Analyzing the Significance of Cross-Cultural Management - Essay Example

Table of Contents Introduction..2 Background..2 Research Questions..4 Research Objectives.4 Aims.4 Literature Review..5 Origin of Corporate culture..5 Historical background of corporate culture emergence...5 Emergence and development of corporate culture...5 Cultural Conflict Factors......6 Research Methods10 Qualitative..10 Data Analysis..10 Action Research..11 Case Study Research..11 Semi-Structured Interview..12 Reference...14 Appendix A..16 Research Tools...16 Appendix B...17 Record of Meetings with Dissertation Supervisor.17 Appendix C..18 Timetable18 Appendix D..19 Consent Form.19 Introduction Today we are living in the era of globalization, where the geographical boundaries are no match to the increase in economic exchange, business ventures and an international working environment with works from different nationalities joining hands to make their organization competitive. The dissertation aims to help in analyzing the significance of cross-cultural management and how it affects the behavior of the workforce and organizational success. An effort would be made to establish a framework for cross-culture management from the research study, followed by analysis of case studies, interviews, data collection and focus group with experienced managers. Focus of the paper will be towards emphasizing the importance of effective cross cultural management in an enterprise and to what extent this affects the survival of the enterprise. Cross-cultural management is particularly important for the operation of an enterprise to gain the requisite advantage in the fiercely competitive world. If the problem of cultural conflict in an enterprise is not handled well, it might influence the entire working environment of the enterprise and make the task of management more complex and the decision-making and implementation of multinational operation more difficult. Such problems might restrict the selection of human resources from native or overseas market, products and services. The impact of cultural conflict on the transnational business happens to be quite comprehensive, systematic affecting the entire process. This study will center on the cross-cultural enterprise management to analyze the problems in enterprise cultural management and present possible solutions which are of a certain guiding significance to some of the UK companies On the basis of successful and unsuccessful case analyses of overseas investments by some of the UK companies or by some MNCs in UK, the study tries to put forward general theories in such a manner that the study proves to be of some help in future research work. Background Cross-cultural management in essence means managing different cultures with effective coordination amongst the cultural groups and management teams of different cultures with its impact on organizational behavior, effective communication with people who come from different countries and cultural backgrounds. (Li,C & Lu,C, 2000) Along with the rapid development in the economic field and globalization and integration of economies, the role of corporate culture is becoming increasingly significant in upgrading enterprise competitiveness. Different culture backgrounds, values, enterprise management modes, politics, beliefs and cultures as well as racism and communication misunderstanding will give rise to corporate cultural conflicts. Cultural conflicts will in turn affect the relationship between multinational management and local employees and may lead to a loss in market opportunity and organizational efficiency, thus hampering the implementation plans of global strategies of multinationals. The so called "cultural conflict" refers to the process of confrontation and repulsion between different cultures or cultural elements, which not only includes the conflict arising from cultural difference between multinationals and countries where multinationals operate but also the conflict among internal employees from different cultural backgrounds. (Christopher A. Bartlett, Paul W. Beamish, Sumantra Ghoshal 2000) Cross-cultural management is more complex than other corporate cultural managements, which is determined by the characteristics of cross-cultural corporate culture (Wei S, 2004). Some of these characteristics are; 1. Diversified values and beliefs As compared with other enterprises, cross-cultural enterprise has diversified values and complex belief makeup, which means the employees of cross-cultural enterprise have different needs and expectations as well as accordingly different behaviors for meeting the needs and expectations. 2. Behavior conflict The employees of cross-cultural enterprise come from different cultural backgrounds and therefore even if a brand new cross-cultural corporate culture is formed, different cultural modes will still remain to certain extent in the overall corporate culture, which means different behaviors and habits will still exist in cross-cultural enterprise. 3. Complex management environment The management environment of cross-cultural enterprise is much more complex than that of other enterprises. In addition to the obvious difference in social system, the internal employees of cross-cultural enterprise vary significantly in terms of management expectation, management ideology, and management coordination principle and management style. 4. Cultural recognition and integration process Compared with other enterprises, cross-cultural enterprise requires longer cycle and more prices to establish and form own corporate culture and the whole process of cultural recognition and integration is much more complex, which is because cross-cultural enterprise has significantly different or even mutually conflicting cultural modes and employees thereof from different cultural backgrounds have much difference in both psychological senses and external behaviors. Aims Cross cultural management strives to merge the dreams and actions of all employees into enterprise mission and management principle by effective cross-cultural management, and establishing collective values consistent with enterprise development strategy to enhance enterprise cohesion, demonstrate new enterprise image, form core competitive advantages in corporate culture and guarantee the realization of cost-effective expansions such as strategic merger. If engaged in overseas investment, cross-cultural enterprise should gradually introduce excellent local cultural ideology on the basis of original corporate culture to establish a new corporate culture incorporating the essences of both cultures and conforming to the characteristics of enterprise development. Research Questions What gave rise to the concept of cross cultural management What is the significance of cross-culture management and influence of corporate culture on enterprise development What is the effect of corporate culture factors What types of cultural conflict issues will be encountered in transnational business What is the content of cross-cultural management and working methods Research Objectives The main intention of the study is to develop a better understanding of the concepts of cross cultural conflicts in general and how it affects the Human Resources Management. How the established theories and principles are applied to particular organization/s. The study will try to seek answers to the following key objectives. To analyze the emerging scenario of globalization and its impact on corporate culture. How companies have been trying to come to terms with the phenomenon of cultural conflicts Prerequisite to a decent work culture is respecting the individual's values and beliefs. While managing cross cultural environments, such values and beliefs form the core of a possible conflict. Therefore one key objective of the study is to find out how some multinational companies have been able to adopt a balanced approach towards respecting the individuals beliefs vis--vis the company's objectives. How, an effective management of corporate culture affects the functioning of the organization and ensures delivery of quality products or services to the customers. Literature Review Origin of Corporate culture Organizational atmosphere research was flourishing in the 1950s-1960s. The classification of organizational environment by Tagiuri is widely recognized as a guiding principle in management. Tagiuri classified organizational environment into ecology, background environment, social system and culture. (Tagiuri, R., G. H. Litwin, 1968.) Since then , the definition of organizational atmosphere has developed from the original 'attention to organizational environment sharing' to 'in-depth attentions to sharing criterion, belief, value and significance'. Organizational culture has become the focus of research, which is the result of organizational atmosphere research development. Historical background of corporate culture emergence Corporate culture theory was first put forward between the late 1970s and early 1980s (De, Z, 2003). After the Second World War, Japanese economy experienced rapid development. Therefore some Americans compared Japanese management with American management and discovered that Japanese management attached more importance to people and values and in this way corporate culture was first put forward and aroused the attention of the management circle. Emergence and development of corporate culture From 1981 to 1982, American management academic circle published four works successively, "Theory Z--How American Business Can Meet The Japanese Challenge", "Strategist's Mind--Management Art of Japanese Enterprises" and "Corporate Culture", which brought people into the new phase of corporate culture and signified the emergence of corporate culture theory. American Management Professor William Ouchi, author of "Theory Z-How American Business Can Meet the Japanese Challenge", believed the success of Japanese enterprise management rests with the fact that all enterprises have subtle and intimate interpersonal relationship full of trust. He put forward "Z Organization" mode, which bears the following characteristics. (William G. Ouchi, 1981) Implement long-term or lifelong employment system so that employees can pay more attention to enterprise interests in the premise of guaranteed employment. Perform long-term employee assessment and implement gradual promotion system. Cultivate all-round talents adaptable to various working environment. Strictly implement various technological control measures in the course of management while paying attention to effective inspiration and inducement of employees' experience and potential. Adopt unified decision-making mode incorporating collective research and individual responsibility. Build up the concept of employee equality and under the guidance of overall interests, every employee can make judgment and work independently to replace systematic direction with self control and establish harmonious relationship between superiors and subordinates. American Professor Kenichi Ohmae, coauthors of ("The mind of Strategists - The Art of Japanese Business" 1982) believed the success of all enterprises must closely be based on 7 variables called "7S Model". The content of 7 variables include "strategy", which refers to the actions and plans of an enterprise concerning how to acquire and allocate limited resources; "structure", which refers to the organizational form of an enterprise; "systems", which refers to the procedure and format of internal information transmission; "staffs", which refers to the employee makeup of enterprise; "super-old integrals", which refers to the values or objectives that can really integrate employee's individual objective into enterprise objectives; "style", which means outstanding enterprises all have both centralized and decentralized management style so that production department and product development departments can have independent decision making while abiding by several best-known values; "Skills", which means employees should master certain skills based on strict and systematic trainings in the implementation of enterprise strategy. The"7S Model" Theory provides theoretic basis for enterprise management. The "Corporate Culture" which was coauthored by American Terrence Deal and Allan Kennedy (corporate culture 1982), is a work symbolizing the emergence of corporate culture theory. After extensive investigation of over 80 enterprises, they put forward the point that outstanding and successful companies mostly have powerful corporate cultures, which they believe has five essential elements including enterprise environment, values, hero, ceremony and cultural network. They also put forward plenty of suggestions concerning how to understand, analyze and investigate corporate culture, as well as penetrating statements on corporate culture category, analysis method and the relationship between management and employees, etc. The book "In Search of Excellence: Lessons from Americas Best Run Companies " (1982) written by American Jr, Robert H Waterman, Thomas J Peters, Tom Peters, and Robert Waterman sums up eight major characteristics of America's best-run companies based on a study of more than forty American companies: The steps for prompt action and decisive decision-making are; 1. Close to the Customer and use excellent products and services to maintain advantages. 2. Aim to innovate and give adventurous reformers full support; 3. Value the resource of prime preciousness-people and increase productivity by unleashing people's potential abilities; 4. Center on value criterion and cohere various strengths of each part to the enterprise goal; 5. Enhance strong points and avoid weaknesses and start diverse business operations to strengthen the strain capacity; 6. Simple structure and decrease levels; 7. Temper justice with mercy, temperate relaxation and pay attention to managerial arts. Cultural Conflict Factors In the enterprises involving cultures from different nationalities, races and countries, the key issue is often the kind of conflict, especially in transnational enterprises. Because of its characteristics of modes of business operation, a transnational enterprise will inevitably face the differences, even conflicts between different cultures, which are often key and difficult problems in its operation and management. (Hofstede, G. J. 1993), the leader's companion of Holland Institute of Cross-cultural Cooperation had made a famous cross-cultural comparative study that he once made a seven-year study of more than one hundred thousand employees of IBM Company in over 40 countries and regions with twenty languages and he found that the cultural differences between these countries mainly embody in five aspects, namely "power distance", "uncertainty avoidance", "individualism-collectivism", "masculinity-femininity" and "long-term guidance quality- short-term guidance quality". The five aspects are five dimensions of national cultural differences and the characteristic of each culture can be denoted by its relative strengths in the five dimensions. 1. "Power distance" refers to the value degree of a kind of culture on the differences of social status and the importance of rank, which can also be regarded as the magnitude of influence and controlling force of the higher level on the lower level and supervisors on supervisees. In the cultures with long power distances, the whole society is an organization system with sharp ranks; however, the cultures with short power distances will give people comparatively equal ideas. 2. "Uncertainty avoidance" refers to the relative strengths of fears caused when people face uncertainty and faint situations and had to take the decision whether they should take measures to dispel the fears. The cultures with a high uncertainty avoidance index rely on authority and avoid differences and uncertainty; however, the cultures with a low uncertainty avoidance index are generous in adventure and accepting novel and strange things. 3. "Individualism-collectivism" refers to a degree of cultural dependency and sticking to individual and self. The society that leans towards individualism pays attention to meeting ego needs, going after a great variety of lives and realizing the self-worth; however, the society with collectivism tendency places great emphasis on collective interests and individual responsibilities for the collective. 4. Masculinity-femininity means that a kind of culture values self-confidence, achievements and wealth or pays more attention to other aspects, such as social support and quality of life, etc. The society with a high masculinity index places a premium on achievements, ambitions and other manly behaviors; however, in the culture with a low masculinity index, work and achievements are secondary, it advocates interdependence and harmonious co-existence among individuals, sympathizing with weak people and valuing the harmonious co-existence between man and nature. 5. "Long-term guidance quality- short-term guidance quality" refers to the values of a nationality for long-term interests and short-term interests. The culture and society with long-term guidance quality mainly looks into the future, places relative emphasis on considerations of future, inspects things by means of dynamic views, pays attention to economy, thriftiness and reserves and leaves some leeway when doing anything. However, the culture and society with short-term guidance quality looks into past and present, puts emphasis on immediate interests, respects for the tradition and taking on social responsibilities; In management, they value present profits, the merit cycle of the higher level for the lower level is shorter and they are eager for quick success and instant benefit and admit of no delay. In 1984 Edgar H. Schein, Professor with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, published an article titled "New Corporate Culture Understanding" and in 1985 published the monograph of "Organizational Culture and Leadership", in which he systematically expatiated on the concept of organizational culture and believed corporate culture is formed during interactions of enterprise employees. He also divided organizational culture into three levels, as shown below. (Schein, Edgar H, 1985, p26) This chart shows that culture can be analyzed at three different levels, with the term level meaning the degree to which the cultural phenomenon is visible to the observer. "At the surface is the level of artifacts, which includes all the phenomena that one sees, hears, and feels when one encounters a new organization with an unfamiliar culture." (Edgar H. Schein, 2004 p25) "All groups learning ultimate reflect someone's original beliefs and values, their sense of what ought to be, as distinct from what is." (Edgar H, 2004 p29) For example, when a group faces a new job, issue or problem, the first solution proposed to sort it out reflects someone's individual assumptions about what is right or wrong, and then this assumption will be a direct impact on the work of success or failure. Basic assumptions, in this level, are different from what some anthropologists called "dominant value orientations" in that such dominant orientations reflect the preferred solution among several basic alternatives, but all the alternatives are still visible in the culture, and any given member of the culture could, from time to time, behave according to variant as well as dominant orientations. (Kluckho and Strodtebeck, 1961) Therefore, using Schein's typology--artifacts, values, and assumptions. As seen from the works, the emergence of corporate culture was based on profound theories. Corporate culture is a modern enterprise management theory incorporating behavior science and management science, inheriting and developing modern enterprise management theories. The successful Japanese experience and American management practice are the practical foundations of corporate culture emergence, which is the summary of and evolution from Japanese, American and Western enterprise management. Methodology For any research the methodology is of paramount importance as it helps in gathering reliable data. Well, the debate over pros and cons of qualitative vs quantitative analysis starts as soon as we begin working on the methodology, but often it helps if we can take the assistance of both. For this study, the research methods will be used are listed as follows: 1. Qualitative Qualitative research is a field of inquiry that crosscuts disciplines and subject matters (Denzin, Norman K. & Lincoln, Yvonna S. 2005). The aim of qualitative researchers is to achieve an in-depth understanding of reasons that govern human behavior. Cross-cultural management in the context of environment and in terms of the development of strategic enterprises should be in line with the living habits of the locals and how the migrants have adopted to the local culture. UK in particular is known to be a favorite place for migrant workers, particularly from the Asian region. The IT era has further given a fillip to this trend. As the numbers of migrant workers are growing their influence on the local culture or vice-versa appears to be more prominent. Companies are therefore compelled to take note of these developments and keep the morale of its workers high all the time in order to have best outcomes. Aim of this project is to research, examine, report and assess the impact of a transition towards a multicultural environment embedded in British culture, therefore the qualitative approach will help us in understanding the impetus and path taken by the economic developments to arrive at today's situation. Simply stated, this method investigates the why's and how's of decision making and development direction. Qualitative research methods were developed in the social sciences to study social and cultural phenomena, such as action research, case study research and ethnography. Qualitative data collection therefore includes observation, interviews and questionnaires, documents and the researcher's impressions and reactions. 2. Data Analysis Towards building a sound data collection plan, there are some crucial steps that need to be addressed to ensure that the process is reliable. It is necessary to ensure that data collection must be repeatable, reproducible, accurate, and stable. Data collection usually takes place early on in an improvement project, and is often formalized through a data collection Plan which often contains the following activities. (Anthony Peter MacMillan Coxon, 1999) 1. Pre collection activity - Agree to goals, target data, definitions, methods Goals: The diversity of values and beliefs in organizations, internal corporate culture conflict, the external complexity of the business environment and the difficulties in the cultural identity and integration of the process. 2. Collection - data collection For this study we will be collecting data from the last three years' regular accounting reports and annual reports, employees' performance appraisal reports, HRM journals and of course with the help of interview transcripts. 3. Present Findings - usually involves some form of sorting analysis and/or presentation. A formal data collection process is necessary as it ensures that data gathered is both defined and accurate and that subsequent decisions are based on the arguments embodied in the findings (Dr Roger Sapsford 1996). The process provides both a baseline from which to measure and in certain cases a target on what to improve. 3. Action Research One of the most widely cited definition of action research is that of Rapoport's, who defines action research in the following way: Action research aims to contribute both towards the practical concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation and to the goals of social science by joint collaboration within a mutually acceptable ethical framework (Rapoport, 1970, p499). This method emphasizes on the collaborative aspect of action research and to the possible ethical dilemmas which arise from its use. It also makes clear, as Clark (Action Research and Organizational Change 1972) mentioned that research is concerned to expand the knowledge of the social science. Action research has been accepted as a valid research method in applied fields, examples of organization development and education project (Kemmis & Mc Taggart, 1998). Furthermore, (Gerald Susman 1983, p102) gives a somewhat more elaborate listing. He distinguishes five phases to be conducted within each research cycle. Initially, a problem is identified and data is collected for a more detailed diagnosis. This is followed by a collective postulation of several possible solutions, from which a single plan of action emerges and is implemented. Data on the results of the intervention are collected and analyzed, and the findings are interpreted in the light of how successful the action has been. At this point, the problem is re-assessed and the process begins another cycle. This process continues until the problem is resolved. Here is a detailed action research model: 4. Case Study Research The case study can be used to describe a unit of analysis such as a case study of a particular organization. Examples that the comparisons of the history, size, scope of business activities, administrative and management systems, human resources distribution and financial situations in two different companies. The case study research is the most common qualitative method used in information systems (Alavi and Carlson, 1992). Here we will be using the Yin (2002) defined 'scope of case study' to cross-culture management case. A case study is an empirical inquiry in the sense that: It investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident (Yin 2002). "Interest has shifted to organizational rather than technical issues" (Benbasat et al, 1987) Case study research can be positivist, interpretive, or critical, depending upon the different assumptions of the cases. Yin 2002 and Benbasat et al. 1987 are strong advocates of Positivist methods. However, Walsham 1993 is an advocate of interpretive in-depth case study research. This approach will help to a large extent in understanding the cross-culture management case. The method can characterize cultural differences in two cases: practice differences and value differences. Practice differences are in relative to each nation's typical "organization style," such as its level of centralization of authority, level of formalization of communication, and depth of organizational hierarchy. Value differences on the other hand are concerned about the micro-level behavior of individuals in making work and coordination decisions. 5. Semi-Structured Interview This method of research is applied on the social science. Compared with the structured interview approach, semi-structured is more flexible, thus allowing new questions to be brought up during the interview based on the outcome of the interview. This is a very simple, efficient and practical way of getting data about something that cannot be easily observed such as feelings and emotions. During the interview, data collection will depends on "how the interviewee frames and understands issues and events" (Bryman and Bell, 2003, p343), interviewees are able to talk about something in detail and depth. The interview participants will be selected from experienced department managers who are human resource department, marketing department, supply department and customer service departments and influential staff who is having rich work experience or customers who closely cooperate with company. All the questions are not to elicit predetermined answers, there might be something which the researcher could not have thought while preparing the questionnaire. In such cases open ended questions help in enriching the database. Bryman and Bell (2003, p348) state that "What is crucial about the qualitative method is that the interviewer is allowed to 'glean the ways in which participants view their social world". This will help in making the process of data collection more reliable and consistency would be obtained. Here some assessment questions to interpret employees' values based on five cultural dimensions: Individualism, Masculinity, Power distance, Uncertainty avoidance and time orientation. 1. Do you think material success is a good indicator of overall success in life 2. Does competition help in bringing out the best employee in the company 3. Should company reward individual performance even when teams are used 4. Do you think a good community must take precedence over the rights of individuals 5. Do you agree with the notion that, 'it is unavoidable and natural that some people should lead and others follow'. Please explain your reasons 6. Is it a key factor that clear information and tasks are essential for people to be able to do the best 7. Is the flexibility a key to success 8. Will you do the best when you know exactly what is expected of you 9. Do you believe that company leaders must have right discretion in order to be effective 10. Do you think it is important for employee to respect company traditions 11. Do you think individual's rights are key to a free society References 1. Alavi M. & Carlson P. (1992), A Review of MIS Research and Disciplinary Development, Journal of Management Information Systems, 8(4), 45-62 2. Anthony Peter MacMillan Coxon,(1999) Sorting Data: Collection and Analysis, Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group 3. Benbasat et al., (1987), The case research strategy in studies of information systems. MIS Quarterly 4. Bryman and Bell, (2003), Business Research Methods, Oxford University Press 5. Christopher A. Bartlett, Paul W. Beamish, Sumantra Ghoshal (2000), Transnational Management: Text, Cases, and Readings in Cross-Border Management, Irwin Professional Pub 6. Clark, P.A. (1972) Action Research and Organizational Change, London: Harper and Row 7. Consent Form, available online at www.governor.state.or.us/OPRD/HCD/ARCH/docs/Oral_History_Interview_Consent_Form.rtf 8. De, Z (2003) Cultural development and construction enterprises, Beijing: Tsinghua University Press 9. Denzin, Norman K. & Lincoln, Yvonna S. 2005 The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications 10. F.R., Kluckhohn and F. L. Strodtbeck, (1961) Variations in Value Orientations, New York: HarperCollins 11. Gerald I. Susman, (1983) "Action Research: A Sociotechnical Systems Perspective," ed. G. Morgan (London: Sage Publications, p102 Orlikowski and Baroudi, 1991; Alavi and Carlson, 1992 12. Hofstede, G. J. (1993), Cultural constraints in management theories. In J. T. Wren (Ed.), the leader's companion, New York: Free Press 13. Jr, Robert H Waterman, Thomas J Peters, Tom Peters, and Robert Waterman (1982) In Search of Excellence: Lessons from Americas Best Run Companies, Audio Partners 14. Kenichi Ohmae, (1982) The mind of the strategist: The art of Japanese business, New York: McGraw-Hill 15. Kemmis and Mc Taggart, (1998) The action research planner, Deakin University Press 16. Li, C & Lu, C (2000),Exploration wisdom journey, Beijing: Beijing University Publishing House 17. Rapoport, R.N. (1970) "Three Dilemmas in Action Research," Human Relations, New York: Routledge 18. Robert T. Moran, Ph.D & Philip R. Harris (2004), Managing Cultural Differences, Sixth Edition: Global Leadership Strategies for the 21st Century (Managing Cultural Differences), Butterworth: Heinemann 19. Schein, Edgar H, (1985) Organizational culture and leadership, Jossey-Bass, p25-29 20. Tagiuri, R., G. H. Litwin (1968), Organizational Climate, Boston: Harvard University Press 21. Terrence Deal ,Allan Kennedy (1982) Corporate Culture, Perseus Publishing 22. Wei, S (2004), Organizational Culture, Shang Hai: Fudan University Press 23. William G. Ouchi, (1981) Theory Z: How American Business Can Meet the Japanese Challenge, Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley 24. Yin, R. K. (2002) Case Study Research, Design and Methods, 3rd ed. Newbury Park, Sage Publications Appendices Appendix A Research Tools Semi-structured interview The purpose of interview to discover and the meanings of central themes in the life .The main task is to understand what is the significance of the respondents said, in order to further investigate the responses. Also useful for getting the story behind a participant's experiences whatever good or bad. It is able to pursue in-depth information around critical problems. Data collection There are two main resources to collect data. One is company document such as investment plan, accounts, year-end statement, staff rating record and company conference record. Another one is interview database. Data for experienced staff and group managers are collected in 5 times during interview. Action Research Have meeting with the senior management of the companies, record their view and experience. Analyzing with them and conclude a feasible program for future. Appendix B Record of Meetings with Dissertation Supervisor Date Agenda of Meeting 17th April 2008 Meeting with tutor to discuss methodology and draft of proposal. 18th April 2008 Get feedback form Supervisor. A poor performance, examples of research objectives, the detailed plan of research and relevant reference. Appendix C Timetable Tuesday 4th March Start looking for ideas for dissertation. Tuesday 15th March Search the literature for research ideas 3 weeks Easter Vacation Collect information and decided a topic Friday 11th April Have a rest, because ribs broken Thursday 17th April Meeting with tutor to discuss methodology and draft of proposal Wednesday 23rd April Hand in proposal of dissertation Monday 28th April Keeping search information round my subject, particular in theory articles. Thursday 15th May Meet with supervisor to check the progress on the right track. Thursday 22nd May Meet with supervisor to discuss the access to go further data collection Monday 2nd June Meet with supervisor to show the interview questions and detailed plan for data collection Monday 9th June Going to China and aim to have collected transcripts Tuesday 1st July Going to Vietnam and aim to further investigate interview Friday 11th July Aim to have analysis of results related theories. Discuss with leaders between two companies. Friday 1st August Meet with supervisor to make sure the progress is on the right track Sunday 10th August Tidy up all transcripts and information. Friday 15th August Aim to finish the whole draft Monday 18th August Meet with supervisor to check necessary changes Friday 22nd August Start the final dissertation and carry on till hand in CONSENT FORM Date: ________________ I hereby grant _________________________ permission to document through audio and/or video recording and transcription oral history interview(s) for the purpose of understanding corporate culture.The knowledge contained in the oral histories will not be given to any non-project staff except in cases where it is useful for protection and preservation purposes. When this material becomes available, it may be read, quoted, or cited from and disseminated for educational and scholarly purposes only. This consent does not preclude any use, which I may want to make of the information contained in the recordings or transcription. It is desired that the following restrictions be placed on this material: I would like a copy of any interview recording and transcript to be given to: ________ Myself ______ Other Individual or Tribal Government Agency ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ____________________________________ __________________________________ Signature of Interviewee Signature of Interviewer ____________________________________ __________________________________ Name Name ____________________________________ __________________________________ Signature of Interpreter Date ____________________________________ Name *Base on: www.governor.state.or.us/OPRD/HCD/ARCH/docs/Oral_History_Interview_Consent_Form.rtf Read More