INSTRUCTIONS:
- You may email your answers to lisa.tolliver@yahoo.com and lisa.tolliver@mimusa.edu. Please include the following:
- Your full name
- The subject line: CCOM Final Exam March 2017
- Due date is Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 9:00 AM, Eastern Time
- NOT GRADED: Please email me - also - any advice you have to help incoming MIM students to negotiate MIM, the USA, or New York
Watch the film OUTSOURCED [2007] and answer the discussion questions listed below:
I. SOME PLACES WHERE YOU CAN WATCH IT:
II. WHAT IS OUTSOURCING?
According to Wikipedia: Outsourcing, “Outsourcing is the practice of contracting a business function to a third party.” The third party can be domestic or foreign; for example, MIM outsources teaching functions to local faculty on a contract basis, while Apple outsources the assembly of iPhones to Foxconn in China. Outsourcing can be done for a variety of reasons: to lower costs, to obtain access to a market the hiring firm lacks access to, and/or to utilize capacity, expertise, tax benefits, or resources the hiring company lacks. Outsourcing presents both benefits and challenges.
For example, read these introductory paragraphs to Wikipedia: Foxconn:
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., trading asFoxconn Technology Group, is a Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturing company headquartered in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Foxconn is the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer,[3] and the third-largest information technology company by revenue.[4]
Foxconn is primarily a contract manufacturer; its clients include major American, Canadian, Finnish, and Japanese electronics and information technology companies. Notable products the company manufactures include BlackBerry,[5]iPad,[6]iPhone, iPod,[7]Kindle,[8]Nintendo 3DS, Nokia, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, and Xbox One.[9]
Foxconn has been involved in several controversies relating to how it manages employees in China. There has been a history of suicides at its factories blamed on working conditions. In January 2012, about 150 Foxconn employees threatened to commit mass-suicide in protest of their working conditions.[10]
III. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FILM OUTSOURCED [2007]:
Please review Moran Chapter 10 and Certo Chapter 5, and then answer the following discussion questions about the film:
1. What business function was being outsourced to India?
2. What was the productivity measure used for that function?
3. What were some of the culture shocks (feelings of disorientation) faced by the characters? NOTE: When answering each question below, name at least TWO (2) character(s) and specify the culture shock(s) he/she/ faced.
- Regarding language
- Regarding food
- Regarding the difference between Todd’s and the Indian employees’ view of the company’s products
- Regarding clothing
- Regarding the symbolism of items or events
- Regarding body language
- Regarding romantic relationships and marriage
- Regarding other customs (e.g., the Indian custom of taking off one’s shoes before entering a home)
4. Describe some cross cultural training Todd gave his Indian employees.
5. At first, do you think Todd's approach was ethnocentric, polycentric, regiocentric, or geocentric? Explain your answer.
6. Do you think the approach of Todd's boss, Dave, was ethnocentric, polycentric, regiocentric, or geocentric? Explain your answer.
7. How did Todd seek to motivate his employees in India?
8. Do you think Todd completed expatriate training (cross cultural training to prepare a worker to work and live in another country)? Why or why not?
9. Whether or not Todd completed expatriate training before relocating to India, it's clear he would have benefited from more comprehensive cross cultural training that he was given. Referring to Moran Chapter 10 and Certo Chapter 5, specify at least four essential elements of cross cultural training that you would recommend for Todd, and explain your answers. Also, cite your sources.
10. The films shows that upon Todd's re-entry to the USA, he he was affected in multiple ways by his experience in India. Name at least one action he took that reflects this.
11. Name at least two ways Todd changed his behaviors, views, possessions, or apartment to reflect the influence of his experiences in India.
12. Do you approve or disapprove of Asha's "holiday in Gharapuri"? Explain your answer.
13. Todd's boss, Dave, used a "carrot and stick" managerial style to motivate, manipulate, and control Todd. At first this method was effective. However, after Todd's experiences in India and after Puri questioned why Todd worked for a boss and company he disliked (prompting Todd to ask himself the same questions, and to rethink his motivations), Todd stopped being motivated by Dave's approach. What "carrot" (reward) did Dave offer Todd?
14. What "stick" (punishment) did Dave threaten Todd with?
15. Todd became a more effective manager while he was in India, but he learned by trial and error. Name one managerial mistake he made early on, and describe its impact.
16. Culture shock is a subcategory of "transition shock". Describe one type of transition shock or culture shock you have experienced, either in the USA or elsewhere.
17. Which of the four phases of "culture shock" do you feel characterizes you right now (honeymoon, negotiation, adjustment, or adaptation)?
18. Have you ever experienced "reverse culture shock" (also known as "re-entry shock) upon returning home after a trip? Explain.
19. What advice do Moran (ch. 10) and Certo (ch. 5) give for handling reverse culture shock? Cite your sources.
NOTE: you may be surprised to note the attention culture shock receives in popular culture, e.g., musical works, radio programs, and moving pictures. If interested, see Wikipedia: Culture shock (disambiguation)
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NEW VERSION, UPDATED 12/6/2016
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