Section 1: Intercultural awareness – Essay
Question A – Critical incident
In this essay, I will discuss why the co-game developers James and Tim, perceive
Dr Lawrence and his offer so differently and also behave differently towards him
during the business meeting.
(1) Hierarchical (formal) vs Egalitarian (informal)
Informal cultures value egalitarian attitudes and small difference in status and
power. In informal, egalitarian cultures we tend to value skills and education over
status.
Formal cultures tend to be organized in hierarchies reflecting major differences in
status and power. In hierarchical cultures its more about who you know and who
you are.
Examples for Informal (case):
” He had reluctantly put on a jacket over his t-shirt, only because James had
insisted”
“I guess he is not even a real doctor”
Examples for formal (case):
“James stood up and straightened his tie, unable to hide his excitement...”
“Dr Lawrence, what an honour”
As you can see the examples clearly shows that James has a more formal and
Hierarchical view. He is formally dressed and uses Lawrence title when they
meet. This indicates that title and status are important to James. In contrary, title
and statues clearly aren’t as crucial for Tim, joking about his degree, as I
interpreted it. Tim also has a more informal approach, wearing a t-shirt under his
jacket, which indicates that the meeting is necessary but not crucial for their
future. This also accurse when they first meet.
Since Lawrence seems to be leaning more to James’s formal style, it’s no wonder
that Tim doesn’t like the offer as much as James.
(2) Achievement-Based vs Ascription-Based
While some societies accord status to people on the basis of their achievement,
others ascribe it to them by virtue age, class, gender, education. The first kind of
status is called achieved and the second ascribed status.
Examples for Achievement Based (case):
“and from what I hear, he runs a pretty tight ship in his company. The way he has
developed his organisation makes him the most competent decision-make there”
Examples for Ascription Based (case):
“if it weren’t for the connections he got because of his parents position in society,
he would never have been able to develop GameInvent to what it is today”
This is an essential part of understanding why Tim and James perceive Dr
Lawrence so differently. Tim has less respect for Lawrence because in his
opinion, he was born into his position and rank. He hasn’t “climbed the ladders”
like us “normal” people have to. When you don’t respect a person, it’s hard to
accept an offer from that same individual.
James, on the other hand, has tremendous respect for the CEO and clearly state
that he is a competent leader. Maybe he hasn’t climbed the ladder-like others, but
it’s because of him the company has become so big. James looks at Lawrence as a
god decision-maker, and that makes it easier to understand why James agrees with
Lawrence when it comes to the proposal of “pay-to-play” and vice versa when it
comes to Tim.
(3) Individualism vs Collectivism
Individualism stresses individual goals and the rights of the individual person.
Collectivism focuses on group goals, what is best for the collective group, and
personal relationships.1
Examples for Individualism (case):
“thinking about the gamers is OK, but don’t forget that we need to look after
ourselves and our own prospects”
“…Having the gamers pay for entry is a much better way for the investors to
ensure a return on their investment”
Examples for Collectivism (case):
“You have to think about the gamers”
“…We should work for the best of the gaming community”
“They are the group we should be loyal to. They will play this new level since it
makes the game more interesting, and you can make money when they buy boxes
and skins”
Tim has a strong sense of belonging to the gamer-community, while James cares
more about their future and the stakeholder’s interest. Both have the intention of
making money but on different terms. Tim is more about giving back to the
gamers that provide income, while James wants to play it safe, making money
first, than delivering the product.
Tim behaves differently towards Dr Lawrence because he doesn’t feel that they
share the same interest of keeping the gamers happy. Lawrence is a businessman.
“Pay-per-entry” seems like the clear choice for a capitalist, especially when he
doesn’t share the same connection to the gamer-community.
Conclusion
This business venture clearly shows how problematic it can be, when two people
with different intentions and views, try to agree upon an offer. It’s necessary to
1
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/develop-culturalintelligence/0/steps/49772
give up something to gain something. This case has also shown that it is a
connection between our thoughts/beliefs and how we look at people.
Section 2: Ethical awareness – business e-mail
Dear Ms. Plummer
As an influencer with a young audience, I need to take some precautions since
your energy drink contains caffeine. To assist my deciding I’ve made use of the
ethical navigation wheel to analyse the situation.2
The Norwegian health authorities are discussing regulating the marketing of
energy drinks to children but have so far not issued new legislation. Because of
this, I don’t see any problems with the law, considering this deal.
My YouTube channel is devoted to making young people more aware of the
impact of eating meat and hopefully becoming vegan someday. Since your
product does not contain animal substances, this isn’t contradicting with my
values.
On the other hand, caffeine isn’t healthy, and especially not for children. Since
I’m promoting a healthy lifestyle in many ways, advertising caffeine would in
some sort lit up a double standard. Therefore, saying no to this would be the right
choice according to my values.
2
Kvalnes and Øverenget, 2012
My moral intuition says that promoting a product that potentially could harm my
audience would be wrong. My audience is after all the reason to why I’ve made it
this far. And to give away potentially harmful products is not in my intended.
If we would go through with this deal, I think that my goodwill would potentially
be at stake. This is based on my channels content and what I stand for. People
would immediately understand that this is paid to advertise and can harm my
reputation.
Not many things would make me happier than to see my local sports club getting
a new badminton court, but I can’t risk my career on doing so. So, in this case, I
can’t base my choice solely on the economic part.
To decide if this deal can be justified, I’ve drawn a conclusion based on my
answers so far, and it’s clear to me that this cannot be justified. It is simply too
risky. Although my local sports team would get a lot out of this deal, I can’t
jeopardize my career to help them.
This has been a difficult decision, but I must decline your offer. I know that you
as well would like to do the right thing, and I hope this e-mail will make you
understand my conclusion.
Best Regards
Chris Smith
Influencer
REFERENCE LIST
Part 1: From Richard R.Gesteland
Part 2: From Geert Hofstede
Part 3: From Fons Trompenaars
Brown, Mark and Peter Cleaverley. 2010.
Collection of Articles SPÅ 2910 Bus.com
Matthews, Derek 2015. Collection of Articles
WEEK 11: Powerpoint lecture. Its learning
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/develop-cultural-intelligence/0/steps/49772