MORE DISTANT THAN SHODDY RICE: A CASE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE FOR TEACHING

Resumo

This case for teaching aims to report the psychological distance present in the context of international business management. For this, a semi-structured interview was conducted with the manager of a refined rice oil industry. The narrative comes from the creation of a Brazilian agribusiness until its internationalization. The retraction of the case serves for educational purposes, with the intention of contributing in the teaching-learning process, observing how cultural and language differences can interfere negatively in the management of internationalized companies. The disciplines suggested for use of the case should address strategic management of international business, international human resources management, and internationalization of companies, and may be applied in courses in Administration, International Management and Human Resources Management. The agribusiness at hand has Luis as protagonist, which allowed the theme to be approached taking into account the lack of a common language between the foreign managers and the Brazilian unit in this analysis, many things have changed in the company, among them internationalization and the inefficiency of the distance management, questions linked to the cultural differences between the individuals that make up the unit in Brazil and its international shareholders.