Mgt 501 Mod 1 Case

In this paper we will be answering the question “How does culture and environment affect institutions and their management?” We will also be discussing what went wrong during Ms. Meyer’s tenure in South Korea. We will be examining what went wrong with Ms. Meyer’s by using Geert Hofstede five dimensions of national cultures. And finally we will be making recommendations to what changes she could have made to accommodate the Korean environment. Before we can answer this question we must find out exactly what we mean by culture and environment. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary the definition of culture and environment are as follows. Culture is defined as the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also: the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time. Environment is the condition that surrounds someone or something: the conditions and influences that affect the growth, health, progress, etc., of someone or something.

So what went wrong during Ms. Meyer’s tenure with SK Telecom in South Korea? From my point of view Ms. Meyer’s failed to do adequate research on the situation she was about to get herself into. Understanding that she did reach out to her HR department for help is not enough. Ms. Meyer’s relying on someone else was her first mistake. Her second mistake was that she did not reach out to any other organizations for help. It’s one thing to do research online and read books on living abroad, but those things will not help you if you were to be in a situation like Ms. Meyer’s. In my opinion she just did not do enough to prepare for living in South Korea.

In 1970 Dr. Geert Hofstede asked himself “how can we understand cultural differences?” What emerged after a decade of research and thousands of interviews is a model of cultural dimensions that has become an internationally recognized standard. Dr. Hofstede...