HA European Business:

Intercultural Communication and Management (Spring 2021), regular exam

Maximum total length of your paper: 10 standard pages (1 standard page = 2,275 characters, incl. spaces)

Part A (approx. 1/2 of your 10-page paper)

Please answer question 1, and EITHER question 2 OR question 3 (i.e., please answer a total
of TWO questions):

1. Compare the dimensions approach to understanding culture (as exemplified by the

work of Hofstede and Trompenaars) with the clusters approach to understanding
culture (as exemplified by the GLOBE project). What are the strengths and
weaknesses of each approach?

2. Which aspects of cognition are thought to be universal and which aspects are
thought to be more culturally-specific? Refer to the work of Nisbett and colleagues.

3. “Non-verbal communication is more powerful than verbal communication.”

Evaluate this statement by drawing on the work of Hall, Ting-Toomey, and others.

Part B (approx. 1/2 of your 10-page paper)

The following case is based on intercultural experiences in the Lebanon. It concerns the
attempt by Wilhelm, a German football agent, to make a deal for his client, a Danish
goalkeeper.

An own goal

The taxi arrived at the impressive mansion in Faqra and I made my way through the blistering sun
towards the entrance. I was met by two servants and directed to Mr. Haider’s room. He had faxed
me a contract, the terms of which were ridiculously low, and I was determined to get a better deal
for my client.

A peek at my watch revealed it was 11.30. I’d arrived just in time, despite the flight delays at
Frankfurt and the queues at Beirut airport. In front of Haider’s door I cleared my throat, tightened
my tie, gathered all my courage and entered the room. “Mr. Haider, I am delighted to meet you”,
I said, rather too exuberantly. “Ahlan Wilhelm, welcome my friend”, said Haider. “I just have to say
goodbye to my important visitors. Please make yourself at home while you’re waiting.”
1. Haider uses a more “friendly” approach. He calls
1. Wilhelm says “Mr. Haider”. He says it in a polite
Wilhelm by his full name and he says welcome “my
distinct way. He says “I am delighted to meet you”.
friend”. This is a more informal approach.

2. Wilhelm arrived just in time but Mr. Haider told 1

him to wait, because he had some important
visitors that he had to say goodbye to.
 The german thinks it is polite to refuse food.
They have a different perspective on “time”.

A servant led me to a large room where there were two men and, in the far corner, a beautiful
oriental woman. I sat down in a chair and waited for Mr. Haider. An elaborate clock chimed twelve,
but there was still no sign of him. By now the other three were thoroughly enjoying their lunch,
which I had refused out of politeness. To keep my nerves steady I had only accepted a glass of arak.
By 12.15 my patience had started to desert me. I was going to be too late for my next meeting. How
could I trust Mr. Haider if he had already broken his promise beforehand?

Eventually, at 12.30, Mr. Haider entered the room. He looked extremely relaxed in his traditional
dress and I jumped up to greet him. Before approaching me he first kissed both men and had a brief
conversation with the woman. I had prepared myself well for this moment. I gave him a firm
handshake and seated myself.
It is normal to be late in Arab countries (Lebanon). It is normal to kiss each other on the cheek too.

“Ahlan Wilhelm, welcome to Lebanon”, he said. Looking at the table, he added: “I hope you enjoyed
your delicious lunch with my beloved sons, Alain and Elie, and of course with my habibi, Charlotte.”
It is inpolite to refuse food in Arab countries which the German did.

“Mr. Haider”, I replied, “Thank you for your warm reception, but I ate on the plane. My client is
extremely pleased about your interest and he is looking forward to playing for such an illustrious
club as Al Ansar. Shall we come to terms as quickly as possible so we can finalise this matter in the
best interest of both parties?”

“Shouf Wilhelm”, he retorted. “Please call me Hashem. But why the rush? We have the time for
business until the sun walks out on us! When will your client arrive?”
Mr. Haider wants the German to call him by his first name.
I told him that my client, a goalkeeper who had played for German, Italian and British teams, as well
as for his home country, Denmark, would be unable to attend the negotiations. “The thing is . . . ”
(I hesitated: how could I call him by his first name and show my total respect?) “It’s usual for a player
to leave such dealings to his agent.” The German tries to be respectful by not calling him by his first name.

Mr. Haider seemed disgruntled, but agreed to talk. He called his two sons over while his wife quietly
headed for the door. As she passed by I respectfully looked her in the eye and wished her a pleasant
day. Men should not look women in the eyes in Arab countries because it can be misunderstood.
The clients should be involved in the negotiating process in Arab countries.

The bargaining process began and, quite disconcertingly, Mr. Haider’s sons joined in. Was he hoping
to get the upper hand through force of numbers? Could I trust his sons to honour the confidentiality
aspect of the negotiation? I was concerned details would leak out to the predators from the
international press. After an hour we had reached an impasse, but I couldn’t really understand why.
Mr. Haider refused to provide me with a bank guarantee with respect to my client’s salary and
signing-on fee. In fact, Mr. Haider persistently refused to go into financial matters. These could be
discussed the next day, he insisted, since they would not be a problem as far as he was concerned.
Mr. Haider wants to establish a relationship first because he want to be sure that he can trust the German

But for me they were the problem. And that was why we had reached a stalemate.

Source: Browaeys & Price (2019), pp. 167-168.

2
Analyse the case “An own goal”, applying relevant concepts and theories from the course
syllabus. We suggest that you try to integrate as many relevant course readings as
possible. You may consider the following four questions as a guide, but you are not
restricted to these questions:

1. The problem: What is the significance of the title “An own goal” and what do you
think has caused the so-called stalemate? (For example, which cultural value
dimensions are potentially involved?)

2. The solution: How do you think that Wilhelm can rescue the deal in the short term?

3. Further considerations: How can Wilhelm best prepare for any future dealings in the
Middle East on behalf of his football clients? (For example, which negotiation and
conflict management strategies might he employ?)

4. Points for reflection:

 How does Germany relate to Denmark in terms of cultural clusters and the
GLOBE project? If the football agent had been Danish (like his goalkeeping client),
then would he have acted and responded any differently?
 How does the Lebanon potentially fit into the different cultural clusters
described by the GLOBE project and what are the possible implications of this for
the case?

Exam Q&A

This 48-hour take-home exam is scheduled to start on Wednesday 9 June, 2021, at 12:00.

An Exam Q&A forum will be open in the course “LA” page on Canvas for two hours after exam
hand-out: i.e., Wednesday 9 June, 12:00-14:00.

You may only ask basic clarification questions and questions about practicalities. Once the
exam period has started, we will not answer questions about anything substantial. We will
answer your questions by the end of the day.

For general information and guidelines (e.g., how to use the APA system of referencing),
please see the sections entitled “Course information” and “Practice assignment” on Canvas:

https://cbscanvas.instructure.com/courses/15001