Intercultural Incidents: Examples and Solutions

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of culture specific preferences in international business

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?

There will be two examples of intercultural incidents (small case studies); these are examples of different behavioural 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.

CHOOSE ONLY ONE (OUT OF 1, 2,) TO DISCUSS. 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 1

The English football club Blackburn Rovers was founded in 1875 and overtaken by the Indian family Rao. The Rao completed their 23-million takeover through their newly formed company Venky’s London Limited (which is a part of a Pune-based Indian company: Henkateshwara Vatcheries Group (HV Group)) on the 19th October 2010.

In December 2010 the new owners sacked Mr. Sam Allardyce who had been a manager for the last 2 years. The table situation of the club wasn’t the best but it was much better compared to the time when Allardyce started. For instance, Allardyce in 2009-2010 led the team to a tenth place finish and a League Cup semi-final. Therefore, it appears that it wasn’t an urgent situation which ought to lead to such disciplinary action. Also, Allardyce was liked and had a strong support from the team and fans. The decision was so unexpected that Sam Allardyce himself was “very shocked and disappointed to be leaving Blackburn”.

What’s more, the players of the Blackburn were not informed by the owners about the decision. Worst, they heard the news through journalists. The team captain said to the BBC Radio: “Not in my wildest dreams did I see this coming, nor did anyone else because of the job he has done since he has come to Blackburn”.

Furthermore, they’ve shown no regards for supporters’ concerns. The chairwoman of the Venky’s said to the BBC that they “have taken this decision as a part of our wider plans and ambitions for the club”. However, the reality was most appalling. Since December 2010 they had several managers sacked and hired less than half-qualified staff.  This led to very bad game performances to such extant that the club was relegated to the second league. Even the most loyal supporters lost trust in the Rao’s managerial abilities resulting in a large number of fans not attending matches.

The owners employed Mr. Serbegeth Singh (Shabby Singh) under the role of “Global Advisor”. This appointment was made without any job advertisement. The job description and the job role left media and supporters guessing as to what it might be. The idea of employment was that Mr. Singh will bridge the gap between Pune and Blackburn town. The reality, however, was that Mr. Singh’s interaction with the club was on the similar lines to that of the owners. Mr. Singh’s disengagement with the club can be viewed from the March to June 2013 where his only presence at the club was to sack the then manager Michael Appleton

Due to this the club had enormous financial losses. In December 2011 it was announced that Blackburn Rovers posted an annual pre-tax loss of 18.6m for the year ending 30 June 2011.

Till January 2014 there was no observable success. On 07 May 2012, the club was relegated to the Championship after being defeated at home by Wigan athletic at home in the penultimate game of the season, ending 11 years of being in the English Premier League. Nowadays, The Blackburn Rovers are 15th (2018-19).

·Where did The Rao go wrong?

·How could you help The Rao better understand this cross-cultural problem?

·Use intercultural theories to explain it and support your discussion.

·What would be your advice to The Rao?

John Smith was a chief engineer for a machinery manufacturer based in Portsmouth. His company has recently signed a contract with one of its largest customers in Japan to upgrade the equipment and retrain mechanics to maintain the equipment more effectively. As part of the contract, the Japanese company sent all ten of their mechanics to Portsmouth for a three-month retraining course under John’s supervision. Although John had never lived or worked abroad, he was looking forward to the challenge of working with the group of Japanese mechanics, for he had been told that they were all fluent in English and tireless workers. The first several weeks of the training went along quite smoothly, but soon John became increasingly annoyed with the constant demands they were making on his personal time. They would seek him out after the regularly scheduled sessions were over, for additional information. They sought his advice on how to occupy their leisure time. Several even asked him to help settle a disagreement that developed between them. Feeling frustrated by all these demands on his time, John told his Japanese trainee that he preferred not to mix business with pleasure. Within a matter of days, the group requested another instructor.

·Where did John go wrong?

·How could you help John better understand this cross-cultural problem?

·Use intercultural theories to explain it and support your discussion.

·What would be your advice to John?

What do I need to do to pass? (Threshold Expectations from UIF)

In order to pass Assessment 1 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.

How will my assignment be marked?

Your assignment will be marked according to the threshold expectations and the criteria on the following page.

You can use them to evaluate your own work and consider your grade before you submit.