ZGE 4304 - LIVING IN THE IT ERA

MODULE 1:
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
INTRODUCTION
 What is science?

According to the Dictionary, "Science" is

a noun, which refers to the intellectual
and practical activity encompassing the
systematic study of the structure
and behavior of the physical and natural
world through observation and
experiment.
What is TECHNOLOGY?

■According to the Dictionary, "Technology" is

a noun.
■It refers to the application of scientific
knowledge for practical purposes.
■It refers to machinery and equipment
developed from the application of scientific
knowledge.
 What is INNOVATION?

■According to the Dictionary, "INNOVATION" is a

noun.
■It refers to a new method, idea product.
■It refers to new imaginations in form of device or
method".
■Innovation is often also viewed as the application of
better solutions that meet new requirements,
unarticulated needs, or existing market needs.
 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Research and development (R&D) is a process
intended to create NEW or IMPROVED technology
that can provide a competitive advantage at the
business, industry, or national level. While the
rewards can be very high, the process of
technological innovation (of which R&D is the first
phase) is complex and risky.
CULTURE
Culture is the belief, customs, arts, etc,
of a particular group or society.
Culture include all of the things listed in
the picture and how these things vary
from place to place.
Styles of clothes change because of
the weather or because of the religion in
certain areas.
 VALUES AND NORMS
• Values are the abstract ideas about what a group believe to be good, right and
desirable.
• Norms are the special rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior
in particular situations and can be further subdivided into:
• Folkways: (the routine conventions of every day life/ rituals and symbolic
behavior) good social manner, appropriate dress code in a particular
situation, eating with correct utensils, neighborly behavior, etc.
• Mores: (norms that are seen as central to the functioning of society and to
its social life) they have much greater significance than folkways and
violation can bring serious justice as theft, cannibalism etc.
 SOCIETY AND CULTURE
■A culture represents the beliefs and
practices of a group, while
■Society represents the people who
share those beliefs and practices.
Neither society nor culture could exist
without the other.
 CULTURE
■ Japanese business executive bow and present his/her
business card with the expectation of acknowledgement
(folkways)
■Drinking alcohol in Saudi Arabia vs. USA (mores)
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW
ETHICS
■Ethics is defined as the moral principles
that govern a person's behavior or the
conducting of an activity.
■It is the branch of knowledge that deals
with moral principles.
VIDEO ABOUT ETHICS
ETIQUETTE
 Ethical and socially acceptable behavior regarding
professional practice or action among the members
of a profession in their dealings with each other.

 Expected behaviors and expectations for individual

actions within society, group or class.

 But etiquette isn’t recognized as one uniform set of

standards around the globe…
 etiquettes

 In Germany this sign  In Japan this means  In China this means

means NUMBER 1 MONEY Number 6
 etiquettes

 In MEDITERRANEAN,  In the Philippines this

this sign means Your means Beckoning a
Wife is Cheating on Dog
You
BUSINESS etiquettes
 The set of written and unwritten rules of conduct that
make social interactions run more smoothly
 Treating coworkers and employer with respect and
courtesy in a way that creates a pleasant work
environment for everyone
IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS etiquettes
 Strong Relationship
 Sign of Professionalism
 Lasting First Impression
 Business Expanding Globally
 Prevents Misunderstanding
 Meeting and Greeting
Watch the video
Watch the video
Watch the video
Watch the video
 Cross-Cultural Business Etiquette
 Punctuality. In German eyes, time is money. Wasting time by showing up late
is disrespectful. In Brazil, meetings often run late, and leaving early is bad
manners. In Italy and France, meeting start times are guidelines, not
commitments.

 Business wear. In many American businesses, you can get by with business
casual. In France, even low-ranked executives place a priority on dressing
well. Italian businesspeople also expect elegance from their business
colleagues. In China, dressing conservatively makes a good first impression.
 Cross-Cultural Business Etiquette
 Physical contact. In China, physical contact from a business colleague is
frowned upon. In Brazil, by contrast, it's a sign of trust. Brits don't maintain eye
contact for as long as Americans think is appropriate.

 Gift-giving. In Japan, gift-giving is common, but the present should always be

wrapped. In China, offering a gift to associates is essential, although the
recipient makes a show of refusing. In Italy, giving a business colleague a gift
is inappropriate unless the relationship has become close.
 Getting work done
 Communication styles. In some cultures, saying an outright "no" is an insult.
Many societies are more indirect in conversation than Americans.

 Time. Americans take time seriously, but some cultures aren't as focused on
delivering by a deadline or showing up when the meeting starts.

 Power and authority. Some cultures consider it a serious faux pas to question
a superior. Conversely, a supervisor or manager from those cultures may
expect more deference from employees than American workers typically give.
 WORKPLACE CULTURAL ETIQUETTE
 Learn about other cultures. If you're hiring Mexican-American workers or
dealing with Arab-American customers, find out about their customs, food,
protocol and business style. It doesn't require a trip to the library; there's tons
of information available online.
 Learn languages. Even a few key phrases may help create a good first
impression. If you're dealing with one particular culture, such as Indian or
Israeli, make an effort to learn more of their language.
 Encourage employees to be open-minded. If your team includes people from
different cultures, encourage them to share their perspectives. Remind your
employees that you want them to be accepting of each others' differences, not
intolerant.
 WORKPLACE CULTURAL ETIQUETTE
 Try new things. Have lunch with a client or employee and try their cuisine,
whether it's Ethiopian, Korean or kosher. Don't compromise your principles -
don't eat meat when you're vegan - but if you're comfortable experimenting,
you can create a good first impression.
 Accommodate differences. Jews and Muslims, for example, have different holy
days from Christians. They have food restrictions, such as not eating pork.
Scheduling mandatory corporate training on Yom Kippur or buying your team
pork tacos, with no alternative, for lunch makes you look clueless.
 Treat people as individuals. Don't assume that every Brit or Korean or
Mexican conforms to the same type or follows the same etiquette. There's no
such thing as a generic Swede or Mexican or American. People are as
individual as their fingerprints.
 GLOBALIZATION
 Globalization is the spread of products, technology, information, and jobs
across national borders and cultures.
 In economic terms, it describes an interdependence of nations around the
globe fostered through free trade.
 Globalization is about the interconnectedness of people and businesses
across the world that eventually leads to global cultural, political and
economic integration.
 It is the ability to move and communicate easily with others all over the
world in order to conduct business internationally.
 SOCIETY, CULTURE AND ETHICS IN
RELATION TO GLOBALIZATION
 Globalization of culture contributes to the exchange of cultural values of
different countries, the convergence of traditions.
 For cultural globalization characterized convergence of business and
consumer culture between the different countries of the world and the
growth of international communication.
FOCUSING ON STRATEGY
• McDonald’s: Where Being “Better” is Proving Superior to Trying
to be “Bigger”.
• As of mid 2008, the firm had locations in
• 119 countries,
• operated more than 31,000 units worldwide
• employed more than 1.6 million people
• serving 47 million customers daily
MENU AROUND THE WORLD
MENU AROUND THE WORLD
MENU AROUND THE WORLD
MENU AROUND THE WORLD
MENU AROUND THE WORLD
MENU AROUND THE WORLD
 CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
 Cross cultural management helps us to understand people coming for
different cultures. It is important because today organizations are going
global. Today managers have to deal with people coming from different
countries, whose culture is completely different from those that of the home
country.
CULTURAL BLUNDERS IN ADVERTISING

• When the company started selling their

products in Africa, they used the same
iconic picture of the baby that they had
always used in the United States.
• Gerber would later find out that
companies often put pictures on the
label of what’s inside the product, since
most people do not speak English.
 CULTURAL BLUNDERS IN ADVERTISING
• Coors decided they would use the same popular slogan, “Turn it Loose”, in
Spanish to catch the attention of the Hispanic population. It just so happens
that in Spanish this slogan translates to “Suffer from Diarrhea”. Ouch, that one
hurt. Something as simple as a language translation can quickly kill an ad
campaign.
 CULTURAL BLUNDERS IN ADVERTISING
• nova actually means “new” the
label on the Chevrolet’s Nova
automobile was interpreted by many
Spanish-speaking individuals to
mean “doesn’t go” (no va)—who
would buy a car that does not go?
• Cue brand of toothpaste in French –
speaking countries.
• The word “cue” in French translates
into a pornographic word (“butt”)
that offends many French-speaking
people.
 CULTURAL BLUNDERS IN ADVERTISING
• Parker, the well-known maker of ballpoint pens,
had to change its advertising in Latin America
after learning that bola, actually means
“revolution” or “lie”.
• "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you.“
"embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass,
so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and
make you pregnant."
• Imagine the embarrassment of an American
named Randy, who when visiting in England,
approached a lady at a social gathering and
introduced himself: “Hi, I’m Randy.” In England, to
be randy means to be sexually aroused.
 CULTURAL BLUNDERS IN ADVERTISING

• In the United States, to be pissed

means to be mad, while in
England it means to be drunk
• In Portugal, the word rapariga
means girl, but in Brazil, calling a
girl rapariga means she is street
walker or a prostitute
CULTURAL BLUNDERS IN ADVERTISING