Coursework 1 Q & A

Extract from Coursework Assignment Brief:

Using business case study examples, explain how organizational and national culture affect
businesses performance,  and suggest how global organisations can prepare for and benefit
from cultural differences.”

For the presentation, you must demonstrate a (deep) understanding of the relevant theories
(or concepts), their context (or origin) as well as current thinking on these topics. Examples of
companies are expected, and you must demonstrate through analysis why any company
helps you illustrate the key point.

How many organisations should we investigate?

More than one, but how many is your choice. You can compare and contrast the companies,
or you can just examine them separately to explore organisational and national culture.

How do I explore national cultural differences?

One way might be to explore how a single global organisation adapts to accommodate the
different national cultures of the countries it operates in.
Another way might be to consider whether there is evidence of differences in culture between
organisations based in different parts of the world, e.g. Japanese and US companies.

What about the suggestions for how organisations can prepare for and benefit from cultural
differences?

Here, you might think about reducing barriers to communication, setting up and leading new
teams overseas, enabling people to collaborate with colleagues overseas, using cultural
differences to drive creativity and innovation, overcoming culture shock.

What about other aspects of organisational culture?

Handy, Johnson & Scholes and Schein all proposed models of organizational culture. You
could analyse your chosen companies according to these models: does it adopt a Task
Culture model? What is the organizational structure? Tangible artefacts vs deeply held
values?

Do we need to use Powerpoint slides?

It’s your decision; you could film yourselves presenting Powerpoint slides, but we would
advise you to keep your slides simple if you choose to do this, and focus on explaining your
points verbally. We don’t mind whether you choose to film in close up or from a distance. It’s
a good idea to make a couple of 1 minute trial recordings and watch them back to see what
works best.

CW1: the individual reflection

Each member of your group will produce their own unique reflection. This is because you are
asked to think about your personal role in planning and creating the presentation, as well as
your performance. Also, you are asked to refer to Tuckman and Jensen to help you think
about how your group functioned and progressed, but keep academic referencing minimal –
this should be very personal.
The only thing that should be common is your group bibliography – and this is excluded from
the word count.
You can exceed the word count by 10%. Being succinct is a good discipline!