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INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Period 2

CHAPTER 1: THE SCOPE OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS



1) Why is it important to work in the global environment?

It is important to work in the global environment because business affects the whole world. International business is the trade and relationship built between countries and the outcomes of those trades can affect everyone in the world such as individuals, families, social systems, economies and the relationships between countries. If one does not work in the global environment then it would be difficult to understand why and how business affects almost every level of the world and people.

2) What is the Impact of International Business?

International business affects most countries and as it continues to grow, it affects commerce and people in many different levels. There are 4 possible levels that business can affect and these levels are local level, state (provincial) level, national level, and finally the international level. Each level has a specific task that requires it to provide for the consumers and people as well as maintain the commerce within that region.

3) What does National growth depend on?

National growth depends on the imports and exports experience of the country. Usually, the highly developed countries prefer to maintain a balance between the importing and exporting products. This allows the country to have a stable foundation where it can build upon and continue to grow as a nation. Without a balanced economy the country could to continue to grow at a stable rate.

4) How does International Business affect local levels?

Global business has changed the way that local businesses work. With the new amount of resources offered to the local level, people can now purchase goods from a local store from all around the world. The local businesses have to make sure that they keep up with the latest trends to provide for their consumers.

4) Include time zone world map image.



** There are different ways to tell time in the world, the U.S. uses A.M. and P.M. while some countries use military time. For example, 2:00p.m. in U.S. time would be 14:00 (fourteen hundred) in military time.

CHAPTER 2: CULTURAL AND SOCIAL INFLUENCES

1) Explain how culture affects international business.

To be able to understand culture is the foundation or the basis, of understanding almost all aspects of conducting international business. Culture is the set beliefs, customs, and attitudes of a distinct group of people. The shared values, beliefs and goals in a company can also be a type of culture known as a corporate culture. Different countries act and believe in different things and when doing business in another country, one must understand the cultural differences to try and assimilate in order to build solid business relationships. To succeed in the international business world, the requirements are, understanding the culture, preparing and adjusting to culture, and participating in culture.

2) Describe the elements of culture.

The basic elements of culture are values, norms, folkways and more, and roles. The strongly held concepts that are present in a culture is known as values. Norms are the social rules that affect behaviors and actions, and represent cultural values. Folkways and mores are the cultural customs that dictate how people act socially. Mores are the customs that reflect moral standards in a culture. A role is the part a person plays in society. Many different factors such as values, norms, folkways and mores shape the individual roles of people.

3) Describe the elements of subcultures and how cultural literacy can be improved.

A subculture is a smaller group or subset within a larger culture. Subcultures can also be established around music, religion, political affiliation and as simple as other similar interests. People may be part of a larger culture but the subcultural behaviors may vary on the different groups of people. Cultural literacy is how open a person is to replace the idea that a culture is better with the idea that all cultures are different. Cultural literacy can be improved by people taking the initiative to explore the different cultures around the world and try to assimilate. By learning about the different cultures, one may be able to see that there are many cultures in the world and all are significant.

4) What ways can help people overcome stereotyping and cultural bias?

Ways that can help people overcome stereotyping and cultural bias include concepts of time, directness in communication, achievement and work, job prestige and change. Concepts of time allows people to realize the punctuality and pace of a culture. Directness in communication means that some cultures like the United States prefer people to get right to the point where some cultures may view this as improper. How well a person achieves and his or her working habits are are contributing factors to relieving stereotyping and cultural bias. The mind set of a person when working is also a contributing factor and finally the willingness to change. These are ways and things that people can do to overcome the stereotyping and cultural bias.

CHAPTER 3: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS

1) Explain the basic nature of communication.

Communication is a process. There is a sender who has a message that he or she wants to send and in order to do so, he or she must encode the message into language and words. Then, the message is sent to the receiver where he or she would then decode the message. Once the message is decoded the receiver sends feedback to the sender. There are two forms of feedback, verbal and nonverbal. After the sender receives the feedback, the communication process starts over.

2) What are the challenges of communicating in a world language?

The challenges of communicating in a world language are how people speak, technical terms, time for translations and social behavior. How people speak may include the speed at which one speaks and the jargon that one uses while speaking. The jargon can cause confusion to people who are not native speakers to the language. Technical terms are the different names and symbols used within the language.The pace of the conversation may vary and this makes it a bit more difficult to translate what is being said depending on the rate of the conversation. Finally, the social behavior can affect communicating in a world language because there are two areas of the culture, the high-context and the low-context of the culture.

3) Copy a chart for the Major World Languages.

4) What language do you think is most used for business?

I think that Chinese (Mandarin) is the most used language in business because China has one of the most advanced industrialized economy of the world. The United States for example, depend on the cheap labor of China for cheaper imports. This creates a business relationship between the two countries. Since China is also a large country, it is densely populated and there are many Chinese immigrants in different countries around the world. Mandarin Chinese is currently the most spoken language in the world therefore I think that Mandarin-Chinese is also the language most used for business.