Trident University
Module 1 Case Assignment
MGT501 Management and Organizational Behavior

In this case study I will analyze Ms. Myers journey to a different culture than she was used to how it went wrong and what she might have done better to try and better prepare herself for the journey that she thought she could handle. I’ll analyze the problem using Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture to compare Korean and American assumptions. I will also make recommendations to her management style that might have helped accommodate the Korean environment.
Linda Myers journey started out with good intentions and she felt she had a good idea of what she was getting herself into since she had been consulting for Asian firms and thought that she understood the culture well enough to fit in. Her problem was also compounded by the fact that she would be a woman trying to trail blaze into a field and culture dominated by men. It definitely did not help that she didn’t speak the language and from the reading doesn’t appear to have tried to really learn it instead relying on her associates to speak to her in English or having to use an interpreter. She came into the job with big ambitions and plans to change her Korean associate’s way of doing business not understanding that they didn’t want to change.
Now let’s look at Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture to compare Korean and American assumptions. First, Power Distance (P/D) According to Mind Tools: This refers to the degree of inequality that exists – and is accepted – among people with and without power. A high PD score indicates that society accepts an unequal distribution of power, and that people understand "their place" in the system. Low PD means that power is shared and well dispersed. It also means that society members view themselves as equals. Application: According to Hofstede's model, in a high PD