International Business Management

Final Exam (International Business Management)

1. What are the 6 internal factors in the international business environment? Please explain each factor in detail and provide real-life examples. (5 points)

• Organization Structure
• Human Resource Management
• Financial Management
• Marketing Management
• Production Management
• Research and Development (R&D)

2. What are the STEPIN factors in the international business environment? Explain each factor in detail and provide real-life examples. (10 points)

• Social and Cultural Factors
• Technological Factors 
• Economic Factors
• Political Factors
• International Factors
• Natural Factors

3. What is organizational culture? How to recognize a positive organizational culture? (5 points)

• Organizational culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and practices that define how employees interact, work, and conduct themselves within an organization. 

Recognize a positive organizational culture

• Employee Satisfaction: Employees generally appear motivated, enthusiastic, and satisfied with their work, resulting in lower employee turnover.
• Open Communication: Employees feel comfortable providing and receiving feedback, and constructive criticism is encouraged.
• Good Work-Life Balance: The organization respects employees’ boundaries regarding work hours and time off.
• Strong Teamwork and Collaboration: Colleagues are supportive, help one another, and are encouraged to collaborate across teams.
• Recognition and Appreciation: Employees receive acknowledgment for their achievements, and they feel their compensation and benefits are fair and reflect their contributions.
• Commitment to Employee Development: The organization actively helps employees advance their careers with resources, promotions, or new roles.

• Please describe the characteristics of adhocracy culture and clan culture. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each workplace culture above? (10 points)

• Adhocracy culture refers to a flexible and dynamic organizational environment that thrives on creativity, innovation, and adaptability. Team members challenge the current situation and constantly find ways to improve, innovate, and develop new services and offerings.
• Pros: Innovation and creativity, quick adaptation to change, employee empowerment, efficient problem-solving, attracting top talent
• Cons:  Lack of structure, risk of inefficiency, resource strain
• Clan culture occurs in companies where staff members function more like a family. These types of company cultures are most common in small, family-owned businesses. Clan culture tends to get rid of hierarchies and creates a more supportive work environment where employees are just as involved and valued as upper management. They are likely to use open and informal communication. 
• Pros: Good employee engagement, enhanced communication, stronger team cohesion, employee retention, improved conflict resolution
• Cons: Limited diversity of perspectives, difficulty in scaling, and slow decision-making processes

5. Describe the workplace cultures of Japan and the USA in detail. Which one do you prefer between these two workplace cultures? Why? (10 points)

Japan

• Collectivism
• Group Harmony
• Loyalty to the company
• Seniority and Hierarchy

USA

• Individualism
• Personal achievement
• Career Mobility
• Meritocracy
• Equality in hierarchy