With the Hayek family controlling nearly 40 percont of The Swatch Group, how do you think the family influence impacts the type of corporate culture in the company? What about the company's international culture being impacted by the Hayek family? Many of the Swatch brands have become cultural icons among a strong core following of customors in the global markotplace. Some even talk about the "Swatch. Rovolution" that began when Nicolas Hayek founded the company. Why do you think Swatch has such a strong. cuftural following? This activity is important because as a manager, you must be able to understand the effect of cultural differences within and actoss countrios on your business. Different countries and societies demand cross-cultural literacy in managers The goal of this exercise is to demonstrate your understanding of cultural differences and how they influence business decisions. To be successtul. many companies need to adapt their products and services to the local culture. Read the case and answer the questions that follow The Swatch Group (swatchgroup com) with its headquarters in Biel, Switzeriand (Europe), is a manulacturet of watches and jewelry The company was founded in 1983 by Lebanese-born Nicolas Hayek from the merging of Allgemeine Gesellschaft der Schwezerischen Uhrenindustrie and Societe Suisse pour l'industrie Horlogere. It is now the world's biggest watchmaker Nicolas's daughter, Nayla Hayek, has been chair of the board of directors of the Swatch Group since her father's death in 2010 , and she is also CEO of the luxury jeweler Harry Winston Inc, which was acquired by the Swatch Group in 2013 . Georges Nicolas 'Nick' Hayek Jr has been the CEO and president of the Swatch Group since 2003. Today, the Hayek family controls nearly 40 percent of the company. Swatch and its 37 global subsidiarios employ about 37,000 pooplo, and the company's revenue is about 9 billion Swiss francs (CHF), of about $9 bilion in U S. dollars. The company's headquarters in Biel sits on the language border botwoen French and German speaking parts of Switzerland and is, by design, bilingual and culfurally diverse. In fact, everything that Swatch engages in is based on diversity and cullure This cultural diversity is embedded in its overall brand and global strategizing For example, many of the Swatch brehds have become cultural icons among a strong core following of customers in the global marketplace. Some even talk about the "Swatch Revolution" that began when Nicolas Hayek founded the company It was the combination of legendary Swiss watch making (with the Swiss being famous for watch brands such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, Jaeger-LeCoultre) and the unexpectod appearance of an affordable plastic watch that turned the watch world upside down Suddenly, a watch was more than a way to measure time. It was a new individualized culture, a new language, and a way to speak from the heart without words. By definition, "swatch" means a sample of material or color, oftentimes relerring to a small piece of fabric It is remarkable how Swatch has been able to develop culturally unique watches while also building the fabnc for a globally integrated world by its watch making. The Swatch Group's brands go far beyond the iconic Swatch watches, though. They also include top Swiss brands like Blancpain, Breguot, and Omega along with unique and classic products such as Balmain, Calvin Klein watches and jowelry, Certina, Flik Flak, Glashoutte, Hamillon, Harry Winston, Jaquet Droz, Lon Hatot, Longines, Mido, Original, Rado, Tissot, Touitillon, and Union Glashotte, These brands form the "art" of Swatch - a via its Instagram eccount On Swatch's Instagram (instagram com/swatch), the storyline is clear. Swatch wants you to create your own unique way of accessorizing by the use of a Swatch watch. A person can showcase his or her individualized Swatch use by tagging HMySwatch. The now line of "Skin" watches also helps users "dance with the unknown," break down barriers, and make HYourMove with Skin. The product is minimalist in style but unique, styish, yet culturally diverse - much like Swatch has created its cultural uniqueness for decades in the global marketplace. Swatch's own description of its brand captures this cultural uniqueness 'Everyone knows a Swatch when they see one. There's clearly something that makes Swatch different from every other watch brand. What is it? The look, the colors, the plastic? The design, perhaps, or the fact that its Swiss made and versatile enough to be worn with almost anything. There are Swatch watches for people of all ages, and a Swatch for every occasion. But there's mose to Swatch than market coverage. Swatch is an attitude, an approach to life, a way of seeing. The sight of a Swatch excites emotion. Wearing one is a way to communicate, to speak without speaking. Heart to The Swatch Group is not just about being culturally diverse or a company marketing products globally to customers of different cultures in many respects the company is actually creating the values, beliefs, norms, and artifacts that form a globally unique culture worldwide. So, Swatch's largescale production of watches and jewelry is used to help create individually and cuiturally based customer uniqueness. Sources Corinne Gretler, 'Swatch CEO Nick Hayek Sees. Swiss Watch Turnaround in 2017," Bloomberg BusinessWeek, February 2, 2017, Salke Koltrowitz, 'Swatch Group Seeing Strong Demand So Far in 2017," Reuters, March 16, 2017 (unww reuters com/articlelus-5watch=ersults: idUSKBN16N15B), "The Amazing Adventures of the Second Watch," Swatch History 2017 (www swatch comven_us/explotehhistory), "Swatch is Challenging Google and Apple with Its Own Operating System, " Fortune, March 16, 2017 With the Hayek family controlling nearly 40 percent of The Swatch Group, how do you think the family influence impacts the type of corporate culture in the company? What about the company's international culture being impacted by the Hayek family? Many of the Swatch brands have become cultural icons among a strong core following of customers in the global marketplace. Some oven talk about the "Swatch Revolution" that began when Nicolas Hayek founded the company. Why do you think Swatch has such a strong cultural following