Eksamensbesvarelse Business Communication & ethics PDF

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Eksamensbesvarelse fra Business, Communication & ethics, Karakter B...

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Spå 29011 Business Communication – Culture and Ethics Essay Question A – Critical Incident In, this essay I will discuss why James and Tim may perceive Dr. Lawrence and his offer so differently and also behave differently towards him using Hofstede’s dimension Identity and loyalty, Trompenaars “The basis for according status”, Hofstede´s power distance with Gestelands status power and respect and at the last Gestelands nonverbal communication. Collectively, the above-mentioned cultural dimensions will enhance the understanding of this critical incident. Hofstede´s dimension identity and loyalty “contrasts to what extent the individual understands himself as being part of the collective (family, friends, company, team) and to what extent he understands himself as constructed from intrinsic factor (intelligence, strength, independence, competitiveness, achievements.)” (Sjøvaag, The 14 dimensions summary, 2019) Here we see that Tim is more like a collectivist. An example of this is when he says, “You have to think about the gamers, they are the group we should be loyal to. They will play this new level since it makes the game more interesting, and you can make money when they buy loot boxes and skins”. Here we can see that Tim is more interested in what the gamers want and not about the profit he will make. On the other hand, we see that James is more like an individualist where his motivation is only to get a profit and is not interested in what the gamers want. An example of that is “I can see where you are coming from, but don’t you think we should at least consider Dr. Lawrence’s request for making it a ‘pay-to-play’ feature? Having the gamers pay for entry is a much better way for the investors to ensure a return on their investment. And it will be good for my career–and yours too.” Here we see that James thinks more about himself and his carrier instead of the gaming community. Based on what we have discussed, we see that both of the partners look at each other differently and therefore they perceive it differently. Tim thinks it is more important to give the gaming community what they want, while James and Dr. Lawrence bet on the profit. The next dimension I want to use is Trompenaars the basis for according status. The dimension is defined as “while some societies accord status to people based on their achievements, others ascribe it to them by age, class, gender, education, and so on. The first kind of status is called achieved status, and the second ascribed status. (Trompenaars, 1993). In this case, we see that Tim is not a big fan of Dr. Lawrence because he has ascribed his status and not achieved it. An example of this is “Doctor Lawrence! said Tim with dismay. “Why does he have such a hold

on you? I guess he is not even a real doctor. If it weren’t for the connections he got because of his parents’ position in society, he would never have been able to develop GameInvent to what it is today.” Here we see that Tim does not like Dr. Lawrence or has the same respect as James has for him. James has more respect and looks up to Dr. Lawrence because he has ascribed status. An example of this is when he says, “The way he has developed his organization makes him the most competent decision-maker.” Here we see that James trusts Dr. Lawrence more. Both of the partners think differently about Dr. Lawrence and therefore they perceive it differently also. When James says that Lawrence is the most “competent decision-maker” we can connect Hofstede’s power distance and Gestelands status, power and respect dimensions. “Power distance can (…) be defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.” (Hofstede, 2010) Here we see that the business Dr. Lawrence is doing is organized in hierarchies – and reflects major differences in status and power. James does not feel that this is unequal that Dr. Lawrence takes all the big decisions by himself. While Tim believes that this is wrong. An example of this in the text is “Maybe he has lots of power and maybe his staff like it that he takes all the important decisions – just as you seem to do, I for one do not want to be working in a place where the person at the top runs the whole show. You need to give good ideas a chance, regardless of whose idea it was in the first place.”. Here we see that Tim thinks differently and is against James and Dr. Lawrence because he does not like the power distance and wants smaller differences in status and power. The last dimension I will use is Gestelands nonverbal communication “these are observations of pure behavior, but some generalized interpretations might be possible.” (Sjøvaag, The 14 dimensions summary , 2019) In this case, we can see that when Dr. Lawrence arrived in the room both of the partners acted differently. We can say that James was more expressive. A few examples of that is “James stood up and straightened his tie, unable to hide his excitement over finally being able to shake the hand of this investment legend among game developers.” “Dr. Lawrence, what an honor! Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with us directly,” exclaimed James enthusiastically. Here we see that James expresses his feelings. On the contrary, we have Tim who is more reserved. An example of this is “His face remained neutral, despite him being acutely aware of how important this meeting was for the future development

of his gaming idea. Here we can see that the both partners behave differently on the basis of their own opinion. In conclusion, the evidence presented in this critical incident shows us that people perceive differently and then react differently also. The dimensions help us to understand why people perceive and act differently according to their thinking.

Sources Hofstede, G. (2010). More equal than others in Cultures and organizations: software of the mind: intercultural cooperatoin and its importance for survival. Sjøvaag, M. (2019). The 14 dimensions summary. Sjøvaag, M. (2019, 09 22). The 14 dimensions summary . Trompenaars, F. (1993). How we accord status in Riding the waves of culture: understanding diversity in global business.

Ethical awareness – business e-mail To: [The CEO of Alleveganenergy] (Ms. Plummer …) From: Chris Smith Subject: Promotion of the energy drinks Date: 25 November 2019

Dear Ms. Plummer As you know, I am an influencer who try to impact people to not eat meat, and hopefully become vegan like me. I want to present my arguments in the ethical navigation wheel (Kvalnes and Øverenget, 2012) to analyse the situation. I know that you also are ethically aware and do not want to do something wrong. (1) Law: is it legal? This part of the navigation wheel question about if it is legal or not. It is mentioned that the Norwegian health authorities are discussing regulating marketing of energy drinks to children but have so far not issued new legislation. That means that it is legal to market the energy drinks.

(2) Identity: Is it in accordance with our values? The most important thing for me is to influence people to do something positive for the environment. And when it comes to energy drinks and their consequences it is really difficult to say that they won’t harm people, because they have some negative side effects. And if I think about the new badminton court, I want it, but not by harming people because of the negative side effects of energy drinks. And that the Norwegian health authorities already are discussing to regulate marketing of energy drinks. (3) Morality: Is it right? It could be right and wrong. Personally, I want a new badminton court, but I do not want to influence people for something that can harm them. Because there are many young people who watches my YouTube videos. (4) Reputation: Does it affect my goodwill? If I start to test the new energy drinks in some of my YouTube videos, and using them in a giveaway, there are two possible outcomes. One of them is that young people will like that. Or people will come out with stereotypes that I promote energy drinks when the Norwegian health authorities are trying to regulate the marketing of the drinks. This can cause me to lose my reputation and my followers. (5) Economy Although marketing the energy drinks can lead to that we get a new badminton court. At the same time that Alleveganenergy may earn more profit, because of people want to by the promotional energy drink. (6) Ethics: Can it be justified? Here I want to use the implications of deontology “if it is universally acceptable that we each have a special duty to those close us, deontology indicates it is morally right to put their interests ahead of others.”. It is more important to think about people’s health instead of profit. Conclusion

I do not want to promote energy drinks to young people because of it is unethically and I do not want to spoil my reputation. Therefore I have to decline your offer Best regards Chris Smith...