INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS:

1. This End-of-Course Assessment paper contains ONE (1) question and comprises FIVE (5) pages (including cover page).

2. You are to include the following particulars in your submission: Course Title, Your PI, Your Name, and Submission Date.

3. Ensure that you submit your End-of-Course Assessment by the deadline. After the 12-hour grace period, 10% of the total End-of-Course Assessment mark will be deducted for each 24-hour block or part thereof by which your submission is late. Submissions with more than 50 marks deducted will be awarded 0 marks.

4. You are allowed multiple submissions to Turnitin before the deadline. After the deadline, only one submission is allowed, and only if you have not already made a prior submission.

5. If you fail to submit your End-of-Course Assessment, you will be deemed to have withdrawn from the course.

Your ECA should consist of 2500-3000 words. You must adhere strictly to the word limit.

The ECA stands in lieu of a final examination and its contents are cumulative for the course. The ECA covers materials in the Study Guide, relevant assigned readings issued to you in your course reader and those downloaded from UniSIM's online library databases. The ECA is also designed to assess basic skills in social science research, including the ability to locate relevant secondary source materials and the ability to apply research methods such as the qualitative interview to understand cross cultural communication.

Question

You are the team leader of the marketing department in the Singapore office of your organisation, and have been tasked to work together with your counterparts from Vietnam to introduce a new product to both the Singapore and Vietnam markets. In your role, you need to ensure that you take into account the cultural diversity present in your team and to be inclusive, given their diverse backgrounds. However, even though you are in tune with these requirements, the team still encounters problems working together.

a) Examine how differences in cultural dimensions may have led to conflict and misunderstanding between your team members from Singapore and Vietnam, even though they are working for the same organisation. You may approach the analysis from various levels at which culture operates (i.e., national/societal, organisational, functional, identity group, team, individual). You will need to conduct both primary and secondary research in order to answer this.

b) Drawing on your research in (a), develop an integration proposal for your team, detailing possible ways to facilitate cross-cultural integration. In your proposal, you should identify the ways in which the team could have prevented and/or resolved any cross- cultural conflicts and overcome any cultural barriers. You may discuss issues of ‘face' and/or conflict management.

c) Assess the viability and effectiveness of developing and implementing your plan to improve cross-cultural exchange in the team. Explain what the limitations of the proposal are and what alternatives exist.