Abstract

International aerospace corporations have recently witnessed a rapid growth in the pace of globalization. Increasing global sales, international acquisitions, and production outsourcing to other countries are activities that highlight the critical necessity of effectively conducting business between culturally diverse stakeholders. An awareness of the ways in which culture defines who we are and how that affects interaction with others is crucial to international business success. Geert Hofstede, Andre Laurent, and others have conducted large scale cultural research, which suggests that ignorance of the impact of cultural differences and ethnic variation on interpersonal conduct will be detrimental to the quality of workplace interaction. This investigation employed Hofstede’s “Culture in the Workplace Two” (CWQ2), an attitudinal assessment tool, to evaluate the prevalence of Hofstede’s dimensions of corporate multicultural awareness among executives in a population of aerospace executives. Analysis of the aggregated CWQ2 survey responses suggests ways to employ corporate multicultural dimension training (CMDT) to promote improvement in multicultural awareness through seminars in corporate settings.

Keywords

international, business, aerospace, multiculturalism, corporate, Hofstede, aviation, executives, cultural, interaction

Date of this Version

5-24-2010

Department

Aviation Technology

Department Head

Dr. Richard O. Fanjoy

Month of Graduation

August

Year of Graduation

2010

Degree

Master of Science in Aerospace Management

Head of Graduate Program

Gary R. Bertoline

Advisor 1 or Chair of Committee

Professor Donald A. Petrin, Aviation Technology

Committee Member 1

Professor Donald A. Petrin, Aviation Technology

Committee Member 2

Dr. Mary E. Johnson, Industrial Technology

Committee Member 3

Professor Michael W. Suckow, Aviation Technology

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