For this assignment please answer the following questions and number the answers according to the questions.

1. In the course of globalization, outsourcing is certainly its emerging power as a business tool of unique versatility and flexibility. Because outsourcing’s impact comes from leveraging the capabilities of outside providers, and since businesses are getting better and better at doing it well, it is now more a question of how best to use outsourcing than one of whether or not to outsource at all. Please read the following “story” and comment from your own cultural perspectives.
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Confirming this….”my uncle called me tonight and said that he had been on the phone with Dell earlier today for tech support on his computer. He was under the impression that their headquarters was in India, but I don’t think that is correct. Their outsourced tech support is in India still, however. He said that he got hung up on a few times and had to call back, each time getting someone different, until he finally got a woman to help him with his computer. He told her (in his words) that he is just a 51 year-old country boy and never owned a computer before, so take it slow and bring the tech-speak down to a level he could understand. He said that he had trouble understanding some of the people he talked to because their accents were very heavy and he finally asked her where they were located; she confirmed that they were operating out of India.”

2. The cultural awareness is important in an organization that employs an outsourcing strategy. If you need to assess the current state of cultural awareness in a joint venture organization, how would you want the company to adhere to the norms of the cultural environment? How would you deal with especially the negative impacts result from an incentive program implemented – please read the following “story” and comment from your cultural perspective.
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Doug Godar, a successful businessperson from Boston, was given wide latitude regarding decision making by his company’s representatives back home in the head office. In Shanghai, he was able to develop a promising line of casual women’s wear in collaboration with executives from a large Chinese manufacturing firm. While satisfied with the performance of about twenty midlevel managers, Doug felt that an incentive program might spur production. He began a set of meetings with mangers in the various offices, some of whom he had only occasionally visited in the past, since these managers were capably supervised by Chinese executives. After these meetings, he decided to introduce the type of incentive program that had worked well for him in the United States.

Doug announced that managers who demonstrated increased production within their units would be eligible for participation in travel-study programs to Europe and to the United States. When asked the reasonable question, “How many such travel opportunities would there be?” he responded by saying that there was no limit. If managers demonstrated increased productivity, they would be eligible for the travel opportunity.

After about six months, Doug reviewed production figures and found that the manger of one unit, Wen Yan Rong, had been especially effective. Doug thought that giving Wen the first travel award would be a good idea and would serve a number of functions: it would recognize Wen’s hard work; it would make clear to others that the travel awards were a reality and not a vague promise; and it would give other managers a goal to work toward, since they could look at Wen’s production figures and set corresponding targets for themselves. However, after Doug made the announcement about the first award, the other managers did not seem to work harder so that they might receive the travel opportunity. Doug also heard that there was a lot of grumbling about the entire incentive program.