Case Study $1$: Long$-$term development plans of a German Multinational in the USAA German firm had developed its activities in the electrical industry in the USA for two years and the CEO Peter Hansenwas happy with their current performance: market share for important products had increased significantly and progresswas better than expected. The number of employees had increased, including quite a few local American managers inhigh$-$level management positions a situation which was rather unusual for a subsidiary of a German multinational in itsearly stage of development. The CEOs goal from the beginning was to avoid an ethnocentric approach to the Americanactivities of his firm and to take a polycentric approach that supported recruitment of local managers. One of these USlocal managers was John Miller, the marketing director of the company. During the last two years, he has been thoroughlyprepared for his job. The company had sent him to various high$-$level training programs at top business schools and hadprovided him with a long$-$term career plan, which included short$-$term vertical career advancement. While Peter Hansenwanted to support the development of an American management style he nevertheless tried to transfer some HR practiceswhich are highly valued in Germany particularly investing in training and taking a long$-$term intra$-$organizational careerperspective. While some US firms took this approach, these ideas were not as widely accepted in the US as in Germany.However, Peter Hansen assumed that these policies would be valued by the new US employees of the firm and wouldprovide an important incentive for employee retention. One morning, Peter Hansen was shocked to learn that John Millerwas about to quit his job. A competitor had offered John a challenging position in large part because he had systematicallybuilt up his knowledge and experience base supported by his German employer. How can you interpret Peter Hansenssurprise from a cultural point of view?Discussion Questions:$1.$ Relate the described situation to one of the cultural dimensions identified by Hofstede. Can you explain PeterHansens surprise using this theory?$2.$ How does this situation compare to comparable situations in your home country? What are the limits of a culturalexplanation?