ASSIGNMENTS

A.  REFLECTIONS ON German CULTURE                 

1. Each student will turn in a 2-3 page discussion/analysis of  some aspect of German culture based on your experience. However, the paper MUST apply cultural concepts from the course material or other learned sources. How do these concepts help you better understand some aspects of French culture that you encountered. Some concepts you might consider using include:
- Artifacts such as – dress, food, language, art , architecture, etc.
- Assumptions – time, space, etc.
- Values – power distance uncertainty avoidance, self-orientation, assertiveness
- Cultural metaphor of the symphony
2. Draw conclusions about German culture and/or about the importance of understanding cultures when doing business abroad.
3. Provide a separate list of references at the end of paper.

 B. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FUNCTION PROFILE

               Each student will turn in a 2-3 page discussion/analysis of the international aspect of a business function (finance, management, marketing, operations, MIS, HRM, etc.) For undergraduates choose the function that corresponds to your major.

                      1. Purpose – is to explore in more depth how a business function is affected or managed in an international setting. You might take a broad view of the function and its international dimensions or you could focus on something specific such  as expatriates and culture shock for HRM or Cultural effects on advertising  in writing about the marketing function.
2. Data Sources – Use at least 4 sources other than the text or assigned course readings. This can include books, articles, presentations by managers on our field trips or GEM faculty, etc.                  
3. Draw conclusions about managing your business function across borders based on your discussion.|
4. Provide a separate list of references at the end of paper.         

C.         CASE STUDIES –

           i.  ) When cases are assigned, prepare the questions at  the end of case (or given in class) for class discussion.
ii.   ) Team discussion

         Everyone in the class will form a group and sign up for a case in  which the group will organize and lead the class discussions.

   Remember the team role is to lead the discussion not make a     presentation. Think of ways you can draw ideas from the class, with some good focused questions. You will be evaluated on:

      1.     How well the class answers the questions, think of creative ways to foster participation
2.      How well concepts from class/text are integrated in responses.
3.      How well you get the majority of the class involved in the discussion.

 As a warm up have someone or two people give some background on the company and the issue they face in the case. This relies only on case facts and hopefully will be easier to recall and help the class recall some of the facts too.

 At the end have the class jot down one or two lessons learned from the case and its discussion.

  D.         CULTURAL METAPHOR ASSIGNMENT

                           1.) Each group will write a one paragraph description of their assigned                  
                                   without using the  country’s name, metaphor (e.g., house, symphony, or wine) nor
                                    explicit value terms in their description.

Method: First. Identify the key traditions, behaviors, values and beliefs that are most descriptive of your nation.
           Secondly, now try to incorporate these concepts into a paragraph.
           Edit your paragraph to make sure it is coherent and logical, not just a listing of ideas.
 

2.) In addition, each group will provide three one line statements about their country that neither uses the country’s name or specific cultural terms. The statement should describe something, action or belief that is typical of the country. Ex. “We are a competitive people both at work and in our sports”  Or “Our culture believes in the value of family and cooperation.”

E.          Company Profile

In order to learn more about German businesses, each class member will develop a one page executive briefing and make sufficient copies to handout in class as well as provide a  30 seconds or less  in class report on the 3-4 most interesting facts about the firm.

 In general each briefing should provide the following information about the company on ONE Page: Make 13 copies for everyone in class. Complete before you go to Europe.

1.         Name & location

2.         Brief history:  yr. founded, original product, founder, etc.

3.         Current product lines or businesses

4.         International:  range of activities and countries

5.            Organization:  CEP, major divisions or groups, size of Board of Directors

6.         Recent Performance:  Market share, growth & profitability

                       Sources:

Dun & Bradstreet’s, International Directory
            Europe’s 15,000 Largest Corps.
            Fortune’s Global 500 (July Issue)
            Mergent online (through Blackwell Library)
            Worldscope Directory of Corporations
             www.kompass.com

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