts