Format:Your take-home must be typed. It should be 4-5 pages in length. Page guidelines assume double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins.
No outside research should be used for this exam. No bibliography is required: the syllabus is your bibliography. The purpose is to show off what you have learned from lectures and readings in this class and to demonstrate your ability to integrate information from multiple sources to reach well-reasoned conclusions. No information should be copied from written sources. The paper must be written in your own words. If you copy from outside sources or other students’ papers, you will receive a zero.
Write an essay in which you respond to ALL of the following questions:
a) Using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and Meyer’s culture maps, describe US, Chinese, and African* cultural similarities and differences. Do you think less cultural distance between Chinese and Africans gives Chinese investors an advantage over American investors? Explain.
b) How is access to electricity changing daily life in Africa? What impact do you think this will have on national cultures in Africa? Do you expect to see cultural convergence among US and African cultural dimensions? Explain your position.
c) How do Black Star Energy and Off-Grid Electric make money? To what extent are their business models shaped by the countries in which they do business? Which do you think will be more successful and why?
d) Do you think US solar companies, funded by venture capitalists, are exploiting people in Africa? Would it be better for African nations to rely on foreign development aid instead? Defend your position.
* Note that on Hofstede’s grids, you can find Africa W and Africa E, referring to groups of countries in western Africa and eastern Africa, as well as the country South Africa. Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria are African countries which are included in various culture maps by Meyer.
research must be done from these articles and attached additional files.
D:\The Race to Solar-Power Africa The New Yorker.mht
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51be6891e4b020693fe23d0d/t/52e068f3e4b019b549453250/1390438643772/Cultural_Constraints_management_theories.pdf
https://hbr.org/2014/05/navigating-the-cultural-minefield
