FINAL TERM PAPER INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CLASS I attached my outline for this paper, the instructions, advice from the professor and also a past year term paper example so that you can get an idea of h

IBUS 462 Spring 2025 Term Paper Outline

Outline: The purpose of the individual Term Paper is to provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge of the course material and the ability to bring all the concepts and issues of the semester together into a comprehensive plan for successful cross-cultural business communication in a culture of their choosing.

The term paper will consist of a comprehensive guide for successful management and business communication in the foreign country of the student’s choosing. This plan will touch upon all the aspects of cross-cultural business communication that we will cover in the course. In addition, the paper must contain a listing of the references and resources utilized in the paper.

Successful completion of the project will require both research on the country selected, as well as application of concepts learned during the course to the specific issues facing a new manager attempting to manage and communicate in an unfamiliar country/culture.

Most importantly, this term paper cannot simply be a description of “on-stage” behavior and the “Do’s and Don’ts of communicating in this culture. The focus must be on “back-stage” elements of the culture; the Values and Attitudes that make up the cultural “whys” of the culture. Some mention of appropriate or inappropriate “on-stage” behaviors is fine, but this cannot be the basis of the paper.

Requirements/Deliverables:
1. 4,500 – 5,000 word length paper. 10 – 12 pages (excluding references, charts, and other visuals) if 11-point font, single line spaced within a paragraph.
2. Documentation/use of at least 6 meaningful references:
  1. Business periodicals
  2. Books
  3. Academic journals
3. No more than two web-based references.
4. Wikpedia is not an acceptable resource.
5. A personal interview with an individual who has first-hand, related cultural ties, knowledge, or experience is acceptable as one reference.
6. The course text can be used as a resource for the paper, but it will not count as one of the 6 required resources.
7. Format for citing and listing of references is at student discretion using one of the three formats (MLA, APA, CMS) outlined on KU’s Writing Center website:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/20110928111055_949.pdf

Schedule/Deadlines:
1. By February 7th: Each student will submit to me three options of countries that they wish to use for the project. The country cannot be the student’s native country.
2. By March 14th: Each student must submit a two-page outline summary of initial research findings and sources utilized thus far. Minimum of 3 resources must be identified.
3. By midnight, May 16th: Term paper due via E-mail file. Students will submit all written assignments in a digital format on Canvas through SafeAssign so that deliverables can be checked against web papers and databases of existing papers.

Outline of Required Content:

1. Background of the Culture (chapter 3):
  1. Historical background (brief). As it relates to and explains values or attitudes in this culture. How do historical events explain or influence how people in this culture see themselves or other countries around them.
  2. Hofstede evaluation (brief overview of important/extreme elements).
  3. High or low context communication.
  4. Thinking and knowing (chapter 3):
    1. Knowledge from concepts or experience?
    2. Learning:
      1. By asking questions?
      2. By mastering received wisdom?
    3. Does knowledge have limits?
    4. How do people reason in this culture?
  5. Doing and achieving (chapter 3):
    1. More important – doing or being?
    2. Tasks done sequentially or simultaneously?
    3. Priority – results or relationships?
    4. Uncertainty avoided or tolerated?
    5. Is luck essential or irrelevant?
    6. Rules followed or bent?
  6. The big picture (chapter 3):
    1. Dominance – humans or nature?
    2. Religion/belief systems.
    3. Perceptions and use of time – monochronic or polychronic?
    4. Understanding of death.

1. 1. Self and self-identity (chapter 4):
    1. Individual or collective? Independent or interdependent?
    2. Obligations – burden or benefit?
    3. Age – valued or discounted?
    4. Gender roles in business.
  2. Social organization (chapter 4):
    1. Group membership temporary or permanent?
    2. Formality – important or untrustworthy?
    3. Personal matters – private or public?
    4. Social organization – horizontal or hierarchical?
    5. Approach to authority – direct or mediated?

1. Language (chapter 2):
  1. History/origins.
  2. Characteristics (tones, dialects).
  3. Language as a reflection of cultural values.
  4. Verbal greetings – hello, thank you, and excuse me or I’m sorry.
  5. Official languages.
  6. Written language – alphabet or symbols?
  7. Conventions of written business communication:
    1. Numbers/dates/currencies.

1. Organizing Messages (chapter 5):
  1. Who
  2. Where
  3. When
  4. How:
    1. Face to face, phone, E-mail, FAX, etc.
  5. Routine messages: Direct or Indirect plan?
  6. Basis for persuasive logic.
  7. Persuasion tactics.
  8. Communicating about problems/saying no.
  9. The role/force/importance of words.
  10. Formal (hierarchical) or informal (horizontal) communication style?

1. Nonverbal communication (chapter 6):
  1. Paralanguage.
  2. Nonverbal business communication conventions (do’s and don’ts):
    1. Eye contact?
    2. Facial expressions:
      1. Smiling.
      2. Showing anger.
    3. Gestures and arm movements.
    4. Posture.
    5. Touching.
    6. Space:
      1. Personal and public.
      2. Expectations of privacy.
    7. Greetings.
    8. Appearance.
    9. Silence.

1. Relationships (chapter 7):
  1. Signals of respect.
  2. Authority:
    1. Positions or professions.
    2. Behavior and tone.
    3. Language.
    4. Family or societal structures.
  3. Assertiveness vs Harmony.
  4. Appropriate ways to recognize performance.
  5. Social contracts:
    1. Mixing social and business activities?
    2. Host and guest behavior.
    3. Gift giving.
    4. Holidays.
  6. Ethics.

1. Information, Decisions, Solutions (chapter 8):
  1. Nature of information.
  2. Soft vs hard data.
  3. Formal vs informal sources.
  4. Decision-making – ends or means?
  5. Problem solving and conflict resolution:
    1. Which conflict management mode used (page 316)?
    2. Which conflict communication style used (page 320)?

1. Negotiations (chapter 9):
  1. Profile and characteristics of the negotiator.
  2. Communication and style of negotiating.

1. One element of the culture that “Doesn’t Translate” for you.
  1. If you were to manage or start a business in the country of your choice, discuss one of the cultural attributes/values/behaviors of your selected country that you would not adopt/adapt to in your company operations or your own personal management style. Why would you not adopt this cultural aspect for business?

Other guidelines/advice:

Consider that you are writing this guide for someone (any nationality) who has never been to that country and has never taken IBUS 462. Explain it as if they are a novice to international business.

In all areas, you need to discuss and relate issues back to business. Basically, all issues you discuss must be explained related to one of three questions:
- How does this issue relate to or affect how business is conducted in this country?
- How does this issue relate to or affect how people in this culture will behave in both a business and social setting?
- How does this issue relate to or guide how a foreign businessperson should behave in both a business and a social setting?