Cross Cultural Competences and Management

Teacher(s)

Aust-Gronarz Ina;

Language

English

Main themes

Working with people for other cultural backgrounds has become part of the daily activities in organizations today for employees at all levels. The global pressure for competitiveness and effectiveness has increased the number of strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, with the objective of having access to resources, capital and new market opportunities. People who have never met each other need to work together in multicultural virtual teams.
It is no longer sufficient, that managers are able to communicate effectively and work with people from one culture and that they understand and learn how to adapt to this particular culture. Instead, managers must interact simultaneously and effectively with people in multiple cultures or with a poly-cultural background.
This course is based on research and insights from diverse disciplines, including cross-cultural psychology, social psychology, cultural anthropology, organizational behavior, international human resource management, business ethics and corporate social responsibility.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	The course is designed to develop cross-culturally competent and responsible leaders. The central aim of this course is to develop the student capacity to understand and analyse management situations that (European) international organisations face with regard to cross-cultural management and leadership. The course will focus on the impact of culture on individuals, teams and organisations; it will explore options how to deal with cultural issues in a responsible way and still be efficiently and effective in the business context and it will help the students to develop themselves in the context of their own cultural backgrounds. At the end of the course, students should be able to: Gain a deep understanding of the nature of cultures, the theoretical concepts and frameworks used to identify and highlight similarities and differences across cultures and increase awareness of the impact of culture on individuals (especially on yourself!), teams and international organisations and appreciation for diverse cultural backgrounds. Apply these theories and frameworks to understand and diagnose critical cross-cultural interaction situations (critical incidents) and to make effective cultural attributions.  Adopt a critical point of view on the literature, on the one hand, and on managerial attributions and decisions in cross-cultural contexts, on the other. Improve the ability and competence to work in, interact with and lead across different cultures. Increase your awareness of the economic, social, environmental and ethical issues related to globalisation and improve your skills to deal with cultural paradoxes and ethical dilemmas.

Content

Introduction

• Introduction to global leadership practices and competencies
• Global leadership challenges
• Assessments CQ/ICC

Part I: Understanding intercultural management and global leadership

• Interculturality in a global context (macro, meso, micro)
• Culture(s) and cultural dimensions
• Negotiated interculturality
• Practical implications from intercultural theory perspectives (positivist, interpretive, critical)

Part II: Responding to intercultural and global leadership challenges

• Leading self in a global context – e.g. Case: Self-initiated expatriation/repatriation, performing and adjusting in unfamiliar contexts, identity, belonging, self-care, personal growth, inner development
• Leading collaboration in global teams – e.g. Case: Global remote teams and the role of language in IB
• Leading DEI – e.g. Case: Refugees’ workforce inclusion
• Leading sustainability transformation globally – Case: SDGs, IDG nexus and responding to sustainability paradoxes

Part III: Global Leadership in practice
Closing day and conclusions

Teaching methods

To do so, the course is structured in activities on campus, after/before the course, and on Moodle, either individually or in multicultural teams. Preparation, attendance and active participation in these activities are mandatory. Students need to prepare all courses to be able to contribute in a competent way to the discussions and exercises. They are asked to contribute as actively as they can within the course setting. 
This course is designed as a deep reflective and experiential immersion for full days (from mornings to late evenings) in week 1 and 3 and a final closing day in week 6. In between, the students will be working on their portfolio and projects.
Teaching methods include but are not limited to:

• Traditional instructional methods like e.g. lectures, videos, guided readings individually and in groups (with reflective, seminar-style discussions) and invited guest speakers from business, academia and IB Alumni
• Active learning methods like e.g. case study analysis, self-assessments of leadership and intercultural skills and co-organizing events with international students
• Experiential learning methods like e.g. elements of peer feedback and peer-to-peer coaching combined with the organization of at least one event with international students and an IB Alumni event
• Reflective learning methods like e.g. reflective journaling, mindfulness exercises, personal development plan 

Evaluation methods

The assessment of your performance in this course is composed of the following elements:

1. Team assessment (45%): Course preparations and participation including IB Alumni event, flipped classroom, case analyses, peer-to-peer feedback, final intercultural/global leadership project presentation
2. Individual assessment (55%): Active participation in all activities; Development of a personal "Living and working abroad” Portfolio

Participation in all classes and activities is mandatory. Active non-participation or unjustified absences will result in a penalty of -1 point on the final grade per absence/non-participation.

Other information

The number of places in this course is restricted. The course is compulsory for IB students. International students are welcome.
Plagiarism policy: Plagiarising means you present someone else's intellectual efforts as your own and doing so can have severe consequences for your (academic) career. It is, therefore, crucial that you do not submit an assignment that contains any plagiarized content. Ensure that you properly attribute all sources that go beyond common knowledge. 
Use of AI: You may use AI for improving language, grammar, spelling, or structure of text that you have written. You are still fully responsible for the accuracy, rigor and integrity of your text/presentation. But, you must disclose the AI models and prompts in the Appendix for anything that goes beyond these tasks, i.e. if you have used AI for creating structures/content, references/citations, images, tables, translation of text etc.
By submitting your assignment, you affirm that you have verified it accurately reflects the facts. Ensure that your own thoughts, analysis, and writing are evident in the final submission or presentation, so it allows the teacher to evaluate the skills and competencies acquired. Failure to disclose AI use or misuse of AI tools will be considered as fraud, as defined in articles 107-114 of the RGEE. AI must be used in a responsible way and in accordance with the principles of academic integrity practices.

Online resources

On Moodle

Bibliography

• Adler, N. (2025). Overly convenient falsehoods and inconvenient truths: Not what leaders thought they would learn. International Business Review, 34(2025), 102083, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2022.102083.  
• Barmeyer, C., Bausch, M. & Mayrhofer, U. (2026). Constructive Intercultural Management: Integrating cultural differences successfully. Edward Elgar.
• Gehrke, B, M. T. Claes, M.-T., Pauknerová, D, Aust, I. & Bell Lambert R.-M. (Eds.), Global leadership practices: Competencies for navigating in a complex world (2nd ed.). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035308088.0001. (Chapters can be downloaded from the UCLouvain library.)

Detailed bibliography on Moodle.

Teaching materials

• Moodle

Faculty or entity

> CLSM