COURSE: 

MULTI-CULTURAL AND TRANSNATIONAL MANAGEMENT 

(INE  3223 E*) 

  

FINAL ASSIGNMENT 

  Instructor: MSc. Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai 

Name of student: Nguyen Thi Hai Yen 

Date of birth: 08/08/2000 

Student ID: 18050635

Hanoi, 2021
Course: Multi-Cultural and Transnational Management (INE  3223E*) 

Student 

Name: Nguyen Thi Hai Yen

Word count

3689 (Excluding Title Page, Table of Contents and Bibliography) 

Module coordinator 

MSc. Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai 

Date of submission:  

 26/12/2021

Plagiarism statement 

“I confirm that this assignment is entirely my own work and has not been submitted in
full or in part for any other course within or outside UEB. I confirm that all references are
duly acknowledged.” 

 Signature: Yen
 PART 1: ESSAY (3 points) 
  Topic: In most cases, local managerial approaches must be modified for doing business
overseas. What are three specific examples that support this statement? Be complete in
your answer
As globalization becomes increasingly relevant, international business
environments are more culturally diverse than ever before. Almost multinational
companies play for keeps to expand their markets in other countries, however, to reduce
the misunderstandings between different cultures and gain maximum profit, it is essential
that they have to adapt quickly and local managerial approaches must be modified in each
area. Some below examples are evidences for it.
The first example is the difference in power distance in cultural dimensions of
Hofstede. In the headquarters of Heineken, in Amsterdam, you find a lot of tall blond
Dutch people, and also a lot of Mexicans. In 2010 Heineken purchased a big operation in
Monterrey, Mexico, and now a large number of head-office employees come from there.
Among them is Carlos Gomez, who described his experiences since moving to
Amsterdam. Netherlands is a low power distance country, on the contrary, like other
developing countries, Mexico has high power distance. “It is absolutely incredible to
manage Dutch people, and nothing like my experience leading Mexican teams,” he said,
“because from my experience the Dutch do not care at all who is the boss in the room.”
The degree of respect we show to authority is deeply rooted in the culture we are
raised in. We begin as young children learning how much deference we should show to an
older sibling, a parent, a teacher. Later, in business, these same ideas affect how we view
our relationships with our bosses and subordinates.
Gomez learned to lead in a culture where deference to authority is relatively high.
He found it both confusing and challenging to lead a team where the boss is seen as just
one of the guys. The Netherlands is one of the most egalitarian cultures in the world.
Gomez explained: “I will schedule a meeting in order to roll out a new process, and
during the meeting my team starts challenging the process, taking the meeting in various
unexpected directions, ignoring my process altogether, and paying no attention to the fact
that they work for me. Sometimes I just watch them astounded. But often I just feel like
getting down on my knees and pleading with them, “Dear colleagues, in case you have
forgotten I . . . am . . . the boss.”
This example might be explained that in today’s global business environment it is
not enough to be either a low-power-distance leader or a high-power-distance leader. You
may find yourself leading a team with both Dutch and Chinese employees (as well as
Italians, Swedes, and Mexicans). You need to develop the flexibility to manage up and
down the cultural scale. Often this means going back to square one. It means watching
what makes local leaders successful and then modifying suitable approaches. It means
frequently explaining your own style. It may even mean learning to laugh at yourself. But
ultimately it means learning to lead in different ways in order to motivate and mobilize
groups that follow in different ways from the folks back home.

The second example is the different culture between USA and China. An American
company selling high-end technical goods to a potential Chinese buyer. Relations have
been going well and the Chinese have been invited for a factory tour in anticipation of the
contract between the two companies finally being signed. The evening after the tour, the
Americans host the Chinese delegation for a dinner at a local restaurant. Upon entering
the restaurant, the head of the Chinese delegation is greeted by a junior member of the US
team. He asks where he should sit, to which he is told to, “sit where you like”. The next
day the Chinese delegation left the USA without signing any contract. Days later the US
team received word that the Chinese felt humiliated and were reconsidering the business
relationship. Well the cultural misunderstanding comes down to a few things.
From this example, we can see that in Chinese culture, hierarchy is really
important, whereas in American culture, its more about equality and displays of hierarchy
aren’t culturally comfortable. So, when the head of the Chinese delegation was only
greeted by a junior member of the team, rather than the most senior, he immediately felt
a loss of face. To add insult to injury he was then told to ‘sit anywhere’ – when, ideally,
he should have been given the seat at the head of the table next to the most senior member
of the US team. In Chinese culture, people tend to hide their feelings. For this reason, the
team did not say anything at the time. The US team had to work hard to repair the
damage. This cultural misunderstanding led to an 8-month delay in the signing of the
contract.
The final example points out that is essential for companies to deal with cultural
differences. McDonalds has reacted in the right way towards processing in the Chinese
market. Now I am going to analyse this situations with Hofstede’s dimensions.
Furthermore, I would like to compare USA and China in terms of McDonalds.
 Power Distance: USA 40 & China 80
Individualism: USA 91 & China 20
Masculinity: USA 62 and China 66
Uncertainty Avoidance: USA 46 and China 30

McDonalds and also other fast food chains are very creative and innovative in
proceeding in foreign markets. The high Individualism and low Uncertainty Avoidance
highlights reasons for that. They are more willing to take risk in entering foreign markets
and therefore they also consider the circumstance, in this case in China. They made a step
forward in deciding to offer local products in China. Now McDonald’s product range in
China is very different to the US market. Despite they wanted to have the same product
range and quality worldwide they decided to adapt the products in China, for instance
they offer rice dishes or duck meat. Certainly reasons for that will be gaining market share
and especially being competitive in local markets. Otherwise, the low Power Distance and
low Uncertainty Avoidance led to this decisions.
There are also different strategies in communicating with China and its High
Collectivistic culture. They decided to focus on long-lasting relationships and family. Not
anymore food and its quality is in the background.
To conclude, I think there great differences in doing business in China, USA .
Nowadays circumstance such as globalisation means to do business in foreign markets
with focusing on the culture; the different results regarding Hofstede’s dimensions will
help in that case. In addition to this, global companies should concentrate on cultural
strategy instead of raising profit or market share.

PART 2: CASE STUDY ANALYSIS (4 points) 

 
 “P&G again ranks among top companies for diversity” (Kingery, 2019) 
Last year, P&G – a large employer of about 95,000 employees has landed a spot on
DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies list (Kingery, 2019). This giant’s global workforce is
an amalgamation of individuals from over 145 countries. The ability to uphold strong
values of diversity and multiculturalism within its own organization allows P&G to be
more innovative and gain competitive advantages (Vji, 2018). John
 Pepper, former CEO of Procter & Gamble once said that “Our success as
a global company is a direct result of our diverse and talented workforce. Our ability to
develop new consumer insights and ideas and to execute in a superior way across the
world is the best possible testimony to the power of diversity any organisation could
ever have” (Procter &Gamble, 1998).   
 
Based on what you’ve learnt from the course and what you could search from the
internet about P&G*, answer the following questions:  
1. Analyze the advantages and problems associated with managing a diverse and
multicultural workforce. 
Along with the strong globalization process and the development of the multinational
economy, diverse and multicultural workforce definitely has brought new importance to
the companies.  A diverse workforce employs people from all walks of life– all
backgrounds, genders, ages, races, religions, and abilities. Individuals from different
socioeconomic statuses. When people of various cultures work together the results are
usually excellent. Not only does it help to build strong relationships and gain more
knowledge, but it also gives the company competitive advantage. With this complex
structure of human interaction comes the greatest challenge, how to communicate among
and between these groups. In addition, the working environment and culture may change.
The change can be either positive or negative. However, increased cultural differences
within a workforce also create potential costs in higher interpersonal conflict, turnover,
and communication breakdowns. To capitalize on the benefits and minimize the potential
costs of worker diversity, leaders are advised to oversee the change processes toward
creating multicultural organizations. Advantages and disadvantages of this issue most be
brought to attention.
A. Advantages:
 Diverse cultural perspectives can inspire creativity and drive innovation
People from different cultures see the world in different ways. They're raised to have
different priorities, different beliefs in what's possible and appropriate, and they learn
different methods of getting the job done. That's a big advantage when you need
some out-of-the-box thinking for your latest project.
 Diverse and multicultural workforce with local market knowledge and insight makes a
business more competitive and profitable
 A multicultural workforce can give an organization an important edge when
expanding into new markets. Often, a product or service needs to be adapted to succeed
overseas. Understanding local laws, regulations, and customs, as well as the competitive
landscape, can help a business to thrive. Moreover, local connections, native language
skills, and cultural understanding can boost international business development
exponentially.And being more competitive ultimately means being more profitable.
P&G’s global workforce from over 145 countries has landed a spot on DiversityInc’s Top
50 Companies list which  measures their success against the broader market thanks to
diverse and multicultural workforce.
 Drawing from a culturally diverse talent pool allows an organization to attract and
retain the best talent
Not only does hiring from a more diverse talent pool makes your business attractive to
ambitious, globally minded candidates, it also helps you to keep them on board. Diversity,
including diversity of gender, religion, and ethnicity, has been shown to improve
retention and reduce the costs associated with employee turnover.
 A diverse skills base allows an organization to offer a broader and more adaptable
range of products and services. Thus, they can reach customers’ requirements which
contributes to revenue growth for business.
 Diverse teams are more productive and perform better
A workplace culture of diversity goes a long way toward helping your employees feel
included, no matter who they are or where they come from. This inclusiveness helps
break down barriers and reduces the fear of being rejected, not only for who your
employees are, but for the ideas they voice.
In fact, diverse teams see a 60% improvement in decision-making and a 2013 report by
Deloitte shows that when employees feel included, innovation increases by 83%.
 Greater opportunity for personal and professional growth
Working across cultures can be a truly enriching experiencing, allowing others to
learn about perspectives and traditions from around the world. Bonding over similarities
and differences can help you to become a global citizen, abandoning prejudices or an
ethnocentric world view—something that is increasingly valuable.
B. Disadvantages:
 Communication problems: Lots of you will agree that communication can be the
hardest wall to break down in a multicultural working environment. This is due for
 example, to some members’ lack of fluency in the team’s dominant language or the
communication style of their own country.
+ Colleagues from some cultures may be less likely to let their voices be heard
+ Trouble with fluency and accent: someone who are not fluent in the team’s
dominant language will have difficulty communicating their knowledge
+ Professional communication can be misinterpreted or difficult to understand across
languages and cultures.
 Work culture differences:
+ Integration across multicultural teams can be difficult in the face of prejudice or
negative cultural stereotypes.
+  working styles and attitudes towards work can be very different, reflecting cultural
values and compounding differences. If not recognized and accounted, conflicting
approaches to work can put the brakes on productivity.
+ Colleagues from different cultures can also bring with them different workplace
attitudes, values, behaviors, and etiquette. They can cause misunderstandings or ill
feelings between team members.
+ Some cultures are agreed with flat organizational structures, while others are used to
a formal hierarchy. For instance, team members from hierarchical cultures expect to be
treated differently according to their status in the corporation. On the other hand workers
from egalitarian cultures do not. Failure of some members to honor those expectations can
cause humiliation or loss of stature and credibility.
 Decision – making conflicts: Working in multicultural workforce will face problem
differences in how decisions are made and analyze the problem. Conflicts arise when
some of them make decisions quickly or slowly. Such as US managers are known to
make decisions quickly without analyzes. But in Eastern cultural, managers need more
time to decide.

2. What is P&G doing to develop and support a diverse workplace?  

* Use the most updated information.  
P&G has made good progress, but we always want to do better. For example, the
number of women and U.S. minorities at the vice president/general manager level has
doubled over the past five years.
 P&G intends to develop all employees to their full potential. To achieve this goal,
they have human resource systems in place that support individual development, and they
regularly review these systems to make sure they work well for everyone, including
women and the various population groups that make up our minority work force.
Ongoing support systems we have in place include:
• Career discussions, performance appraisals, assignment plans, transfer and
promotion plans.
• Grass roots/informal network support groups which have existed at different sites
for a number of years.
• Mentoring, to provide informal support and guidance, in addition to coaching and
training provided by each employee’s direct manager.

P&G builds into our culture the values, behaviors and norms that create advantage
from differences. Their workplace environment encourages collaboration, which brings
their different talents and experiences together to produce better ideas and superior
services and products.
P&G actively supports and participates in a wide variety of programs that seek to
improve educational opportunities and quality, to recruit and employ minorities and
women, and to promote affirmative action goals in communities where the Company does
business.
In the U.S.:
• The Research & Development Division provides scholarships, sponsors
fellowships, and actively participates in professional organizations.
• Procter & Gamble has been sponsoring/participating in three Catalyst studies
looking at the issues impacting on the advancement of women in the workplace.
Procter & Gamble hosted a national meeting of the President’s Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities
In Europe, P&G participated in the European Year Against Racism 1997.
In China, building on a program begun in 1996, P&G donated $600,000 to Project Hope.
In India, P&G is supporting CARE’s Girls’ Education Initiative to help CARE increase
the literacy rates for thousands of primary school girls in 300 rural villages in Utter
Pradesh and Rajasthan States.
In Mexico, working with the state government and state boards of education and health,
P&G has been funding an ongoing program to build schools to educate children in rural
areas.
In Pakistan, P&G worked with its joint venture partner on a long-term, comprehensive
project to bring about a qualitative and quantitative improvement in local education.

PART 3. LEARNING JOURNAL (3 points) 
As a final -year undergraduate in economical university, I realize the important
role of improving constantly professional knowledge and skills to prepare well for
graduation then working in international economic aspect. In the modern era, the strong
globalization and the development of the multinational economy create demand for
managing diversity and multiculture.Thus, when I took Multicutural and Transnational
Management course this semester, I was very excited and hoped that academic
performance can help me put into practice then. After fifteen weeks, as I sit down and
write down this learning journal, I have just realized that the study process has changed
my perspectives, enriched my knowledge about multicultural and transnational
management and improved skills.
Reflecting back to my first days of class, frankly speaking, “diversity”
“multicuture” “transnation” were not strange phrases with undergraduates nowadays in
global economy. Nevertheless, it does not mean that we have exhaustive understandings
or know how the enterprises operate them in their businesses in present context. Thus, my
goals for this course are to develop personal, professional and interpersonal skills and
attributes, as well as equipping a well blend of theory and practice in transnational
management across cultures.
This course lasted 15 weeks with 9 chapters covering three main contents:
environment, culture and organizational management. Besides the lectures, there were
other activities such as teamwork and group presentations and discussions, personal task
to analyze case study so that each individual can improve skills, abilities, communication
and extend knowledge which the students might not achieve through grasping the material
as Multicutural and Transnational Management itself has been challenging course.
This subject’s content focuses on challenges and opportunities associated with
transnational management in the multicultural environment. Through chapters, I was
provided with general overview of transnational management. Moreover, an interesting
part of course is introducing theories, concept and skills relevant to managing effectively
in today’s global environment, a variety of real- world examples and cases from small,
medium and large companies around the world are used which is essential for young
students – future leaders to response quickly with present context.

Under those circumstances, I gained more exhaustive knowledge of Multicutural

and Transnational Management after this course. Furthermore, it teaches a wealth of
useful academic jargon. Our class is also a place for me to practice my English speaking
skills, therefore I am looking forward to each lesson.

As a student specializing in international economics with knowledge of leadership

ability, negotiation, and organizational management, among other things, are significant
skills that will aid me in attaining my future goals of becoming an official staff (like
Management Trainee) of foreign company.

Because the influences of COVID-19, all of activities at class took place via
Microsoft Teams including teamwork. It is fortune when I got along well with my group
members and we worked well together. After the team leader, Thu Huong, split distinct
responsibilities for each member with a deadline, we have discussed the major ideas. We
specify the sections of each task, which include reading comprehension and content
searches, creating slides, summarizing, and giving presentations. We shall meet online on
MS Teams after receiving assignments from lecturers and press ideas to add to the plan.
Because the most significant aspect is the content, all members must participate in the
content search process. To guarantee fairness, other tasks such as creating slides or giving
a presentation will be alternated among members.

Thanks to our excellent team leader, her suitable distribution and reminder, our
members are extremely well-prepared and never miss a deadline, ensuring that we
complete our work on time. When it comes to discussing assignments, the members of my
group are nice and passionate. Instead of arguing, everyone patiently listens to each
other's viewpoints, and then the entire group decides on the most plausible choice to
propose. In addition, our team members are always willing to help each other who has
urgent case to complete preparation well. Looking back my teamwork, I always fulfill the
group's deadlines, turn in assignments on time, follow everyone's communications, and
take part in complete online sessions. Personally, I believe I worked as hard as my
colleagues. Everyone took responsibility for the presentation and did their best to make it
the best it could be.
 I assess performance using the following criteria: Finish time; is my assignment
congruent with the curriculum's theoretical framework?; What are the other members'
opinions on my work?; Comments on my content by professors (good or bad or anything
needs to be improved, etc…)

The overall ranking of everyone is used to compare me to other members of the

group. Before adding content to the template, we update for each other to the final slides.
If there is an issue with the content, we will make every effort to fix it. Because the entire
team evaluates each member, we believe we were able to precisely evaluate our
performance.

Last but not least, I believe that not only me but many students in class also had a
great time learning and working together. I would like to express my gratitude to MSs.
Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai for your great support and dedication in teaching which have
helped the class tremendously. You are one of the most devoted lecturers I had learnt at
university. You constantly make an effort to speed up students to study hard and is there
to answer any questions they may have in order to help them acquire as much information
as possible. Thank you a lot and your enthusiasm really inspires me.
---The End---
BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Forbes, 2014, “Power Distance: You Can't Lead Across Cultures Without Understanding
It”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2014/09/25/power-distance-
you-cant-lead-across-cultures-without-understanding-it/?
sh=3f13546e459a&fbclid=IwAR2b1go3yK1dtfcQ1b_QbMKvtmxUYIYXrC9_-
y7Qi6zX2TAT9yQpM8LVe4k

P&G, 2020, “Diversity”, Report, Page 9

https://www.pg.com/content/pdf/01_about_pg/01_about_pg_homepage/about_pg_t
oolbar/download_report/diversity.pdf

Katie Raynolds, 2018, “13 benefits and challenges of cultural diversity in the workplace”,
Online Reading in HULT International Business School.
https://www.hult.edu/blog/benefits-challenges-cultural-diversity-
workplace/#competitivnes
Hofstede,G. 2011. Dimensionalizing cultures: The Hofstede model in context. Online
Reading in Psychology and Culture, 2(1).
Christine Hanks, 2018, “6 Benefits of Having a Diverse Workforce”

https://wonolo.com/blog/6-benefits-of-having-a-diverse-workforce