Essay Question

Compare and contrast the models of Hofstede and Trompenaars and their usefulness for

understanding the influence of cultural difference on organisations.

General advice

The question asks you to discuss the statement. This means that you need to consider all of the

views in the academic literature on this topic and, on the basis of the evidence, draw on conclusion

as to whether you agree or disagree. You will find helpful advice on how to answer an essay which

requires you to 'discuss' in the WIN Essay Writing Guide, which is on this Moodle site. In addition,

this guide will give you very useful advice on how to organise your ideas, how to organise and

structure your written answer, and how to use your own 'voice' and avoid potential plagiarism

issues. Please read through the guide before you start on the essay.

The issues in the essay are set out on Chapters Two and Five of the textbook, especially pages 32-42

and pages 129-138 on goal setting theory (based on expectancy theory) are also relevant. Reading

this is a good place to start, as it will give you a good idea of the key issues and the different

approaches to them. It will give you some key points to use in your literature research on the topic.

In order to demonstrate a full knowledge of the theoretical issues, you will need to read at least 4-6

academic references in addition to the chapter in the textbook. Academic references include both

textbooks and academic journal articles. You may find additional textbooks in the WIN library. The

best way to find academic journal articles is to use the EBSCO database which is available to all

students. Simply typing in keywords from the question will bring up a selection of relevant journal

article which are available on line.

Length: 1500 words