Question 2

A study reported in the Wall Street Journal noted that when a large research group established a joint venture research team that included companies from the United States, Germany, and Japan, there were some interesting issues that developed with regard to office assignments and working habits. People were worried that the more than 100 scientists from the three countries would have difficulties working together and this proved to be correct. Problems began almost immediately. An observer noted that the Japanese disliked the office setup, which consisted of small, individual offices and few open spaces. Soon after arriving, the Germans covered the glass doors of their offices, thus offending both the Japanese and Americans. After hours, the Japanese expected to go out socializing and drinking several nights a week which neither the Germans nor the Americans enjoyed. When they started to skip, the Japanese were quietly offended, Both the Americans and the Japanese thought the Germans were far too critical when discussing project ideas. They often became annoyed when their German colleagues continuously pointed out potential problems and asked for more information. The Germans were especially frustrated at the Japanese tendency to "beat around the bush" when they didn't like a suggestion. The Germans also thought the Americans had counterproductive tendencies to "cheerlead" and be "overly enthusiastic" about new ideas. Finally, the Americans complained that the Germans spent far too much time planning for every potential contingency, no matter how small. They also found it annoying when the Japanese wouldn't make any decision without making sure everyone had the opportunity to give input first.

1. What do you know about socio-cultural influences that help explain the problems encountered in this joint venture? Identify 3 critical socio-cultural differences (label a, b, and d). For each one, first write the cultural dimension/pattern/institution name, then describe its influence, and finally connect it to specific incidents in the above paragraphs.

2. As discussed in our class several times, starting with the Thai-Norded Bank case, what could the research group have done in order to lessen the potential for cultural problems?