This question has two parts; be sure to answer both.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

First, contrast ethnocentric, polycentric, and geocentric managers.

Next, imagine the following situation: You work for a multinational hotel chain. The hotel, which has its corporate headquarters in the United States, has a policy of delighting and surprising its guests by making them feel extremely welcome. Corporate has a policy that the housekeepers will leave a yellow daffodil on each guest's bed while cleaning the rooms during the day. However, managers at the French and German hotels have objected to this policy. The French managers says that yellow has connotations of jealously, betrayal, weakness, and contradiction in France. In the 10th century, the French painted the doors of traitors and criminals yellow. The German managers say that yellow symbolizes jealousy in Germany. These managers would rather leave a different type of flower for their guests.

How would an ethnocentric manager respond to the individual hotel managers' requests? How would a polycentric or geocentric manager respond?


Ethnocentric managers believe that their native country, culture, language, and behavior are superior to all others. An ethnocentric manager at the corporate office of the hotel chain would likely respond to the French and German managers' requests with something like, "We have determined that daffodils are people's favorite flower, and the country doesn't matter. You're making too much of the color. It's the flower itself that matters. Corporate has made this decision, and you will implement it because we've done our market research and we know best."

Polycentric managers take the view that native managers in the foreign offices best understand native personnel and practices, and so the home office should leave them alone.

Geocentric managers accept that there are differences and similarities between home and foreign personnel and practices and that they should use whatever techniques are most effective. A polycentric or geocentric manager at the hotel's corporate office would respond to the French and German managers, "You know best what will make our guests in France and Germany feel the most welcome. What type of flower do you propose to leave on the guests' beds instead of a daffodil to make them feel welcome, and to give our hotel a positive association in their minds?"