ALLIANT UNIVERSITY, MEXICO CITY CAMPUS
JUNE - JULY 2010
CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
Syllabus
Professor: M. C. Eychenbaum
Assistant Professor: C. Marmolejo Rubio
Foreword
The increase in both diversity and globalization in business require that employees,
especially managers, develop cross-cultural competence to work effectively in
international assignments, on cross-cultural teams, with increasingly diverse customers and clients, and to effectively compete or collaborate with competitors, suppliers, partners, and relevant stakeholders, such as governments and other public bodies.
Effective training and exposure to cultural differences around the world can help
employees learn to be more successful in a variety of business settings.
This course seeks to provide students with an understanding of effective cross-cultural management and the challenges that are likely to be faced while working internationally.
The course focuses on international organizational behavior and human resource issues and practices in transnational organizations. The course is divided into three modules:
(a) understanding the effects of culture on attitudes and behavior,
(b) organizational and human resource issues such as teamwork, leadership, and negotiation,
and (c)
preparation for working in or working with people in international assignments.
COURSE STRUCTURE
The class consists of lectures, discussions, videos, role playing and other experiential exercises, case analyses, and presentations. Because the course depends on active learning on the part of students and group interaction among students, it is essential that
students regularly attend class, prepare in advance of the classes, and participate
productively.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course, it is hoped that students will:
* Understand how people, groups, organizations, and societies become infused with culture
* Gain an analytical and conceptual understanding of one’s own culture and the
differences from own versus other cultures
* Understand the influence of culture on attitudes and behavior
* Learn to recognize when cultural differences are affecting work relationships and
the circumstances in which cultural differences are most likely
* Learn substantively about and come to appreciate cultures different from one’s own
* Understand the typical reactions to cultural differences, learn to be mindful of those reactions in ourselves, and learn strategies for responding productively and
positively to cultural differences
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION
1. Class Participation: 10%
2. Case Analyses: 10%
3. Analysis of Culture Paper: 20%
4. Expatriate Manager Interview: 10%
5. Cross-cultural Project: 35%
1. Class Participation (10%)
Attendance will be taken at each class and tallied at the end of the course. Students are expected to attend regularly. Because learning about culture requires active engagement and participation of students, we will use both experiential learning and case analyses. The experiential learning (discussions, videos, games, role plays,exercises) requires that students be present and actively involved in the learning.
2. Case Analyses (two cases, 5% each)
There are 10 cases being used in this course. At least two students will be assigned to prepare a 3-page written analysis of the case and will help facilitate the case discussion each week. Where possible, the student should collect background information on the country or company. The analysis should not be only a summary of what happened in the case, but should be an analysis according to the following:
· What is going on in the case? What has happened or is happening? (no more
than a paragraph or two)
· What is the problem? Can you diagnose what needs to be addressed (i.e., what
has gone wrong, what needs to be solved, or what opportunity is available?
· What has caused the problem or what is the basis for the opportunity? Can you
analyze the factors that have contributed to the situation at hand?
· What can be done to fix the problem or pursue the opportunity? Can you think of
what actions can be taken to help the situation?
· Test your ideas against the content of the case. How does the case material
support your ideas?
3. Analysis of Personal Culture (20%)
The purpose of this assignment is for the student to develop mindfulness and selfreflection about his or her own culture, because this is a prerequisite for learning about the culture of others. The written report should be no more than 5 pages. The report should:
· Locate the culture on the dimensions and characteristics that we have discussed
in class and discuss the implications
· Include identification of the culture’s key values accompanied by meaningful
behavioral examples
· Discuss those cultural dimensions that seem to be most taken for granted and
those which seem to be contested
· Identify a country where the culture appears to be most different from one’s own
and discuss how one might frame the contrasting culture in way that would
improve the likelihood of getting along
· Include a bibliography with at least two sources regarding the culture of your
home country.
4. Expatriate Manager Interview (10%)
Interview a business person who has worked outside his/her country of origin. The
purpose of the assignment is to help you understand the difficulties and advantages of working abroad. The report should be no more than 3 pages, but should include:
· What is the country of origin and what are the differences in culture between the
country of origin and the country where the person had an international
assignment?
· What experiences/issues did the interviewee identify as most challenging, which
most satisfying, and which most puzzling?
· What advice would the interviewee give to others who are facing an international
assignment to ensure success?
5. Group Project: Training Packet for International Assignment (35%)
Groups of about 3-4 students will work together. Each group should assume that they are a team of consultants working for an American firm to provide information on expatriate training for international assignments. Each group should prepare a training package that would be used to provide expatriates with a foundation for living and working in the country. Students should draw on available library research (and include proper citation and references) and may also supplement with interviews with managers who have lived or worked in this country. The report should include:
· A cultural analysis: The cultural roots of a country are reflected in the arts,
literature, and mass media of that society. Select one form of art, literature, or
mass media to understand the culture of that country. Describe specific examples
of this aspect of the culture. Then identify the underlying beliefs and values
reflected in these aspects of the culture. Discuss the similarities and differences
between American culture and the country you choose. Do not focus only on
history or geography, but on cultural beliefs, values, and norms.
· A description of the current practices that American firms use to train
professionals for assignments in your country of choice. You can use library
research, supplemented with interviews.
· Using the information that you have gathered, prepare
a presentation (part of
the grade) to the class on living and working in your country of choice.
6. Peer Evaluation (15%, 5% for weekly class contribution and 10% for group
project)
At the end of the course, each team member will be given an evaluation form on which to evaluate the contribution that other team members have made to his/her learning throughout the term. Each team member will rate the others on a scale of 1-100 on two points: (a) contribution to the weekly learning in the class through exercises and case analyses and (b) contribution to the written group assignment and presentation. The evaluations made by students who have missed a number of classes will be discounted by a proportion of the time they have been absent from the class, while the evaluations of those who have attended regularly will count more.
Notice: it is considered plagiarism to patch together a
paper with slightly modified sentences without quotation marks, even if the
references are included.
All material used in the preparation of assignments should be listed in a bibliography of works cited and websites used. You should use the format of scientific referencing for most printed material (name of author, date of publication: page number) in the body of the assignment (e.g., Adler, 2009 or Adler, 2009: 29). Full references should be put in a bibliography at the end of the assignment. The following provides an example.
Adler, N.J. 2008. International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, 4th Ed. Cincinnati,
OH: South-Western.
Criteria for Grading the Written Assignments:
· Quality of writing.
· Quality of form/appearance and creativity of the materials.
· Demonstration of appropriate selectivity in use of source materials
· Synthesis, linkage, and appropriate use of course material.
· Quality of group process (i.e. integration of packet materials and evidence of
group process gains rather than process losses)
· Evidence of group effort
REQUIRED READING
Book:
International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, 5th Edition
ISBN-10: 0324360746 ISBN-13: 9780324360745
416 Pages Paperbound
© 2008 Published
Subjects to be tought according to the following calendar:
|
Subject calendar for each session |
Date |
|
THE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON ORGANIZATIONS. |
|
|
S1. Culture and Management. |
08-Jun |
|
S2. How Cultural Differences Affect Organizations. |
10-Jun |
|
S3. Communicating Across Cultures. |
15-Jun |
|
LEVERAGING CULTURAL DIVERSITY. |
|
|
S4. Creating Cultural Synergy. |
17-Jun |
|
S5. Managing Multicultural Teams. |
22-Jun |
|
S6. Leading Globally. |
24-Jun |
|
S7. Motivating People from Around the World: Inspiring People to Contribute. |
29-Jun |
|
S8. Multinational Decision Making. |
01-Jul |
|
S9. Negotiating Globally. |
06-Jul |
|
MANAGING GLOBAL MANAGERS. |
|
|
S10. Managing Cross-Cultural Transitions: Moving Abroad and Coming Home. |
08-Jul |
|
and what about The Expatriate Spouse?. |
|