This chapter focuses on the changes and accompanying challenges those changes will provide for the future decade. Specifically highlighted are work force diversity, technological change, ethical behavior, and global competition. Global challenges necessitate that future employers and employees consider cultural differences and appreciation of the culture as vital for company survival. One of the ways this can be measured is by Hofstede's dimensions of cultural differences. Cultural diversity within the United States encompasses all forms of differences among individuals, including age, gender, race, and ability. Technological changes reshape jobs and the work force, as seen through the advances in five technologies: information storage and processing, communications, advanced materials, biotechnologies, and superconductivity. Management is challenging, and compounding the complexity are ethical issues, most often connected with white-collar crime, computer use, employee rights, sexual harassment, romantic involvement at work, organizational justice, whistle-blowing, and social responsibility.
After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following:
attitudes.
organizations.
3. Describe actions managers can take to help their employees value diversity.
4. Understand the alternative work arrangements produced by technological advancements.
5. Explain the ways managers can help employees adjust to technological change.
6. Discuss the assumptions of consequential, rule-based, and cultural ethical theories.
7. Explain six issues that pose ethical dilemmas for managers.
The following key terms are introduced in Chapter 2:
transnational organization guanxi
individualism collectivism
power distance uncertainty avoidance
masculinity femininity
time orientation expatriate manager
diversity glass ceiling
technology expert system
robotics telecommuting
reinvention consequential theory
rule-based theory cultural theory
distributive justice procedural justice
whistle-blower social responsibility
I. THINKING AHEAD: Ford Goes Global with an International Team of Executives
II. COMPETITION: THE CHALLENGES MANAGERS FACE
Recent surveys verify that U.S. firms are encountering unprecedented global competition. Chief executives indicate that the major challenges are global competition, globalizing the firm's operations, making sure the human side of the organization is considered, keeping up with technology, and managing ethical behavior. To ensure that their organizations meet the competition, managers must tackle four important challenges: globalization, work force diversity, technological change, and ethical behavior at work.
III. MANAGING IN A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
The concepts of globalization have helped define the terms which organizations use to determine the level of activity in the global marketplace.
Globalization implies the world is free from national boundaries, whereas international carries with it a connotation of nationality. Transnational organizations must assume global viewpoints over national issues.
A. Changes in the Global Marketplace
Numerous global, social, and political changes have led organizations to change the way they conduct business and encourage members to think globally. A few of these changes are the European Union, connection of East and West Germany, the political changes in Russia, and opening of business ventures in China and NAFTA.
B. Understanding Cultural Differences
In order to compete globally, organizations must understand culturally diverse individuals. Hofstede focuses on the differences among cultures in work-related settings. Hofstede found five dimensions of cultural differences that formed the basis for work-related attitudes.
1. Individualism vs. Collectivism
Individualist cultures have primary concern for themselves and their families. Collectivist cultures belong to tightly knit social frameworks and depend on extended families.
2. Power Distance
Power distance is the degree to which a culture accepts unequal distribution of power. High power distance cultures are more accepting of unequal power distributions; low power distance cultures are less accepting.
3. Uncertainty Avoidance
Uncertainty avoidanceis the degree to which a culture tolerates ambiguity and uncertainty.
4. Masculinity vs. Femininity
In cultures that are characterized by masculinity, assertiveness and materialism are valued. Cultures that are characterized by femininity emphasize relationships and concern for others.
5. Time Orientation
The time orientationvalue determines the long-term or short-term orientation of a culture. Long-term orientation is toward the future, whereas short-term orientation is toward the past and present.
6. U.S. Culture
The United States scored the most individualistically of all the countries measured. The U.S. ranked weak on power distance, and is a masculine culture with a short-term orientation.
C. Developing Cross-Cultural Sensitivity
There is an increase in organizational cooperation for training employees for cultural sensitivity. Cross-cultural task forces or teams are increasing. Employees are more often being trained to be expatriates. Integrity, insightfulness, risk taking, the courage to take a stand, and the ability to bring out the best in people are key competencies for international executives.
IV. MANAGING WORK FORCE DIVERSITY
Diversityencompasses all forms of differences among individuals, including culture, gender, age, ability, religious affiliation, economic class, social status, military attachment, and sexual orientation.
A. Cultural Diversity
Cultural diversity indicates the diversity apparent in the workplace. The change in the population will increase the diversity and distribution of participants from Hispanic and African-American origins.
B. Gender Diversity
Women make up almost 40 percent of the labor force, and by the year 2020, a balance of genders is expected in the work force. Women continue to receive less compensation for work, and the transparent barrier referred to as the glass ceilingcontinues to keep women from rising above a certain level in organizations.
C. Age Diversity
The number of middle-aged Americans will continue to rise, resulting in an older work force. This will place emphasis on intergenerational work situations. This will also have an impact on benefits and policies relating to a more diverse work force.
D. Ability Diversity
The number of disabled individuals in the work force is expected to increase dramatically because of the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1992.
This law stipulates that employers should make reasonable accommodations to assist disabled individuals to become contributing employees.
E. Differences are Assets
Managing diversity is one way in which organizations can become more competitive. It will be imperative that companies appreciate diversity as the work force becomes more diverse in the next decade.
F. Diversity’s Benefits and Problems
Diversity management can help organizations attract and retain human resources, enhance marketing efforts, promote creativity and innovation, lead to better problem solving, and enhance organizational flexibility. There are five problems associated with diversity: resistance to change, cohesiveness, communication problems, conflicts and decision making.
V. MANAGING TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION
Technologyconsists of the intellectual and mechanical processes used by an organization to transform inputs into products or services that meet organizational goals. The challenge to integrate technology into the workplace at an ever increasing pace has been considered a major factor that has limited economic growth in the United States. Technological changes are having dramatic effects on organizations.
The increase of expert systemsin the workplace has benefited inexperienced workers with a training tool for gaining knowledge and checking their assumptions against the knowledge based system.
A. Alternative Work Arrangements
Transmitting work from a home computer to the office using a modem is telecommuting. Some of the disadvantages of this approach have been complaints of isolation and feelings of loss of commitment; however, studies show that telecommuters report high satisfaction with office communication.
Hoteling is a shared-office arrangement wherein employees have mobile file cabinets and lockers for personal storage, and “hotel” work spaces are furnished for them. Satellite offices exist when large facilities are broken into a network of smaller workplaces that are located close to employees’ homes. All of these alternative work arrangements signal a trend toward virtual offices, in which people work anytime, anywhere , and with anyone.
B. The Changing Nature of Managerial Work
Managers will need to adapt and make effective use of new technologies. Issues connected with workplace conditions and computers, and capability for computerized monitoring will add complexity to managers’ roles.
C. Helping Employees Adjust to Technological Change
Reinvention is the term for creatively applying new technology. Managers have the responsibility of helping employees learn about and utilize the new technologies through effective training.
VI. MANAGING ETHICAL ISSUES AT WORK
There is plenty of evidence that ethical problems are still a major concern in corporations. Managers have the responsibility of initiating programs to improve the ethical climate.
Consequential theories of ethics emphasize the consequences or results of behavior. In contrast, rule-based theories of ethics emphasize the character of the act itself rather than its
effects. The third type of ethical theory is the cultural theorywhich emphasizes respect for different cultural values.
A. Employee Rights
Employee rights encompass many current issues, such as drug testing, due process, smoking policies, and even questions regarding activities away from the organization.
B. Sexual Harassment
Harassment issues extend beyond overt unwanted approaches, to include environments that are considered hostile work environments.
C. Romantic Involvements
As the number of women in the workplace has increased, there have been issues addressing the position of the organization with the promotion of romantic relationships.
D. Organizational Justice
Organizational justice includes both distributive and procedural justice where the fairness of outcomes received and the fairness of the allocation process are reviewed.
E. Whistle-blowing
Employees who inform authorities of wrong-doing by their company or co-workers are referred to as whistle-blowers.
F. Social Responsibility
The obligation that an organization feels to behave in a conscious and contributory fashion to society is referred to as social responsibility.
G. Codes of Ethics
There has been an increase in codes of ethics in organizations. One of the more concise tests of ethical and moral questions is the simple four-way test created by Rotary International in 1904 (see Figure 2.2).
VI. MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: FACING THE CHALLENGES
VII. LOOKING BACK: Ford Cars and Trucks on Demand in the Future
CHAPTER SUMMARY
To ensure that their organizations meet the competition, managers must tackle four important challenges: globalization, workforce diversity, technological change, and ethical behavior at work.
The five cultural differences that affect work related attitudes are individualism versus collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity versus femininity, and time orientation.
Diversity encompasses gender, culture, personality, sexual orientation, religion, military affiliation, ability, economic class, social status, and a host of other differences.
Managers must take a proactive approach to managing diversity so that differences are valued and capitalized upon.
Alternative work arrangements, facilitated by technology, are changing the way work is performed.
Through supportive relationships and training, managers can help employees adjust to technological change.
Three types of ethical theories include consequential theories, rule based theories, and cultural theories.
Ethical dilemmas emerge for people at work in the areas of employee rights, sexual harassment, romantic involvements, organizational justice, whistle-blowing, and social responsibility.
REVIEW QUESTIONS: SUGGESTED ANSWERS
1. What are Hofstede's five dimensions of cultural differences that affect work attitudes? Using these dimensions, describe the United States.
The dimensions are polarized concepts of the following: (1) individualism/collectivism, (2) high power distance/low power distance, (3) high uncertainty avoidance/low uncertainty avoidance, (4) masculinity/femininity, (5) long-term orientation/short-term orientation.
The United States is extremely individualistic, tolerant of uncertainty, weak on power distance, masculine, and short term in regard to time orientation.
2. What are the primary sources of diversity in the U.S. workforce?
The U.S. work force is characterized by diversity of all types: culture, gender, age, ability, personality, religious affiliation, economic class, social status, military attachment, and sexual orientation.
Diversity management may serve as a vehicle for attracting and retaining human resources, enhancing marketing efforts, promoting creativity and innovation, improving problem solving, and enhancing flexibility. Potential problems of diversity include resistance to change on the part of current employees, group cohesiveness may take longer to develop, and diversity may lead to communication problems, conflict, and a slower decision making process.
The reality of the glass ceiling is that women are not promoted to top management positions at the same rates as men. Efforts to change this reality should include training managers to be aware of biases and stereotypes, and other proactive stances toward the management of diversity.
Employees may view technological innovations as decreasing their quality of work life and increasing pressure. They may fear that technological innovations will displace them from their jobs. Managers can help employees adjust by providing information on how technological innovations will affect employees and by allowing employees to have input into decision making regarding workplace technology.
Employee theft, environmental issues, issues of comparable worth of employees across job categories, conflicts of interest at work, and sexual harassment are just some of the ethical challenges encountered in organizations.
Distributive justice addresses the perceived fairness of outcomes, while procedural justice addresses the perceived fairness of procedures used to determine outcomes.
1. How can managers be encouraged to develop global thinking? How can managers dispel stereotypes about other cultures?
All managers can enhance their perspectives by participating in cross-cultural sensitivity workshops offered by organizations. Another way is to volunteer for cross-cultural task forces. Students have opportunities to meet and learn about other cultures on campus by attending the festivals and celebrations that are typically held each academic year for student groups.
2. Some people have argued that in designing expert systems, human judgment is made obsolete. What do you think?
Expert systems are built on the judgment of experts in a field, to help train and sharpen the decision making of less experienced problem solvers. The best expert system is only as good as the human expert that provided the decision rules for the program.
3. Why do some companies encourage alternative work arrangements?
Alternative work arrangements may allow companies to reduce overhead costs by reducing the amount of office space needed. Alternative work arrangements may also serve as a tool to attract a diverse group of employees and to better allow employees to meet personal needs while maintaining a job.
4. What effects will the globalization of business have on a company's culture? How can an organization with a strong "made in America" identity compete in the global marketplace?
Globalization will help in understanding needs of current constituents, as well as future clients. By learning about various cultures, organizational members are able to understand
that other companies' missions and objectives are not vastly different from their own, and that they need not surrender their company loyalty to interact and negotiate with others.
5. Why is diversity such an important issue? Is the workforce more diverse today than in the past?
The population is much more diverse than it has ever been. Whether the business is service-or product-oriented, the constituents and clients of the company must be understood in order to satisfy their needs. New ideas come from analyzing old problems differently. Diverse work forces assist in seeing traditional problems in a new frame of reference. Today’s workforce is definitely more diverse than past workforces.
6. How does a manager strike a balance between encouraging employees to celebrate their own cultures and forming a single unified culture within the organization?
This is a difficult balance. Any organization that is referenced for a strong culture can be countered with an example of rigidity in their practices and views. The key seems to be separating the personalities from the missions and objectives of the organization.
7. Do you agree with Hofstede's findings about U.S. culture? On what do you base your agreement or disagreement?
This answer will vary by work experience and by cultural identity of the students. Often students will perpetuate stereotypes in their answers of other countries, yet rationalize the weaknesses of their own society. It is interesting to ask students from other cultures what their stereotypes were about the U.S. before arriving, and if those perceptions have been reinforced since being here.
One item worth mentioning to students is that Hofstede's study, although monumental, was completed almost 25 years ago. The study is being updated with cooperation from participating countries.
8. Select one of the four challenges (globalization, diversity, technology, ethics) and write a brief position paper arguing for its importance to managers.
Encourage students to use specific answers in support of their position. This exercise can generate interesting discussion in class as students present potentially different perspectives on why an issue is important to managers.
9. Find someone whose home country is not your own. This might be a classmate or an international student at your university. Interview the person about his or her culture, using Hofstede’s dimensions. Also ask what you might need to know about doing business in the person’s country (e.g., customs, etiquette). Be prepared to share this information in class.
This provides an excellent opportunity for students to learn about another culture. During class discussion, have students share anything that surprised them in the information that they gathered. Discuss why they were surprised by this information.
1. Suppose your company has the opportunity to install a marvelous new technology, but it will mean that 20 percent of the jobs in the company will be lost. As a manager, would you adopt the new technology? How would you make the decision?
This dilemma has happened in many instances in the workplace. Most of the research literature emphasizes that keeping the employees well-informed of the actions is a key difference between lawsuit filings and displeased employees. Examples are evident of companies' and countries that have not employed technology because of the outcome of lost positions. This action anxiety often results in the same outcome of losing the positions. Great Britain had the labor union refute the printing advancements, and the Swiss were too slow to compete with the changes in watch technology from Japan.
2. What is the most difficult ethical dilemma you have ever faced at work or school? Why? How was it resolved?
This question usually takes a while to get rolling, because students are often reluctant to talk about their own dilemmas. A good way to get this discussion moving is to share one or two dilemmas you have faced as an instructor, related to grading, students, research, or publishing. This helps students understand that ethical problems are evident in all organizations. Another opportunity for discussion may emerge by asking about ethical problems they have heard of from their friends, or the most complex ethical dilemma they have ever heard about.
3. Some companies have a policy that employees should not become romantically involved with each other. Is this ethical?
This has been answered many ways, but the key is to stay away from individuals discussing their particular policies, or specific instances of romantic involvement they have observed. After discussion has progressed, you may want to ask the students how this policy is different than a policy stating that divorced couples could not work together, or family members were not allowed to work in the same company.
The foremost concerns a person with AIDS would have is job security and insurance coverage. There also may be other concerns about time off from work with jeopardizing job security. The coworkers greatest fears would center around fear of contagion or preferential treatment.
The situation can be avoided altogether by doing research before leaving home. There are a number of books available that specifically address differences in culture and etiquette when conducting business abroad. Nonetheless, it is hard to prepare for everything. This would make a great group exercise where students discuss how they would handle the situation.
This challenge provides an opportunity to discuss many of the misconceptions that exist about AIDS in the workplace. As this challenge is discussed, the instructor might also provide students with information about the educational and counseling resources available on campus with regard to AIDS.
The exercise immediately following the case is a difficult one. The students are asked to rate a potential expatriate and his spouse with very little information about the couple. The key to this exercise is to assess the reasons why they made the choices they did. Are they justified, given the information provided? What follow-up questions could the student ask to make more confident ratings? There are many behavioral details which the students may attend to in order to make their ratings. The details, however, do not provide the full picture about the couple. Here are some points the students may list:
Jonathan: He has never lived outside his hometown. He speaks a second language (i.e., German). He is familiar with some German ethnic traditions. OSI does not have a location in Germany. Jonathan is active and likes people. His activities are softball and volleyball - both of which are American sports.
Sue: She has studied English literature. She is a teacher by profession and a trainer at a city mission. At the mission she interacts with people who are of a lower socioeconomic status. Given that she volunteers her time, she is probably a person who likes to help others. Her interests include ethnic cooking, which indicates that she likes to try new foods.
Discussion Questions:
2 and 3. Do the students expect that the Australian culture would be an easier transition than the Japanese transfer? The “country difficulty,” that is, the extent to which the foreign country differs from one’s own, should be considered in all expatriate cases. The Australian transfer would have less of a language barrier than the Japanese transfer.
4. There are many possible types of training. For example, the couple could listen to lectures, see films, read books, etc., about the host country. Likewise, the couple could take language and culture training, go visit the country for a short stay to “test the waters,” or talk to people who have been on expatriate assignments in the same country.
5. This gives the student an opportunity for some personal reflection on his or her own international orientation.
6. Dual-career couples will need to find placement for both members or make other arrangements for the spouse (e.g., the spouse could take a sabbatical from work, be transferred to the same country as well, take a break in his or her career). In an age when both men and women have careers, multinational companies must think of more creative ways to satisfy both the expatriate and his or her spouse.
7. In general, younger children have an easier time adapting to living abroad. Older children, especially teenagers, have a more difficult time adjusting. For example, they resent being moved so far from their friends. For this reason, multinational companies should allow the entire family (not just the expatriate) ample opportunity to self-select in or out of the foreign position. This needs to be decided as a family because any member may impact the success of the expatriate when he or she is abroad.
The International Orientation Scale is an index of behaviors which are related to one’s acceptance of, and interest in, other cultures. From the criterion-related validity study conducted, it was found that International Orientation is related to how well individuals adjust to living abroad, and how much they will interact with host nationals. The International Orientation Scale has also been found to be related to tolerance of ambiguity, interpersonal orientation, optimism, personal need for structure, and openness to challenges. The IOS was not related to self-monitoring or time urgency.
There are two major limitations of the scale which should be addressed in class discussion. First, there are no established norms for the scale. For this reason, one can not say that “he or she falls above or below normal” on the scale. As yet, the scale is only intended to guide one’s thinking about international orientation and to generate awareness for self-assessment.
The second major limitation of the scale is that the items were generated with an American population. Likewise the reliability and validity evidence was established on an American population. The behaviors of Dimensions Two, Three, and Four were generated from experiences which Americans may either have or choose to have in their lives. As one can imagine, it would be inappropriate to assess (or even worse, interpret) non-Americans who have had little or no opportunity to have the types of experiences on the IOS.
The items of Dimension One (i.e., International Attitudes ) are reverse scored. The rest of the scores can be added and used for personal reflection. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, there are no established norms, such that the scores cannot indicate some specific deficit or talent the student has. The scores can be used as a means to think about one’s own international orientation (e.g., one’s answers to the self-assessment discussion questions.)
*Experiential Exercises 2.1 and 2.2 are by Paula M. Caligiuri, Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University. Used with permission. In Dorothy Marcic and Sheila Puffer, Management International, West Publishing, 1994.
This is a simple, beginning overview of ethical issues. As students become more familiar with ethical issues, these could be revisited for elaboration. This exercise serves as an initial ice breaker, beginning orientation for group work, and an introduction to ethical issues. After discussing the questions provided, the five themes of the book could be discussed in terms of ethical issues related to these new challenges. Ask students to provide examples of ethical issues related to: technology, quality, work force diversity, and globalization. You may want to help the beginning conversation with the following combinations: security and privacy with technology, promotion of a lesser qualified minority to meet requirements, providing
entertainment for potential clients from another country, and altering the information for the Malcolm Baldrige award.
NUTTY BUDDY: AN EXERCISE IN INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
This exercise requires a bag of peanuts-in-the-shell. Students do not need an additional hand-out to complete this exercise. This exercise may be used as a team builder, or an ice-
breaker for the beginning of the semester. The time necessary for the exercise and debriefing is about twenty minutes and is ideal for group sizes of 10-25, although it easily accommodates larger groups as well.
discarded. The selection process should yield approximately one-fourth more peanuts than number of participants. The qualifying peanuts are place in a large bowl, which is then passed to each participant, who is asked to choose a peanut and to wait for additional instructions.
(2) Each person has one minute to get to know his or her peanut. Students cannot mark on their peanut, open it, or alter it in any way. They may sniff it, talk to it, lick it, fondle it, argue with it, confess to it - in short, whatever will aid them in getting to know it better.
(3) The peanuts are returned to the bowl along with those extra peanuts which had not been selected. The peanuts are then emptied onto a table or in the middle of the floor and participants are instructed to "find your peanut."
(4) If anyone cannot locate his or her peanut, he or she is invited to check everyone else's peanut and to negotiate ownership. (A short intervention by the instructor on the vagaries of "peanut napping" may be appropriate here.)
Instructor's Notes
This exercise is an adaptation from the old Gestalt-learning exercise, "know your lemon," to help participants become more aware of nonverbal cues in perception. This exercise illustrates issues of individual differences and diversity in organizational life, as well as stereotypes and prejudice.
The following excerpt is a typical debriefing/application sequence of questions and discussion items. The purpose is to move students in a logical manner to a clearer, gut-level
understanding and appreciation of differences among people and between themselves and others.
(1) Ask students to analyze their peanuts carefully. How are they able to recognize it? What distinguishes it? How confident are you that this peanut is your peanut?
Amazingly, typically 90 + % of participants are absolutely confident.
(2) Next, ask students to compare their peanut with a neighbor's peanut. How are they similar? How are they different? Is one peanut more identifiable than another?
After all, kids have been comparing their peanuts for decades, maybe centuries. This question allows for a short discussion on surface traits versus substantive traits, and observable traits versus implied traits also works well here. Some people possess characteristics which make them more salient as employees, leaders, influencers, etc.
(3) Have students introduce their peanut to the other person and the other person's peanut should be introduced to them. Get to know their peanut, get them to know your peanut.
When Peter tells you about Paul, you often learn more about Peter than you do Paul. Sometimes it is easier for people to talk through another person than to be direct themselves. This characteristics has been used successfully in puppet therapy with children and in psychodrama with adults, in order to help clients more honestly express themselves.
(4) Ask students if anyone wants to trade peanuts, because they like someone else's peanut butter, or better.
(This is known in Freudian psychology as peanuts-envy.) Point out how attached we can get to something that is ours in such a short time. What might that tendency say about us as people? Themes of possessiveness, intolerance, and even attribution work well here.
(5) Ask students to relay what their peanut would say about them if it could talk. (It might say that they are tough nuts to crack, but what else might it say?)
Depending on the previous discussion, the facilitator may or may not want to encourage such self-disclosure.
Part of the debriefing hinges upon comments by the students. In fact, the instructor should be prepared to follow-up virtually any comment or side-comment with discussion. Most
participants report that the experience is fun, energizing, light-hearted, and even charming. A brief warning before proceeding with debriefing: this exercise lends itself to words which are highly conducive to short gags and double-entendres. These flights into marginal humor provide part of the fun of this exercise and can be promoted or suppressed according to the composition of the group.
As can be seen from the questions, the discussion can unfold in a variety of directions over a broad range of issues. The richness and learning possible from this exercise often depends on the risk-taking level of the participants and the skill of the instructor. Even so, the exercise is almost goof-proof.
One interesting phenomenon often occurs, especially in extended workshops. Participants often carry their peanut around with them, refer back to it, make jokes including it, and truly personalize it. A few people eat their peanuts, much to the chagrin (and even disgust) of others. For most participants, the peanut becomes a "’Linus' blanket."
*Christopher Taylor, Organizational Behavior Teaching Review, Vol. 13, (4) 1988-89, 123-124. Used with permission.
EXTRA EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES
The following alternative exercises to supplement the material in the textbook can be obtained from:
Marcic, Dorothy & Seltzer, Joe. Organizational Behavior: Experiences and Cases, 5th Ed.
South Western College Publishing Company 1998.
Personality Assessment: Jung’s Typology. p. 30-34. Time: 15-20 minutes
Purpose: To determine personality according to Jung’s Personality Typology.
Work Values Around the World. p. 314-316. Time: 50 minutes or more
Purpose: To understand how work-related values can be different around the world.
Ethics in International Business. p. 322-324. Time: 50 minutes.
Purpose: To examine ethical foundations of bribery in an international setting.
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