The war principle has placed Japan with highest emphasis on harmony and peace in the social relationships and harmony in the workplace. The Japanese culture loath the ruggedness involved in the in the individualism. They compare the individualism with a nail standing out and getting hammered down. The war system has been putting highest importance being placed on the harmony involved in the working relationships on teams. This has been leading to stressing on the long term perspective, decision making that can be found within a patent and the problem solving consensus (Shepherd 2011, 121–143). There has been avoidance of conflict alongside the loss of face.

1. International Management
University
Student

2. Assessment 1 - Portfolio questions:
TOPIC 3 Role of Culture
1.
The war principle has placed Japan with highest emphasis on harmony and peace in the social
relationships and harmony in the workplace. The Japanese culture loath the ruggedness involved
in the in the individualism. They compare the individualism with a nail standing out and getting
hammered down. The war system has been putting highest importance being placed on the
harmony involved in the working relationships on teams. This has been leading to stressing on
the long term perspective, decision making that can be found within a patent and the problem
solving consensus (Shepherd 2011, 121–143). There has been avoidance of conflict alongside the
loss of face.
2.
The understanding related to the conduction of business in the Muslim world needs the
comprehension of Muslim culture. The shared language (especially in the Arab world that
consists primarily of Muslims), religion and culture are embedded with similarities of behavior
across the Muslim world. Islam pervades Muslim life, where Allah is omnipresent and has been
controlling everything. The references of these beliefs are found in the conversation of the
Muslims as well. The employees may be spending more two hours per day for daily prayers. The
prayers and other religious obligations forms the essential elements of the patterns of life led in
the Muslim world that interweave work with social life, politics and religion.
The Arab culture has profound influence on the culture of Islamic anywhere in the world. The
Arab culture and history is embedded in the tribalism have norms that encourages reciprocation
of favors, obligation, support and identity that the family units inherits from their predecessor.
This has been the structural model that is primary.
In comparison to the West, family life in the Muslim world is endowed with closer personal ties.
The Muslim world generally values saving faces of the all people, honor and personal
relationships. These values have been taking preference in relation to work at hand or the

3. accuracy related to the verbal comments. Any discussion on business with Muslims should
preceded by respect and the trusting relationship for the social norms of Islam.
3.
The students in the classroom shares experiences that are common to all. Therefore, the outcome
has been the formation of a culture that is unique in the classroom. However, the environment of
the class room all bears with it the cultural sensitivities that each student brings with them from
their home environment. The most important affect in the classroom brought in by the cultural
differences is the socialization. It has been a process that is continuous that acquires behaviors,
values and the norms. The process has the starting point when the student grows up and an
influence that teaches the behaviors to the students comes from their family and their social
circuit (Farahmand 2011). This behavioral difference has its effect in the group project also. For
instance, in a group that consists of a man from United States and another from Japan. At the
very onset the way an American greets his team members involves handshakes and eye contact
that is considered a taboo in the Japanese or Islamic society.
[518 words]
Assessment 1 - Portfolio questions:
TOPIC 4 Communicating across Cultures
1.
The social media and social networking has been changing the landscape of the business both for
the adaptors of the social media and the non adaptors. In the social media, the businesses have
been sharing content with their wide audience. The focus has been with the content, while the
centering of the social networking has been with the groups having shared interests and on the
conversations. The social networking allows the users becoming the guardian of the content that
are interesting found by them with the share of links, personal stories that are short, and the
images. This is particularly true for the businesses that have been creating content and engaging

4. in the conversation. Increasing number of the users of the internet can be interacting with their
favorite brands.
2.
Generically, it has been agreed that culture and the language have close relation. The verbal
expression related to culture is looked upon as the language. It has been used in maintaining and
conveying the ties of culture.
The people using the same language can still miss-communicate as there can be more
intelligence or education of one over the other and may be using expression or words that have
been the part of the former’s everyday vocabulary not understood by the other person.
3.
To convey attention and interest, it is extremely important to maintain eye contact in United
States and Canada. The maintenance of eye contact between the same genders is the symbol of
sincerity and trust in the culture of the Middle East, however between the opposite genders,
anything more than the brief eye contact is considered wrong.
Handshake is very much a part of the Western culture. However, there are differences in the type
of handshake within the Western culture. For instance, firm handshakes has been the norm in the
Northern Europe, while in the Southern Europe and Latin America duration of the handshakes
are longer and they are warmer (Rogers, Hart, & Miike 2002, 1-5).
On the daily basis, communication of nonverbal types takes place in business. They people who
cooperate with each other sits side by side. The people that are competitors in most occasions
face one another. The relaxation in a business meeting is indicated by folded arms or the crossed
legs. The interest in the meeting is indicated by eye contact with the speaker.
[395 words]
Assessment 1 - Portfolio questions:
TOPIC5 Cross-cultural Negotiation & Decision-making

5. 1.
In the stage of exchanging task related information, typically, each side has been making a
presentation and stating its position. The discussion of the alternatives is carried out in the period
of question-and-answer.
The Americans see this phase as understandable, efficient, objective, and straightforward.
However, apart from the Americans, the people doing negotiations may be continuing to be in
direct in this phase (Camp 2007). Adler has been suggesting that the negotiators who are most
effective have been practicing reversal of role in showing understanding of the viewpoint of the
counterparts.
2.
The negotiation has been representing a series of large and small decisions. It starts from the
determination of a position that is initial and plans of fallback to decide the way of reacting and
proceeding during the process of negotiation to determine on what to disagree or agree. The
decision making has been pervading the daily routine of the manager. The rationality marking
the decision making’s objective is known as the objective approach. The emotion marking the
decision making’s objective is known as the subjective approach. The United States is an apt
case of objective approach, while the Latin American countries are the examples of subjective
approach.
The people belonging to the Western countries usually adopt the rational approach in making
decisions. They stress the information role heavily. Contrastingly, the people of Latin America
have been more emotional and subjective. The difference between the objective and the
subjective approach has been involving the extent to which information vis-à-vis emotions forms
the variable in taking decisions.
The Iraq being a country in the Middle East has been handling negotiations with the use of styles
resembling expressiveness. This essentially means there is handling of the situation in an implicit
and indirect way. There has been devoid of the situation’s delineation from the person who
handles it. In such as scenario, if there is no agreement reached through the appeals that are

6. emotional, the negotiators have been avoiding confrontation and will be using avoidance and
evasion (Movius and Susskind 2009). This can be frustrating for UN that have been following
instrumental oriented style and low context to base its decisions on the analysis based on logic
and facts.
3.
The negotiation process with the Chinese mystifies the Westerners often. The Chinese has been
tending to focus more on group goals, saving face, friendship, and respect (Dawson 1999). The
Chinese has been more aloof and impersonal to the Americans, where the Americans have been
frivolous and erratic to the Chinese.
[429 words]
Assessment 1 - Portfolio questions:
TOPIC6 Formulating Strategy
1.
The business using internet can be facilitating rapid entrance into geographical markets that are
new. Nonetheless, this strategy is also fraught with many challenges. The challenges include
variations in the models of business, differences of culture, and consideration of responsibility
and jurisdiction of transaction that are cross border and electronic.
Albeit, the internet can be regarded as a medium that is global, still the companies have been
facing decisions with regards to the extent of national and regional and localized market vis-à-vis
extent of services and products that can be globalized. The industries such as, electronic
components, plastics, and steel is likely to be effective in e-global strategy for global B2B
market (Harrison and Stokes 1992). The local strategies with the use of internet are suitable with
financial services and consumer retailing.
2.
The manager of the firms has been performing competitive analysis in accessing the capability of
the firms and the key factors for success in comparison to its competitors. They must be judging

7. relative potential competitive position and the current position of the firms in the locations that
can be a specific region or country or be global. Much similar to the game of chess, the
managers also need the consideration of the competing firms’ strategic intent and their possible
future moves. The process has been enabling the strategic planners in determining the areas the
firm is having competencies that are distinctive that will be providing strategic advantage and the
direction that might be leading the firm into competitive advantage that is sustainable (King
1989). The sustainability of the competitive advantage cannot be eroded by emulation.
3.
The environmental assessment in relation to its impact has been a process to evaluate the
consequences of environmental and social activities that have been proposed. The environmental
assessment’s goals are the predicting of the impacts, minimize the impacts that are adverse to the
environment, and better decision making. The activities that are major with respect to the
requirement of the environmental assessment to successful include: assessment, scoping,
initiation, decision making, and analysis of the post decision. The description of each activity has
been in terms of references, linkages, issues, tools, and needs.
The assessment of the environment has been the first main way to weigh the strategic activities
of international standings. The assessment has been including the environmental scanning and
monitoring carried out continuously in keeping abreast of variable around the world that are
related to the firm and having the prospective in shaping its prospect with new opportunities. The
scanning of the environment has been a process to forecast the trends that are relevant and to
gather information, actions that are competitive, and the circumstances that will be affecting
operations in the areas having prospective interest. The scanning must be focusing on the interest
of the future with respect to the firm covering the key variables.
The key variables of international nature to be considered in the scanning process are: (a)
International competition; (b) nationalism; (c) instability of the currency; (d) political instability;
and (e) the process followed by the environmental scanning is dispensing, analyzing and
gathering information for strategic and tactical purposes.
[523 words]

8. Assessment 1 - Portfolio questions:
TOPIC7 Global Alliances
1.
In an alliance relationship, there is inevitability with respect to the transfer of technology. A
partner of alliance, from its partner, can be learning quickly about a new technology. After this, it
won’t need its partner in conducting business. It makes the venture obsolete when the partners
have been learning other’s business practice or technology. In reducing the risk, sometimes the
firms rope off the areas of sensitivity from their partners. The concept of strategic alliance in
some ways has been difficult in cooperating with a competitor that has been requiring a specific
action to strengthen the position of the competitor.
2.
The global sourcing is not to find workers that are lower paid. In benefitting from a strategy of a
global sourcing, a firm must be seeking in developing an outsourcing that is transformational
where the sourcing motives have been acted upon and examined (Doz, and Hamel 1998). The
recommendations have been including investment in the alliance, consulting with alliance
partners, the gain related to the cooperation of the management staff, evaluation of the sourcing
model that are best, and the examination of the reasons for outsourcing.
3.
The influence of the host governments have been in a number of areas. The areas include foreign
firms’ implementation and the strategic choices. There has been great influence related to the
firms’ profitability. The examples being the taxation level in the host country and profit
repatriation restrictions. There have been other influences as well that are important, such as, the
policies of the government related to the foreign firms’ ownership, patent and the copyright
protection, practices of remuneration and hiring, rules of the labor union, and so on (Lorange and
Roos 1993). However, for the most part, the groundwork has been done by the mangers of the
corporations. From beforehand, these factors are known that forms the decisions related to the
entry strategies.

9. [321 words]
Assessment 1 - Portfolio questions:
TOPIC8 Global Structure
1.
The major variables are inclusive of technology that are appropriate, size, strategy of the firm
and the environment where the operation of the firm is carried out. It is a difficult work in
designing the organizational structure that is most suitable and the subsystems, when considered
the augmented complexity with regards to the involved variables in the international context. As
a matter of fact, the research has been showing most of the managers internationally has been
finding it easier in determining what to do in competing globally (strategy) than in deciding the
way of developing the capability of the organization (structure) in doing it. In addition, the
variables that affect geographic dispersion and the choice of structure as well as the differences
in business practice, attitudes towards culture, language and time have been introducing further
layers of complication.
2.
There should be understanding that centralization/decentralization level has been conditional to
the organizational needs. Everybody needs control and authority. The strategy choice and control
has been dictated by the organizational needs. There is increasing trend that the strategy of
transition is preferable that has been controlling with regards to the features of centralized and
decentralized. However, at the end of the day the manager’s responsibility is achieving results,
the responsibility of which, cannot be delegated to others.
3.
There is always need for the business to effectively run the business and adopting strategies that
are effective. The learning from the bad and good experiences of the past, there is knowledge of

10. the MNCs in acting local and being global in their strategies. The involvement of the operations
that are global creates the need in acting local to execute the operations for functioning that is
smooth. This is achievable with the strategy that is competitive and involves differentiation. This
has been inclusive of adapting the activity of decentralization in the host market (Miles & Snow
1992). In general, there are decentralization of the organizations and the changing of its products
in meeting the local tastes of the host market. This has been the requiring of the organizations in
learning the host market culture. The MNCs must be hiring distributors and the employees from
the host market.
[373 words]

11. References:
1. Camp, Jim. No, The Only Negotiating System You Need For Work Or Home. Crown
Business. New York, NY. (2007).
2. Dawson, Roger. "Secrets of Power Negotiating - Inside Secrets from a Master
Negotiator" Career Press, (1999).
3. Doz, Yves L., and Gary Hamel. Alliance Advantage: The Art of Creating Value through
Partnering. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press, (1998).
4. Everett M. Rogers, William B. Hart, & Yoshitaka Miike. “Edward T. Hall and The
History of Intercultural Communication” The United States and Japan. Keio
Communication Review, No. 24, (2002): 1-5.
5. Farahmand, Fariborz. Cultural Factors and Information Systems: An Application to
Privacy Decisions in Online Environments. CRC Press. (2011)
6. Harrison, Roger, and Herb Stokes. Diagnosing Organizational Culture. San Francisco:
Pfeiffer, (1992).
7. King, Bob. Hoshin Planning: the Developmental Approach. Methuen, MA: GOAL/QPC,
(1989).
8. Lorange, Peter, and Johan Roos. Strategic Alliances: Formation, Implementation, and
Evolution. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Business, (1993).
9. Movius, H. and Susskind, L.E. Built to Win: Creating a World Class Negotiating
Organization. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Press. (2009).
10. Raymond E. Miles, Charles C. Snow. Causes of Failure in Network Organizations,
California Management Review, Summer (1992).
11. Shepherd, Hana. "The Cultural Context of Cognition: What the Implicit Association Test
Tells Us about How Culture Works". Sociological Forum 26, no.1 (2011): 121–143.