International Management Discussion Questions
In Discussion Forum 1, post your response to one of the following discussion questions. Your initial posting should have no less than 300 words and your responses should be comprehensive. When citing research and journal articles, be sure the full reference is added at the end of your posts in APA format. Reply to at least two classmates’ responses by the date indicated in the Course Calendar.
Note: Do not use examples provided in the required course materials; you must research your own examples and provide citations. Also, select a question that has not been chosen by other classmates and comment on postings on questions other than the one you answered.
- Select two countries from two different continents. Then, describe each country’s culture, a firm in each country, and discuss how each country’s social culture influences values and business practices in the corporate environment. Include in your analysis where each country fits into Hofstede’s cultural framework and the GLOBE framework, the cost of doing business, and the status of economic development in each country. [MO 1.1]
- Select two countries from two different continents. Assess how each country’s culture affects preferences for its leadership styles. Compare and contrast the two countries’ leadership styles. [MO 1.2]
- Illustrate ethical issues faced by managers of international firms in at least two countries from two different continents. Compare and contrast these issues. [MO 1.3]
- Choose an international firm and two host countries where the firm manufactures products that have different ethical values than the firm’s home country. Describe each host country’s ethical norms that pose a dilemma for the firm’s managers and explain your belief on how the managers should handle each situation. [MO 1.4]
- Deliberate on ethical considerations that international managers could integrate into their decision making in at least two foreign locations. [MO 1.5]
- Under what conditions is it ethically defensible to outsource production to the developing world where labor costs are lower when such actions also involve laying off long-term employees in the firm’s home country? Use specific country locations in your response. [MO 1.5]
- Choose an international firm and two countries in which the firm operates. Suggest new practical ways that the firm could contribute to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in each country. [MO 1.6]
- Describe a specific international firm’s presence in two countries where the countries’ cultures are different from each other. Elaborate on how the firm’s managers and employees value and respect their coworkers in other countries and how they function well together. What other actions could the firm take to successfully increase cohesion among personnel from various backgrounds? [MO 1.7]