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

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.

Teaching methods

Different teaching methods will be used such as lecture input, case analysis, role playing, videos, guided readings, group discussions and guest speakers. Interacting and communicating with people from diverse cultures is one of the key objectives of this course, hence, students are required to prepare the courses and to contribute as actively as they can within the course setting. We expect you to prepare the required readings and cases (see course schedule) before class in order to be able to contribute in a competent way to the discussions and exercises. A number of sessions will take place online as effective virtual intercultural work is one of the goals in this course.

Evaluation methods

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

1. Team evaluation (50%): Course preparations, team project presentation on a cultural analysis and written peer review (following the course guidelines).
2. Individual evaluation (50%): Continuous evaluation, course participation and individual reflective journal paper (following the course guidelines)

Other information

The number of places in this course is restricted. The course is compulsory for IB students.

Online resources

Moodle

Bibliography

Available on Moodle:

• course material and slides are uploaded on Moodle
  
• required and further readings are uploaded on Moodle
  

Teaching materials

• Moodle

Faculty or entity

> CLSM