Details

Comparison and Contrast between United States and Canada

Go to the U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade website: http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/top/dst/current/balance.html

You are a manager about to relocate from the U.S. to the country you have selected in order to manage a team of local Customer Service reps, dealing with current and prospective customers within that country. As part of your preparation to ensure success in reaching targets and managing the team:

• Research the following cultural dimensions for your selected country and the U.S. Compare and contrast the two countries with regard to five of these dimensions. For each of the five dimensions, give an example of how the differences you have identified will require you to adapt your management style with your team and customers:
  • Education systems and literacy rates
  • Communication style
  • Business etiquette and protocol
  • Business meeting conduct
  • Team-building
  • Work motivation
  • Time
• Go to The Hofstede Centre website for the results of Geert Hofstede’s acclaimed research on national cultural dimensions: http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html
• Compare the relative scores of your selected country and the U.S. in these five dimensions: If we explore the US culture through the lens of the 5-D Model, we can get a good overview of the deep drivers of American culture relative to other world cultures.