Assignment instructions (Part 1 & 2)

Part 1: Create an assignment outline/plan

  1. Study the assignment very well. Go through the tutor instructions within the below URL. It is about 19 minutes only but are important to guide you through how you need to write the assignment. Kindly, takes notes and assure you cover the whole aspect of the video below.

https://kaplanopenlearning.zoom.us/rec/play/vZcoJO-tqDo3S4KT5QSDAqJ4W47rfPms23QY__YOnkq8UyIKMQKnNboUarZXXybsrNc9E6GmPqOP5VmL?autoplay=true&continueMode=true&startTime=1581451393000

  1. Write an outline / plan NOT a draft. Basically, all I need is head-titles and “maybe” 1 sentence below describing what you’re plan to cover in each head titles. Some head titles will need no further explanations. Please make it short, as a “plan” of how you are outlining/organizing your assignment. Do not write a lot or create draft as the tutor will refuse to give suggestions.
  2. After I receive the outline, I’ll share it with my tutor whom will provide notes, suggestions, comments etc.. Wait until I share with you the tutor comments on your outline, you can then continue and start the actual assignment. (Usually it takes tutor 48 to reply).

Part 2: Writing the Assignment.

  1. Review the outline comment shared from tutor and edit accordingly.
  2. Review the above detailed instruction within the URL.
  3. 2900 words. Stick with word count.
  4. Plarigism free. Out university provide us with Turtirn detector to submit assignment before submission. Order must be zero palarigized.
  5. 28 References (only reliable sources)
  6. Only Harvard formatting for referencing (Guide attached).
    • URL and access dates are required within Harvard referencing.
  1. Unit readings are attached FYI. You might use it as references as well.
Assignment

Anna Håkansson, a Swedish investment banker from Stockholm, was introduced in Chapter 3 (see pages 72-74) as she was preparing for a business trip to Bahrain. In preparation for this trip, Anna was trying to learn as much as possible about her prospective partner prior to departure. To accomplish this, she first talked to colleagues who had some experience there.

Next, she ran a Google search and uncovered a number of recent articles in various respected sources that helped her to understand what to expect. Based on what she learned, she next attempted to find a way to organise everything into a user-friendly format. She looked for a cultural model she could use to make some comparisons between Swedish and Arab societies to solidify what she had learned. She chose a model developed by Dutch management researcher Geert Hofstede. He views culture as the “software of the mind” that differentiates one group or society from another. In other words, while people all have the same hardware, their brains and patterns of thinking and behaving can be very different (see text and Appendix).

Finally, Anna Håkansson believed she had a concrete comparative framework on which to compare some of the basic differences between the two countries.

Based on what she had learned, Anna Håkansson believed she was now prepared for her upcoming meeting in Bahrain.

Assignment

  1. What is your opinion of the manner in which Anna Håkansson prepared for her business trip? Could she have done a better job here? If so, how?
  2. Using the materials from Chapter 3 and the text Appendix concerning Hofstede’s cultural model, how would you describe the cultural environments in both Sweden and Bahrain?
  3. Would Anna’s conclusions concerning mainstream Swedish and Bahraini cultures differ if you used the core cultural dimensions (see pages 80-85) instead of Hofstede’s framework?
  4. What can Håkansson do to minimise the creation of stereotypes about the people she will meet at Gulf One?
  5. Based on what you have learned, identify some of the cultural complexities and contradictions facing Håkansson as she tries to understand the culture of her counterparts in Bahrain.
  6. Based on what Anna Håkansson has already done to prepare for her upcoming visit, what are the next steps, if any, that you would recommend she take to continue developing her knowledge of business culture in the Middle East?